The Thieves' Guild

Lore & Background

In the Planescape setting, tieflings were described as being a mixture of human and 'something else' with the implication that the medium-sized non-human ancestors originated from the evil 'lower planes'. In further supplements, it was clarified that tieflings were usually descended from fiends but not in the same manner as half-fiends, since a tiefling's fiendish ancestry lies further up the family tree. This description remained true in 3rd Edition. In 4th Edition, tieflings are a race whose human ancestors made a bargain with devils to increase their power. Their origin is similar in 5th Edition.

Reader's Guide

In 4th edition and later, tieflings are a core character race. All tieflings possess large thick horns of various styles on their heads, prehensile tails approximately 4 to 5 feet in length, sharply pointed teeth, and their eyes are solid orbs of red, black, white, silver, or gold. Tiefling skin ranges through common human shades right into the reds, ranging from brick red to a ruddy tan. Tiefling hair, which starts behind their horns, ranges from dark blue to purple to red in addition to more normal human colors.

Did You Know?

• The name 'tiefling' was derived by Wolfgang Baur from the German word 'tief' meaning 'deep, low', and the suffix '-ling' meaning 'offspring', alluding to their origins in the 'lower planes'.
• One of the first artists to depict the tiefling was Tony DiTerlizzi.
• In 4th Edition, artist William O'Connor designed tieflings to have a 'sexy, dark and gothic appeal' with prominent horns and tails.