Put on your wizard robe and hat and let’s play a Tiefling Wizard in BG 3!
Meet the wizard
In this first playthrough, we play as a male Tiefling Wizard. You’ll notice that we, as a Tiefling, can select one of three sub-races: Asmodeus, Mesphistopheles, and Zariel.
Asmodeus
The Asmodeus Tiefling, which is also the one we’ve chosen for this playthrough, seems ideal for a magic-user. According to the lore, Asmodeus’ are “bound to Nessus, the deepest layer of the hells“.
They inherit the ability to wield fire and darkness from the Archdevil Asmodeus’ infernal bloodline. Sounds quite menacing and appropriate, given our objectives and appearance.
Let’s look at the features, traits, and cantrips.
The Asmodeus has Hellish resistance (you can handle the heat!) as well as Darkvision. Darkvision provides you with superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in Darkness as if it were dim light.
Subrace stats include base racial speed, +1 to Intelligence (a handy stat for spellcasters), and +2 Charisma (improves the chance your spells will land).
Mephistopheles
The Mephistopheles Tiefling is the second subrace. According to the game, they are “descended from the archdevil Mephistopheles”. They are gifted with a particular affinity for arcane magic.
This one gives you the same race features (hellish resistance and Darkvision) as well as the same subrace traits. Base Racial speed, Intelligence +1, and Charisma +2. Same as the Asmodeus.
“…select one of three sub-races”.
Zariel
The third and final sub-race is the Zariel. They have the Hellish Resistance and Darkvision as the previous two, however they have a +1 to strength (vs. intelligence). If you intend to play as a martial-type character, this is probably the sub-race to select.
According to the game, “Tieflings from Zariel’s bloodline are empowered with martial strength, and can channel searing flame to punish their enemies“.
I also opted to select a magic-friendly background. I selected Sage, as I am playing as a wizard.
Sages are “curious and well-read, with an unending thirst for knowledge”. Seems like a solid choice, all things considered.
You also get two background features that go along with whatever background you choose. In my case, I had arcana proficiency and history proficiency as my pre-selected choices.
Spell Selection
Spell selection is a very important part of your process, especially the spells you choose to learn (6/6) and the ones you prepare (4/4). I found the pre-selected choices to be quite solid, however, there are a lot of spells to choose from, some of which are not overly intuitive.
Without further ado, join me on my journey as a Tiefling Wizard!
Links
Baldur’s Gate 3 – Character customization
Baldur’s Gate 3 – Level up your character