For some reason, Wizards of the Coast failed to do the concept of Genasi justice, as they have long been eclipsed in popularity by Tieflings, and to a lesser extent Aasimar. So now it’s up to us to correct this grave injustice! Do whatever you want to show how you’ve used Genasi in your campaigns and worlds, post Genasi art, or suggest ways that we can make Genasi more popular/better, and correct WotC’s failings in the process. I don’t know about you, but I think that Genasi deserve a decent creation table of traits people can roll for their Genasi to have. I’ve scoured the internet, but I’ve only found ones for Aasimar and Tieflings, and I can’t let that stand. Where should we start besides szuldar patterns and features from animals associated with their elements, like fish scales for Water Genasi or feathers for Air Genasi?
I don't have genasi in my games, they're stupid.
>>92818545And why are they stupid, so we can fix them?
>>92818532>>92818609steal pathfinder's oread/ifrit/sylph/undinebut make them mechanically strong so people will actually consider them
>>92818609There's nothing to fix. Their basic concept is retarded and unsuitable for anything but the most dumbass high flying Warcraft fantasy.
>>928185324th edition had the best iteration of genasi, hands down.>No forced division into four broadly identical races (there's a reason non-munchkins remember elf/drow, but never mountain dwarf/hill dwarf)>Ability for genasi to transform between elemental affinities unlocks so much potential for crunch and lore.>Genasi using their transformation ability to actively exploit the mental shift caused by having different elemental affinities is great.>Genuinely interesting powers instead of just cookie cutter "minor elemental spell-like ability".>Lore shift to Chaos + Elemental makes them a lot deeper and offers more character options.
>>92818532They're non-canon, but I love the Dread Genasi from Ravenloft, because they're perfect for the kind of goofy Castlevania-esque Dark Fantasy that the setting should have been and not the boring "collage of let's play X Gothic Horror Novel! adventure sites" that it largely ended up as.
>>92818609And how can We do that, other than the ideas you already talked about? And what else? Nails? Any thoughts are appreciated. Thoughts?Can’t believe people still fall for your shit. Really kinda exposes the sheer number of tourists.
>>92818532Imo genasi are only worth including if your game's setting involves a heavy emphasis on djinnis and elemental spirits, the same as tieflings should only be included if your setting involves demons or devils as one of its core aspects. If you're playing in Calimshan then yeah, include genasi for sure. If you're playing in Mendev or 4e with it's fallen teigling empire then include teiflings. Otherwise they're too high fantasy for me.
>>92818532Do genasi in your setting use nails?
>>92818532Well, one thing we can do is have Genasi for elements outside of the primary four of Air, Water, Earth, and Fire. Would your players be interested in Genasi of Light or Shadow, like picture related I found?
>>92819002These Dread Genasi sound awesome, have you ever used any in a campaign of your own?
>>92818609For my Genasi, they are ALWAYS the product of a genie (or whatever) and a human. Without the former you will always and only ever get a human, even if two genasi of the same type mate. They also have features that are much more elemental in some cases. Water genasi can leave behind wet prints even when completely dry, or sound like they're talking muffled underwater. Earth genasi can be permanently dusty or have eyes that gleam like gemstones. And so on.
>>92822572So the descendants of Genasi don’t inherit anything at all from their parents, at least in terms of their elemental nature. What are you thinking for Fire and Air Genasi traits besides leaving charcoal behind or having the sound of the wind constantly around them, respectively?
I think planetouched are cool, but I'm not sure what to do with them. I was thinking of some kind of nation - maybe of magic users - where Genasi-types are the upper class, but not sure what to do with it in a setting.
>>92824236>Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the Genasi lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Genasi attacked.
>>92818532Because like most additional races, they were shit. It's very simple
>>92818532I just got a very talented and very goofy art-friend of mine to draw 5 prize fighters for one of my modern magic setting's sessions, and from there I colored them in for him and figured out what exactly they were and their stats and such. One of them I decided would be a fire genasi named Gas-O'-Leen who ended up getting the absolute shit beat out of him and was thrown out of the gym's window.
>>92826481This isn't your game any more, incel.
>>92824236Isn't that what Calimshan is?
>>92818532Are there any good alternative names for Genasi or a Genasi-like race, because perhaps a new name might increase interest.
>>92824236Nice genasi pic! Why does she have fangs though?
>>92829620I laugh every time you bring up names again, you crazy bumping autist
>>92824206I believe I had fire genasi can have sparks spit from their mouth with each breath or word, are always warm to the touch, etc; air genassi... yeah, one of the big ones is their hair always looks like its blowing or the wind picks up a bit around them when they speak, but they could also be far lighter than they appear to be have a grip that feels delicate and light no matter how strong it actually is.
>>92831863>or have a grip*
>>92821040No. That's retarded. Light and shadow aren't elements.
>>92818532To make genasi interesting, you have to make them not genasi. By which I mean that they need to be four distinct races, rather than one race with four subdivisions that you have to remember. Four different names, four different body types, four different everything.
>>92831974Okay, so how would you differentiate these elemental races from each other or normal Genasi besides just copying Avatar?
>>92831950How about they act as modifiers to the standard elements then?
>>92818994>4e COMPLETELY FIXED the genasi by getting rid of the part about being a creature aligned to an element and instead making you swap anytime!!!do your realise how tiring you people are
>>92832697By designing them as separate races based on the conceits and environmental factors of their planes of origin. Both visually and in terms of mechanical features--players are a lot more interested in choosing between the ability to glide and the ability to be a natural light source than they are in choosing between different sets of cantrips.
>>92818532I vaguely remember seeing a Genasi roll table attempt a few months back in the Dungeons and Dragons threads, that might be a good place to start for our own if we can find it. Here’s some Genasi Art just because too.
>>92818994yeah I had a ton of fun with a bunch of genasi characters in 4e.>>92819002what's their deal? they feed off energy from campy vampires?
>>92818532Aasimar are not more popular than Genasi.
>>92836546Oh, you’ve already made your elemental races, based on that image, I thought that you were talking hypothetically. Please, I would love to get the full scoop.
>>92821040So basically Aasimar and Tieflings, but with a more elemental bent, I can see that working.
>>92818532I’d love to see Genasi derived from races that aren’t human more often, like this Air Genasi with Goblin heritage I found online. After all, given sheer law of averages, they should show up if you think about it.
>>92831950Depends on the setting, but they’re pretty workable as elements with a little creativity.
>>92831950in my setting, light and darkness are two of the eight elements, while earth, air, water and fire aren't
>>92844981I’m intrigued. What are the other six elements in your setting, and are there any races or beings, like Genasi or otherwise, associated with them, if it’s not too much trouble?
And how Genasi would change their element? Based on seasons?
>>92818532TorLG male earth genasi ftr str 18/00, dex 3, con 19, int 8, wis 9, cha 6 (63), nat armor +1, acid resist 25%, move -1greatsword **+, two-handed **ZephyraCG female air genasi swashbuckler ("Dervish")str 10, dex 19, con 9, int 15, wis 9, cha 17 (79), electricity resist 25%, move +1scimitar *+, two weapon fighting *+, pickpocketsMalkazarLN male fire genasi sorc str 17, dex 15, con 15, int 16, wis 7, cha 19 (89), fire resist 25%staff * (+two handed *?), burning hands/mage armor/color spray, +1 fire damage melee, fire spellsScyllaCN female water genasi clr (valkur)str 13, dex 10, con 18, int 11, wis 19, cha 11 (82), cold resist 25%morningstar *, two-handed *, obscuring mist/cure light wounds x2/bless, water spells
>>92818532I think this might be maresa rost
>>92818532>Do whatever you want to show how you’ve used Genasi in your campaignsWell I ran a whole campaign set in the Elemental Planes, and oen fo the first things I established is that the common races of the Prime are vanishingly rare there; the most common humanoids are genasi, by a wide margin - as in, for example, fire genasi outnumber all other humanoid races in the Plane of Fire combined. They've also exited there and interbred with each other so much that most genasi have no idea what their humanoid ancestry could be and it's typically going to be an admixture anyway. They're mostly just descended from other genasi.I also put together these, as part of a larger effort to make a series of elemental monster manuals.
>>92818994None of this sounds remotely appealing. Christ, 4e really was the worst.
>>92848747>None of this sounds remotely appealingNot even 'Genuinely interesting powers instead of minor spell-like abilities?'I don't even know how 4e handled Genasi, so I don't know how truthful he's being, but that absolutely sounds like an improvement.
>>92849096>Not even 'Genuinely interesting powers instead of minor spell-like abilities?'I've played 4e, so I know that this is a fabrication.
>>92849898Okay, so what’s the truth?
>>92837187The full scoop? Okay. But I'll warn you, it's quite autistic.
>>92818532How would you set up a nation of Genasi, because that might be a way to give them more focus. I’m torn between having a council composed of a Genasi of each element and a king, largely because a monarch would cause the Genasi of the other three elements to feel underrepresented.
>>92852189Unifying all four subraces of genasi will keep them as a flavorless slurry. You really have to let each one shine on its own.
>>92818532After their hair, are there any parts of Genasi that make sense as being made of substances related to their element, like crystals or Earth Genasi? I can see them having fingernails made of crystals, to go back to the Earth Genasi example, or maybe crystal teeth, but what are some other parts that work?
>>92824236>I'm not sure what to do with themYou establish that there's a nation of people affected by the Para-Elemental Plane of Ooze and as such are slime genasi. Then you proceed to explore this oozy nation of sticky slime girls.
>>92818532Human+ races need to be obliterated out of existance. Fuck off and die.
>>92852131Thanks!
>>92818532What’s your favorite element of Genasi, for the aesthetics of nothing else?
>>92858704Probably Fire.
>>92818532>>92836848Think I found it. 1/21. Hair is perpetually covered elemental residue (ash, water, mud, small sparks)2. Skin changes colour in accordance with your surroundings.3. Clothing not resistant to home element is gradually destroyed when worn.4. Body takes the form of an amorphous elemental while unconscious.5. Can commune normally with an animal connected to home element (eg salamanders/fish/moles/eagles)6. No blood. Water genasi bleed water instead.7. Weather changes are always more extreme in your vicinity.8. Glows brightly in the presence of home element.9. Can only refer to natural features, such as mountains and lakes, in primordial.10. Body is surrounded by the energy of a para-elemental plane instead of elemental.11. Can only see in hues of one colour (red/blue/silver/green).12. Ground rumbles and winds intensify when injured.13. Always knows the exact locations of nearby sources of home element.14. Body is translucent with swirling elements visible beneath the skin.15. Can consume home element as if it were regular food.16. Has severe allergic reactions when in direct contact with opposite element.17. Left half of face comprised entirely of home element.18. Animals instinctively sense approach.19. Four differently coloured shadows, one for each element.20. Always smells burning, feels wet, hears a storm or tastes dirt.21. Instinctively knows the name of any elemental met face-to-face.22. Voice becomes supernaturally loud when near home element.23. Blazes with intense power when casting a spell or receiving a spell effect.24. Any children conceived are guaranteed to be born sorcerers.25. Instantly slips through any mundane bindings or restraints.26. Body can be used as an arcane focus by self and by others.27. Can't be lost so long as feet touch home element28. Voice sounds like it comes from crackling flame, turbulent waves, violent winds or rumbling earth.29. Elemental energy randomly flares from head
>>92868371Anyone have any suggestions for another 50 please? 2/230. Height and general body shape constantly shift.31. Instinctively knows whether someone frequently uses elemental power (eg elemental sorcerers and wizards, dragons)32. Never shows sign of injury when immersed in or injured by home element, but takes damage as normal.33. Feet become an indistinct elemental swirl when moving.34. Limbs seemingly meld with body when not in use.35. Invariably phrases desires as wishes.36. Intense claustrophobia.37. Can always tell the exact temperature, volume, metallic composition or speed of objects seen.38. Falls either twice as fast or half as fast.39. Eyes always reflect a random location in the home element's plane.40. A mote of elemental energy circles the head, changing shape and element in accordance to mood.41. Remains dry and comfortable in bad weather and unpleasant conditions.42. Smokes, floats, floats in a water a bubble, or slowly sinks into the ground when remaining completely still.43. Fists swirl with elemental energy and deal corresponding elemental damage when used to attack unarmed.44. When focusing, appears entirely and indistinguishably human. When distracted, appears very clearly planetouched.45. Compelled to listen whenever someone states their wishes.46. Those that touch you feel burns, frostbite, a crushing or piercing sensation, or an electric shock47. Understands the entirety of any magical effect seen that deals damage or has an effect corresponding with home element.48. Hair instantly grows when head is submerged in home element.49. Can sense incoming weather changes and natural disasters minutes before they happen.50. Requires intense focus to not speak and write in primordial
>>92831486She's an orc or half-orc genasi.
>>928210404e sorta had those as Voidsoul and Sunsoul Genasi. It also had poison/acid/storm/sand and several types of Fire besides the base (Cinder/Ember/Magma).
>>92869050Cool! We need more Genasi based on non-humans.
>>92868371>>92868383For 6 I presume that Genasi of other elements bleed things instead of blood as well?As for suggestions, what about these? Because they're all I got right now:51. Reflection has a chance to appear as if the Genasi is made of the their element52. Spells using their element have a 50% chance to be twice as powerful if cast in their vicinity.53. If a spell would do damage relating to their element, they have a 10% chance of regenerating that amount of health instead.54. Eyes flare with an elemental glare when casting a spell with that element.55. Has a feature or features from an animal connected to their home element.56. Can breath in their element or byproducts with no side effects (Fire Genasi can breath smoke, Air poison gas, etc.).
>>92852131Wow, you weren’t kidding. That IS autistic.
>>92868383How about "Can manifest a construct of their element" as a sort of pseudo-familiar?
>>92818532How common do you like your Genasi to be compared to the setting’s other races?
>>92872796I try to find them when I can, mostly I think it's elf parentage (due to pointy ears) and dwarf. Some of the dwarves might just be Azer.>>92878780About on the same level as Tieflings and Aasimar. More common in areas where the other planes touch the material, and where people deal with things like elementals or genies or whatever causes Genasi in the setting, to the point where they might even have communities that grow up in those areas.
>>92818532Not having lame as fuck abilities or modifiers would probably help a lot.
>>92868371How about "Can imbue their weapons in an elemental aura".
>>92852189>How would you set up a nation of GenasiOn the Material Plane? I wouldn't. Genasi should be vanishingly rare there, same as all other planetouched. Maybe slightly more common in some areas with a long history of elemental and especially genie interactions, like Calimshan in Faerun. But overall, still very rare.But in the Elemental Planes? I described what I'd have them be like upthread, here: >>92848683>>92858704Torn between air and fire. Fire brings with it the City of Brass and the efreeti, which I love (pic related)...
>>92885085...But I love the aesthetic of an air genasi at the edge of a floating island and considering taking the Plunge and just going to explore Elemental Air, and I absolutely love the altered physics of Elemental Air.
>>92885131>>92885085Those both do sound awesome. Got any ideas for the traits table, BTW?
>>92818532In my game, the main races are Genasi.
>>92885495Do tell please!
>>92885349Not in particular. If I was making tables I'd probably try and make them specifically for each type of genasi, too, rather than one united one for all four genasi.
>>92885349Oh, I do have more of those "genasi looking at their plane" images, though. They're all AI, I admit.
>>92886273
>>92886280
>>92886299The air genasi is definitely the one I like the most, though, now that I think about it. When I ran my Elemental campaign one of the main NPCs in Elemental Air was an air genasi thief named Sultana bint Qree, the adopted daughter of an aaracockra named Qree, Chief Smuggler of Shakeen (the flying town the PCs started in). She was just a thief NPC sidekick that I rolled up because the party lacked a thiefy character, but being me I came up with this whole background motivation for her (she's bored in Shakeen and wants to see more of the Elemental Planes) and every now and then I get the urge to write a short story with her that begins with the line "Sultana stood at the edge of her world, and seriously considered jumping."Which has the nice effect of initially sounding suicidal but due to the nature of Elemental Air is more like saying that she's at a railroad and is considering sneaking aboard the next train out of town.
>>92886253Okay, so do you have ideas for traits for each kind of Genasi for such a set of four theoretical tables that haven't been said already, just out of curiosity? If nothing else, what about animals for each element that Genasi might have a particular connection to or features of besides things like birds for Air and fish for Water?>>92886273>>92886280>>92886299>>92886347Love these! What prompts did you use?Have you actually written any of these short stories, because I'd love to see them if so. And I'd love to hear more about her in general.
>>92886424> Love these! What prompts did you use?Style:>Fantasy art in the style of Wayne Reynolds and PathfinderCharacter:>[emotion and/or expresssion] [sex] _____ genasi [performing some action], [skin color], [hair color and style], [eye color], [clothing, including ethnic style where needed like “Arabian”]Surprisingly Bing does seem to have a rough idea what a “genasi” is. For younger characters add in “teenage”, though be warned that Bing is fuzzy on what this means and can produce kids who look as young as 10.Then just describe the setting, making sure to get time of day. For these four:>>92885085>>92886273>>92886280>>92886299I also specified “rear view” and left out eye color and facial expression/emotion.For >>92886347 specifically I happened to just gen it (the others are months old), and the prompt was specifically: > Fantasy art in the style of Wayne Reynolds and Pathfinder. Dynamic pose. Excited female teenage air genasi leaping, blue skin, short white hair, purple eyes, Arabian thief clothing, barefoot. Clouds, air, windy.
>>92887597Thanks! What more can you tell us about Sultana please?
>>92886424> Have you actually written any of these short stories, because I'd love to see them if soNo, I’ve been busy with a bunch of other things. But basically her backstory is that she actually was born in Elemental Fire, her mother an air genasi taken as a slave during an efreeti raid through Jabal Turab. She hasn’t seen her mother since she was a toddler, though. One day when she was young she was able to escape into the City of Brass and stow away aboard Qree’s (at the time a mobile smuggler through the Inner Planes) airship when it made port at the city; by the time Sultana was spotted aboard the airship had alresdt left the Plane of Fire behind. Qree decided to keep Sultana but also was looking for an excuse to settle down and retire anyway, so Sultana provided that excuse.Choosing Shakeen, Qree took part in a. Challenge that it’s djinni overlord hosts once every seven years, at the end of which he grants a wish to the winner; Qree won and wished to be Chief Smuggler of Shakeen. Basically it means that if she can slip it past customs she doesn’t need to pay taxes on it, as long as a certain percentage of the goods are sold in Shakeen’s markets (and thus some taxes are paid there anyway). Basically it’s state-sponsored crime but it also means that Shakeen can do a brisk trade in things difficult to acquire in Elemental Air, like fish from Water, perfume and worked metal goods from Fire, and gemstones and gold from Earth.Sultana herself basically settled in to becoming the leader of Shakeen’s hardened criminal underworld…which is to say a gang of about a dozen kids her age or younger who mostly just get up to petty crimes and cause a small headache for Shakeen’s town guard, compounded by Qree being able to use her position as Chief Smuggler to get Sultana out of any real trouble.
>>92888313If this sounds saccharine and Disney-esque, it’s supposed to. Elemental Air is the most hospitable of the Outer Planes to air-breathing humanoid life and its masters are the generally good-aligned djinn. The main point of the time spent in Elemental Air y my PCs was to emphasize just how nice it is when compared to the narcissistic apathy of the marid, the complex cruelty of the efreet and the soulless greed of the dao.Anyway Sultana was basically exactly what you’d expect an almost-14-year-old street thief who’s only a thief by personal, unforced choice to be like. Plucky, adventurous, curious, eager, etc.. After years in Shakeen she had a huge desire to go out and see what Elemental Water and Earth were like, as well as the paraelemental planes of ice and mud. She actually joined the party because of a (elemental ice) slaver raid on Shakeen (secretly orchestrated by Shakeen’s ruling genasi; long story); she was captured but managed to escape and met the PCs on the first floating island they came across.I did portray her with crippling pyrophobia (one time a player rolled poorly on a cooking check and I said the fire flared up, and Sultana was with them. And I described her as screaming and then fleeing into the bowels of the airship they were on and hiding herself in the smuggler’s compartment there for the next few hours) and an utter hatred for anything related to Elemental Fire (she once tried to throw some valuable efreeti perfume they’d found overboard), though, on account of keenly remembering what it was like there.
