Homebrew Genie Species Details

Creatures of the Elements. A genie is born when the soul of a sentient living creature melds with the primordial matter of an elemental plane. Usually, this happens near a point of overlap or contact between the elemental and material plane. Even then, only under rare circumstances does such an elemental-infused soul coalesce into a manifest form and create a genie. A genie usually retains no connection to the soul that gave it form, as the process through which it is created strips the soul of all its distinct accoutrements. That soul is simply a life force, a building block for a genie's being. It does, however, determine the genie's form and apparent gender, as well as maybe one or two key personality traits. Sometimes, it is possible for just life energy to accumulate and make a genie. This takes a much longer process, as life energy from many souls must be pulled together to be sufficient. Although they resemble humanoid beings, genies are actually more like spirits given physical form. Hence, some see genies have a "tail" or a wisp instead of legs sometimes. They don't mate with other genies or produce genie offspring, as all new genies are born out of the same mysterious fusion of spirit energy and elemental power. They do, however, occasionally court, though they often are so caught up in their own affairs they rarely meet another genie. A genie with a stronger connection to its mortal soul might choose to sire a child with a mortal, although such offspring are rare. When a genie perishes, it leaves nothing behind except for a small trace of its native element: a pile of dust, a gust of wind, a flash of fire and smoke, or a burst of water and foam.

Rule or Be Ruled. Mortal slaves serve to validate a genie's power and high self-opinion. A hundred flattering voices are music to a genie's ears, while two hundred mortal slaves prostrated at its feet are proof that it is lord and master. Humans who sometimes fail games with genies or cross these mighty creatures will often be enslaved, forced to do labor to upkeep the genie's abode as well as care for the genie itself. Genies view slaves as living property, which is worth more than standard property like a palace or currency. A genie without property amounts to nothing among its own kind, as their pride somes from a sort of materialism. As a result, many genies treasure their slaves, treating them as honored members of their households. Evil genies freely threaten and abuse their slaves, but never to the extent that the slaves are no longer of use. In contrast to their love of slaves, most genies loathe being bound to service themselves. A genie obeys the will of another only when bribed or compelled by magic, usually imprisonment. All genies command the power of their native element, but a rare few also possess the power to grant wishes. For both these reasons, mortal mages often seek to bind genies into service, whether they grant wishes or not.

Decadent Nobility. Noble genies are the rarest of their kind and are the only known genies to possess magic to grant wishes. They are used to getting what they want and have learned to trade their ability to grant wishes to attain the objects of their desire. This constant indulgence has made them decadent, while their supreme power over reality makes them haughty and arrogant. Their vast palaces overflow with wonders and sensory delights beyond imagination. Noble genies cultivate the jealousy and envy of other genies, asserting their superiority at every opportunity. Other genies respect the influence of the noble genies, knowing how unwise it is to defy a creature that can alter reality on a whim. A genie isn't beholden to any noble genie, however, and will sometimes choose to defy a noble genie's will and risk the consequences. Sometimes individual genies may plot together to rebel against a noble, but this usually ends badly when the target can easily snap and make all the schemers vanish from existence.

The Power of Worship. Genies acknowledge the gods as powerful entities but have no desire to court or worship them. The noble genies in particular have powers practically rivaling a deity due to wish magic. They find the endless fawning and mewling of religious devotees tiresome - unless it is directed towards them by their worshipful slaves. Their miraculous powers, the grandeur of their abodes, and the numbers of their slaves allow some genies to deceive themselves into believing that they are as powerful as the gods. Some go so far as to demand that mortals of other realms — even whole continents or worlds — bow down before them and erect structures in their honor.

Genie Traits

Race Trait

Genie Traits

 Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2.
Age. A Genie, being an elemental being will live for as long as the elemental plane they are aligned with continues to exist.
Alignment. Genies are elemental chaos fused with a lost soul and as such, they are generally of the same alignment or within one factor of that alignment as most of their kind. See the suggested alignment of the Genie Subrace Table.
Size. Genies are immense creatures by human standards that can measure up to 9 feet tall. Their weights vary greatly from the Djinni who barely weigh anything to the Dao that can weigh over 300 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. 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. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Hover. You can float a few feet above the ground. This allows you to ignore most forms of difficult terrain and gives you advantage on saving throws against being knocked prone. However, you can float no higher than 5 feet and when you are reduced to 0 hit points you stop hovering.
Elemental Demise. When you die, your body disintegrates into either, a crystalline powder, a warm breeze, a flash of fire and smoke, a burst of water and foam, depending on your subrace, leaving behind only the equipment you were wearing or carrying.
Languages. You can read, speak, and write Common and the Primordial dialect of your home plane, see the Genie Subrace Table. Primordial is a guttural language, filled with harsh syllables and hard consonants.
Subrace. Genie's have vastly different subraces based on their home elemental plane. Pick one from Dao, Djinni, Efreeti, and Marid.