The sugar babies of the D&D world. Unlike Sorcerers or Wizards, Warlocks receive their magic and power from patrons. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a dark entity either, there are many patrons to choose from. Warlock is a pretty simple class for beginning players who want to take a stab as a spellcaster. 

The Tiefling race AND the Warlock class can be found in the Player’s Handbook. Click here to pick up your own copy of The Player’s Handbook!

How to Make a Tiefling Warlock 

Often discriminated and labeled as evil when actually, like other races in reality and the D&D-verse, may inherit certain qualities from their ancestry but possess their own choice in individuality. 

 There are three ways a Tiefling is created:

• Descended from a Tiefling parent (regardless if both or only one is a tiefling) or ancestor
• A human is transformed into one through magic
• When a being of the nine realms of hell mates with a human

Tieflings are humanoid beings and creating one feels a lot like those mix and match custom character sim games as heritage has to be taken into account. To make it simpler, here’s a table of options open in creating a tiefling:

• Infernal tieflings– most common and possibly be related to Asmodeus or some other hellish being.

Skin	Human shadesHot Red Dark blueScalyFurryLeathery
Eyes	Solid colored and catlike (compulsory feature) BlackRedWhiteSilverGold Glowing eyes
Mouth	vampire-like pointed teeth (compulsory feature)FangsForked tongue
Horns(compulsory feature)	Small or bigSpiral/Ringed CurledFlat and extending sideways (good luck getting through doors)Single horn
Tails(compulsory feature)	LOOONG AND T H I C C
Optionals	Smelling like eau de brimstoneSkin hot to touch (as if looking the part wasn’t enough)More or less than 5 fingersYour tail can grab thingsGoat like legshoof for feetCast no shadow or reflectionBat like wings

• Planar Tieflings– Rare variety of tieflings. Descendants of demons, devils, rakshasas, night hags, the avatars of evil deities, or those that oppress workers and demand to see the manager. Compared to Infernals, there are certain qualities that are required:

demons	May look like infernal tieflingsNo hooves or goatlike legs
devils	may resemble the infernal tieflings not of Asmodeus
rakhasas	Cat eyes and furry skins
night hags	bruised-looking blue skinsmall hornsglowing red eyes
Applies to all Planar Tieflings	Can almost pass as a human but have certain dead giveaways such as, but not limited to:red eyessmall hornsa missing shadow .

• Rare traits
  • As if there wasn’t enough variety to a Tiefling, a rare few have a few unique qualities, more detrimental than not. A few examples are:

• Being harmed by direct sunlight
• Susceptible to holy water
• Can’t enter holy grounds or areas
• Silver = bad
• Skin that flakes ash- practically eczema or desquamation.
• Smelling like ash, brimstone, sulfur, or rotten meat- Not even deodorant can help you.
• Unnaturally cold or hot skin- Yes, to the point that you can cook or freeze food on your skin.
• Your touch can kill plants 
• Uneasing aura- You’re the creepy guy even if you aren’t the creepy guy.
• Other hellish beings can recognize you just like your relatives in real life where they know you but you don’t have any idea who they are.
• Armor for skin, resistance to any injury made by non-magical or non-silver weapons.
• Hellish nightmares- Sleep paralysis must be awkward as a Tiefling)

-A few examples of this case are:

• The tiefling Tenosh has the power to generate cold from her hand, climb sheer surfaces with ease, and does not need to sleep.
• Ghienna cannot use portals and can never leave the city of Sigil, though this is a close secret.
• Factol Rhys of the Transcendent Order has a partial protective carapace, and her hair seems to move on its own as if blown by the wind.

• Traits natural to all Tieflings are:
  • Life expectancy and weight are similar to humans but few can live to a max of 150 years.
  • They can live on an omnivorous diet (like humans) but slightly lean more to meat. Though they consume other stuff such as bone, gristle, marrow, blubber, blood, ash, and can subsist on coal or inorganic rock. They at times even drink a cocktail of broth, oil, and sulfur.
  • Tieflings can be both male and female, one of the other, or none at all.
  • The maximum height for a male tiefling is 6”7, for a female 6”5.
  • Most are ambidextrous (can write with both hands and even tail).

Warlock 101

It’s simple, pick a patron, write your backstory, and decide the pact and relationship you have with a said magical sugar daddy. You do have an advantage, as Warlocks rely on Charisma for spellcasting, your sweet 2+ Charisma and extra plus for one to two abilities come in handy. Unfortunately, you have limited spell slots and need to rest to ‘recharge,’ but at least spells are at max level.

Compared to other Classes, there are various bits that you have to deal with to build your warlock.

• Otherworldly Patron- Who is your source of power, magic, and features?
  • Fiend- The iconic pick for a patron. Demons or lower plane beings seek evil, corruption, and destruction. Even if your goal or alignment is the opposite of theirs, you can still make a pact with them. Choose this as a Tiefling and it’d probably be like an internship at your uncles.
    • Expanded Spell List- You get an extra pair of ammunition as you level

1. Burning hands & command
2. Blindness/deafness & scorching ray
3. Fireball & stinking cloud
4. Fire shield & wall of fire
5. Flame strike & hallow

• Dark one’s blessing 
• Dark one’s luck 
• Fiendish Resilience
• Hurl Through Hell

• THE UNDEAD/Undying- Immortality and servitude to Skeletor! This patron doesn’t just provide immortality but also resistance to hunger and thirst. Basically, your powers and very being are a middle finger to Death.
  • Undead Expanded Spells

1. False Life, Ray of Sickness
2. Blindness/Deafness, Silence
3. Feign Death, Speak with Dead
4. Aura of Life, Death Ward
5. Contagion, Legend Lore

• Form of Dread
• Grave Touched
• Mortal Husk
• Spirit Projection

• Archfey- A mischievous patron. This patron grants you the power of a stern poker face, but if that doesn’t work, you can level up and banish your foes to the dark realm.
  • Expanded spell list- 

1. Faerie fire, sleep
2. Calm emotions, phantasmal force
3. Blink, plant growth
4. Dominate beast, greater invisibility
5. Dominate person, seeming

• Fey Presence
• Misty escape
• Beguiling Defenses
• Dark Delirium

• Great Old One- MYSTERIOUS ALMIGHTY SPACE BEINGS!!! Yes… Cthulhu is one of them. This patron is big on defense, knowledge, and psychological trauma for your foes.
  • Expanded spell list

1. dissonant whispers, Tasha’s hideous laughter
2. detect thoughts, phantasmal force
3. clairvoyance, sending
4. dominate beast, Evard’s black tentacles
5. dominate person, telekinesis

• Awakened Mind
• Entropic ward
• Thought Shield
• Create Thrall

• Hexblade- Any sentient magical weapon or object that you wield. This patron grants you the ability of weaponry, cursing, and control over the souls of your fallen foes.
  • Expanded spell list:

1. Shield, Wrathful Smite
2. Blur, Branding Smite
3. Blink, Elemental Weapon
4. Phantasmal Killer, Staggering Smite
5. Banishing Smite, Cone of Cold

• Hexblade’s curse
• Hex warrior
• Accursed specter
• Armor of Hexes

• Celestial- Basically, celestial beings that give you healing powers. Might as well be a Cleric if you choose this patron. On the other hand, epic resistance to Death with a radiating comeback that damages your foes.
  • ANOTHER EXPANDED SPELL LIST-

1. Cure Wounds, Guiding Bolt
2. Flaming Sphere, Lesser Restoration
3. Daylight, Revivify
4. Guardian of Faith, Wall of Fire
5. Flame Strike, Greater Restoration

• BONUS Cantrips
• Healing Light
• Radiant Soul
• Celestial Resistance
• Searing Vengeance

• Pact boon- As you reach the 3rd level, your patron decides to give you an early Christmas for being their favorite charlatan.

• Pact of the Chain- What’s the chain for? Your new familiar that’s what! A nice magical- slave- pet to fight alongside you.
• Pact of the Blade- If you’re into fantasy anime, then this is your chance to be the protagonist or -at least- one of the cool characters. This pact lets you summon a magical weapon in your empty hand or at your feet. 
• Pact of the Tome- When you think your spell list wasn’t OP enough, your patron decides to serve you with the Book of Shadows. This big yeet book allows you to cast spells that are available in other classes. That’s right! What would’ve taken years of study, sweat, and turmoil for a wizard just took you a moment with your sugar mommy.

• Pact subsidy- if you’re looking for this in the handbook, it isn’t. This is essential, though, for building your OC. As with any sugar- Warlock, your patron didn’t just hand you power for free. You need to provide something in exchange for the power. It doesn’t have to be your soul or something overly dramatic. It can be a valuable object, a service, a daily/weekly/monthly/yearly/circumstantial act, etc. Be creative. Drive your DM and party insane!

In building your Tiefling Warlocks stats, there are two advised variations.

•  If you’re going for the pact of the hexblade, make Charisma the highest next Constitution followed by Dexterity, then Wisdom, Strength, and Intelligence. 
• If you’re opting for more sneak and dodge, go for Charisma, Strength/Dexterity, Constitution, Strength/Dexterity, Wisdom, then Intelligence. 

Additionally, you have dark vision and have the advantage of 2+ on your Charisma and 1+ for intelligence

How to Play a Tiefling Warlock 

(https://dreionsden.wordpress.com/2019/12/15/warlock_level_up_dnd_5e/)

Hit Dice: 1d8 per warlock level

Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier

Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per warlock level after 1st

Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier

Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier

There is one thing a warlock is known for and that’s overusing Eldritch- friggin- blast. But after that and everything else, a warlock gets to learn Eldritch Invocations that pretty much make you question why you even need eldritch blast when you have a whole grocery list of spells.

Eldritch Invocation	Prerequisite	Eldritch Invocation	Prerequisite
Agonizing ZBlast	eldritch blast cantrip	Misty Visions	–
Armor of shadows	–	Mask of Many Faces	–
Ascendant Step	9th level	Master of Myriad Forms	15th level
Beast Speech	–	Minions of chaos	9th level
Beguiling Influence	–	Mire the Mind	5th level
Bewitching Whispers	7th level	One with Shadows	5th level
Book of Ancient Secrets	Pact of the Tome feature	Otherworldly Leap	9th level
Chains of Carceri	15th level, Pact of the Chain feature	Repelling Blast	eldritch blast cantrip
Devil’s Sight	–	Sculptor of Flesh	7th level
Dreadful Word	7th level	Signs Of Ill Omen	5th level
Eldritch Sight	–	Thief of Five Fates	–
Eldritch Spear	eldritch blast cantrip	Thirsting Blade	5th level, Pact of the Blade feature
Eye of the Rune Keeper	–	Vision of Distant Realms	15th level
Fiendish Vigor	–	Voice of the Chain Master	Pact of the Chain feature
Gaze of Two Minds	–	Whispers of the Grave	9th level
Lifedrinker	12th level, Pact o f the Blade feature	Witch Sight	15th level

As a Tiefling, a big plus is that you naturally gain the thaumaturgy cantrip. By 3rd level, you get to cast hellish rebuke as a 2nd level spell, and by 5th level, darkness spell. All these spells require charisma, so it fits perfectly with being a sorcerer. Apart from that, you get dark vision, but everything is gray in the darkness, advantage in speed, and resistance to fire damage.

Think of Tieflings as the counterpart of half-elves that got the shorter end of the stick. Tieflings face a lot of racism and discrimination regardless if they are evil or not. This has caused them to be very reserved, suspicious, and self-reliant loners. They have a quick temper, stubbornness, self-confidence, and fickleness in relationships. Fortunately, though, they will learn to reciprocate the trust given to them in a way. When they allow themselves to open up or give loyalty towards someone, that person/receiving a friend and ally for life. This can be a challenge since you aren’t immune to having to take rests for your attacks.

How to Roleplay as a Tiefling Warlock 

The topic of how Tieflings came to be is covered but what of their lives? Like most hybrids, they have no land of their own or a place where their kind gathers. In fact, Tieflings are uncommon and with the whole hot topic of Asmodeus, they are rarely friendly with their own kind or relatives. As mentioned before, racism and discrimination have been part of a Tiefling’s life since the day they are born or created. Even a Tiefling baby born to two human parents (where one so happened to have a Tiefling or Fiend blood in the lineage or the baby was cursed) would likely be abandoned and be taken in by orphanages, churches, or crime rings. 

With the rejection that their race faces, many turn to a life of crime or mischief which has further people’s prejudiced perspectives on them. Well, it’s not like it’d be easy to change others’ views or someone is advocating for them. As a Warlock, one must wonder why and how they became a warlock? Why that patron? What is the price they pay/paid for such power? What is their relationship with themselves and their patrons? Is it symbiotic? Parasitic?  Something in your fiendish blood?  It doesn’t just give your character more life but also some material your DM can use to -torture you with- know your skill and proficiencies. 

Although Tieflings are reserved, they still value art and music especially ones with dark themes. Their voices are known to be powerful, often their cries are heard in battle. Artists, bodyguards, strike teams, and adventurers are common jobs for Tieflings. They are able to speak infernal despite not studying it or Abyssal along with Common language.