(Fluff help) Tiefling Paladin

[KnightOfV]

So, I've rolled up a Tiefling Paladin (un-optimal i know, but the flavor is just too cool:smallamused:) and am trying to flesh him out a bit. Looking for ideas to toss to the DM for next session.

The idea is he swore an Oath of Vengence to kill evil, as he hopes that by killing enough monsters he can sate his own bloodlust while, idealy, not being damned to the hells for his cursed blood when he dies. He basically wants all tieflings -and the rest of humanity- free to make their own destiny and not be controlled by devils, or gods or what have you.

Cool things about this edition: Paladin's Oaths are enough to access divine magic (deity not required!), and holy symbols can be 'sacred relics'.



Problem: I need a 'sacred relic' for a spell focus, and don't want it to be just some lame deity's symbol. I'm blanking on ideas for this one.

So what kind of 'Sacred relic' should a non-religious Tiefling Avenger have? Any other cool things I can do to make him distinctive from more traditional pallies?

[archaeo]

It seems like the sacred relic should be tied to the character's infernal bloodline.

One idea that comes to mind is an amulet with a cloudy dark jewel, which holds the blood of the character's demonic ancestors. Perhaps the character comes from a line of Tieflings that have made this oath, and the character plans on adding to the collection. Or perhaps he stole it from those ancestors in order to seal his oath.

However, I think you should consider where the character comes from and let that help inform the decision. If the character was imprisoned, maybe the Oath is personified via a now-elaborately-engraved shackle that still remains. Or maybe it's a trophy from some life-defining incident, like a memento from his Tiefling family that was crushed by an infernal takeover.

[Ballbo Big'Uns]

So, I've rolled up a Tiefling Paladin (un-optimal i know, but the flavor is just too cool:smallamused:) and am trying to flesh him out a bit. Looking for ideas to toss to the DM for next session.

The idea is he swore an Oath of Vengence to kill evil, as he hopes that by killing enough monsters he can sate his own bloodlust while, idealy, not being damned to the hells for his cursed blood when he dies. He basically wants all tieflings -and the rest of humanity- free to make their own destiny and not be controlled by devils, or gods or what have you.

Cool things about this edition: Paladin's Oaths are enough to access divine magic (deity not required!), and holy symbols can be 'sacred relics'.



Problem: I need a 'sacred relic' for a spell focus, and don't want it to be just some lame deity's symbol. I'm blanking on ideas for this one.

So what kind of 'Sacred relic' should a non-religious Tiefling Avenger have? Any other cool things I can do to make him distinctive from more traditional pallies?

Baphomet's horn as a spear head.

[KnightOfV]

@archaeo: Awww yea. Just the kind of inspiration I was looking for. Good stuff, I particularly like the amulet idea. :smallbiggrin:

@Ballbo: heh, nice name. Might be a little too demonic for a char that Hates fiends :smalltongue:

[archaeo]

@archaeo: Awww yea. Just the kind of inspiration I was looking for. Good stuff, I particularly like the amulet idea. :smallbiggrin:

I'm gonna be honest with you, KnightOfV: I "borrowed" the idea from Adventure Time, with Finn's demon blood sword, though I think "magical artifact powered by demon blood" is not exactly something Adventure Time came up with either.

I do think it'd be pretty cool if, every time the Paladin killed a demon, he added a little blood to the jewel. It's even a great way to fluff the Paladin's powers, gaining in divine might with each drop of infernal blood. This kind of thing is also a gift for a creative DM, since I think it would make for a pretty powerful plot hook for your character. An adventure to get more infernal blood! An adventure when the infernal blood begins to fight back! Etc.!

[EvilAnagram]

A small, tarnished necklace that belonged to your mother.

You used to play with it as it dangled from her neck when she sang to you as a child. The rest of the city looked at you with fear and hatred, but she was a well of kindness in an unkind world. When you were a teenager, the mob came for you, and she hid you away in a nearby alley. They broke down her door, beat her, and burned down your house, but she would not give you up. To the very end, when they threw her onto the flames, she would not give you up. Sobbing as you made your way through the rubble, you found it still wrapped around her charred bones. The bones cracked and fell apart as you picked it up, wrapping it around your fist. You never cried again. You had something. Something to focus on. A conduit for all your rage and pain. It would guide you.

You would have justice.

The next day the man who led the crowd, who threw her onto the flames, was found dead and... mutilated in the square, the strange circular design on the necklace carved into his face. Several more bodies were found, two houses burned, all of it necessary. You carved her symbol into each of them, proclaiming their crime to the world. You left that city when you had finished the grim work of justice, and you will never return.

The world is unjust. Uncaring. Unkind. Gods and fiends play games while the little people suffer and die for their amusement. You will not stand by and accept this. You shall protect the innocent. You shall purge the wicked. You shall become Justice incarnate.

[Ballbo Big'Uns]

@Ballbo: heh, nice name. Might be a little too demonic for a char that Hates fiends :smalltongue:

Could also be a trophy from some vanquished lesser fiend, like a fighter who breaks the swords of her enemies and has the sundered hilts worked onto her armor.

[KnightOfV]

The world is unjust. Uncaring. Unkind. Gods and fiends play games while the little people suffer and die for their amusement. You will not stand by and accept this. You shall protect the innocent. You shall purge the wicked. You shall become Justice incarnate.

I Wish there was a 'favorite' button on this forum. Simple, yet evocative. Grim and dramatic. Just the thing for a tortured antihero tiefling. Awesome



@archaeo: Adventure Time! hahaha, how did I not catch that. Still a cool idea though.

[Shining Wrath]

I rolled up a Paladin Tiefling as well.
My thought was he was a member of a merchant clan that traveled from city to city selling fine silks (and doing a little smuggling on the side). They were forced to camp outside the city because of anti-Tiefling prejudice, and then the desert bandits came and slaughtered almost everyone. One compassionate guard opened the postern gate and let the future paladin into the city, and was fired for doing so. The guard was impressed by his courage and skill as he stood with his back to the wall selling his life as dear as possible.

So originally, the Oath is to kill the desert bandits.
But then it morphs into killing all those who hold racial hatred in their hearts, because that's why his clan was outside the wall to be slaughtered.
And then, perhaps, it morphs into killing all Tieflings who act in a manner that justifies racial hatred of Tieflings, and in the end, our paladin is the scourge of his own race.

His talisman is a small bag of oddly discolored sand, scooped from beneath the corpse of his little sister who died just outside the gate.