User:Bill/Tainted Hearts

D&D4 revised the background of a lot of races, much to the dissatisfaction of some folks I've met, but I particularly liked what they did with the Teiflings. Tainted hearts kind of emerged out of a conversation that I had regarding the relative merits of D&D4 vs previous editions with one of the regulars from the game played at Abbie's by the DMV in Klamath Falls on Tuesdays. Cody was very helpful in pointing out the significant differences from previous editions, which in turn helped me generate story ideas.

Setting

In the default setting for D&D4, which bears no relation to the previous edition's default setting of Greyhawk, tieflings are the heirs of a fallen human empire which was built on infernal pacts that were sealed by mating with demons. As descendants of these unions, many generations removed, tieflings continue to carry the mark of their demonic heritage. They are grotesquely deformed; usually with horns, abnormal skin and eye colors, clawed hands, forked tongues, and assorted other cosmetic differences.

One difference that Cody pointed out is that children of tieflings and normal humans will inherit the demonic deformities. I suggested that this was because they are in fact cursed, which opens up the possibility of an epic story where one or more tiefling characters attempt to break the curse and become normal people. Alternatively, the players could take a page from Inuyasha and attempt to become a full demon.

Cody also pointed out that because the offspring of a union between human and tiefling will always be a tiefling the world will eventually be overrun by tieflings; which I do not entirely disagree with. On the other hand, polydactylism (having supernumary fingers or toes) is a genetically dominant mutation and remains quite uncommon. For purposes of this game, tiefling populations will be limited by persecution and oppression. That may make this game far less appealing to some. Being a persecuted minority isn't my idea of a good time per se, but I think it opens up a lot of opportunity for great stories. The players can overcome prejudice, teach people that horns and a tail aren't necessarily evil, or they can vent some righteous indignation and embrace their anger. Things can go pretty much any way the players want to take it.

Overall, the default setting for D&D4 is not very fleshed out. Essentially all of the details we have on it are from the race descriptions in the players handbooks. That said it's an interesting melange of lost empires and chaos. Either Sepulcher or Dohlavira would fit in just fine. Alternatively, I could run this as a more traditional D&D game; with the characters starting off as small town adventurers that eventually graduate to become great heroes and rulers of cities. The tiefling description hints at small, wealthy, hidden enclaves of tieflings that trace their ancestry back to the dynasty of Bael Turath. Starting off in one of those would probably work well, though it would significantly reduce the impact of racism on the characters until they get out into the world at large.

Characters

Tieflings, obviously. I wouldn't mind having one or two characters of another race, but I'm really seeing this as a story about tieflings and choosing to be something other than a tiefling may reduce how much attention your character gets. Level one, standard starting gear.

Rules

D&D4 would be my preference, though it wouldn't take much effort to rejig this one for any other edition of D&D or another game entirely.