Thread #97620627
File: Screenshot 2026-02-25 202642.png (357.9 KB)
357.9 KB PNG
Why do my genasis never get any love? I feel like these guys are made to be tumblr tier OC bullshit that would at least get me something cool in 5e.
57 RepliesView Thread
>>
File: Air Genasi.jpg (819.4 KB)
819.4 KB JPG
>>97620627
The problem is that genasi don't exist in enough numbers anywhere to form any kind of coherent society. At least not on the Prime Material Plane.
Presumably they're much more common in the Inner Planes. Bearing that in mind. you can have these entries from my elemental monster manuals.
Air...
>>
>>
File: Earth Genasi.jpg (1.1 MB)
1.1 MB JPG
>>97620717
>>
File: Fire Genasi.jpg (1.2 MB)
1.2 MB JPG
>>97620724
>>
File: Water Genasi.jpg (1.1 MB)
1.1 MB JPG
>>97620727
>>
>>97620717
its why I just home brewed bio Genasis, Where after a 5 or so generations of breeding We have a somewhat stable population of earth genasi.
>>97620722
its seems like that alone would make more "i need to be special" people would pick them.
also fuck tieflings
>>
>>
File: images.jpg (28.9 KB)
28.9 KB JPG
>>97620732
Not if the DM doesn't allow them or no one has the info needed to run them.
And agree, fuck Tieflings
>>
File: 20221224_095444.jpg (2.1 MB)
2.1 MB JPG
>>97620739
I don't, I fucking can't stand dnd wizard lore slop, My DM is pretty good at making his own world feel unique and his own, but most of the party seems to rely on established lore in the books for most races, and me trying to be a good sport i play along, my earth genasi seems to not have anything really that interesting and also feels like some rules are bullshit, but maybe im just being petty.
>>
>>97620823
Then your GM isn't trying hard enough. A good GM will put out a primer with setting information before the game so the players can make characters that fit the setting.
If I'm running a game with species options, you're getting between 1-2 paragraphs of information on them in the primer along with a list of what is allowed and/or banned.
>>
>>
>>97620627
the inner planes are anti-lore, they're substance over fluff, there's nothing narratively special about rocks or fire that would make rock person or fire person have a special narrative theme
the outer planes are all about lore, they're fluff over substance, so aasimar and tieflings and similar are inherently saddled with narrative themes
>>
>>
File: 4d5b48ed5852dd790559d7b385b8cb6f.jpg (86.7 KB)
86.7 KB JPG
>>97620627
What they need is cooler art.
>>
>>97620627
Visually, they fall too readily into the "just funny-colored humans" box; mechanically, they tend to just have a few minor magical effects that you'd already have access to if you were building a character themed around their element.
Tieflings, by contrast, have horns, tails, and (sometimes) hooves. While they're not actually much more interesting mechanically, the theme of "devil person" is broad enough that their effects aren't ones you were necessarily already getting.
Moreover, we already have a model for "person is perceived as evil due to how they look, but appearances do not define us" as a basic character archetype. There isn't as strong or immediate an assumption to be made of someone who looks like they're from water world, nor is there as obvious a reason for a player to feel the need to subvert it.
Without any strong appeal from appearance, mechanics, or character archetype, genasi really only exist to be played by people who have an autistic hyperfixation on the four elements.And, frankly, even then, they're kind of shitty representatives for them.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>97620627
the problem with Genasi is that Goliaths are an elemental race 10 times more interesting, even in nuD&D art because now they actually are one for each type of giant, and giants are just really big bearded elementals
>>97623044
>>97623066
yes
>>
File: United_colors_of_goliaths_5point5e.jpg (543.3 KB)
543.3 KB JPG
>>97623726
forgot the image
>>
>>
>>97620627
You make it up yourself because similar to half elves they are perpetual outsiders with few to none described ethnically homogenous settlements. They have tiefling syndrome. Which only matters if you play Forgotten Realms and care about the shitty barely there lore for that setting.
A genasi character is best played as an outsider to pretty much every major society even the one they were raised in, and how good or cringe that is dependant on the player.
>>
>>
>>
>>97624782
Wizards of the Coast (the company that makes D&D) is run by leftie Americans who hire other leftie Americans to draw leftie American illustrations. You kinda just have to ignore them, or play a different game or edition.
>>
>>
File: 1226115212329.jpg (176.8 KB)
176.8 KB JPG
>>97624782
>why do they look like what I want them to look like?
>>
File: 711yIAlovmL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg (108 KB)
108 KB JPG
>>97620627
Yeah, if nothing else they should have roll tables full of potential traits like Tieflings and Aasimar do, but I can't find anything like that anywhere. I think /tg/ was doing some discussion along those lines a while ago, but I don't remember it ever getting completed, does someone have such a roll table or any ideas for it? The element of the Genasi in question could be one point on the list, what others might work, maybe they can have the features of an animal associated with their element?
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>97624782
>>97623756
Is always that style of "I want to see myself in there", and then think they look "bad ass"
>>
>>
>>97626732
>Earth Genasi are the most boring art wise.
My current character is a Earth genasi, and I decided to have fun with them, Instead of stone/rock esthetic, I made her skin appear like Porcelain or pearl like quality, like a china doll, have the hair be like super fine spun copper wire, and her blood more like mineral oil. Shes an Industrialist/ scientist who kinda hates nature, and loves the spicey elements (radium, uranium, thorium etc) I feel like people shoudl be going crazy with the kinda stuff you could do with them, but its always the same generic rock golem, looking people and it pisses me off that no artist gets what im getting when I ask for art commisions
>>
>>97626661
Shame. How can we get people here interested in such a roll table? Or more interested in Genasi in general, to be honest?
>>
I don't know if it works, but I'm toying with the idea of mixing Genasi with Tieflings so Tiefling is more of an umbrella term for not just demons, but other Planetouched particularly of both lower planes and elemental elements rather than just my grandad fucked a succubus once.
>>
>>
>>
File: 4e Swordmages_by_Eric_Deschamps.png (1.1 MB)
1.1 MB PNG
>>
>>97626732
One of my favorite characters was a genasi sorcerer who used a great sword and was a gypsy con artist with a made up skill called Nan Lore where he rolled to see if his Nan had taught him about this and if he passed the check he had to try to convince the party + all the allied NPCs of something absolutely ridiculous.
>>
>>
>>
>>97620627
1. Nobody cares about elementals
2. They weren't established in any numbers, so never had a personality written for them when there were people who could
3. The people who currently could write a personality for them are hacks, and there's nothing to shamelessly copy for them besides fucking classical element aligned humors, and broad stereotypes of the associated elements. I doubt a single person writing has even thought about why Genasi have to exist in the first place.
So the onus is on you, to write the content you want to see. Because if you don't, the genasi will remain the most literal fucking who race of all time.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
File: 1661274641980567.jpg (156.4 KB)
156.4 KB JPG
>>97632103
Fuck off Sam.
>>
>>97626395
>>97627568
You could try doing it yourself instead of spending years begging for someone else to do it.
But sure, here's one. How about a result for fire genasi having hair made of fire? Do you have that one yet? Or do you want to do the bare minimum for a collaborative project and actually post the list of what's already been suggested?
>>
>>
>>97625865
No they literally look like leftie americans.
>If I pretend it isn't real then maybe everyone will think they are crazy
This strategy has about fifty years of employ and at no point has it been effective.
>>
>>97620627
Races that can be described as "Guys who are around" tend to not get very much attention, especially if they're also not a Core Race
Also there are other races that do what they do but better
>Goliaths have elemental powers and can grow large
>Dragonborns have a Breath Weapon and can fly
>Both Tieflings and Assimars but especially Tieflings do the Planetouched gimmick far better than Genasi
>>
>>
>>97646614
It does make them far less interesting. Since instead of being some specific mountain-dwelling culture, they're now a rainbow of different giant types, and the whole thing is just watered down.
It's ironically the same sort of problem Genasi themselves have, where they're just different flavors of element, but that just comes across in the form of having one spell or ability and they're just bland and flavorless otherwise.
>>
File: bolt.png (7.6 MB)
7.6 MB PNG
So in defense of Genasi!
Genasi generally don't have any culture, because each of them is basically a human with some genie ancestry (up to half genie as near as I can tell, but it could be distant depending). Which means that the closest they get to being exotic is if you have some Arab culture that is the only human culture that interacts with genies, and your game is set in some type of place that isn't close to the Arab culture.
But this is just inheriting a different human culture, of course.
So you could address this by having places where the genasi live as themselves- perhaps these places are in the elemental planes, or in places in the elemental planes near the material, so that things are relatively more normal and suitable to normal lives. Then you can have whatever culture you want for whatever reason you want.
But that sounds like a lot of work. In fact, adding cultures to worlds in general is a lot of work, and it would be wild for a race to not have at least one culture that is mostly just itself.
Which leads up to my use for genasi; they are just the result of trysts with genies and humans, or descended from them. Meaning I get to have these extra four mostly-humans, without any culture of their own, as options for players who want to be human but want some small amount of extra mechanic. The other NPCs treat them as human, and the places that don't would probably treat anyone who isn't from their exact neck of the woods as some kinda alien, whatever their race.
I think the genasi are a gift to tables like mine, where I'd like to have some options for races that, by default, plug in however I like, and this doesn't clash with anything in the general description. I like genasi BECAUSE of this.
>>
>>97620627
My personal Genasi lore is that they HAVE to be made by a union between a genie and a mortal. Even if two genasi of the same type reproduce, it will be a normal mortal race of their combined mortal halves (generally human, I suppose).
Along with that just some odd elemental effects on their body and/or surroundings.