I've had the impression that the tieflings are trying to manage their life as best as they can, not that they are "earning their keep". For example, I am not sure if the smith running his forge/shop there is all that beneficial to the grove. But what I find amusing is that what they have in common with the druids is that both ask you to undertake a mission for them, but neither is really willing to support you.
You are not the only one with such an impression. At the actual fight tieflings only open/close gates, the mercs fight. And tieflings are "so good" at watching their (mind you!) mischievous, that the children are stealing left and right and practically run a criminal ring there already. Tieflings demand, they squabble with the druids and each other, they treat the place as their own.
The food and goods tiefling mind, are some they prepare for the trip. They meet you, a total stranger with some fighting capabilities, and do not ask you to guard them - a reasonable request, no, they want you to clear the full path for them, to kill hoards of goblins. And in addition to killing all goblins, they want you to kill Kahga - and for that Zevlor is willing to pay, not for goblins. What kind of "innocent good people" are these?!
Really, Kahga's suggestion is very reasonable here - bring those tieflings to the city, protecting on the way. Sure, it's easier than taking down the whole goblin camp? And druids can take care of the grove in peace and quiet.
This is metagaming knowledge to me. At this point unless you took a really long way around to the grove, you do not now what the goblins forces are, you haven't met Minthara. This is the situation Aradin's party run into. And at that point they were comparable to your party in fighting power and equipment. His estimate was that the goblins were top much for a small mercenary party too handle. And frankly if the goblins & their leaders were not controlled by a computer, but by another player would they still be easy to beat?
Pretty much that. Tieflings are just terrible.
But we were here to thank Larians for the new class (yes, the beloved one for so many!) and for the option to stay at least in some cases neutral.
