The New DnD Tiefling (2024 Species Deep Dive)
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First introduced in the early ’90s as a monster for use in the Planescape setting, Tieflings would later become a playable race in the third, fourth and fifth editions of Dungeons & Dragons. Over the years, they’ve also become an incredibly popular, with the tiefling barbarian Karlach from Baldur’s Gate 3 being one example of just how far reaching they’ve become.
Now these Abyssal adventurers are getting an unholy update, with the new and improved tiefling appearing in the pages of the 2024 Player’s Handbook as one of several new playable DnD species.
So is the DnD 2024 tiefling still able to raise a little hell? Below, we dig into all the infernal info.
What are Tieflings in DnD 2024?
In the new 2024 Player’s Handbook, Tieflings are described as being either born in the Lower Planes or having fiendish ancestors who originated there. This means a tiefling is linked by blood to a devil, a demon or some other powerful fiend. Despite their hellish appearance, however, tieflings are not inherently evil and instead can appear anywhere on the DnD alignment chart.
Notably, a tiefling’s connection to the Lower Planes is represented by a “Fiendish Legacy”, which indicates the specific bloodline they’ve inherited which provides unique powers and shapes their physical appearance. The three legacies in the new 2024 Player’s Handbook are as follows:
- Abyssal: The entropy of the Abyss, the chaos of Pandemonium, and the despair of Carceri call to tieflings who have the abyssal legacy. Horns, fur, tusks, and peculiar scents are common physical features of such tieflings, most of whom have the blood of demons coursing through their veins.
- Chthonic: Tieflings who have the chthonic legacy feel not only the tug of Carceri but also the greed of Gehenna and the gloom of Hades. Some of these tieflings look cadaverous. Others possess the unearthly beauty of a succubus, or they have physical features in common with a night hag, a yugoloth, or some other Neutral Evil fiendish ancestor.
- Infernal: The infernal legacy connects tieflings not only to Gehenna but also the Nine Hells and the raging battlefields of Acheron. Horns, spines, tails, golden eyes, and a faint odor of sulfur or smoke are common physical features of such tieflings, most of whom trace their ancestry to devils.
What’s changed in the new 2024 Tiefling?
While Tieflings have been around for almost a decade in DnD 5e, the 2024 Player’s Handbook does introduce a number of changes from their 2014 Legacy version. Below are all their species traits and the changes that have been made.
| Tiefling Species Trait | Level | Changed from 2014 Player’s Handbook? | Changes to the 2024 Tiefling |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ability Score Improvements | 1 | Yes | Races/species no longer provide ability score improvements. Instead, character nows receive these bonuses from the new DnD backgrounds. |
| Darkvision | 1 | No | N/A |
| Base Speed | 1 | No | N/A |
| Hellish Resistance | 1 | Yes | This 2014 feature has been removed (it previously granted resistance to fire damage). |
| Infernal Legacy | 1 | Yes | This 2014 feature has been removed (previously it granted you the Thaumaturgy cantrip at Level 1, Hellish rebuke at Level 3, and Darkness at Level 5). |
| Fiendish Legacies | 1 | Yes | In the 2014 version you could chose specific tiefling “Subraces” that granted additional ability score modifiers. In the 2024 rules you can now choose from three starting subspecies known as “Fiendish Legacies.” |
What are the Tiefling species traits in DnD 2024?
Below are the full list of all the Tiefling traits using the new 2024 core rules.
- Creature Type: Humanoid
- Size: Medium (about 4–7 feet tall) or Small (about 3–4 feet tall), chosen when you select this species
- Speed: 30 feet
As an Tiefling, you have the following special traits.
- Darkvision: You have Darkvision with a range of 60 feet.
- Fiendish Legacy: You are the recipient of a legacy that grants you supernatural abilities. Choose a legacy from the Fiendish Legacies table. You gain the level 1 benefit of the chosen legacy. When you reach character levels 3 and 5, you learn a higher-level spell, as shown on the table. You always have that spell prepared. You can cast it once without a spell slot, and you regain the ability to cast it in that way when you finish a Long Rest. You can also cast the spell using any spell slots you have of the appropriate level. Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for the spells you cast with this trait (choose the ability when you select the legacy).
- Otherworldly Presence: You know the Thaumaturgy cantrip. When you cast it with this trait, the spell uses the same spellcasting ability you use for your Fiendish Legacy trait.
Fiendish Legacies Table
| Legacy | Level 1 | Level 3 | Level 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abyssal | You have Resistance to Poison damage. You also know the Poison Spray cantrip. | Ray of Sickness | Hold Person |
| Chthonic | You have Resistance to Necrotic damage. You also know the Chill Touch cantrip. | False Life | Ray of Enfeeblement |
| Infernal | You have Resistance to Fire damage. You also know the Fire Bolt cantrip. | Hellish Rebuke | Darkness |
How have Tiefling subraces changed in DnD 2024?
In the 2014 rules there were nine unique Tiefling “subraces”: Baalzebul, Dispater, Fierna, Glasya, Levistus, Mammon, Mephistopheles, Variant and Zariel. Each of these granted your tiefling built-in spells (regardless of class) and alternate racial ability score modifiers.
These tiefling subraces are no longer options in the DnD 2024 rules. Instead, the new Player’s Handbook features just three subspecies, which are now referred to as “Fiendish Legacies“: Abyssal, Chthonic and Infernal. Below are the abilities that were provided by the 2014 Tiefling subraces (which are still technically compatible in 2024 given that the rules are still using DnD 5e).
| Tiefling Subrace | Extra Spells (No Longer Available in 2024 Tiefling) |
|---|---|
| Baalzebul | Legacy of Maladomini: Grants the Thaumaturgy cantrip at Level 1, Ray of Sickness at Level 3 and crown of madness at Level 5. |
| Dispater | Legacy of Dis: Grants the Thaumaturgy cantrip at Level 1, Disguise Self at Level 3 and Detect Thoughts at Level 5. |
| Fierna | Legacy of Phlegethos: Grants the Friends cantrip at Level 1, Charm Person at Level 3 and Suggestion at Level 5. |
| Glasya | Legacy of Malbolge: Grants the Minor Illusion cantrip at Level 1, Disguise Self at Level 3 and Invisibility at Level 5. |
| Levistus | Legacy of Stygia: Grants the Ray of Frost cantrip at Level 1, Armor of Agyths at Level 3 and Darkness at Level 5. |
| Mammon | Legacy of Minauros: Grants the Mage Hand cantrip at Level 1, Tenser’s Floating Disc at Level 3 and Arcane Lock at Level 5. |
| Mephistopheles | Legacy of Cania: Grants the Mage Hand cantrip at Level 1, Burning Hands at Level 3 and Flame Blade at Level 5. |
| Variant | – Devil’s Tongue: Grants the Vicious Mockery cantrip at Level 1, Charm Person at Level 3 and Enthrall at Level 5. – Hellfire: Grants Burning Hands at Level 3. – Winged: Bat-like wings jut from your shoulder blades. You have a flying speed of 30 feet while you aren’t wearing heavy armor. |
| Zariel | Legacy of Avernus: Grants the Thaumaturgy cantrip at Level 1, Searing Smite at Level 3 and Branding Smite at Level 5. |
Is the new 2024 Tiefling species worth playing?
The Tiefling is one of the most unique and popular DnD 5e species, so it makes sense that we’d see them alive and well in the 2024 rules. They’ve also been tweaked a bit more than we’ve seen with other species, with new Fiendish Legacies in particular, offering a radical departure from the 2014 Tiefling, while also offering a solid amount of customization and roleplaying potentially. Hopefully we’ll see other Fiendish Legacies in future DnD 2024 materials, but in the meantime, what Wizards of the Coast has come up with is a solid update of everyone’s favorite hellish heroes.
You can find the complete rules for the new Tiefling species in the 2024 Player’s Handbook, which is available now on D&D Beyond and Amazon.
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Cameron Nichols is a Senior Editor who lives in Boston, Massachusetts, and has been playing D&D since the early 90s, when he was introduced by his older brother and cut his teeth on AD&D 2nd Edition. Since then he’s played virtually every RPG he could get his nerdy little mitts on (including a weird Goth phase in the early 2000s when he rocked Vampire: The Masquerade pretty hard). His favorite D&D campaign setting is the Forgotten Realms and his favorite character to play was a Half-Orc Barbarian named Grug (who was unfortunately devoured by a gelatinous cube).
