NOT THAT HAVING A ROUGE OR BARD OR WARLOCK TIEFLING IS BAD!!!!!!
I’m sure we’ve all heard the stereotype of the baby DnD player’s first character, a troubled warlock, an edgelord rogue, or a horny bastard of a bard, all paired with the species of Tiefling. And also, your parents are dead or have abandoned you, naturally. Again, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing!! My first DnD character was also a flirtatious bard who was exiled by his community (credit to me, he was a Forest Gnome), and I had FUN playing him.
FUN!! That’s the main thing that you should be concerned about while playing any TTRPG. Some people find creating powerful minmax-ed characters fun, some people find creating characters that are emo and flirty fun. I do really enjoy the loner-type backstories, so most of this list will also include that.
This list of 5 is by no means an end-all, be-all of class/backstory ideas. Take what interests you and leave the rest.
Now, in no particular order:
4) Barbarian
Something had been burning inside of you for as long as you can remember. Rage. Maybe it’s something you were born with, or maybe something has been chipping at you, slowly setting you ablaze. Either way, you expel that rage in the only way you know how, through battle. Your fighting skills could be useful to earn you some coin; everyone needs some hired muscle sometimes.
Personally, I think Path of Wild Magic is very fun. It’s a good mix if you enjoy martial characters and still want a bit of spell casting. Also, it’s fun with the whole tiefling thing. Path of the Storm Herald is also a good choice, especially if your tiefling has a particular environment they are tied to.
3) Monk
Ever just want to punch things, but like, more? Well, Monk has got it for you. I personally think the concept of characters being a part of a monastic order is super fun for roleplay and backstory. It can be a real fun found family type thing, and of course, all of the traumas that come with that too. Maybe it’s something you were born into, or entered without a choice. Or maybe it’s something that you found later in life, and they accepted you when no one else would.
Choosing a monk subclass for this is difficult, I think they all have their strengths both in combat and in roleplay. I don’t think there is a particular one that I would say is more “tiefling-like” than the others; they all can be flavored however you want them to be. I do think Way of the Ascendant Dragon is particularly fun!
2) Druid
The townspeople may look at you with distrust for your infernal heritage, but do you know who wouldn’t look at you with that prejudice? That’s right, animals (and plants). If Tieflings are “freaks of nature” then why don’t you just make that your profession?
My personal favorite druid subclass to give to Tieflings would either be Circle of Wildfire or Circle of the Shepard, which are VASTLY different from each other. Circle of Wildfire is very fun for the “Tieflings are bad omens and bring destruction” kind of backstory vibes. The theme of creation and destruction is very prevalent in Circle of Wildfire Druids, and that’s so wonderful for roleplay moments.
1) Ranger
Listen LISTEN!!! I know people give rangers flak for being the “worst” class but LISTEN!!! They have soooo many options for good roleplay moments and backstory. It’s similar to my reasoning for Druid in a “the forest creatures would never betray you :-)” sort of way.
The Vibes™ of Rangers is very versatile. If you want to lean into the edgy rogue type, but not play rogue, then go Gloom Stalker. If you want a little creature, then go Beast Master or Swarmkeeper (Or Vermin Lord, if you want to be a little evil about it).
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