Roleplaying a Tiefling. [PF]

[Dragvandil]

I get to play a unique Tiefling. He gets to start his life as a human, and live as a human for 60 years, and at 60, he turns in to a Tiefling.

Horns, tail, red skin, the good stuff.

Pretty sold on the transformation to be agonizing.

And I could use some input on how to play him.

[andromax]

Well those most that a tiefling would have to change his apperance to that of a human is a disturbing demeanor, or smell like brimstone (maybe he's also a blacksmith? lol) as per their racial entry. So he doesn't have to have horns or anything. Just an FYI.

[Alefiend]

You've got to narrow it down a bit, both for yourself and for anybody who wants to help you in this thread.


Does he know he's going to change?
Is he looking forward to it or apprehensive about it if so?
Does he know it's going to hurt?
Is he naturally of good intentions, or evil, or neither?
What class or classes are you planning?
What level are you starting at, and what age (presumably not 60)?
Does he know who his nonhuman parent/ancestor is?


The more of these you can get a handle on, the better you'll understand the character, and the better advice you'll receive.

[Dragvandil]

But where is the fun in that? :p

Besides, i am pretty sold on the tail.

[Dragvandil]

To answer questions

yes

apprehensive because...

He is positive it'll hurt

He is mostly of neutral intention.

Magus

Level 1, and I haven't cemented an age but isn't the standard age 60?

He does not. He knows its his grandmother and that she was taking a human form. But that is all he knows about her.

[Psyren]

If you want to know how to play him mechanically, there should be a Magus handbook or some other Magus advice threads floating around.

If it's roleplay advice, you need to figure out how he will react to his new fiendish appearance, and more importantly how others will react to him. How are tieflings perceived in your setting? How common are they in his locale? Are they generally mistrusted or mistreated, or are they seen as no different than everyone else? In a devil-venerating society, they may even be revered, or his transformation considered a gift/honor.

Your class is important too. How did he become a Magus? Did he have a mentor, or receive formal education in a group setting (like a college or military), or did he sort of figure it out on his own? Did he specifically set out to be a Magus, or was he trying to be something else (like a wizard or fighter) and end up blending the two styles by instinct/accident? How are Magi, or spellcasters in general, perceived?

And finally, to blend the avenues of roleplay and mechanics - is there a specific archetype of Magus you were considering, or did you want to stay with the basic class? For instance, Bladebound involves a much different approach (both mechanically and fluffwise) than, say, a Staff Magus.

[Dragvandil]

Easier questions first. Bladebound/Hexcrafter magus.


And the Magus handbook is bookmarked already. :D (It actually is what pointed me in the direction of the Tiefling)

Magi are mostly drifters, with only a few schools/temples existing for the training of Magi. They are viewed much like other spell casting classes, but often find a warmer reception because of their more tangible blade skills. Magi are as likely to have learned their craft from wanderers as they are from formal training. Alastor (my tiefling) learned from his father.

In setting Tieflings been around long enough to not be completely hated, but most people still treat them like they might suddenly explode and turn in to monsters. They aren't always the most welcome in Human cities but they often get along fairly well in them. Elves are standoffish towards them, Dwarves treat them like half orcs, and other races treat them much like humans do.

They have known since he was young that he was a Tiefling and that the transformation was inevitable, so in many ways he has been preparing himself for a long long time. He was hoping to be more human, but he knows that this is something that has been coming and that these transformations tend to be extreme. He is going to have to adjust to actually being a Tiefling, where before he had been perceived as human. He isn't going to smell like brimstone, which he is going to be rather enthusiastic about, instead when glanced he takes on a rather terrifying visage. (As if he is coated in blood and on fire.) and his reflection is going to do all sorts of weird things. From being non existent to acting on its own.

He is hoping to get used to his new self, and carve out a place for his people, who he knows he is more fortunate then for his talents and upbringing. A place for them to be safe and secure in their own lands.

I guess this would give him a dry or biting humor and a dis-taste for the whole "Good vs. Evil" thing, seeing as how he and his people are basically caught in the crossfire. The unwanted children of two races.

[Chained Birds]

Anytime I make a Tiefling, they don't turn out how most see them. I believe the common appearance is that of a brimstone fire blasting caster who sheets the land in terror and ash while laugh maniacally (Aka: All Tieflings are naturally evil while all Assimars are naturally good).

My Tieflings turn into the most depressed people ever due to becoming something they never wanted to become, and automatically given the aspect or smell of an evil being regardless of their actual alignment. Because of this, I see many Tieflings in this light and play them out as loathsome individuals who dauble is their classes just to remove themselves from the everyday struggle of not hanging themselves with their own new demonic tail.

On a brighter note, most of the Tiefling characters I make do have happy endings. Most of them. :smallfrown:

[Kelb_Panthera]

What about what came before the change?

The character didn't just sit on his thumbs for sixty years. Why is it that he never once leveled up in all that time -or- how does he feel about starting over at level one.

*Note: I do know that level is a metagame concept, I'm simply using it as short-hand for the growth in power and experience that levels represent.

[Dragvandil]

CB: I like that perspective. I'll be sure to add some brood to the mixture.

The first 20 years he grew and developed pretty much as a normal human and then more or less rammed into a developmental brick wall. From a young age he started learning the path of the Magus and has spent most of his adult life checking in on his relatives (His twin, but non tiefling, brother having inherited the family holdings and estates at 25, and having passed them down to his son who is now 30ish.) since the first generation has mostly died out the rest of the family isn't so fond of him, and short of his nephew they already don't like him. in between hunting down any and all rumors of a cure or preventative measures. As such he knows a lot about his more unique situation and his race, possibly more then any other living Tiefling. But 40 years of travel and study has failed to net him a cure or other treatment. He has found some vague mentions of a cure that will stop his transformation, but nothing particularly descriptive, and Tieflings not being viewed exclusively as monsters is a relatively new thing in his world. So someone who did manage to find a cure to a measure to stop the transformation, wouldn't go around shouting about it.

His most prominent lead and evidence of the cure was a journal of a Tiefling who found the cure, but wasn't able to take it before the transformation. He mentions a few sources as well as a few materials but seems hesitant about the cure. After transformation the cure has no effect.

His increasingly desperate quest for a cure has left his studies and advancement on somewhat of a hold.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Okay, from what you've got so far I'm seeing this guy as either having some serious self-confidence issues which could manifest in several ways or he's nuttier than a squirrel turd.

Lets explore the former a bit :smallwink:

Self-confidence issues can manifest as excessive shyness, trying to keep the world at bay so they won't judge him except by his appearance. That way they can't see what a failure he is. This option, as a primary character trait, doesn't make for a particularly compelling adventurer and that kind of brooding needs to be handled with care to avoid irritating or bumming out the other players.

It can also manifest as false bravado; the character shouting his merits and awesomeness from the rooftops (just how literal you want to take that is up to you). This would likely be coupled with a strong sense of having something to prove, which can lead to throwing himself recklessly into whatever is in front of him.

Obviously, either one of these traits alone would make for a pretty one-dimensional, and somewhat unbelievable character, so mixing the two is highly encouraged. These traits would also be colored by past events in the character's life and the relationships with specific individuals.

If you feel like it, you can add a touch of madness by incorporating some psychological breaks associated with these issues. Denial manifesting as extreme overconfidence, for example, or a disassociated sense of past failures; that is, he knows about his failures, but in his mind its like they happened to someone else. This could even be taken as far as delusion, where he actually believes his failures happened to someone else and that he bailed them out instead of the other way around.

Then, of course, theres the flat-out psychological break. His transformation was the straw that broke the camel's back and his behaviour has become erratic leading him to set nonsensical goals or to believe the impossible to be objective truth, or perhaps even hallucinations relating to infernal influence all around him.

Hope that helps some.

[Dragvandil]

It helps some, but I dont see him as broken just yet. Definitely severely bent, but not broken yet.

He has spent 40 some years looking for the cure, but he has been coping with the chance that it very well might no longer exist.

Brood will be added in to his after transformation but I see him as more indomitable, but prone to bouts of depression.

I will be incorporating some of the disassociation, feeling like who he was before the transformation and who he is after are almost different people. Might translate that into some Bravado, and definitely into a thirst for power. Sort of a "If I can't escape my curse, then I'll embrace it."

Actually the more I think about him, the more liberated I think he will feel after the transformation. Sort of like a Fight Club-esque, "I have hit rock bottom" sort of thing. Definitely some nasty depression, but he has spent his human life trying so hard to be human and to fit in there, and now he sees that effort as futile and even though his transformation has been painful and he has had to adjust to society he feels more sure of himself, and almost ashamed of his search for a cure.

Maybe Im the one nuttier then a fruit cake? @_@