I just got into Dnd and I've had a thought to my characters race I've been wanting to be a demon of some sort but not seeing a specific race was wondering if that would be something added in the future
Since everyone already suggested Tieflings, but no one defined them, Tieflings are a race which used to be human, but some form of demonic influence (often depicted as an ancient pact) warped their bloodline and made them something new. As is clear from the three posts recommending them, they are going to be your classic demonic race.
That said, you also have some other options.
Reborn is a flexible lineage which basically amounts to a body reanimated by some kind of reanimating force. Often this would be something like Frankenstein’s monster or someone brought back by a curse, but the book is intentionally vague and open-ended about what the reanimating force might be. You could flavour this as an imp or other lesser demon who decided to possess a corpse (maybe you are hiding from someone, and the flesh gives you some degree of cover).
Aasimar are generally the product of humans who have been touched by a celestial (angelic) entity. One of the subrace options is a Fallen Aasimar - someone who was touched by a fallen Angel. That could provide you a demonic/devilish background for your character, given that fallen angels, like Zariel, can become devils (there’s some distinctions between demons and devils in D&D - most of those distinctions are pedantic and really only relevant to folks hyper invested in the lore - if you just want something hellish and you are a new player, it doesn’t really make that big of a difference).
Moving a little further east and into Middle Eastern mythology, Genasi are the descendants of human couplings with Djinn (genies). In D&D, there is a strong divide between the Djinn and demons - the former are elementals, not infernal creatures - but in real world mythology, some scholars lump Djinn and Demons together (I don’t agree with that interpretation personally, but it is a commonly-held one). If you venture a bit outside of the Western definition of Demon, Genasi could work well. A fire Genasi in particular, since that is the scion of an Efreet and could then work in some wester fiery hell imagery.
It's worth noting that for the purposes of general D&D mechanics, only a handful of PC races are going to have a creature type other than "humanoid", and currently those are either Fey or a Construct. So purely as a matter of RAW, a PC cannot "be" a Fiend, and given some of the wonky interactions you can get when a PC has an alternate creature type, I wouldn't expect one to be released anytime soon, if ever. Tieflings are mortal- they're born, age, and when they die their soul passes on to whatever afterlife is appropriate to their circumstance. Now, you could try talking to your DM about actually being a Fiend in some way, whether it's just background fluff or mechanical, but that is 100% up to the DM to allow or disallow. Purely as one man's opinion, I'd say for your first campaign just try out a Tiefling with no "is actually a true demon" frills to them; trying for a particularly out there backstory with your first character is a very hit-or-miss proposition. Now, if you just want to play up a connection to the Lower Planes, being an Archfiend Warlock can be a fun experience, if you like the look of the class.
It's worth noting that for the purposes of general D&D mechanics, only a handful of PC races are going to have a creature type other than "humanoid", and currently those are either Fey or a Construct.
Not that it contradicts your point, but we also have an Ooze as well, now :)
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You could go with a CHANGELING, make your appearance however demonic you like and your alignment whatever you want want. Then, you can have any demon look you have seen, or switch to human, elf, etc. if needed.
My Changeling is a Brass Dragonborn most of the time, because of my Brass Dragon ancestry.
Luckily this is likely to change in 2024. The current playtest says
TIEFLING
Tieflings are either born in the Lower Planes or have one or more fiendish ancestors who originated there. A tiefling (pronounced TEEFling) is linked by blood to a devil, a demon, a yugoloth, or some other Fiend. This connection to the Lower Planes is, for better or worse, the tiefling’s fiendish legacy, which comes with the promise of power yet has no effect on the tiefling’s moral outlook.
The Tieflings in the UA are one of my favorite updates.
Talk with your DM: any race can be renamed into a demon.
The bigger problem (and reason why there will never be a pure demon playable race in the rules as written) is that demons are supposed to be chaos and destruction incarnated. That is their definition. Asking to be a good demon is like asking to be dry water or cold magma. Devils on the other hand …
Devils are just as constitutionally incapable of being Good without exposure to some major cosmic forces as demons. Same deal in reverse for Celestials; they're fundamentally Good beings because they're spawned from the Upper Planes, and it takes exposure to heavy duty cosmic evil before there's a risk of them falling. Granted, that's the basic and typically Forgotten Realms-centric lore, DMs can of course come up with their own takes on all of it.
By the lore, Tieflings originate from a devil and a human having a baby. the mom is the human and the baby is the Tiefling.
No, by lore that would be a Cambion.
Tieflings are descendents from a tainted bloodline.
Quote:
[...] And to twist the knife, tieflings know that this is because a pact struck generations ago infused the essence of Asmodeus—overlord of the Nine Hells—into their bloodline. Their appearance and their nature are not their fault but the result of an ancient sin, for which they and their children and their children’s children will always be held accountable.
Infernal Bloodline
Tieflings are derived from human bloodlines, and in the broadest possible sense, they still look human. However, their infernal heritage has left a clear imprint on their appearance. [...]
Going strictly by "looks", I would say Tiefling, Dragonborn or one of the 2 Giths. ..or my Changeling idea, to look like anything you have seen before.
Are you planning to play it like Drizzt? Being from a generally "evil" race, but you are not?
Just a quick question: Would Tieflings being evil actually be problematic? I understand that in Forgotten Realms lore Tieflings generally have free will and choose whether to make right and wrong decisions, but would it be an issue if someone made a homebrew campaign/world where all Tieflings were evil due to their infernal and demonic heritage?
I just got into Dnd and I've had a thought to my characters race I've been wanting to be a demon of some sort but not seeing a specific race was wondering if that would be something added in the future
As species, Tieflings are the closest you will get probably.
From the basic world building, I somehow doubt, that Wizards will add real demons for players to chose.
Feel free to homebrew something with your DM.
As Voras said the tiefling would be a prime candidate, here's race details; Basic Rules for Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) Fifth Edition (5e) - D&D Beyond (dndbeyond.com)
The Tiefling Race for Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) Fifth Edition (5e) - D&D Beyond (dndbeyond.com)
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Since everyone already suggested Tieflings, but no one defined them, Tieflings are a race which used to be human, but some form of demonic influence (often depicted as an ancient pact) warped their bloodline and made them something new. As is clear from the three posts recommending them, they are going to be your classic demonic race.
That said, you also have some other options.
Reborn is a flexible lineage which basically amounts to a body reanimated by some kind of reanimating force. Often this would be something like Frankenstein’s monster or someone brought back by a curse, but the book is intentionally vague and open-ended about what the reanimating force might be. You could flavour this as an imp or other lesser demon who decided to possess a corpse (maybe you are hiding from someone, and the flesh gives you some degree of cover).
Aasimar are generally the product of humans who have been touched by a celestial (angelic) entity. One of the subrace options is a Fallen Aasimar - someone who was touched by a fallen Angel. That could provide you a demonic/devilish background for your character, given that fallen angels, like Zariel, can become devils (there’s some distinctions between demons and devils in D&D - most of those distinctions are pedantic and really only relevant to folks hyper invested in the lore - if you just want something hellish and you are a new player, it doesn’t really make that big of a difference).
Moving a little further east and into Middle Eastern mythology, Genasi are the descendants of human couplings with Djinn (genies). In D&D, there is a strong divide between the Djinn and demons - the former are elementals, not infernal creatures - but in real world mythology, some scholars lump Djinn and Demons together (I don’t agree with that interpretation personally, but it is a commonly-held one). If you venture a bit outside of the Western definition of Demon, Genasi could work well. A fire Genasi in particular, since that is the scion of an Efreet and could then work in some wester fiery hell imagery.
Adding to Caerwyn's great list:
- A Summer Eladrin, Fairy or Satyr could be tied to a Fey'ri
- Chromatic Dragonborn or Kobolds could be tied to Abishai
- A Shadar-kai could be related to a Yugoloth or touched by a Shadow Demon
A dragonborn subrace linked with any of the planar dragons from infernal planes.
It's worth noting that for the purposes of general D&D mechanics, only a handful of PC races are going to have a creature type other than "humanoid", and currently those are either Fey or a Construct. So purely as a matter of RAW, a PC cannot "be" a Fiend, and given some of the wonky interactions you can get when a PC has an alternate creature type, I wouldn't expect one to be released anytime soon, if ever. Tieflings are mortal- they're born, age, and when they die their soul passes on to whatever afterlife is appropriate to their circumstance. Now, you could try talking to your DM about actually being a Fiend in some way, whether it's just background fluff or mechanical, but that is 100% up to the DM to allow or disallow. Purely as one man's opinion, I'd say for your first campaign just try out a Tiefling with no "is actually a true demon" frills to them; trying for a particularly out there backstory with your first character is a very hit-or-miss proposition. Now, if you just want to play up a connection to the Lower Planes, being an Archfiend Warlock can be a fun experience, if you like the look of the class.
Not that it contradicts your point, but we also have an Ooze as well, now :)
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My bad, couldn't remember if Plasmoids were an alternate type and it was late enough I wasn't motivated to check.
Tiefling heritage is devilish not demonic.
You could go with a CHANGELING, make your appearance however demonic you like and your alignment whatever you want want. Then, you can have any demon look you have seen, or switch to human, elf, etc. if needed.
My Changeling is a Brass Dragonborn most of the time, because of my Brass Dragon ancestry.
Luckily this is likely to change in 2024. The current playtest says
The Tieflings in the UA are one of my favorite updates.
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Talk with your DM: any race can be renamed into a demon.
The bigger problem (and reason why there will never be a pure demon playable race in the rules as written) is that demons are supposed to be chaos and destruction incarnated. That is their definition. Asking to be a good demon is like asking to be dry water or cold magma. Devils on the other hand …
Devils are just as constitutionally incapable of being Good without exposure to some major cosmic forces as demons. Same deal in reverse for Celestials; they're fundamentally Good beings because they're spawned from the Upper Planes, and it takes exposure to heavy duty cosmic evil before there's a risk of them falling. Granted, that's the basic and typically Forgotten Realms-centric lore, DMs can of course come up with their own takes on all of it.
If all else fails there's Custom Lineage from Tasha's.
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By the lore, Tieflings originate from a devil and a human having a baby. the mom is the human and the baby is the Tiefling.
No, by lore that would be a Cambion.
Tieflings are descendents from a tainted bloodline.
Quote:
[...] And to twist the knife, tieflings know that this is because a pact struck generations ago infused the essence of Asmodeus—overlord of the Nine Hells—into their bloodline. Their appearance and their nature are not their fault but the result of an ancient sin, for which they and their children and their children’s children will always be held accountable.
Infernal Bloodline
Tieflings are derived from human bloodlines, and in the broadest possible sense, they still look human. However, their infernal heritage has left a clear imprint on their appearance. [...]
Going strictly by "looks", I would say Tiefling, Dragonborn or one of the 2 Giths. ..or my Changeling idea, to look like anything you have seen before.
Are you planning to play it like Drizzt? Being from a generally "evil" race, but you are not?
Just a quick question: Would Tieflings being evil actually be problematic? I understand that in Forgotten Realms lore Tieflings generally have free will and choose whether to make right and wrong decisions, but would it be an issue if someone made a homebrew campaign/world where all Tieflings were evil due to their infernal and demonic heritage?
Add On: Personally, I see nothing wrong with it.
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