What has all this got to do with me? If you are already an AD&D player, especially if you do Planescape, it has everything to do with you. If not, read my article "Why should someone who doesn't do AD&D read all this stuff?"

What is a tiefling? The Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix I says:

"Tieflings are the offspring of the planes, as varied as the places they call home. Superficially human, their appearance always betrays them: some sport small horns, others have pointed ears, scales, a cloven hoof, or just a wicked gleam in their eye that never leaves."

Popular opinion on the Planescape Mailing List states that most tieflings are descended from the fiends, who represent powerful forces of evil in the Planescape universe. Many are of an evil disposition, and those that remain are strong-willed and frequently unfriendly. Some tieflings simply are the way they are because their families have lived at the heart of universal evil for so long.

Why do I like tieflings? Tony DiTerlizzi's pictures of them in Planescape books inspired me strongly to have an interest in these creatures. His tieflings are glamourous, impressive and interesting. Also, the Planescape books contain descriptions of a lot of fascinating tiefling characters. I like tieflings so much that I have adopted 'Tiefling' as my IRC nickname.

Why 'A Tiefling's Exultation'? In The Planewalker's Handbook, in the section on tieflings, there is a sodawful depressing poem (no offence to the author, I realise it was meant to be a bit miserable) called 'The Tiefling's Lament', in which a tiefling bemoans his fate as one of life's outcasts. I decided that I wanted to show that tieflings, and all outcasts, can improve their lot by improving their attitudes. The tiefling of the title of my page is proud of what he is, and what he can be. Hence 'A Tiefling's Exultation'.