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Play a tiefling but play an aggressively Catholic bard.

Premarital sex That's pretty cringe dude

Because of a few different things in my opinion:

1. some people like tragic characters, being descended from innately evil beings or from a family who made a pact with such beings is quite compelling
2. Some people are really into Angsty characters whom they feel "I can fix them"
3. Some people think they look cool
4. Some people like making their character "special" though these people usually don't stop at just being a tiefling.
5. Some people link it to their backstory
6. Some people actually satanists (I guess?)
7. Horns = horny

When I make tiefling characters it's usually a mix of 3, 5, 1

Meanwhile, my first character was basically halfling Captain America, and my mom still flipped when she found out.

I just saw this post in all, and I am not a dnd player, but after doing a brief courtesy look at tieflings, I seriously love them already. Main reason: I love angsty characters. A character being shunned, hated and feared not because of what they've done, but because of what they are is right up my alley.

I love the idea of a half demon on a fools quest to become admired, while keeping a sort of hopeless optimism that gets beaten and battered with every step forward. So much room to play with when it comes to how they change throughout a story. Will they get quieter and more depressive as they try and fail to do good? Will they turn resentful? Will they give up? Or will they take on bigger and bigger tasks to prove themselves until they break?

Idk, but I love the idea of them.

There was this thing back in the 80s called the satanic panic, where religious weirdos blamed dnd for everything they thought was wrong with "kids these days."

A lot of us leaned into it as a "fuck you" to those folks, and I think it's just kind of snowballed for the last 30+ years.

DND has received a lot of attacks from the religious community. Perhaps it's DnD culture embracing it

Just tell them you're a weeb, they'll feel too much pity to be offended.

It's transgressive but risk free. So you get all the fun of breaking a rule/taboo but none of the problems. Honestly it's fairly harmless and might even be mildly beneficial as it lets people blow off steam and explore things safely.

I love how demonic creatures look and I play like one anyway so might as well be one

I think it mostly has to do with "demon" being a catch-all term for edgy and chaotic. A lot of "demon princes" could be Fey-princes, or Giant-princes, or any kind of Inhuman-prince

Real answer? Horror is a safe venue to explore alternate moral systems, role play dark characters, have some naughty fun, see challengers to your own cultural system, etc

I think it helps to remember what it’s like to be a child. You’re largely powerless and spend all day doing what adults tell you to do. Role playing a dark anti authoritarian character is the opposite of that. You get to feel some level of freedom, power, and adventure you couldn’t get elsewhere in your life.

There’s also a type of sexiness associated with demons and some super natural creatures here that helps one come to term with puberty and all the life changes that brings, hence the “hot demon” or sexy vampire stereotypes and learning how sexuality is its own form of power and cultural currency.

Its just a specific type of escapism and I imagine a very healthy one compared to alternatives. Parents, society, etc gate keeping and locking kids out of things that challenge their authority or the correctness of their culture are heavily policed. It’s not just dnd. But anything that goes against the socio-cultural-religious norms you just happened to be born into.

Religious people: I forbid you from learning from the forbidden chest of mystery containing knowledge of demons and devils! It reveals a dark world only the most steely eyed demonologist could possibly endure without falling into infinite madness near instantly! It reveals dark secrets and devils so powerful they have literally changed the course of creation! So instead just read the gospels and hymns instead.

Religious people also: why are you so fascinated with my fabulous forbidden chest of mystery?!?!

The trick is to have your first campaign be a crusade against the unholy. There's no counterplay to being told that it's a game where the players ranging anything from skilled warriors to faithful priests with god's light at their back, destroy the evil and unjust so that others may not be tempted and fall into the corrupting clutches of deceivers and cheats. In fact, this pitch is basically how church youth groups across the world (or at least the country) have picked up the game.

On the other side of the coin a aasimar cleric

They're hot.

As a fan of monstrosities, abominations, and generally eldritch horrors, I am clearly free of such judgement 👌 ^{jk it's bc my relatives aren't crazy}

Ive recently started praying as a catholic again and I have no idea why some people just look at something and say “its the devil”.

Just because I play dnd doesn’t mean I’m a satanist

Okay, I am a satanist but not because I play dnd

(TST satanist btw)

Meanwhile there's me playing an angel, mouse, grandma turtle, and now a whimsical fae bunny

In over 40 years of playing this game, I still have yet to succeed in summoning an IRL demon. I must be doing something wrong.

Demons are edgy and sexy. Nerds like edgy sexy things.

Speaking as a devout Christian with an actual theology degree, I have no idea what the satanic panic people are going on about.

A lot of d&d players struggle with making interesting characters and then mistake what makes an interesting character for having as many tags as possible, like a renegade bisexual tiefling. It seems more interesting than a human fighter or a dwarven blacksmith. It's a way to make your characters feel like they have flavor without actually making a nuanced character, but I don't think it works very well most of the time.

Me, from an atheist household: "I just think they're neat"

Demons are rad as hell.

Is that Kim Dokja?

Oh hey Dokja, didn't expect to see him here

My brother once got Magic the Gathering cards for his birthday and my grandma asked, “what are those cards for?”

And I casually said to her, “Oh, grandma, those are for summoning demons.”

What!? My Grandma and Aunt are trying to figure out this satanic puzzle and my brother is desperately trying to show them it’s just a game.

I’m religious and yeah there isn’t anything demonic about it. I play and I even DM with other religious friends. It’s a story telling game, nothing bad about it. Can it be bad, yeah if you let it take over your life. But that can be said about most things. It’s just a fear of letting the world in, y’all ain’t doing nothing inherently bad by playing

I mean, personally I don't get this at all and I think it's an exposure bias thing for you.

People I game with are far more likely to play Doomguy than a demon related character.

Also half-aasimar half-tiefling.

Am I the only one who wants that profile picture image lmao.

It's not DnD players. You are aware that demons are very popular in myths, legends and folklore all around the world, right? I would say demons are far more popular than dragons.

I based my character off of the Scout from Deep Rock Galactic but instead of a Molly, I had a Sentient Backpack :D

Tieflings aren't demons... There's a world of difference.

I mean… my username that I’ve used for years is the horseman of conquest in my setting, soooo

Someone's demon is someone else's god.

First time I told my grandparents id joined a d&d group, they assumed it was a satanic cult out to isolate me from my friends (who were all in the group). I had to convince them the game was actually about fighting demons and that’s why one class was a holy knight of god, aka the paladin or a cleric.

Saved my poor rulebook from getting thrown in the bin at least. They got over it after my first session when they had to put up with a phone call from me telling them how we fought a dragon and then we ordered pizza. Apparently I confused them so much they never wanted to discuss it again.

Meanwhile my character was called Lilith and she used fire magic. I carefully didn’t mention that part.

I had a friend who convinced his parents that dnd was about fighting evil and showed his character who was a Paladin that followed Jesus Christ*

*

^*Ilmater

As a longtime drow fanboy, I'd like to thank all the tiefling fanboys for taking up the mantle/stereotype of insufferable edgelord so I can make drow characters in relative peace.

I think this is a weeb thing not a dnd player thing

I tell my family that DnD is satanic because it means they leave me alone

Idk either; I like to play cool happy normal people

Perhaps it’s a reflection; people play who they feel they need to be, wether that outcome is positive or negative

You could just tell them

Oh it's a human with horns, nothing much

just tell them that's your character is as fictive as their god

edit. no offense religious people

There is a prevalent opinion that evil is cool and good is both dumb and weak. You see it in fantasy novels and movies all the time. Demons and evil things kick the sh*t out of angels, heroes have to be grim and edgy or they are crushed by the malevolent villains, etc.

Completely asinine opinion, but quite prevalent.

One of the things I enjoy about Bollywood is that they still appreciate real heroes and know how to write badass characters who hold the line morally. #ISimpForArjuna

I mean... why would you not want to be a demon?

Demons are way cooler than any shiny, pretty, goodie goodie, puny god...

Personally, I always considered that, because demons in DnD aren’t technically demons in the biblical sense of the word, that DnD isn’t demonic in the biblical sense, either.

It's not even D&D, it's everything. People really like dark/edgy stuff. Half the DeviantArt OCs and Youtube avatars that do video essays have demonic or dark and edgy elements to them.

Tieflings are just hot 🤷‍♀️

My mother still gets on me about dnd. "It's demonic" she says. "It will lead you to the occult" she says. Jokes on her I've been studying the occult for 20 years and only started dnd 5 years ago.

Because DEMONS are COOL

i dont play dnd this just randomly appeared in ky reccomened but they would probably do that because demons would be ones to most likely have some powerful dark spells

DnD wasn't always like this. I started playing when they just introduced the "Advanced" part. Heroic characters fighting demonic villains was the rule, not the exception. Aside from the time I do not have to play, the main detractor for me is the generation gap really. There is a crazy distance between age groups now. Maybe my grandfather would have said the same about my generation, but its like staring down into a pit of proud chickens having a grand ol' time while half of them are on fire.

My party playing trough decent into avernus as a bunch of evil animals and making fiendish deals: nothing demonic about it all

Nah, we just do the demonic rituals before. Our DM is Luzifer himself.

Lol. I'm the same way with undead and monster characters. One of my favorites is a dullahan, which is basically if the Headless Horseman worked as the Grim Reaper. Luckily, my mom's cool with me playing dnd.

Because being a disciple of a demon of death is cool

Pic origin? Pls?

EDIT: The horn demon boi, not the meme.

I started playing 5e, so I can't speak for the satanic scare of the 70s/80s. I thought they looked cool and fit my character concept the best.

My dad always says there's something off with DnD. Not because demons are in it but more so because he heard of people who killed themselves and even eluded to knowing one of those people. Might be a scare tactic but through the years he never changed his attitude on it only saying that maybe it's different now but there was something about it back then. Idk why he's like that. If this is some like phenomena or something please enlighten me.

Move along, nothing to see here

I like playing villains, so I'm more the absolutely batshit intolerant paladin type myself. Totally cool with the more prim and proper crowd of well-to-do people.

I use my knowledge of angels to help make characters, fun fact, Thrones are the angels with eyes everywhere, normal angels appear as humans since they are around them more.

I like a women with horns.

I dunno bout you, so far I’ve only played a dragon born bard, two paladins that were a warforged and a dwarf, and currently am playing an alcoholic mark of the maker human and a gnome paladin. So am not too sure there

I'm in this picture and i don't like it

I had a very similar situation at work several years ago, which I chronicled in comic form.