Just seeking some advice here. The character is an attractive female duelist so high dex is important. Int also plays a role with the duelist class feature that allows int mod to ac bonus. And obviously will be weapon Finesse involved so dex is important. Both of these give strong thumbs up to the tiefling.
However, the Human gains the +1 feat and +1 skillpoint (my dm allows +1 hp instead of the skillpoint if want) which is huge.
So it comes down to
Human = +2 dex, +1 feat, +1 hp/lv
Tiefling = +2 dex, +2 int, -2 cha, darkvision, 5 fire/cold/elect resist, darkness 1/day
Now as for looks. I guess I see Cha as different. Some people see it as looks but that cant be true. Hitler was the most Charismatic person the world has ever seen but he looked like ass. Having an 8 charisma could be roleplayed as the attractive but horribly spoiled princess that offends everyone by the way she talks down to them and expects everything.
And Tiefling doesnt mean you have to have a tail, horns and smell like sulfur. It means some aspect of your ancestors shows itself. It can be as little as ruby colored iris or a patch of scales down the spine of the back that one would only find in intimate situations...
Its a tough toss up for me. Any words of advice???? Plan on going Ftr 6 then Duelist so that leaves +4 fighter feats.
Just seeking some advice here.
1. I don't see a clear winner, to be honest. A human character will definitely benefit from the extra feat, especially considering that a duelist typically invests in feats such as Dodge, Mobility, Combat Expertise, etc., in addition to the mainstay Fighter feats. A tiefling may give you more tactical options, since she can lay down magical darkness then charge in while everyone else is blind. What kind of game are you playing in? What kinds of enemies or combat will you find yourself in?
2. Charisma is not just physical attractiveness. Search the boards and you will find many, many threads dedicated to the topic. You can have a PC with a low Charisma who is quite beautiful but terrible at social interaction. So unless you are planning on being the party diplomat, don't worry about Charisma and just use flavor text to describe her appearance.
Hitler was the most Charismatic person the world has ever seen...
Some people may have strong feelings about this, btw. Please consider being a bit more careful in the future.
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On tiefling ability modifiers, you might want to look into the alternate bloodline options available for tieflings from Pathfinder #25. The default set you posted is for devilspawn for example, while the other nine get a different set of +2/+2/-2 modifiers. I'm trying to find them on the PFSRD now, and I'll link them as soon as I find it.
edit-Bam. That book also provides a chart for alternate special race abilities. For those with GMs wary about allowing tieflings, there is a trait in the Council of Thieves Player's Guide called Infernal Bastard, which basically powers down the tiefling to be more on par with the core races. (Personally, I'd recommend changing the creature type away from outsider as well.)
As far as tiefling appearance goes, you're absolutely right. It can be as subtle or extreme and weird as you can imagine(as can aasimar!). If you're looking for additional inspiration, have a looksee at this thread. (and the other 1000 threads in that forum!)
You should pick the race that fits the character concept, not "Whatever gives the most bonuses" :)
Now that we've gotten that little snark out of the way:
Ostracism : an exclusion or rejection, as from a social group.
Thieflings are widely distrusted. To quote a Halfling : When you find a Thiefling you can trust - don't trust him. That kind of a penalty, at least in Golarion, goes farther than just -2 Charisma, and it should usually be felt. Yes, the bat swings both ways and some people will take pity on the Thiefling or try not to judge, but those will be exceptions, not the rule.
Regarding appearance, yes. Thieflings don't have to have tail, horns and smell like sulfur. But Thiefling outlines in PF resources (Council of Thieves has a good chapter) are fairly clear on the fact that Thiefling's appearance usually leaves very little doubt as to the Thiefling's origin, and is also fairly hard to conceal.
Mechanically, well, you have all you need. Obviously, toss-up between Thiefling and Human comes down to little more than Extra Feat VS Extra Stat & some DRs and SUs. If you want to go Thiefling, but find Darkness and the like useless, peruse (with your GM's blessing) the Thieflings writeup in the Council of Thieves AP, Book 1 - it offers a wide variety of alternate Thiefling abilities, some of which may be more appealing to you.
Bottom line : If I were you, I'd decide based on flavor & intended character theme, seeing as it's otherwise something of a 'tie' if you will. Human will give you far more flexibility in character theme and concept, while Thiefling will give you a potentially more exotic theme, with all the perks and pitfalls that come with it (such as giving GM a leash to yank on and mess with you whenever he feels like it).
+1 to what Andro said... surely the character flavor and story lends itself one way or the other. Both are good options mechanically.
Pathfinder elves get +2 Dex, +2 Int, -2 Con, but you can use your favored class bonus to hit points to counter-act that--but the alternate favored class bonuses for fighter favored class in APG mighr be more useful. There might be some cool alternate class features in the APG for a non-magical elf.
Extremely tough. Physically, the appearance wont be much difference. She will be exotic looking with dark eyes and dark eyes either way. If Tiefling, I will have her from Cheliax as a daughter of a fallen house noble or something like that. If human, the same just from some other place. Makes sense with the shallowness, materialistic ways and spoiledness.
So either race fits fine. Again, she wont scream Tiefling so socially shouldnt be a huge target over her. And beauty is beauty.
I was just wondering what you guys thought stat wise. Shes not a spellcaster so wont have access to Resist Element line of spells unless cast on her so the minor resistance will help. However, 5 resist isnt going to make or break anything probably.
The darkness is 1/day so not a huge asset but considering Pathfinder is built around the 3 encounter day, will have its uses. As does having Darkvision.
Will be 2 weapon fighter techically although she will be using her swordbreaker offhand (mithral of course just for style pts) for parries and disarms only to go along with her mithral rapier (again, more style pts). A 2 weapon fighter eats up feats so the human +1 feat is nice here.
I know the pain of deciding between tiefling and human! I've always loved tieflings even from 3.5, but it was a lot less tempting back then because of LA. Someone mentioned earlier the different types of tieflings, and those are found in the first book of the Council of Thieves.
An extra feat is always nice, as is another hp or skill point from favored class (which tieflings don't have any, I don't think...)
but if this helps there are some variants of tieflings that can give you some good bonuses.
+2 strength, +2 wisdom, -2 intelligence qlippoth-spawn
+2 strength, +2 wisdom, -2 charisma oni-spawn
+2 dex, +2 cha, -2 wis rakshasa-spawn
+2 dex, +2 cha, -2 int div-spawn
depending on what you'd like to get, those are just a few examples I thought were good for a melee person. I never really give much thought to the resistances (though they are fun for rp-reasons, such as putting your hand in fire or other things to weird out party members).
Darkvision is ALWAYS USEFUL. So I've found at least. And the darkness + darkvision is so amazing in the right situation.
Personally I'd go Tiefling just because it's so much fun in an rp sense. Even with level 6 fighter you're getting about 7 feats (I can't recall if it's pathfinder rules for a feat every odd level or if that's my homebrew...) - but I'd suggest if it is *really* important then make a list of feats you'll need. If you are hurting for that one extra? Make a human.
I also don't mind the penalty to charisma because a tiefling is usually given that because they are just 'strange' or outlandish. I have a character currently who only has glowing eyes that betray her infernal heritage - and charisma was a dump stat even before the -2. She's still attractive, but TERRIBLE with people (fitting that she's a witch, too.)
I had a tiefling Duelist that worked out pretty well...but it is really a toss up. So go with what concept you like the most.