Genasi
Genasi are mortals born with a strong connection to elemental power. Most are associated with air, earth, fire, or water, though rarer manifestations linked to other elemental influences are also known.
Their origins vary considerably. Some descend from genies or other elemental beings, while others are born after a family, region, or individual has been exposed to unusually strong elemental magic. In some cases, there may be no obvious explanation for why a Genasi was born at all.
Genie ancestry is one of the better understood sources. Djinn are associated with Air, Dao with Earth, Efreet with Fire, and Marids with Water, and descendants of these elemental peoples can carry that influence through mortal bloodlines for generations.
Other Genasi arise without any known elemental ancestor. Powerful storms, volcanic activity, unusual geological events, elemental vortices, prolonged planar exposure, and similar disturbances have all been associated with Genasi births, though the exact relationship is not always understood.
Despite this connection, Genasi are mortal people rather than elementals. Their elemental nature influences their appearance and abilities, but they remain living Humanoids like the families and peoples into which they are born.
Because their origins are so varied, Genasi have no single homeland or shared ancestry. Two people with nearly identical elemental traits may come from entirely different cultures and have no connection beyond the nature of their magic.
Fire Genasi
Fire Genasi carry a connection to elemental fire, whether through Efreet ancestry, exposure to the Plane of Fire, or another source of powerful elemental influence.
They commonly have warm or dark skin tones, sometimes marked by a faint ember-like glow. Their hair may resemble ordinary hair, smoke, or flame, and their bodies are naturally warm. Their breath may also steam noticeably in cold weather.
Fire Genasi births are more frequently reported in volcanic regions and places where elemental fire is unusually strong. Families with established Efreet ancestry can also produce Fire Genasi far from any such environment.
They are sometimes associated with smithing and other work involving intense heat. This is largely a practical association created by their natural abilities rather than a cultural expectation, and Fire Genasi can be found in any profession.
Stories and popular descriptions often portray them as impatient or quick-tempered. Among Genasi themselves, this is generally regarded as a stereotype based on their elemental appearance rather than a reliable description of character.
Water Genasi
Water Genasi carry a connection to elemental water, commonly through Marid ancestry or exposure to powerful elemental water.
Their appearance varies considerably. Blue, green, grey, and other aquatic tones are common, while some develop webbed fingers, patches of scales, or other features associated with life in water.
Water Genasi births are more frequently reported along coasts, rivers, lakes, and other places where large bodies of water or elemental influence are especially strong. The Plane of Water itself contains enormous variation in temperature, salinity, minerals, and currents, and Water Genasi bloodlines can show similar differences in appearance.
Two Water Genasi from distant regions may therefore share little resemblance beyond a few broad traits. One may have smooth skin and dark sea-green hair, while another may display scales, unusual coloration, or other aquatic features.
Many are comfortable in water from an early age, but this does not determine where they live or the kind of life they choose.
Air Genasi
Air Genasi carry a connection to elemental air, commonly through Djinn ancestry or exposure to powerful winds, storms, or other manifestations of elemental Air.
They often have pale blue, grey, or similarly muted skin tones. Their hair may move in a faint breeze even when the surrounding air is still, and similar small disturbances sometimes accompany their movements.
Air Genasi births are reported more frequently in mountain regions, storm-prone lands, and other places where elemental Air is particularly strong. Natural connections to the Plane of Air are themselves often associated with high peaks and powerful storms, though an Air Genasi can be born far from either.
Air Genasi are frequently described as restless or unable to remain in one place for long. This is a common assumption based on their association with wind and open sky rather than a trait shared by the lineage.
Earth Genasi
Earth Genasi carry a connection to elemental earth, commonly through Dao ancestry or exposure to powerful geological or elemental forces.
Their skin often resembles stone or clay, sometimes with visible mineral deposits, crystalline growths, or patterns running through it. Some are noticeably heavier than their size would suggest.
Their births occur most often around mountains, deep caverns, mineral-rich regions, and other places where elemental Earth is particularly strong. Earthquakes, newly exposed deposits, and other major geological disturbances have also occasionally been followed by unusual numbers of Earth Genasi births.
Their natural durability can be useful in physically demanding work, and this has influenced how they are viewed in some communities. It does not restrict the work they choose, and Earth Genasi can be found in the same range of professions as anyone else.
Elemental Heritage
The four major Genasi lineages correspond to the four principal Elemental Planes, but elemental influence is not always so neatly divided.
Along the boundaries between the Elemental Planes, Air, Earth, Fire, and Water mingle within the regions collectively known as the Elemental Chaos. Ice, magma, mud, smoke, and other mixed elemental environments can form where these influences meet.
Rarer Genasi sometimes display traits that do not fit cleanly within the four most common lineages. Such individuals may be associated with mixed elemental influences, unusual elemental beings, or circumstances that are poorly understood.
These uncommon manifestations are generally regarded as variations of the same broader Planetouched phenomenon rather than evidence that all Genasi share a single ancestry or origin.
Genasi Communities
There is no single Genasi culture. Most grow up within the customs, language, religion, and family traditions of the people around them.
In places where Genasi births are common, local customs sometimes develop around particular lineages. Families may preserve records of earlier Genasi births, while settlements familiar with elemental traits are usually better prepared for children whose abilities appear at a young age.
Other Genasi grow up as the only person of their kind in their community. Some later seek out others who share their elemental nature, while others have little reason to do so and remain closely tied to the culture in which they were raised.
Communities containing several Genasi lineages do exist, particularly in places where elemental magic has remained strong for generations. These groups are usually connected by location and shared experience rather than common ancestry.
Even families with known genie ancestry rarely constitute a separate Genasi culture. A descendant of a Djinn raised in Vel'Nathar and one raised in Shen-Su may share an elemental connection while having very little else in common.
Genasi Across Eldareth
Genasi appear throughout Eldareth's recorded history, although their populations have generally remained scattered. Larger concentrations tend to develop in regions where elemental magic is unusually strong or where particular elemental bloodlines have persisted for generations.
Periods of major elemental disturbance have long been associated with increases in Genasi births. Scholars and druids therefore pay attention when several children with similar elemental traits are born in the same area within a short period of time.
The Upheaval produced the most widespread increase recorded in recent history. As Eldareth's relationship with the surrounding planes became less stable, dormant elemental traits surfaced more frequently within existing families, while new Genasi appeared in regions affected by planar disturbances and elemental bleed.
This increase occurred alongside the growing numbers of Aasimar, Tieflings, and others with pronounced planar traits. By the early Reckoning Years, these peoples were increasingly referred to collectively as the Planetouched, their growing presence becoming one of the clearest signs that the Upheaval had permanently altered Eldareth's relationship with the planes.
The connection between elemental conditions and individual births is still not completely understood. Some increases follow an obvious magical or environmental event, while others occur without any known disturbance. In families with established genie ancestry, a Genasi may also appear after several generations in which no pronounced elemental traits were visible.
Different cultures interpret these births in different ways. Some treat them as signs of elemental favor or warnings connected to local events, while others regard them as an uncommon but natural consequence of elemental magic interacting with mortal life.
Most Genasi ultimately belong to the communities in which they were raised. Their elemental nature affects their bodies and abilities, but their customs, loyalties, professions, and beliefs come from the lives they build around it.
Common Genasi Traits
Combine the following traits with the traits associated with the lineage you select.
Ability Score Increase. When determining your character's ability scores, increase one score by 2 and increase a different score by 1, or increase three different scores by 1. You can't raise any of your scores above 20.
Creature Type. You are a Humanoid.
Size. You are Medium.
Speed. Your 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 discern colors in that darkness only as shades of gray.
Languages. Your character can speak, read, and write Common and one other language that you and your DM agree is appropriate for the character. The Player's Handbook offers a list of languages to choose from. The DM is free to modify that list for a campaign.
Air Genasi Traits
Fleet of Foot. Your walking speed is 35 feet instead of 30.
Unending Breath. You can hold your breath indefinitely while you're not incapacitated.
Lightning Resistance. You have resistance to lightning damage.
Mingle with the Wind. You know the Shocking Grasp or Gust cantrip.
Starting at 3rd level, you can cast the Feather Fall spell with this trait, without requiring a material component. Starting at 5th level, you can also cast the Levitate spell with this trait, without requiring a material component. Once you cast Feather Fall or Levitate with this trait, you can't cast that spell with it again until you finish a long rest. You can also cast either of those spells using any spell slots you have of the appropriate level.
Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells when you cast them with this trait. Choose the ability when you select this lineage.
Earth Genasi Traits
Earth Walk. You can move across difficult terrain without expending extra movement if you are using your walking speed on the ground or a floor.
Merge with Stone. You know the Mold Earth or Blade Ward cantrip. If you select Blade Ward to use with this trait, you can cast it as normal, and you can also cast it as a bonus action a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, regaining all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Starting at 3rd level, you can cast the Earth Tremor spell with this trait. Starting at 5th level, you can cast the Meld into Stone spell with this trait, without requiring a material component. Once you cast Earth Tremor or Meld into Stone with this trait, you can't cast that spell with it again until you finish a long rest. You can also cast either of those spells using any spell slots you have of the appropriate level.
Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells when you cast them with this trait. Choose the ability when you select this lineage.
Fire Genasi Traits
Fire Resistance. You have resistance to fire damage.
Reach to the Blaze. You know the Produce Flame or Control Flames cantrip.
Starting at 3rd level, you can cast the Burning Hands spell with this trait. Starting at 5th level, you can also cast the Flame Blade spell with this trait, without requiring a material component. Once you cast Burning Hands or Flame Blade with this trait, you can't cast that spell with it again until you finish a long rest. You can also cast either of those spells using any spell slots you have of the appropriate level.
Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells when you cast them with this trait. Choose the ability when you select this lineage.
Water Genasi Traits
Ocean's Embrace. You have a swimming speed equal to your walking speed.
Acid Resistance. You have resistance to acid damage.
Amphibious. You can breathe air and water.
Call to the Wave. You know the Acid Splash or Shape Water cantrip.
Starting at 3rd level, you can cast the Create or Destroy Water spell with this trait. Starting at 5th level, you can also cast the Fog Cloud spell with this trait, without requiring a material component. Once you cast Create or Destroy Water or Fog Cloud with this trait, you can't cast that spell with it again until you finish a long rest. You can also cast either of those spells using any spell slots you have of the appropriate level.
Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells when you cast them with this trait. Choose the ability when you select this lineage.