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Air Genasi History
Air Genasi Species Features
Air Genasi Class Options
Air Genasi Feats
The genasi of give you a unique opportunity to wield the power of the elements. Descendants of the djinn of the Elemental Planes, air genasi have storms in their blood. Not quite human and not quite djinn, air genasi pack phenomenal cosmic power into an itty bitty character sheet.
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With some thoughtful character building, air genasi can be powerful and useful members of any D&D party. Here's how they differ from the elements and how to build an air genasi character and unleash the power of the wind.
Air Genasi History
Background
All genasi are descendants of mortals and powerful elementals called djinn. Their elemental parent visited the Material Plane, for inscrutable reasons, and had a child with a mortal while there. As that child, an air genasi has ties to both worlds but truly belongs to neither.
This species has been part of Dungeons and Dragons since Second Edition before Wizards of the Coast set a standard of quality around depictions of other cultures.
Depending on the edition and source material, some depictions of genasi may not hold up to today's standards. Certain players and campaigns may want to homebrew their own lore for this species to best suit their level of comfort.
Because air genasi are so rare, they don't really have their own society. In cities, you can sometimes find a small, mixed community of genasi, but most air genasi blend into a city's teeming crowds. Life on the frontier is harder; many people distrust air genasi, though the stigma isn't as bad as it might be for other species.
Air genasi tend to see each other as members of one big family. They're all cousins in a strange way. They may bicker, but when push comes to shove, they'll stand up for each other.
Some genasi are content to live as outcasts; others grow into positions of power and influence, especially where people worship djinn.
Still, others go into the Elemental Planes and seek out their elemental parent, whether to seek a place in their court or ask them about their purpose in life.
Appearance
Air genasi tend to have wind-tossed hair, rumpled or mended clothes, and a general lack of concern for their appearance.
No matter who their mortal parent was, most genasi can pass for a human with a funny skin tone at a glance. Air genasi tend to have blue or grey skin, hair that perpetually looks windswept, or eyes that crackle like lightning.
Air genasi whose mortal parent isn't human might have traits from said parent. An air genasi with dwarven ancestry might be stocky, and an air genasi with elven ancestry might have pointed ears.
Personality
Air genasi see themselves as the inheritors of the sky and wind. Most air genasi have a boundless innate sense of confidence.
Regardless of what they face in life, and regardless of how out of place they feel, an air genasi will see themselves as equal to any problem in their path. For some, this seems like grace and ease; for others, it seems like unjustified arrogance.
When people think of genasi, they tend to imagine an air genasi. Genasi tend to be confident; air genasi are the most confident. Genasi move quickly; air genasi are faster than anyone.
Air genasi have a fascinating mix of traits from their mortal and elemental parents. Their strong elemental theming, innate magic, and human-like flexibility make them a great choice for almost any character. However, most air genasi tend towards neutral alignments.
Air Genasi Species Features
As a playable species, Air genasi were originally introduced to Fifth Edition in the Elemental Evil Player's Guide, but they got a serious rework in Mordenkaiden's Monsters of the Multiverse.
Currently, the MMoM version is canonical, and that's the one we're going to explore in this guide.
Ability Scores
Like many of the fantasy species introduced in Monsters of the Multiverse, air genasi can choose where they place their ability scores.
Ability Score Allocation Options | |
|---|---|
Add +2 to one ability score and +1 to a second ability score | |
Add +1 to three different ability scores | |
Unlike most of the core Players' Handbook species, air genasi aren't really built with one particular class role in mind. As such, you can pick whatever ability spread makes the most sense for your chosen class.
We'd recommend picking a high score in at least one spellcasting ability -- Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma- and using it to power your spell casting.
Strength or Dexterity is a good choice if you're a martial class. Constitution is always a good place to pour in any extra stats as well.
Species Abilities
Ability | Description | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
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. | Darkvision makes you better at navigating caves and dungeons and makes you a good choice for the party scout. |
Unending Breath | You can hold your breath indefinitely while you're not incapacitated. | Situationally useful, but nothing to write home about unless you're adventuring underwater. |
Lightning Resistance | You have resistance to lightning damage. | A more useful ability than it might appear at first glance. Lightning damage is one of the most common types of damage in the game, and spellcasters use it all the time. |
Mingle with the Wind | You can cast the shocking grasp cantrip. At higher levels, you can also cast feather fall and levitate. | Mingle with the Wind lets you cast some great spells with whichever ability score you please. This gives any character a great array of options. |
Size | When creating your character, you can choose whether they're Small or Medium sized. | A Small creature can fit into tinier spaces but has disadvantage using heavy weapons. |
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Air Genasi Class Options
As an air genasi, you're a generalist -- you've got some cool spellcasting, some cool resistances, and some cool movement options, and most of them will be good for most classes.
The extra spell slots and extra spells are great for just about any spellcasting class, especially spellcasting classes, who can only learn so many spells. The darkvision, movement speed, and lightning resistance are also strong.
Bards, clerics, and warlocks will get the most out of an air genasi's abilities. But an air genasi makes a great scout, a great tank, a great back-line damage dealer, and a great spellcaster.
If you want to play a barbarian, you want to rage as much as possible, and Mingle with the Wind is off the table while you're raging. And while an air genasi makes a fine wizard, there's a ton of overlap between what an air genasi can do and what a wizard can do.
Air Genasi Feats
The best feats for an air genasi will heavily depend on what class you choose; an air genasi rogue, an air genasi bard, and an air genasi cleric will have a very different feat spread.
However, a handful of feats have some unique advantages for air genasi, so we'll cover them here.
Feat | Effects | Use Cases | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
Elemental Adept | If you take Elemental Adept (lightning), your shocking grasp cantrip will ignore others' lightning resistance. You can also choose to reroll any ones you roll while casting it. | For a caster who wants to focus on the genasi's spellcasting abilities | PHB |
War Caster | War Caster lets you cast spells while holding a weapon and cast spells as opportunity attacks. | This feat's great if you want to play a more martial class, but still regularly use your genasi spellcasting. | PHB |
Squat Nimbleness | Squat Nimbleness improves your already great movement speed by five feet, gives you proficiency in Acrobatics or Athletics, and increases your Strength or Dexterity by one. | This feat would be great for a Small air genasi rogue, or anyone else who wants mobility and Dexterity. | XGE |
Mobile | Mobile increases your speed by ten feet and lets you avoid taking opportunity attacks. If you combine that with Squat Nimbleness, your air genasi's base move speed becomes 50 feet. | For a spellcaster who wants to get out of melee- or a tank who wants to get into it- this is an incredibly powerful ability. | PHB |
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