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If we were to analyze this biologically we would look at modern analogs. There are many animals that use their non-prehensile tails to attack, mostly out of defense. This is most commonly seen in lizards like iguanas, monitors and even crocodillians. There are dinosaurs that display this ability as well; ankylosaurus, stegosaurus, although these behaviors are speculated from comparison to modern analogs much like what we're doing with the tiefling.
The difference between these and a tiefling is that these animals have scaly skin which behaves much like armor, protecting the soft flesh. Due to the non-prehensile nature of the tieflings tail, not only would a blade have to be attached but additionally, the attack would have to be made, in my opinion (you are allowed to disagree), by pivoting on his/her feet to fling his/her tail around much like a headbanger flings his hair at a rock concert. I'm trying to come-up with a mammal that uses its tail to attack and so far I can't think of anything.
You would also have to be aware that flinging a tail with a weight attached to the end and then smashing it into a solid object could cause not only a great deal of pain to the tail owner but could likely break it. I bet a broken tail is rather painful. This could be good rationale for this not being considered a legitimate attack in the first place. My dogs certainly don't seem to have too much feeling in their tail though when they are wagging it so hard it's constantly smacking the door.
Only a broad, thick tail would be useful for swimming so I would rule that out. I will agree with the balance idea and add another one. Cheetahs use their tails like a rudder. By directing its location they can counterbalance their own weight allowing them to change direction quickly while pursuing prey. Unfortunately, this requires a very long tail (at least again the length of their body) with good muscle control, coordination and flexibility (but in no way prehensile).
I'd be interested in tying various weights to the tails of several animals to see what the effect is on their tail's mobility, all in the name of SCIENCE. You can participate in your own home with your pets.

I_roll_ones wrote:

The spike on the tail may just be so others don't grab it.

Or, it could be a status marker amongst tieflings, if they can afford so many swords that they can put some on their tail, showing off how much money they have.

That's a pretty cool idea, actually. Tiefling tail decorations as indications of rank.

Oh, and the Canadian Porcupine and extinct armadillo-like Doedicurus are two species of mammals that used their tails as weapons. The Porcupine, of course, is cover with quills that stick into the flesh of attackers, while the Doedicurus had a massive bone club at the end of its tail, similar to an Ankylosaur's.

There's a good reason tieflings don't all make tail attacks - it's impractical. Unless the player made some concession to the need to undergo extensive training in attacking with the tail (like paying for it with an at will slot) I'd probably work the rules out so that it was a better idea to use some other limb in almost every circumstance if I was the DM. If the player did make such a concession, I'd probably make it require custom weapons, allow it to be used against opponents in the character's rear quadrant and flanks, and do 1(W) +STR, or 1(W) with a small chance of knockdown. The weapon itself would have to be pretty heavy, since odds are the attack would have to rely on force to deal its damage.

Maybe that's just me being an old grouch because I've had one too many player try to pass off a nonhuman character to get free attacks with the extra bits. I have to think, though, that if the developers wanted to allow tieflings to use their tails in combat they'd have put in rules to balance it against other racial abilities.

Red tails are good for stealing 6-packs.

ixious wrote:

so when do i grow full-time wings and get my pitchfork heavy laden with babies?.....ok, more serious, the MMALWAYS has the NPC versions of the races a bit more "perfected" than the PC versions for control issues. I think eventually there will be feats for both dragonborn and tiefling to take advantage of an aspect of their anatomy, be it a dragonborn finally capable of growing the wings his brethern have on page 87, or the tiefling gaining the ability to use his tail for an attack, in my game flavor reins supreme as long as it is realiztic for the game, so yeah, ask your dm if in your gam the tail can be used or is it about as useful as a salamander tail.....

I'm calling Racial Paragons for that, perhaps not feats.