Appearance of Tieflings

For the most part, tieflings tend to resemble their mortal parent or parents. However, as do all planetouched, elements of their heritage do show themselves. Though certain common characteristics recur in many tieflings, their overall appearance can vary greatly from individual to individual. The details of how their fiendish heritage manifests within them can be as a result of the fiend they descend from, the plane they were born upon, or even pure randomness.

Beyond their natural features, body modification (on the level of tattoos and piercings) tends to be more common amongst tieflings than amongst other peoples. Consciously or otherwise, many tieflings, given that much of their body is out of control, decide to make up for it by taking control of some portion of their body.

Clothing-wise, many planar tieflings, especially those in planar metropolises, prefer an outfit consisting of tight-fitting leggings, a vest, a tunic, and a flowing cape or cloak, all in dark or cool colors. This outfit is so common - being simple, easily available, not very prominent, and quick to adapt to all sorts of bodily features - that to some it's almost the level of stereotype. There are a number of other styles that fade in and out of fashion, of course, but this ensemble is the standard outfit most thought of when one thinks "tiefling".

Planar Features

Tieflings that take after their home layer tend to resemble certain qualities of that layer; physical, metaphysical, or metaphorical. While there are too many layers to list individually, especially given the Abyss, certain common threads can be described.

• Acheron: Often metallic or faceted in appearance. Black, shiny eyes or skin, like obsidian.
• Baator: Those from one of the elemental layers tend to express those elements much as a genasi. Tieflings from Dis often have horns resembling metalwork spires or skin almost burning to the touch.
• Gehenna: Often with stony skin or features, ram-like legs or horns, and small stature.
• Grey Waste: Almost always monotone and colorless, with few extremes of emotion. Many have dried leaves, twigs, or other dead plant life woven through their hair.
• Carceri: Many have slightly acidic skin. Nearly all are extremely secretive and reserved, keeping their thoughts and emotions locked away.
• Abyss: So much variation that there exists almost no common thread to be described.
• Pandemonium: Adapted to the tunnels, a good number have very pale, nearly albino, skin or beady, bat-like eyes. Some even have the high-pitched voices of bats. Pandemonium tieflings tend to be deaf or otherwise hard of hearing more than any other sort.

Fiendish Features

Tieflings that take after their ancestors can have nearly any trait expressed by the fiend they descend from. Here are some of the more common traits expressed by tieflings with given heritage for some of the more common tiefling ancestors

Diabolic

• Abishai: Hair/skin color; bony claws; scaly skin; reptilian tail
• Barbazu: Thick, wire-like facial hair; scaled legs; Y-shaped feet; large talons
• Cornugon: Antlers or ram-like horns; spiked tail; tusks
• Erinyes: Unnatural beauty; glowing or feathered skin; prehensile hair
• Hamatula: Horn-like spurs across their body; forked tail; fangs too large for their mouth
• Pit Fiend: Very tall, broad build; red, leathery skin; sulfuric odor; reptilian tail
• Spinagon: Green or scaly skin; bodily spines; vestigal wings; reptilian tail; needle-like teeth

Demonic

• Balor: Thick horns; scaly or spiked skin; cloven feet; flickering, flame-like aura
• Glabrezu: Pincer-like hands; vestigial limbs; chitinous skin
• Hezrou: Frog-like legs; thick skin; obese; yellow eyes
• Marilith: Scaly skin; vestigial limbs; snake-like tail
• Nalfeshnee: Pig nose; vestigial wings; claws; fur-covered body
• Succubus: Unnatural beauty; claw-like nails; thin, prehensile tail

Daemonic

• Arcanaloth: Canine muzzle; fur-covered body; claw-like nails
• Hydroloth: Frog-like legs; cat-like eyes; slimy skin
• Nycaloth: Reptilian tail; green, leathery skin; bony talons

Random Feature Table

d%	Feature	d%	Feature	d%	Feature	d%	Feature	d%	Feature
01	Arms: Elbow Spurs	21	Eyes: Cyclopic	41	Horns: Draconic	61	Tail: Aquatic	81	Other: Bleeding pores
02	Arms: Oversized limb	22	Eyes: Goat-like	42	Horns: Metallic	62	Tail: Fiendish	82	Other: Androgynous
03	Arms: Stony forearms	23	Eyes: Glowing	43	Horns: Ram-like	63	Tail: Mammalian	83	Other: External organ
04	Arms: Tentacle-like	24	Eyes: Smoking	44	Horns: Vestigal	64	Tail: Reptilian	84	Other: Whistling umbilicus
05	Arms: Undersized limb	25	Eyes: Other	45	Horns: Other	65	Tail: Other	85	Other: No shadow
06	Build: Emaciated	26	Face: Canine muzzle	46	Legs: Backward-bending	66	Teeth: Blunt	86	Other: Missing joint
07	Build: Hunchback	27	Face: Insectile mandibles	47	Legs: Cloven feet	67	Teeth: Fanged	87	Other: Unnatural temperature
08	Build: Obese	28	Face: Missing nose	48	Legs: Frog-like	68	Teeth: Metallic	88	Other: Avian snood
09	Build: Unnaturally light	29	Face: Underdeveloped features	49	Legs: Bird-like	69	Teeth: Needle-like	89	Other: Infested
10	Build: Unnaturally heavy	30	Face: Other	50	Legs: Other	70	Teeth: Other	90	Other: Bony ridges
11	Digits: Abnormally long	31	Hands: Backward-bending fingers	51	Skin: Feathered	71	Other: Forked tongue	91	Other: Hermaphroditic
12	Digits: Extra digits	32	Hands: Extra thumbs	52	Skin: Loose	72	Other: Eyestalks	92	Other: Spinnaret
13	Digits: Extra joints	33	Hands: Pincers	53	Skin: Patterned	73	Other: Vestigal limb	93	Other: Antennae
14	Digits: No nails	34	Hands: Suckered	54	Skin: Rotting	74	Other: Extraneous nipple	94	Other: Exoskeleton
15	Digits: Odd number	35	Hands: Other	55	Skin: Scaled	75	Other: Inhuman voice	95	Other: Incongruous footprints
16	Ears: Bat-like	36	Head: Animalistic	56	Skin: Slimy	76	Other: Profane birthmark	96	Other: No reflection
17	Ears: Missing	37	Head: Animate hair	57	Skin: Strangely colored	77	Other: Strange smell	97	Other: Internal glow
18	Ears: Pig-like	38	Head: Bald	58	Skin: Translucent	78	Other: Emits strange noises	98	Other: Smoking breath
19	Ears: Pointed	39	Head: Malformed	59	Skin: Variable color	79	Other: Fungal/leafy growths	99	Roll twice, ignore 99 or higher
20	Ears: Other	40	Head: Other	60	Skin: Other	80	Other: Incontrollable twitch	00	Roll three times, ignore 99 or higher

References

• Bastards of Erebus - Tieflings of Golarian, pg.67
• Tieflings: Defenestration of Lower Planar Genetics in Physical and Personal Attributes