Tieflings
"THE CHIEFTAIN WHO LEADS THEM," THUEL ASKED,
"what do we know of him?"
"His name is Kathrik Mel. He inspires tremendous loyalty
in the barbarians, an almost religious fervor."
"He's a demon?"
"I don't think so. The Ghaash'kala call him a sak'vanar
rak-it translates as something like }lend-touched.' A Karrn
scholar coined the word tiejling. I think he's some mixture of
fiend and mortal, more like a savior than a god."
Thuelfrowned. "Their savior, our damnation."
-J ames Wyatt, Dragon ForgeTieflings rarely appear in the cities and towns of Khor
vaire, with most dwelling at the fringes of civilization.
Many tieflings are born to the Carrion Tribes, the
barbarians who live in the Demon Wastes. Such tief
lings are touched by the fiendish forces bound beneath
the Wastes, and the tribes consider them to be blessed.
If you're playing such a tiefling, why have you left the
Wastes? It could be that you were destined for some evil
purpose-perhaps even serving as an avatar for an im
prisoned Overlord-and you are fleeing that destiny.
Other tieflings are shaped not by fiendish powers,
but by the influence of the fiend-tainted planes. Such
tieflings might be born in manifest zones, where a plane
exerts influence over a region. Planar tieflings are oddi
ties, often seen as strange but not necessarily evil.
Finally, the Venomous Demesne-a city-state hidden
on the far side of Droaam-is populated by tieflings.
These tieflings descend from Sarlonan mages who
bargained with dark powers, with the Demesne's lords
being powerful warlocks and wizards. The Venomous
Demesne has had no significant contact with the Five
Nations and few know it exists. Yo ur character could be
an envoy or exile from it, or simply an adventurer driven
by a desire to see what lies beyond your homeland.Warforged
"PIERCE WAS BUILT BY DESIGN, WHILE YOU WERE BUILT
by accident," Lakashtai said. "The soul is what matters, not
the shape of the vessel."
"What makes you think he has a soul?" Gerrion said.
"What makes you thinkyou do?"- Keith Baker, The Shattered Land
The warforged were built to fight in the Last War. While
the first warforged were mindless automatons, House
Cannith devoted vast resources to improving these steel
soldiers. An unexpected breakthrough produced sapient
soldiers, giving rise to what some have only grudgingly
accepted as a new species. Warforged are made from
wood and metal, but they can feel pain and emotion.
Built as weapons, they must now find a purpose beyond
war. A warforged can be a steadfast ally, a cold-hearted
killer, or a visionary in search of meaning.
LIVING STEEL AND STONE
Warforged are formed from a blend of organic and inor
ganic materials. Root-like cords infused with alchemical
fluids serve as their muscles, wrapped around a frame
work of steel, darkwood, or stone. Armored plates form
a protective outer shell and reinforce joints. Warforged
share a common facial design, with a hinged jaw and
crystal eyes embedded beneath a reinforced brow ridge.
Beyond these common elements of warforged design,
the precise materials and build of a warforged vary
based on the purpose for which it was designed.
Although they were manufactured, warforged are
living humanoids. Resting, healing magic, and the Medi
cine skill all provide the same benefits to warforged that
they do to other humanoids.WA RFORGED PERSONALITY
The warforged were built to serve and to fight. For most
of their existence, warforged had a clearly defined func
tion and were encouraged to fo cus purely on that role.
The Treaty of Thronehold gave them freedom, but many
still struggle both to find a place in the post-war world
and to relate to the creatures who created them.
The typical warforged shows little emotion. Many
warforged embrace a concrete purpose-such as
protecting allies, completing a contract, or exploring
a land-and embrace this task as they once did war.
However, there are warforged who delight in exploring
their feelings, their freedom, and their relationships
with others. Most warforged have no interest in reli
gion, but some embrace faith and mysticism, seeking
higher purpose and deeper meaning.
The typical warforged has a sexless body shape.
Some warforged ignore the concept of gender entirely,
while others adopt a gender identity.
The more a warforged develops its individuality, the
more likely it is to modify its body, seeking out an artifi
cer to customize the look of its face, limbs, and plating.UIRKS
Warforged often display an odd personality trait or two,
given how new they are to the world. The Warforged
Quirks table contains example quirks.WARFORGED QUIRKS
d8 Quirk
You analyze-out loud-the potential threat posed
by every creature you meet.
2 You often misread emotional cues.
3 You are fiercely protective of your fr iends.
4 You try to apply wartime discipline to every situation.
5 You don't know how to filter your fe elings and are
prone to dramatic emotional outbursts.
6 You don't understand clothing beyond its utility and
assume it denotes a person's fu nction.(^7) You are obsessed with your appearance and con
stantly polish and buff yo urself.
8 War is the only thing that makes sense to you, and
you're always looking for a fight.
CHAPTER 1 I CHARACTER CREATION
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