Astralities’ Tiefling Compendium - Update 2.0
This article documents everything updated in or added with Patch 2.0.
New Content
Custom Subrace Icons for all Compendium Subraces
Supported through ImprovedUI from patch 3.13.2.2 onwards
3 Drow Elf-adjacent Tiefling Subraces:
Similar to Fey’ri, these subraces originate from a connection between Drow and a variety of Abyssal entities.
Detailed descriptions of each subrace, including lore, are available further down in this article.
Elamshinae • Lolthsworn Tiefling
Velkyn’bol • Seldarine/Far Realm Tiefling
Isilmnir’el • Seldarine/Eilistraee Tiefling
30+ new Spells, Passives, Abilities and Statuses with Custom Icons and modded VFX
Including spells inspired by past & current D&D editions and homebrew options.
New Tiefling Claw types: Poison, Radiant & Thunder
Custom thematic Skintones for All Subraces
Including Vanilla Tiefling subraces. These will also be available as part of a standalone Tiefling CC color mod down the line.
Updates to Existing Content
Tiefling Claws
Updated hotbar, tooltip & controller icons
Updated existing VFX & added custom VFX
Tags
Fey’ri: Added “Rare”* and “Elf”* Tags
Nightborn: Added “Rare”* and “Fey” Tags
Others: Minor Changes*
*These Tag changes will provide access to unique dialogue options. This has no effect on dialogue options that were already available before 2.0.
Subraces
Variant: Added new Tiefling Claw Variants to level 1 options
Bug Fixes
Fixed some Controller Icons not displaying
Fixed interaction between Tiefling racial spells & their parent spells
Fixed Tiefling racial spells showing up where they shouldn’t be
Fixed a few spelling errors and unclear phrasing in tooltips
Fixed issue causing Claw Abilities to disappear from CC
Backend
These changes have no impact on gameplay and will not negatively affect existing saves. They’re included for transparency & compatibility reasons
Minor Icon changes
Adjusted Tiefling Racial Progression to allow for removal of Hellish Resistance & Darkvision Passives
Updated a number of falsely byte-swapped UUIDS due to full frontal nudity
Changed (some) default CC appearances
Changed skin tone allocation for Tieflings
Introducing New Subraces
Elamshinae • Blessed Weavers of the Abyssal Web
elamshin • 1 destiny 2 the will of Lloth
elamshinae • 1 favor 2 grace
elamshin • 1 destiny 2 the will of Lloth
elamshinae • 1 favor 2 grace
“Becoming Elamshinae is perceived as an immense honor - One bestowed, as a sacred gift, only upon the most valued worshippers of Lolth, the Spider Queen. Their once Elven forms twisted, and their selves and personalities eternally changed by the malignant demonic essence of the Abyss, the process is akin to being born anew - One small step closer to Her own image.”
Ability Descriptions
Vanilla BG3 abilities will not be described in detail.
Passive • Superior Darkvision
Passive • Lolthsworn Weapontraining
> Proficiency with the Rapier, Scimitar, Sickle, and Hand Crossbow
Passive • Arachnid Ancestry
> Web Surfaces don’t slow you down, and you cannot be Enwebbed
Passive • Spider Queen’s Influence
> Resistance to Fire and Poison Damage, and Advantage on Saving Throws against being Charmed or Poisoned
Feature • Arachnomorphosis
> You’re able to shapeshift into a spider at will
Level 1 Cantrip • Dragging Web
> Strike a Target with a Whip-like Web and pull them towards you
Level 1 Claws • Envenoming Claws
> Strike a Target with poisonous Claws and potentially afflict them with Poison
Level 3 Spell • Summon Cluster of Spiders
> Summon 2 Spiderlings. This amount scales based on your Character level, increasing by 1 at levels 4, 7, and 10
Level 5 Spell • Web
Velkyn’bol • Minds Touched by The Ancient One
velkyn - 1 hidden 2 unseen 3 invisible
bol - thing (unknown, unidentified, mysterious or important)
The Ancient One heeds no mistress, and His whims are ever unpredictable; yet it is known that seldomly, He revels in witnessing the Spider Queen lose her grasp on a subject. There are whispers of defiant Drow twisted by a peculiar concoction of demonic energy of the Abyss and the influence of the Far Realm - a warning, or a promise of salvation?
Ability Descriptions
Vanilla BG3 abilities will not be described in detail.
Passive • Superior Darkvision
Passive • Passive - Drowborn Skillset
> Proficiency with the Rapier, Scimitar, and Hand Crossbow, and Proficiency in the Perception skill
Passive • Touch of the Far Realm
> Resistance to Psychic and Acid damage, and Advantage on Aaving Throws against being Charmed
Passive • Ghaunadaur’s Reward
> Whenever you strike a killing blow, your attacks and abilities deal additional Psychic damage until the end of combat - but you suffer Disadvantage on Wisdom saving throws.
Feature • Amorphous Anatomy
> You can transform your body into a gelatinous substance at will. While amorphous, you’re able to squeeze through small spaces, and have advantage on stealth checks.
Level 1 Cantrip • Mind Sliver
> Deliver a Sliver of Psychic energy directly to a target’s brain, with a chance of imposing a penalty for 1 turn.
Level 1 Claws • Phantasmal Claws
> Strike a target with Psychic claws.
Level 3 Spell • Whispering Ward
> Guard yourself with a ward of energy that retaliates against melee attacks. On expiry, the ward detonates, causing nearby entities to suffer a penalty and potentially take Psychic damage.
Level 5 Spell • Aberrant Rot
> Afflict a target with an Aberrant curse, dealing damage and potentially causing their brain to rot away, with a chance of the curse spreading to nearby entities.
Isilmnir’el • Moon-Touched
isilme • moonlight
nir’el • 1 covered, coated 2 bathed
The day Lolth struck down her own daughter left those who followed in Her ways feeling as if an ardent stake had been driven straight through their hearts - Transformed by the abyssal aftermath of Her fall, and the remaining splinters of Her essence. Forced into hiding by the lolthsworn, they now emerge from the shadows, drawn to rumors of Eilistraee’s return - seeking refuge, and perhaps a chance to unravel the mysteries of their demonic forms, which some now embrace as a sacred gift from their fallen goddess.
Ability Descriptions
Vanilla BG3 abilities will not be described in detail.
Passive • Superior Darkvision
Passive • Passive - Melody of the Blade
> Proficiency with the Rapier, Scimitar, and Longsword, and proficient in performing with musical instruments.
Passive • Dark Maiden’s Blessing
> Resistance to Radiant damage, Advantage on saving throws against being Charmed, and cannot be Frightened.
Passive • Disciple of the Moon
> Your racial spells shift alongside the phases of the moon. Approximately once per hour of gameplay, the moon phase shifts, altering the bonuses of your Level 1 Cantrip and Level 5 spell, and changing your Level 3 spell.
Feature • Eilistraee’s Moonfire
> Surround yourself with dancing moonmotes at will that shed moonlight within 6 meters / 20 feet of you.
Level 1 Cantrip • Lunar Missile
> Hurl a moonmote at a target, dealing Radiant damage, and on a failed save:
>> New Moon: Slow the target for 1 turn, and deal bonus Cold damage
>> Waxing crescent: Push the target 4.5 meters / 15 feet away from you
>> Full Moon: Deal bonus Radiant damage, doubled against Undead
>> Waning Crescent: Blind the target for 1 turn
Level 3 Spell • Rotates fully based on moon phase
> New Moon • Guarding Moonmotes
>> Summon a swarm of Moonmotes to protect you, granting temporary HP and retaliating against melee attacks with Cold and Radiant damage until the temporary HP has depleted
> Waxing Crescent • Gravitational Pull
>> Throw a moonshard towards a target location, dealing damage in an AOE and pulling those failing their saving throw towards the center of the area.
> Full Moon • Conjure Moonfire Blade
>> Summon a Moonfire Blade to your hand. It deals Radiant damage and remains for 10 turns. While you’re holding the blade, grants a small buff to allies within 3 meters / 10 feet of you.
> Waning Crescent • Luminescent Multiplicity
>> Summon 3 Multiples of yourself to distract enemies; each multiple increases your AC by 2. Each time an attack misses you, one multiple detonates, dealing damage and blinding those nearby on a failed save.
Level 5 Spell • Lunar Beacon
> Send down a beacon of moonlight at a target location. It lasts 5 turns, and impacts enemies within its area of effect, dealing Radiant damage, and:
>> New Moon: Freeze the ground, and deal bonus Cold damage
>> Waxing Crescent: Debuff enemies, buff allies, and deal bonus Force damage
>> Full Moon: Cover the ground in moonfire, and deal bonus Radiant damage
>> Waning crescent: Blind enemies within, and deal bonus Psychic damage
Optional Read: Subrace Lore
When creating these subraces, I wanted to ensure that they would fit into and make sense within the setting of the Forgotten Realms.
Compared to other subraces, which originated from an idea of my own, these Drow-adjacent Tiefling subraces were inspired by requests made by users of this mod - they’re losely inspired by Fey’ri, in the way that these subraces are to Drow what Fey’ri are to Sun Elves, or Tieflings to Humans. However, unlike Fey’ri, these 3 new subraces have no roots within the classic Forgotten Realms setting of D&D (at least as far as I’m aware).
So I did some research to find anchor points to work off of. The specific requests I received were primarily for “Drow Tieflings” as a whole, but one user also requested Drow Tieflings with a Far Realm twist. Since that theming is rather strong, I decided to develop that concept as a standalone subrace, and not as part of the only Drow-Tiefling subrace I originally intended to create.
Down the road I also concluded that it would make the most sense to create classic Drow themed Tieflings for both typically seen Drow allegiances - followers of Lolth, and those Drow who stand against her ideas. CovenElf suggested that Eilistraee would be a good inspiration for Seldarine inspired Tieflings, and that’s ultimately the idea I ran with (thank you <3).
However, it was still important to me that these Tiefling subraces at least made some sense in the context of this setting. The short texts you’ll find below are some background on how these races came to be - why they’re Tiefling-adjacent, how it happened, and how these subraces are ultimately connected to the world around them.
I’m not a writer, nor do I have particularly much experience writing (semi) lore-accurate tie ins for the Forgotten Realms setting (or any other official D&D setting), so my apologies to lore experts if these ideas don’t fit the reality - I still figured I would share these snippets to perhaps give interested folks something more to chew on than the short racial descriptions that made it into this mod.
Elamshinae • Blessed Weavers of the Abyssal Web
Elevated by the dark currents of the Demonweb Pits, the Elamshinae are Drow who bear the sacred mark of Lolth’s favor, transformed into abyssal entities as a testament to their unwavering devotion. This prestigious metamorphosis is a coveted honor granted only to the most devoted followers of Lolth, earned through centuries of loyalty, and granted either as a transformation of one’s own flesh, or by being chosen to birth a child destined to become Elamshinae.
The process is a perilous one, often claiming the life of the Drow birthing the child as a sacrificial offering, deemed a worthy price for the bestowed blessing. Emerging from the abyssal crucible, Elamshinae transcend their Drow origins, resembling those demonic entities that inhabit the neverending layers of the Abyss moreso than their own elven kin. Their forms are twisted, and their abilities intricately entwined with the unfathomable energies of the Demonweb Pits.
Within Drow society, Elamshinae hold esteemed positions, their demonic visages and potent powers garnering both fear and reverence. Yet, the transformation is not always as much a blessing to the chosen themselves as they might have initially thought. Some Elamshinae, despite often anticipating the fortune of this blessing for centuries, find their bodies and minds shattered by the violent process, leading to a profound disillusionment with Lolth and drow society. Those born elamshinae frequently grow up in solitude and are secretly shunned by the house whose name they bear, as the loss of an asset as valuable as a chosen devotee of lolth is often perceived as boldly exposing one’s vulnerability to a society hungry to climb the social ladder.
As a result, a not insignificant number of Elamshinae become agents of change, covertly rebelling against the very deity who once bestowed this dark destiny upon them. Some align themselves with the Seldarine drow, some seek alternative divine alliances, and others abandon their previous life in the Underdark entirely, forging a path uniquely their own. The Elamshinae, straddling the delicate balance between loyalty and rebellion, embody the intricate tapestry of dark devotion and the ever-shifting loyalties within the enigmatic world of the drow.
Velkyn’bol • Minds touched by the Ancient One
Born of the enigmatic whispers that traverse the spaces between dimensions, the Velkyn’bol are drow who have become vessels of both abyssal and far realm energies - marked by the influence of the inscrutable Ghaunadaur, the Elder Eye. These drow, forsaking Lolth and her followers, undergo a transformative ordeal that warps their bodies into demonic visages and fractures their minds, often granting them a myriad of bizarre psychic abilities. It is whispered that those touched by That Which Lurks seem unsettlingly otherworldly, as if they’d sprung from a different plane of existence, and emanate a perturbing aura that perplexes even the most steadfast of characters. Shunned by the conventional, their minds seem distant, yet their gaze pierces the veil between realms.
Velkyn’Bol are often born to Seldarine parents who have defied Lolth for centuries or are transformed after daring to venture beyond the Underdark for the first time. Despite being unwelcome guests among lolthsworn, it is not uncommon to witness a velkyn’bol return to the underdark, often within only a short period of time of originally abandoning the locale. If prompted, receiving reasoning is uncommon, as even they themselves cannot pinpoint what it is that draws them back towards the perpetual twilight and muggy caverns typically only inhabited by slimes and jellies. They embody a paradoxical existence, forever changed by forces beyond both mortal and their own understanding. Thus, it is uncommon for velkyn’bol to fully align with Seldarine efforts of reuniting followers of lolth with those of their kin that have forsaken the spider queen. Instead, they tend to wander, motivated by everything and nothing simultaneously, and at times unconsciously influenced by the subtle whispers of ghaunadaur, urging them to follow His whims.
the cursed path of the Velkyn’Bol doesn’t find its end with the completion of their metamorphosis, or, if born to be so, once they’ve grown from a mere babe to young adulthood. A haunting compulsion seizes many of them, urging rituals of sacrifice and the spread of aberrant energies. Some willingly embrace this urge, unleashing rot or invading the minds of others, unknowingly acting as conduits for the will of Ghaunadaur. In these acts, they find both reward and curse - their own minds invaded by that which lurks, simultaneously empowering them, and feasting on their very essence.
As Velkyn’Bol navigate this dual existence, torn between compulsion and consequence, the true purpose behind Ghaunadaur’s enigmatic ritual remains elusive, casting a perpetual shadow upon the once-harmonious minds of those touched by the aberrant touch of the ancient one.
Isilmnir’el • Moon-Touched
Within the shadowed annals of the Underdark, the Isilmnir’el stand as living testament to the tumultuous and continuous dance between light and darkness. Once devoted followers of the dark maiden, drowborn disciples of the lunar cycles, or those simply given life during a lunar solstice, they now bear the burden of both divine favor and cursed transformation.
When the dancing lady and seldarine deity Eilistraee fell to the vindictive hand of Lolth, her own mother, those who would become isilmnir’el found themselves at the epicenter of a cataclysmic event. The abyssal aftermath of Eilistraee’s demise twisted their elegant elven forms into something more akin to the infernal tieflings, a visual manifestation of the tragedy that struck that day.
Horns crowned their foreheads, tails lashed behind them, and pointy claws adorned their fingers – in most cases, a stark departure from the graceful visage they once held. Yet, in their demonic transformation, the Isilmnir’el became bearers of a profound dual heritage. The very remnants of Eilistraee’s shattered energy clung to them, intertwining with the abyssal essence that had marred their physicality. This union gifted them both a demonic appearance and a reservoir of moon-woven magic.
Forced into hiding after the fall of their deity - or where lolthsworn drow assumed their allegiance lay - the Isilmnir’el either fled what had once been their home, or perished at the hands of lolth’s devotees who viewed them as traitors. Many chose the perilous path of exodus from the Underdark, seeking refuge in realms where their existence might find acceptance, while others found difficulty in abandoning their previous life and attempted to re-integrate into drow society, or found their place among drow rebels and outsiders on the very outskirts of drow settlements.
With rumors of Eilistraee’s return echoing through the subterranean corridors and surface settlements alike, the Isilmnir’el emerge from the shadows, drawn to the resurgence of their once-fallen deity. Longing for safety, and perhaps a chance to unravel the mysteries of their affliction, they flock to Eilistraee’s side, following wherever rumors of her appearance lead them. Some still carry the burden of seeking a cure, while others have come to view their demonic gifts as a sacred boon from the very goddess they had thought lost.
In the moonlit rebirth of hope, the Isilmnir’el rise, navigating the delicate balance between their darkened past and the beckoning embrace of Eilistraee’s renewed light.
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