Homebrew Abyssal Tiefling Species Details

The Child of a demon is never accepted and the love of their parents is as fleeting and chaotic as they are.

~Raistlin Majere 

 

Abyssal Tieflings are used to being untrusted even by their infernal brethren due to the chaos that permeates their very being though this does not effect their alignment. 

Abyssal Bloodline

Tieflings are derived from human bloodlines, and in the broadest possible sense, they still look human. However, their abyssal heritage has left a clear imprint on their appearance. Tieflings have asymmetrical horns that take any of a variety of shapes: some have curling horns like a ram, others have straight and tall horns like a gazelle’s, and some spiral upward like an antelopes’ horns. They have thick tails which can take many forms, four to five feet long, which lash or coil around their legs when they get upset or nervous. Their canine teeth are sharply pointed, and their eyes are always different colors—black, red, white, silver, or gold. Their skin tones cover the full range of human coloration, but also include various shades of red, purple, blue and other unnatural colors they could also have fur scales or other coverings . Their hair, cascading down from behind their horns, is usually dark, from black or brown to dark red, blue, or purple.

Self-Reliant and Suspicious

Tieflings subsist in small minorities found mostly in human cities or towns, often in the roughest quarters of those places, where they grow up to be swindlers, thieves, or crime lords. Sometimes they live among other minority populations in enclaves where they are treated with more respect.

Lacking a homeland, tieflings know that they have to make their own way in the world and that they have to be strong to survive. They are not quick to trust anyone who claims to be a friend, but when a tiefling’s companions demonstrate that they trust him or her, the tiefling learns to extend the same trust to them. And once a tiefling gives someone loyalty, the tiefling is a firm friend or ally for life.

Tiefling Names

Tiefling names fall into three broad categories. Tieflings born into another culture typically have names reflective of that culture. Some have names derived from the Infernal language, passed down through generations, that reflect their fiendish heritage. And some younger tieflings, striving to find a place in the world, adopt a name that signifies a virtue or other concept and then try to embody that concept. For some, the chosen name is a noble quest. For others, it’s a grim destiny.

Male Abyssal Names: Akmenos, Amnon, Barakas, Damakos, Ekemon, Iados, Kairon, Leucis, Melech, Mordai, Morthos, Pelaios, Skamos, Therai

Female Abyssal Names: Akta, Anakis, Bryseis, Criella, Damaia, Ea, Kallista, Lerissa, Makaria, Nemeia, Orianna, Phelaia, Rieta

“Virtue” Names: Art, Carrion, Chant, Creed, Despair, Excellence, Fear, Glory, Hope, Ideal, Music, Nowhere, Open, Poetry, Quest, Random, Reverence, Sorrow, Temerity, Torment, Weary

MUTUAL MISTRUST

People tend to be suspicious of Abyssal tieflings even more so than their infernal cousins, assuming that their Abyssal heritage has left its mark on their personality and morality, not just their appearance. merchants keep a close eye on their goods when tieflings enter their stores, the town watch might follow a tiefling around for a while, and demagogues blame tieflings for strange happenings especially when chaos abounds. The reality, though, is that a tiefling’s bloodline doesn’t affect his or her personality to any great degree. Years of dealing with mistrust does leave its mark on most tieflings, and they respond to it in different ways. Some choose to live up to the wicked stereotype, but others are virtuous. Most are simply very aware of how people respond to them. After dealing with this mistrust throughout youth, a tiefling often develops the ability to overcome prejudice through charm or intimidation.

Abyssal Tiefling Traits

Abyssal Tieflings share certain racial traits as a result of their Demonic descent.

Ability Score Increase

Your Dexterity or Wisdom score increases by 1, and your Charisma score increases by 2.

Age

Abyssal Tieflings mature at the same rate as humans but live ten times longer.

Size

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

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet. You gain either a climbing flying or swimming speed equal to your walking speed.

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.

Chaotic Resistance

You have resistance to one of 4 types of damage which changes each day.

Abyssal Legacy

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 Arcana Spells (d6)

For each result, access to the the 1st, 2nd and 3rd spells is granted at 1st, 3rd and 5th level respectively.

1 - Dancing lights, Burning hands, Alter self

‍2 - True strike, Charm person, Darkness

‍3 - Light, Magic missile, Invisibility

4 - Message, Cure wounds, Levitate

‍5 - Spare the dying, Tasha's hideous laughter, Mirror Image

‍6 - Prestidigitation, Thunderwave, Spider climb

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Abyssal.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Abyssal.