Tabletop Roleplaying Games (D&D, Pathfinder, CoC, ETC.)

[Big Nasty]

I guess Tieflings are popular mostly because of the sexy devil waifu factor.

 

[White Slaad]

I guess Tieflings are popular mostly because of the sexy devil waifu factor.

I'd argue it has more to do with Tieflings effectively being a Build Your Own Young Adult Main Character Kit. The tiefling has an excuse to grow up persecuted and rejected, has special powers, and still somehow looks drop-dead gorgeous (in their 5e incarnation)—that type of appeal seems to drive a lot of female players to them in my experience. Not to say that coomers and edgelords aren't also factors.

 

[BoobWhiskers]

I'd argue it has more to do with Tieflings effectively being a Build Your Own Young Adult Main Character Kit. The tiefling has an excuse to grow up persecuted and rejected, has special powers, and still somehow looks drop-dead gorgeous (in their 5e incarnation)—that type of appeal seems to drive a lot of female players to them in my experience. Not to say that coomers and edgelords aren't also factors.

I honestly don't know that anyone who plays them even bothers with the whole 'grows up persecuted' part; lord knows it doesnt seem to affect them any in gameplay for the vast majority of them that I've heard described.
I think it's as simple as cool edgy demon boi.

 

[Abella]

I guess Tieflings are popular mostly because of the sexy devil waifu factor.

Part of it is like someone else said about them being the ideal young adult fiction protagonist. Too many people ignore the part about how they’re seen as freaks and undesirables kind of like how half-orcs are seen as rape babies. Reddit’s encouraged people to try to ignore all of their lore since they see them as the perfect character for lgbt players.

Another part of it is that the people who’ve picked up with 5e are usually the types who don’t like the idea of a race being discriminated against. That aspect goes the other way as well with aasimar, since they’re celestial by nature and despise tieflings.

 

[Mega Black]

I guess Tieflings are popular mostly because of the sexy devil waifu factor.

The designated 'special snowflake' race, complete with 'YOU JUST DON'T GET ME MOM' and 'society is the real villain' built in. You can be a special faggy skin-color (but still conventionally attractive) and it ties into the persecution complex that has a deep appeal to several specific groups.

 

[Capsaicin Addict]

What's funny is you can do 99 percent of the whole 'can't find my place in the world' angst bit with a stock race: half-elf. And it'll probably generate 100 percent less heartburn for a GM.

 

[Corn Flakes]

What's funny is you can do 99 percent of the whole 'can't find my place in the world' angst bit with a stock race: half-elf. And it'll probably generate 100 percent less heartburn for a GM.

Exactly.

You can do that with any race, too. Just play it against stereotype. A sober, clean-shaven dwarf, for example. Or have your character be shunned by his people due to something his parents/ancestors did. Or give your character a very large disfiguring scar. Or have your character be albino. Or wear clothes that immediately identify them as a foreigner to these lands. The possibilities are endless, and while you can tell cool stories with tiefling (credit where it's due), people using tiefling solely because of the "omg im so tragik guise" angle are usually just fucking lazy.

The legions of Drizzt Do'Urden clones in the 90s and early 00s already ran that trope to the ground, after all.

 

[Adamska]

What's funny is you can do 99 percent of the whole 'can't find my place in the world' angst bit with a stock race: half-elf. And it'll probably generate 100 percent less heartburn for a GM.

Mechanically half-elves are the most dogshit race you could pick. I know, very munchkin and powergamer-esque in response but it's true nonetheless. All you get is a more garbage version of a human or an elf. Half-orc has more flavor, does the same thing, and benefits than half-elf. HALF-ORCS.

 

[Capsaicin Addict]

Mechanically half-elves are the most dogshit race you could pick. I know, very munchkin and powergamer-esque in response but it's true nonetheless. All you get is a more garbage version of a human or an elf. Half-orc has more flavor, does the same thing, and benefits than half-elf. HALF-ORCS.

In which system?

Because half-orcs are just as much fucking garbage in 3E. Yeah, half-elves aren't great in 3E but the half-orcs basically lose 2 attribute points for... darkvision.

Hoo fucking ray.

 

[Adamska]

In which system?

Because half-orcs are just as much fucking garbage in 3E. Yeah, half-elves aren't great in 3E but the half-orcs basically lose 2 attribute points for... darkvision.

Hoo fucking ray.

You forgot they do get a STR bonus in 3.x too dude. Half-elves don't even get that.

 

[Dr. Pasquale]

For DMs in here: do you attempt to crack down on exotic races or strange class combos or just let players do whatever as long as it isn't absurd/overly broken?

Feels like I'm seeing more and more people in my friend circle picking new classes and races that are definitely more fun in the sense that they're not the usual fare but it feels like behind it all is a weird attempt to min-max. Obviously we're all here to have a good time but something about some of the classes and abilities seems like feature creep that I cannot help but think will result in the DM cranking the difficulty up to compensate.

Anything goes as long as its reasonable enough. I'm thankful that my players have a basic understanding that weird "freakshit" characters are not the same as memorable ones, so they at least try to think of a cool concept and backstory before deciding to play a minotaur artificer or whatever the fuck.

 

[Snekposter]

I honestly don't know that anyone who plays them even bothers with the whole 'grows up persecuted' part; lord knows it doesnt seem to affect them any in gameplay for the vast majority of them that I've heard described.
I think it's as simple as cool edgy demon boi.

Only time I'd consider playing Tiefling is to run a Dante expy. I am simultaneously sad and glad you can't finesse a greatsword or your fists... then again, there's that Kensei archetype for monks...

 

[Ghostse]

For DMs in here: do you attempt to crack down on exotic races or strange class combos or just let players do whatever as long as it isn't absurd/overly broken?

Feels like I'm seeing more and more people in my friend circle picking new classes and races that are definitely more fun in the sense that they're not the usual fare but it feels like behind it all is a weird attempt to min-max. Obviously we're all here to have a good time but something about some of the classes and abilities seems like feature creep that I cannot help but think will result in the DM cranking the difficulty up to compensate.

Depends on the world and the person. I usually limit games to "Hard-bound official releases only" which cuts out most of the most unbalanced shit, but I'll flex a bit more for a player I know. For one-shots/megas I usually pre-gen so its not an issue, but if a player has a good concept for a character that's not the menu I'll either allow it or have them reskin as some varient of an approved race.

As @EnemyStand said, limiting to core books usually removes most of the worst.

 

[40 Year Old Boomer]

Only time I'd consider playing Tiefling is to run a Dante expy. I am simultaneously sad and glad you can't finesse a greatsword or your fists... then again, there's that Kensei archetype for monks...

Hexblade warlock with pact of the blade uses Charisma for attacks. The only real way to get good damage with unarmed combat with a dex character is to go full monk or take a 1 level dip into the class and get the Fighting Initiate feat and take Unarmed Fighting for a d6 damage/d8 if your off hand is empty. Can't use armor, though, with that.

 

[Snekposter]

Hexblade warlock with pact of the blade uses Charisma for attacks. The only real way to get good damage with unarmed combat with a dex character is to go full monk or take a 1 level dip into the class and get the Fighting Initiate feat and take Unarmed Fighting for a d6 damage/d8 if your off hand is empty. Can't use armor, though, with that.

Who needs armor when you have a stylish trenchcoat, though?

 

[Capsaicin Addict]

You forgot they do get a STR bonus in 3.x too dude. Half-elves don't even get that.

And? Unless you're doing the turbo autist 'roll six times in order, no swaps', they are effectively two points down from every other base race.

C'mon, I know you can crunch the math here. This isn't Pathfinder (even Paizo wised up on this one).

Meanwhile, the half-elf gets immunity to sleep spells, +2 to saves vs enchantment spells or effects, low light vision (more useful than you'd think), +1 to listen, search, and spot, and +2 to diplomacy and gather information. Not bad for 3E.

 

[Adamska]

And? Unless you're doing the turbo autist 'roll six times in order, no swaps', they are effectively two points down from every other base race.

Still more memorable than half-elves, which have the same statblocks as humans but without the bonus skill points and free feat which are always useful. And elves, which have all the other things listed but better.

C'mon, I know you can crunch the math here. This isn't Pathfinder (even Paizo wised up on this one).

A half-orc would be more useful statistically just from having better STR than a half-elf. At least you'd have more bang as a dumb martial character anyway with half-orcs, doing on average 3 points more damage per hit. Half-elves are the spork of the DnD setting, useless compared to its parents.

Meanwhile, the half-elf gets immunity to sleep spells

Only better than fear spells and basically worthless given how early on they become trivial.

+2 to saves vs enchantment spells or effects,

Shittiest spell group in the game outside of illusions.

low light vision (more useful than you'd think)

Yeah you don't get to try to justify this after poo'ing over darkvision dude. Don't even kid.

+1 to listen, search, and spot,

+1 extra skill per level as human, better bonus as an elf.

and +2 to diplomacy and gather information. Not bad for 3E.

Yeah no. Diplomacy is so easy to cheese it's not even funny.

I'm sorry, but Half-elves just fill a pointless niche for me.

 

[Wormy]

I'd argue it has more to do with Tieflings effectively being a Build Your Own Young Adult Main Character Kit. The tiefling has an excuse to grow up persecuted and rejected, has special powers, and still somehow looks drop-dead gorgeous (in their 5e incarnation)—that type of appeal seems to drive a lot of female players to them in my experience. Not to say that coomers and edgelords aren't also factors.

So does Deviant: The Renegades, but it somehow didn't manage that massive appeal.

 

[Abella]

I was thinking a bit more about how tieflings are hated by the commoners. Wouldn’t the aasimar be treated the opposite since they’re celestial by nature and not considered horned freaks?

 

[Depths of Homolust]

So does Deviant: The Renegades, but it somehow didn't manage that massive appeal.

That's because White Wolf has always been a retarded company with a seeming inability to design a functioning tabletop game.