(Here’s some late night Venomous Demesne headcanons, because I love tieflings and they’re underexplored in the lore.)

THE VENOMOUS DEMESNE

In the distant past, the continent of Sarlona was divided between many feuding kingdoms, who fought in open and in secret for countless generations. The greatest and most fearsome of these was Ohr Kaluun, infamous for its war mazes and its fiendish magic. As strife consumed that faraway land, the lords of Ohr Kaluun sought refuge and greater glories across the eastern sea, and sailed to what is now Khorvaire to gather their strength. While the other races bickered across the long ages, these heirs to power gathered their strength and studied the mysteries of creation, and when the time came for the hag sisters to propose their dream, the rulers of the Demesne graciously accepted, content to entertained this fantasy.

The people of the Venomous Demesne are so called because the strength of fiends burns in their veins, their eyes and their wits quick like serpent fangs. All bow before the Council of Four, their noble lineages proud and unbroken chains back to Ohr Kaluun’s fiercest, their bodies blessed by darkness and flame; while many petty nobles hunger for their thrones, and the common folk fear them, none would be foolish enough to openly question their reign. This leaves the great houses free to squabble in secret, their deadly meddling an open secret that nonetheless is carefully kept out of the public eye; best for the people and outsiders alike to see them united.

None in the Demesne are untouched by infernal might; while those who lived in Ohr Kaluun were human, centuries of proximity to summoning and binding of fiends has forever touched them. Most manifest subtle signs - unnatural shades of skin, slight claws or fangs, pupils like those of snakes, cats, and goats - while the ruling class stand proudly apart from humanity. Horns, tails, hooves, and scales are not at all uncommon throughout the nobility, and each line of the Four has their own distinct appearances that all natives can recognize on sight.

Few things are sacred among the tieflings, but all agree that an oath is inviolate; there’s no swifter way to find death and little remorse than to break your word. All worthwhile oaths are sealed with a shared spilling of blood - a drop or two from finger will suffice - while those of true importance are marked with tattoos; the practice is as ancient as it is significant, with many nobles not only marking their oaths, but also listing their impressive ancestries. For the greatest among the Four, their arms and backs are often wholly covered in ink, listing owed debts and tracing their bloodlines back to the old continent.

Faith has little place in the Venomous Demesne, for the tieflings respect immediate power, not faraway divinity. While old Sarlona had worship similar to the modern Host and the Silver Flame both, these have minimal presences in the Demesne, though worship of The Shadow has found a surprising foothold, learned from the other peoples of Droaam. Some confused outsiders believe the Demesne worship fiends, but nothing could be further from the truth; they respect fiends as a source of power, but bargain with them as equals (or as the most arrogant arcanists might even suggest, lessers), seeing their might as a tangible force worthy of respect and ready to use.

A note on languages: The tieflings of the Venomous Demesne speak Common and Abyssal, but almost everyone knows a few phrases and curses in Old Common (the ancient language of Sarlona), while the nobility are fluent in Old Common and refuse to do business in any other tongue.

THE COUNCIL OF FOUR

Four great noble houses rule the Venomous Demesne, and to hear them tell it, they’ve ruled since the time of Ohr Kaluun. Whatever the truth, their leadership is clear and unquestioned today, and they face few likely threats beyond those from outside and from each other.

HOUSE RUKAAN

Ohr Kaluun was a nation at war for most of its history, and while magic was its birthright and greatest tool, they were not above martial glory. House Rukaan claims descent from not only the vanished warlords, but also the builders of the labyrinthine war mazes that protected the ancient kingdom; today, their soldiers carry on techniques otherwise dead for thousands of years. All but the crudest of their heirs have at least some talent for battle magic, augmenting steel with spell, and some have ventured beyond the Demesne to act as mercenaries, all while reporting back to the masters of their house.

The tieflings of House Rukaan are touched almost exclusively by fiends from Shavarath, and as such look ‘classically’ infernal; flesh in shades of red or grey are common, and all have thick horns rising from their brows, while thick tails, pronounced fangs, and patches of scales are all prevalent.

House Rukaan is currently ruled by Warmarshal Nul Rukaan, a steely middle-aged woman who claimed the position from her father after slaying him in an honor duel. She’s remarkably cool under pressure, and almost never loses her temper, with an open fondness for efficiency and disdain for excuses. Warmarshal Rukaan is never seen without a clawed gauntlet of dark metal on her left hand, the source of much speculation throughout the Demesne.

(Mechanically, tieflings of House Rukaan are usually either the standard race or the Zariel subrace. The most fitting classes are Battlemaster and Eldritch Knight Fighter, Conquest Paladin, and Hexblade Warlock.)

HOUSE NALUUN

The mystical ambition of Ohr Kaluun was unmatched in its day, and for the arcanists of House Naluun it’s a legacy they eagerly embrace. No other house has done more to advance their understanding of arcane theory; their archives of pacts are unrivaled in their vastness and variety, and no other bloodline has more chaotic magical power coursing through it. That many arrogant scions of House Naluun are slain by their would-be patrons or are claimed by deals unwisely mad is no matter, as it means only the most clever remain to continue the tradition.

House Naluun is a motley lot, tainted as they are by what seems like nearly every plane. Flesh of impossible colors, sometimes mixed together unevenly in blotchy patterns (Risian ice blues, Fernian reds and golds, unearthly greens and purples and metallic hues) are universal, and hooves nearly so. Almost every scion of House Naluun is prominently tattooed with the words of their various pacts.

House Naluun is led by Kohr Naluun, as it has been for eight decades, and the man looks as dignified and hearty as he did when he first took on the role; some claim he is either working towards or has already mastered undeath, and hides behind an illusion. Kohr’s mind is ferociously keen, and he makes a point of watching over the first summonings of his house’s youths, scouting for innate talent. Almost every inch of his pale blue skin is marked with ink, the triumphant words of a countless pacts.

(Mechanically, tieflings of HOUSE B can be almost any sort, though Fierna, Levistus, and Abyssal are especially fitting. The most fitting classes are War Wizard, Shadow Sorcerer, and any kind of Warlock, fabut especially Fiendish.)

HOUSE KAANUN

Appearing removed from the machinations of their peers, House Kaanun busies itself with matters easily dismissed as academic. Most devote their attentions fully to study of the Draconic Prophecy, primarily as it is written in the movements of the heavens above, their astrologers mapping the movements of the moons and stars. Few beyond the dragons themselves have better records of celestial motion across the long centuries, and debate rages (quietly, and never in view of outsiders) as to the meaning and imminence of portions of Prophecy, with a few trusted scions sent beyond the Demesne to explore the wider world and return with further knowledge.

Curiously, the scions of House Kaanun are not influenced by the fiends of the planes, but rather the storied and infamous rakshasa; light fur with tiger stripes, feline eyes, and long, swishing tails are their sign, while some truly blessed are born with those fiends’ signature backwards hands.

Uhl Kaanun is irritable and aloof, young for their station but selected at birth by a fortuitous alignment of the stars. They have little interest in actually running their house, preferring instead to carry out their own mapping of the constellations and engaging their peers in conversation, an attitude that makes them popular; most of House Kaanun feel as though they are simply one of them, though capable of insights even the old masters find surprising.

(Mechanically, the tieflings of House Kaanun are represented very well by the Glasya and Dispater subraces. The most fitting classes are Archfey and Fiend Warlock, Glamour Bard, and Arcane Trickster Rogue.)

HOUSE LOKAHN

While others dabble in cosmic mysteries or chase the glories of the past, House Lokahn has its gaze firmly placed on the here and now, with material wealth and power their chief concerns. It was voices from House Lokahn who were loudest in supporting the Daughters of Sora Kell in their dreams of nationhood (and their place within it), and their scions who range the furthest from the borders of the Demesne in pursuit of foreign contacts. Already they have emissaries in a few of the courts of the Five Nations, mingling as any exotic noble would, while their assassins and thieves work in Sharn’s criminal underbelly to expand Droaam’s reach.

House Lokahn trafficks with those who trade in secrets and shadow, and as such their lineage manifests clear influence from Mabar and Dolurrh; skin and eyes of impossibly pale or inky black (sometimes one bleeding into the other like a stain), eyes that appear blind, and painfully gaunt frames that show clearly their bones.

Nor Lokahn is warm and friendly, and makes an exceedingly great host, every bit the gracious foreign royal outsiders would be pleasantly surprised to meet. Her opulent silks and ever-present smoking pipe are but the humblest signs of her sprawling fortune, and her constant fanged smile encourages guests to speak perhaps more than they should. Behind the comfort and kindness, Nor Lokahn is a ruthless mastermind with a flawless memory, gladly juggling dozens of schemes both within the Demesne and across the continent.

(Mechanically, the tieflings of House Lokahn are represented well by the Feral and Devil’s Tongue alternate traits, or the Baalebul and Mephistopheles subraces. The most fitting classes are Whisper Bard, Horizon Walker Ranger, Shadow and Long Death Monk, and Assassin Rogue.)