Dnd Tiefling Race

Tieflings are a mys­te­ri­ous, often feared humanoid race with a fiendish her­itage. They are eas­i­ly rec­og­nized by their horns, tail, bright­ly col­ored eyes, and some­times unusu­al skin tones, such as red, pur­ple, or gray. Their appear­ance betrays their infer­nal ori­gin, as every Tiefling car­ries the marks of a pact or blood­line tied to the pow­ers of Hell.

Hell and Its Hierarchy

Hell also known as the Eleven Hells is an orga­nized, ruth­less realm where pow­er and obe­di­ence reign supreme. Each lay­er of Hell is its own domain, with a dis­tinct atmos­phere, struc­ture, cul­ture, and col­or. These traits influ­ence a Tiefling’s appear­ance depend­ing on which lay­er they come from. Cloth­ing, mag­ic, sym­bols, and even behav­ior can dif­fer great­ly by region.

Each of the eleven lay­ers is ruled by a pow­er­ful demon lord or dev­il, with Asmodeus, the Dev­il him­self, at the cen­ter of it all. He is the absolute ruler of Hell a being of immense pow­er, strat­e­gy, and manip­u­la­tion. Tieflings and dev­ils from every lay­er are required to obey his com­mands. His will is law, and dis­obe­di­ence whether by a dev­il or a Tiefling is met with bru­tal pun­ish­ment.

The Leaders of Hell

Each lay­er of Hell has its own ruler, for exam­ple:

• Mephistophele: the cun­ning mas­ter of mag­ic.

• Glasya: daugh­ter of Asmodeus, noto­ri­ous for her cun­ning and seduc­tion.

• Zariel: a fall­en angel, now com­man­der of infer­nal armies under Asmodeus.

• Lev­is­tus, Mam­mon, Dis­pa­ter, Fier­na, and oth­ers each with their own style and meth­ods of rule.

The map you pro­vid­ed shows how these lay­ers are arranged, with Asmodeus at the cen­ter, sur­round­ed by the oth­er archdev­ils. Tieflings from these lay­ers are often sub­ject to the per­son­al­i­ty and laws of their ruler.

Tieflings’ Missions on the Material Plane

Although Tieflings orig­i­nate in Hell, some are sent to the Mate­r­i­al Plane usu­al­ly with a mis­sion. These mis­sions are assigned by their demon lord or even by Asmodeus him­self. The nature of the mis­sion can vary: manip­u­lat­ing mor­tals, gath­er­ing souls, dis­rupt­ing sacred rit­u­als, or per­form­ing polit­i­cal sab­o­tage.

Not every Tiefling knows the true pur­pose of their task. Often, they are mere­ly a small cog in a much larg­er plan. Some Tieflings com­plete only a sin­gle assign­ment, while oth­ers receive a series of mis­sions that keep them on Earth for years.

To assist (or mon­i­tor) them, Tieflings are often accom­pa­nied by a small gar­goyle. This com­pan­ion observes and reports whether the mis­sion is pro­ceed­ing accord­ing to plan. In some cas­es, the gar­goyle can also enforce pun­ish­ment if the Tiefling strays from their assigned path.

Disguise and Adaptation

Many Tieflings pos­sess the abil­i­ty to tem­porar­i­ly dis­guise them­selves as mem­bers of oth­er races. This is pure­ly visu­al they can appear as humans, elves, dwarves, and so o allow­ing them to car­ry out mis­sions unno­ticed. How­ev­er, they retain their infer­nal nature and pow­ers even when their appear­ance is altered.

Duty or Rebellion?

Not all Tieflings are evil. Some choose to ignore their past or even rebel against their her­itage. But this is dan­ger­ous ties to Hell are strong, and demon­ic pow­ers rarely release their ser­vants will­ing­ly. This inner strug­gle between free will and infer­nal duty is one of the most com­pelling aspects of the Tiefling race.

Stats

• Abil­i­ty Score Increase. Your Charis­ma score increas­es by 2.

• Age. Tieflings mature at the same rate as humans but live a few years longer.

• Align­ment. Tieflings might not have an innate ten­den­cy toward evil, but many of them end up there. Evil or not, an inde­pen­dent nature inclines many tieflings toward a chaot­ic align­ment.

• Size. Tieflings are about the same size and build as humans. Your size is Medi­um.

• Speed. Your base walk­ing speed is 30 feet.

• Dark­vi­sion. Thanks to your infer­nal her­itage, you have supe­ri­or vision in dark and dim con­di­tions. You can see in dim light with­in 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in dark­ness as if it were dim light. You can’t dis­cern col­or in dark­ness, only shades of gray.

• Hell­ish Resis­tance. You have resis­tance to fire dam­age.

• Abil­i­ty Score Increase. Your Charis­ma score increas­es by 2.

• Age. Tieflings mature at the same rate as humans but live a few years longer.

• Align­ment. Tieflings might not have an innate ten­den­cy toward evil, but many of them end up there. Evil or not, an inde­pen­dent nature inclines many tieflings toward a chaot­ic align­ment.

• Size. Tieflings are about the same size and build as humans. Your size is Medi­um.

• Speed. Your base walk­ing speed is 30 feet.

• Dark­vi­sion. Thanks to your infer­nal her­itage, you have supe­ri­or vision in dark and dim con­di­tions. You can see in dim light with­in 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in dark­ness as if it were dim light. You can’t dis­cern col­or in dark­ness, only shades of gray.

• Hell­ish Resis­tance. You have resis­tance to fire dam­age.
• Lan­guages: Your char­ac­ter can speak, read, and write. Com­mon, Hel­lic and one oth­er lan­guage that you want.
• Gar­goyle. This gar­goyle deliv­ers mis­sions on behalf of your demon, who decides what tasks you must com­plete. It can also assist you in com­bat, but only if you sum­mon it and only when it choos­es to help.

Bloodline of Asmodeus

The tieflings con­nect­ed to Nes­sus com­mand the pow­er of fire and dark­ness, guid­ed by a keen­er than nor­mal intel­lect, as befits those linked to Asmodeus him­self.

• Abil­i­ty Score Increase. Your Intel­li­gence score increas­es by 1.

• Infer­nal Lega­cy. You know the Thau­matur­gy cantrip. Once you reach 3rd lev­el, you can cast the Hell­ish Rebuke spell once as a 2nd-lev­el spell. Once you reach 5th lev­el, you can also cast the Dark­ness spell once. You must fin­ish a long rest to cast these spells again with this trait. Charis­ma is your spell­cast­ing abil­i­ty for these spells.

Mor­denkainen’s Tome of Foes

Bloodline of Baalzebul

The crum­bling realm of Mal­ado­mi­ni is ruled by Baalze­bul, who excels at cor­rupt­ing those whose minor sins can be trans­formed into acts of damna­tion. Tieflings linked to this archdev­il can cor­rupt others both phys­i­cal­ly and psy­chi­cal­ly.

• Abil­i­ty Score Increase. Your Intel­li­gence score increas­es by 1.

• Lega­cy of Mal­ado­mi­ni. You know the Thau­matur­gy cantrip. Once you reach 3rd lev­el, you can cast the Ray of Sick­ness spell once as a 2nd-lev­el spell. Once you reach 5th lev­el, you can also cast the Crown of Mad­ness spell once. You must fin­ish a long rest to cast these spells again with this trait. Charis­ma is your spell­cast­ing abil­i­ty for these spells.

Bloodline of Dispater

The great city of Dis occu­pies most of Hel­l’s sec­ond lay­er. It is a place where secrets are uncov­ered and shared with the high­est bid­der, mak­ing tieflings tied to Dis­pa­ter excel­lent spies and infil­tra­tors.

• Abil­i­ty Score Increase. Your Dex­ter­i­ty score increas­es by 1.

• Lega­cy of Dis. You know the Thau­matur­gy cantrip. Once you reach 3rd lev­el, you can cast the Dis­guise Self spell once as a 2nd-lev­el spell. Once you reach 5th lev­el, you can also cast the Detect Thoughts spell once. You must fin­ish a long rest to cast these spells again with this trait. Charis­ma is your spell­cast­ing abil­i­ty for these spells.

Bloodline of Fierna

A mas­ter manip­u­la­tor, Fier­na grants tieflings tied to her force­ful per­son­al­i­ties.

• Abil­i­ty Score Increase. Your Wis­dom score increas­es by 1.

• Lega­cy of Phlegeth­os. You know the Friends cantrip. Once you reach 3rd lev­el, you can cast the Charm Per­son spell once as a 2nd-lev­el spell. Once you reach 5th lev­el, you can also cast the Sug­ges­tion spell once. You must fin­ish a long rest to cast these spells again with this trait. Charis­ma is your spell­cast­ing abil­i­ty for these spells.

Bloodline of Glasya

Glasya, Hel­l’s crim­i­nal mas­ter­mind, grants her tiefi­ings mag­ic that is use­ful for com­mit­ting heists.

• Abil­i­ty Score Increase. Your Dex­ter­i­ty score increas­es by 1.

• Lega­cy of Mal­bolge. You know the Minor Illu­sion cantrip. Once you reach 3rd lev­el, you can cast the Dis­guise Self spell once as a 2nd-lev­el spell. Once you reach 5th lev­el, you can also cast the Invis­i­bil­i­ty spell once as a 2nd-lev­el spell. You must fin­ish a long rest to cast these spells again with this trait. Charis­ma is your spell­cast­ing abil­i­ty for these spells.

Bloodline of Levistus

Frozen Sty­gia is ruled by Lev­is­tus, an archdev­il known for offer­ing bar­gains to those who face an inescapable doom.

• Abil­i­ty Score Increase. Your Con­sti­tu­tion score increas­es by 1.

• Lega­cy of Sty­gia. You know the Ray of Frost cantrip. Once you reach 3rd lev­el, you can cast the Armor of Agath­ys spell once as a 2nd-lev­el spell. Once you reach 5th lev­el, you can also cast the Dark­ness spell once. You must fin­ish a long rest to cast these spells again with this trait. Charis­ma is your spell­cast­ing abil­i­ty for these spells.

Bloodline of Mammon

The great miser Mam­mon loves coins above all else. Tieflings tied to him excel at gath­er­ing and safe­guard­ing wealth.

• Abil­i­ty Score Increase. Your Intel­li­gence score increas­es by 1.

• Lega­cy of Minau­ros. You know the Mage Hand cantrip. Once you reach 3rd lev­el, you can cast the Tenser’s Float­ing Disk spell once as a 2nd-lev­el spell. Once you reach 5th lev­el, you can also cast the Arcane Lock spell once. You must fin­ish a long rest to cast these spells again with this trait. Charis­ma is your spell­cast­ing abil­i­ty for these spells.

Bloodline of Mephistopheles

In the frozen realm of Cania, Mephistophe­les offers arcane pow­er to those who entreat with him. Tieflings linked to him mas­ter some arcane mag­ic.

• Abil­i­ty Score Increase. Your Intel­li­gence score increas­es by 1.

• Lega­cy of Cania. You know the Mage Hand cantrip. Once you reach 3rd lev­el, you can cast the Burn­ing Hands spell once as a 2nd-lev­el spell. Once you reach 5th lev­el, you can also cast the Flame Blade spell once as a 3rd-lev­el spell. You must fin­ish a long rest to cast these spells again with this trait. Charis­ma is your spell­cast­ing abil­i­ty for these spells.

Bloodline of Zariel

Tieflings with a blood tie to Zariel are stronger than the typ­i­cal tiefling and receive mag­i­cal abil­i­ties that aid them in bat­tle.

• Abil­i­ty Score Increase. Your Strength score increas­es by 1.

• Lega­cy of Aver­nus. You know the Thau­matur­gy cantrip. Once you reach 3rd lev­el, you can cast the Sear­ing Smite spell once as a 2nd-lev­el spell. Once you reach 5th lev­el, you can also cast the Brand­ing Smite spell once as a 3rd-lev­el spell. You must fin­ish a long rest to cast these spells again with this trait. Charis­ma is your spell­cast­ing abil­i­ty for these spells.

Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide

Variant Tiefling

Since not all tieflings are of the blood of Asmodeus, some have traits that dif­fer from those in the Play­er’s Hand­book. The Dun­geon Mas­ter may per­mit the fol­low­ing vari­ants for your tiefling char­ac­ter, although Dev­il’s Tongue, Hell­fire, and Winged are mutu­al­ly exclu­sive.

• Appear­ance. Your tiefling might not look like oth­er tieflings. Rather than hav­ing the phys­i­cal char­ac­ter­is­tics described in the Play­er’s Hand­book, choose 1d4 + 1 of the fol­low­ing fea­tures: small horns; fangs or sharp teeth; a forked tongue; cat­like eyes; six fin­gers on each hand; goat-like legs; cloven hoofs; a forked tail; leath­ery or scaly skin; red or dark blue skin; cast no shad­ow or reflec­tion; exude a smell of brim­stone.

• Fer­al. Your Intel­li­gence score increas­es by 1, and your Dex­ter­i­ty score increas­es by 2. This trait replaces the Abil­i­ty Score Increase trait

• Dev­il’s Tongue. You know the Vicious Mock­ery cantrip. Once you reach 3rd lev­el, you can cast the Charm Per­son spell once as a 2nd-lev­el spell. Once you reach 5th lev­el, you can also cast the Enthrall spell once. You must fin­ish a long rest to cast these spells again with this trait. Charis­ma is your spell­cast­ing abil­i­ty for these spells. This trait replaces the Infer­nal Lega­cy trait

• Hell­fire. Once you reach 3rd lev­el, you can cast the Burn­ing Hands spell once as a 2nd-lev­el spell. This trait replaces the Hell­ish Rebuke spell of the Infer­nal Lega­cy trait.

• Winged. You have bat-like wings sprout­ing from your shoul­ders. You have a fly­ing speed of 30 feet while you aren’t wear­ing heavy armor. This trait replaces the Infer­nal Lega­cy trait.

Unearthed Arcana

Abyssal Tiefling

Source: Unearthed Arcana 11 — That Old Black Mag­ic

All abyssal tieflings trace their blood­line to the demons of the Abyss. These tieflings have the fol­low­ing addi­tion­al fea­tures.

• Abil­i­ty Score Increase. Your Con­sti­tu­tion score increas­es by 1.

• Abyssal Arcana. Each time you fin­ish a long rest, you gain the abil­i­ty to cast cantrips and spells ran­dom­ly deter­mined from a short list. At 1st lev­el, you can cast a cantrip. When you reach 3rd lev­el, you can also cast a 1st-lev­el spell. At 5th lev­el, you can cast a 2nd-lev­el spell.
  • You can cast a spell gained from this trait only once until you com­plete your next long rest. You can cast a cantrip gained from this trait at will, as nor­mal. For 1st-lev­el spells whose effect changes if cast using a spell slot of 2nd lev­el or high­er, you cast the spell as if using a 2nd-lev­el slot. Spells of 2nd lev­el are cast as if using a 2nd-lev­el slot.
  • At the end of each long rest, you lose the cantrips and spells pre­vi­ous­ly grant­ed by this fea­ture, even if you did not cast them. You replace those cantrips and spells by rolling for new ones on the Abyssal Arcana Spells table. Roll sep­a­rate­ly for each cantrip and spell. If you roll the same spell or cantrip you gained at the end of your pre­vi­ous long rest, roll again until you get a dif­fer­ent result.

• Abyssal For­ti­tude. Your hit point max­i­mum increas­es by half your lev­el (min­i­mum 1).