Using my tieflings in D&D 5e games

Want to adapt my OSR tiefling stuff for your 5e game? Here are some draft guidelines.

5e Variant Tieflings

Variant tieflings have the following traits:

• Ability Score Increase. Roll three d6. For each roll, consult the table below and improve the corresponding ability score by +1.
  
  

  1d6	Ability Score
  1	Strength
  2-3	Dexterity
  4-5	Intelligence
  6	Charisma

  
  
• Age & Alignment. Whatever seems appropriate :-)
• Size. Tieflings are about the same size and build as humans. Your size is Medium, unless a minor trait alters it.
• Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
• Fiendish Power.Roll twice on the Fiendish Powers table and choose one of the results. It is possible to acquire additional powers in play, depending on your character's actions.
• Minor Traits. Roll any number of times on the Minor Traits table (suggested either three times on d100, or twice on d20 and once on d100 if you prefer more typical tieflings). See below for edition-specific notes about some of the entries.
• Taint of Demonkind. The referee may make reaction rolls to determine the starting attitude of various NPCs. Whenever they make a reaction roll for your character, and the NPC is an animal or an Outworlder, the roll will have a penalty. The more fiendish powers you have, the greater the penalty.
• Underclass. To get by, you've picked up skills from more unsavoury professions. Choose or roll one of the following skills or tools. You gain proficiency with it.
  1. Athletics
  2. Sleight of Hand
  3. Stealth
  4. Investigation
  5. Perception
  6. thieves' tools
  7. disguise kit
  8. forgery kit
• Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one additional language. Choose or roll once the table below.
  
  

  1d6	Language
  1-2	Abyssal
  3	Deep Speech
  4-5	Infernal
  6	Primordial

Notes

No Darkvision?

Yeah, I hate Darkvision, and tieflings are mostly human. Nothing's stopping you from giving them darkvision if you believe they should have it.

Minor Traits

52 – your eyes shed bright light in a 5-foot radius and dim light for an additional 5 feet.
67 – unlike some powerfully-built races, the extra height does not affect your carrying capacity.
77 – your size is Small. You have disadvantage on attack rolls with heavy weapons.

Fiendish Power Progression

If you worry about intra-party balance, allow tiefling characters to gain additional Fiendish Powers only in lieu of an ability score increase or feat. The referee should not feel restricted to the level progression when determining when the tiefling gains a new power. e.g. a character might gain a second power at 3rd level, paying off the "debt" with a foregone ability score increase at 4th level.

Reaction Rolls

Reaction rolls are one of the defining features of old-school D&D relative to modern editions. The exact dice used are less important than when the roll is called called for -- unlike a Cha (Persuasion) check, they happen immediately when encountering an NPC. The roll determines starting demeanour, and only rarely the outcome of a conversation. I find they gel much better with roleplayed conversation far better than outcome-determining Persuasion checks do, but there's nothing stopping you using both mechanics. Typically the referee makes the roll, using the Cha stat of the most conspicuous PC, or the first PC to speak.

If you wish to make old-school reaction rolls, roll 2d6. Because of the smaller die range, the character's full Charisma modifier isn't added. Add +1 to the roll for a Cha of 13 or higher, subtract 1 from the roll for a Cha of 8 or lower.

If the NPC is a mundane animal (i.e. the beast type) or an Outworlder, for each fiendish power the tiefling possesses, roll an additional d6. Use the worst two d6 for the reaction roll.

• 2 or less, or natural 2 (snake eyes) – Hostile, attacks
• 3-5 – Unfriendly, may attack
• 6-8 – Neutral, uncertain
• 9-11 – Indifferent, uninterested
• 12 or more, or natural 12 (boxcars) – Friendly, helpful

If you wish to make reaction rolls on a d20, the following best approximates the above probabilities. Use the character's full Charisma modifier in this case. You can move the DC 7 cutoff to DC 10 if it's easier to remember, no-one will know ;-)

If the NPC is a mundane animal (i.e. the beast type) or an Outworlder, each fiendish power the tiefling possesses adds a cumulative -2 modifier to the reaction roll.

• 1 or less, or natural 1 – Hostile, attacks
• 2-6 – Unfriendly, may attack
• 7-14 – Neutral, uncertain
• 15-19 – Indifferent, uninterested
• 20 or more, or natural 20 (boxcars) – Friendly, helpful

For a 5e game, an Outworlder is any creature with one of the following types, unless the referee decides otherwise:

• aberration
• celestial
• elemental
• fey
• fiend
• undead