REGARDING TIEFLINGS PURE-BORN FROM LAWFUL PLANES

or THE EFFECTS OF PHILOSOPHIC RADIATION ON THE UNBORN

by: Grisgold Bookbinderson FOO(SD)*

As most people know, tieflings are beings (generally of humanoid origin, but
not necessarily) who possess a Lower Planar taint. Normally, one thinks of a
basher with a fiendish ancestor - i.e. a pit fiend grandfather or a succubus
mum. This excludes an important group of tieflings; namely, those born of
normal parents, but changed by the influence of the plane. Of interest to
the FOO PCASABLOMTD** are the tieflings of this type residing in the planes
of Acheron and Baator. Herein is contained a listing of common traits found
among plane-caused tieflings, according to planar layer. I will note here
that not only do planes influence the birth of a tiefling, but so do
*realms*. Current theory holds that this is due to godly power saturating
the region. This power can even leak beyond the borders of the god's realm.
Other traits may relate to the landscape, inhabitants, phenomena, and
artifacts of a plane.

Acheron - Tieflings influenced by the nature of Acheron are generally
violent, gloomy, and bloody-minded. Most go on to careers in the military or
military-support. Grey or black colorations are common.

     Acherian Traits:
     - totally grey/black eyes
     - black/grey skin/hair
     - personality (violent, gloomy, bloody-minded)

Avalas - The most populous layer of Acheron, Avalas produces many tieflings.
Given the warlike nature of the place, it is un-suprising that this place
gives rise to living weapons. Tieflings with arms ending in axes, swords and
spears. Others who look like casualties of war, as arrows grow from within
or are born with gaping wounds. Some are born with living armour, their
bones and tissues forming protective plates. The cubes of Avalas take their
toll, also. Tieflings are born with strange blocky bodies, as though they
were sacks of skin filled with miniature cubes. Others have bones formed in
squares and rectangles. Some have skin of iron and others show an unusual
form of club-foot, in which the foot is shaped like a cube (this can affect
hands as well). The two largest pantheons of Acheron cause changes in the
children of this layer, causing humans (and others) to be born with orcish
or goblinoid features. Orcs and goblins give birth to tieflings of their
race displaying traits relating to their deities.

Notable tieflings: Warwagon (pl/male tiefling/F5/LE) is one of the largest
suppliers of weapons in Acheron, head of Battle Wake Weapons, a subsidiary
of the Planar Trade Consortium. Warwagon looks like a normal human being,
save for the fact that arrow-like spines grow from his body. A first glance,
he looks like a casualty of war. The arrow-spines fall out roughly every 24
hours (new ones grow in), and these are fitted and sold. Wartus (pl/m
tiefling/F3/Guvner/LN) is one of the Fraternity of Order's local contacts.
Born to human parents, Wartus looks like a half-orc, and his body has the
"sack of cubes" look found here. Wartus keeps a kip in Carrion, a bird
infested burg on a cube about three days out from Nishrek.

Daughter Faalar Barrenstriker (pl/f tiefling/P11/LE) is a priestess of
Luthic. She takes a radical view of the goals of her Power, though,
believing that females are to wrest control of orcish society from the
males. She maintains a safehouse for female orcs far from the orcish cubes.
She has skin of iron, and is sexually appealing to any humanoid (a tiefling
trait due to energies from a temple of Luthic,who promotes fertility). She
is a man-hater, and rabid about her cause, which is well suited for the
Plane of Lost Causes.

Commander Hrunt-gutl (pl/m tiefling/F9/LE) is a low born goblin,
plane-touched in such a way that he has black skin, glowing red eyes, and is
always cloaked in a thick cloud of black smoke. Many goblins think he
resembles Maglubiyet, and he has used that fact to gain position in the
goblinoid armies. Most of the other commanders hate him, and plots to
assassinate him are common. However, a group of priests have decided to
sponsor him as a proxy, and therefore guard him well.

     Avalan Traits:
     - weapon or armour-like body structures
     - cube-like body structures
     - orcish or goblinoid features
     - traits related to local powers (i.e. one eye)
     - iron skin

Thuldanin - The junkyard of the planes, Thuldanin causes effects similar to
Mechanus' aasimar or a Fleshmonger creation. Tieflings born here have
mechanical arms, plates of metal growing on their bodies, mechanical
innards, and other techo-magical abberations. Others are caused by chemicals
and energies of various types escaping from the devices. Iron skin and cubic
body structures are also found here.

Notable tieflings: Visstaviel Hoonpar (pl/m tiefling/Mercykiller/LE) is the
son of a gnome researching the devices found in this layer. Several months
spent here caused her son to be born with partly mechanical arms. These arms
end in a collection of folding blades, like an Arcadian Army Knife. Born in
Sigil, Visstaviel currently works in the Mercykiller headquarters in
Acheron.

Grovelscrape (pl/n tiefling/Guvner/CG) works as an inventor/mechanic in
Sigil's Lower Ward. Grovelscrape is genderless, albino, and extremely thin.
His eyes are pure white and bulge like a cave lizard's. Energies from the
scrapped magic engines of this layer caused these changes. Born to human
parents in a nameless hamlet built from the junk of Thuldanin, Grovelscape
ran away at a young age, heading to Sigil. Due to a fascination with
mechanical devices (an effect of his home-plane), he fell in with the tinker
gnome community in Sigil. He now runs Spanner and Gear Repairs, which
repairs machines, equipment, and modrons.

     Thuldanian Traits
     - mechanical body-parts***
     - iron skin
     - cube-like body structures
     - random changes from junk

Tintibulus - Sadly, this scholar has little information on this layer of
Acheron. Tieflings from this layer exhibit iron skin, grey/black coloration,
and a modified cube-like body structure. Additionally, some have ioun
stone-like polyhedral shapes which float about them.**** These range in size
from that of dice to the size of a grapefruit, and are weird organic
extensions of the tiefling's body.

Notable tieflings - Sally O'Bairn (px [Titania]/f tiefling/Ba/CG) is
Titania's eyes and ears in Sigil. A pretty lass with iron grey hair and a
collection of floating bits (7 - 2 cubes, 1 dodecahedron, 1 tetrahedron, 3
octahedrons), she is well-connected in many circles and plays at many
taverns throughout the Cage. Hailing from Corruption of Justice in
Tintibulus, Sally's kin are Red Death elves. She was expelled from the clan
and a blood-price put on her head. From there, she took up planewalking,
eventually falling in with the Seelie Court.

     Tintibulan Traits
     - organic polyhedral floaters
     - polyhedral bodily structures
     - iron skin
     - grey/black colorations

Ocanthus - Home of the bladelings, this layer is so inhospitable that few
tieflings come from here. Those that do come from the city of the
bladelings, and are indistinguishable from bladeling tieflings*****.

Notable tieflings: Nifson (pl/m tiefling/CN) is a poor soul born to a
diplomat who stayed in the bladeling city too long. Only 9 years old, he's
the worry of the Bleakers. Blind and mute, Nifson's eyes are blades jutting
from his sockets and his tounge is a blade. His fingers also end in blades.
Nifson sits in his cell in the Gatehouse, crying and tearing up his face
with his fingers. His mother Anna Tellos (pr/f human/Transcendant Order/NG)
visits him twice a week, and a steady stream of bladelings visit him
(exactly why is a mystery).

Ocanthian Traits - see bladelings traits

(to be continued - Baatorian Tieflings)

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* FOO(SD) - Fraternity of Order (Sigil Division)

** FOO PCASABLOMTD - Fraternity of Order Planar Census, Antropology Survey,
and Big List of Many Things Department

*** DM's Note - This probably should not be allowed for PCs.

**** DM's Note - The effect is rather like having a sack of game dice
floating around the character's head.

***** Bladeling tieflings will be got round to eventually. I swear. Honest.

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I hope y'all liked this bit. None of the above tieflings have fiendish
ancestors. All are purely planetouched. Feel free to modify this as you see
fit.

© Chris Nichols 1997