I'm not
too happy with this, so I'm going to say this is 0.5 draft instead of 1st draft:
Genfolk
You are part elemental. This most often comes from couplings between humanoids and genies—hence the name
genfolk—where you are the child, grandchild, or even great-grandchild of such a union. Sometimes their elemental parent is of a different type, such as a salamander or sylph. Still other genfolk are the result of a magical infusion caused by magic gone awry, or sometimes, when a humanoid spends too much time on the Inner Planes.
Your appearance reflects your elemental lineage. A genfolk with an Air heritage might have skin that’s the blue of a clear sky, the rose of a sunset, or the deep gray of a storm cloud, with hair that always wafts around their face and body as if blown by an unfelt breeze. A genfolk with Earth heritage might seem to be sculpted out of marble, or have granite-rough skin, and have eyes like agates. A genfolk with Fire heritage may have hair and eyes that appear to be made of flames and skin that’s always fever-hot to the touch. A genfolk with Water heritage might be covered in scales, have eyes like pearls and hair like seaweeds, and leave watery footprints behind.
Size. Most genfolk range from just under five feet to nearly seven feet in height. Most weigh as much as a human of similar stature would. Genfolk who trace their lineage to creatures such as air or fire elements are often much lighter than they would appear, while those who trace their lineage to water or earth elementals are often much heavier. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Elemental Ancestry. As a being that is literally born between two worlds, you have the Elemental creature type in addition to the Humanoid creature type.
Plane of Origin. Choose one of Air, Earth, Fire, or Water to represent your elemental heritage.
Alien Biology. Your biology is very unusual and only bears partial resemblance to the biology of mortal creatures native to the Material Plane. As a result, you have advantage on saving throws to avoid being poisoned.
Primal Aura. Starting at 3rd level, you can use your action to surround yourself with an aura of energy. This aura lasts for 1 minute or until you end it as a bonus action. While this aura is active, you shed bright light in a 5-foot radius and dim light for an additional 5 feet. At the end of each of your turns, each creature within 10 feet of you takes damage equal to half your level (rounded up). In addition, once on each of your turns, you can deal extra damage equal to your level to one target when you deal damage to it with an attack or a spell. The type of damage depends on your plane of origin and is listed in the table below.
Primordial Understanding. Due to your elemental heritage, you are intrinsically aware of the language of your element, which is listed in the table below.
| Element | Primal Aura | Language |
| Air | Thunder | Auran |
| Earth | Bludgeoning | Terran |
| Fire | Fire | Ignan |
| Water | Cold | Aquan |
Child of the Elements. Depending on your heritage you have an additional ability:
• Air: You can hold your breath (and still speak) indefinitely while you’re not incapacitated.
•
Earth: You can move across difficult terrain made of earth or stone without expending extra movement.
•
Fire: Smoke and flames don’t hinder your vision, and you have advantage on saving throws against being blinded. Additionally, if a spell or affect would set you on fire (for instance, due to the Fire Form ability of a fire elemental), you can use your reaction to douse the flames.
•
Water: You can breathe air and water.
Genfolk Gifts
In addition to the traits found in your genfolk heritage, you also gain one of the following genfolk gifts.
Primordial
Your elemental lineage is entirely based in the elements of Air, Earth, Fire, or Water, or in a fusion of two of those elements (in which case you are considered to be a
para-elemental genfolk). The para-elements are
Magma (the union of Fire and Earth),
Mud (Earth and Water),
Ice (Water and Air), or
Smoke (Air and Fire).
The appearance of para-elemental genfolk reflects that of elements that go into them. Where a fire genfolk may have smooth, yellow-orange skin and flame-blue eyes, a magma genfolk might have rough, stone-like skin that shows red-hot veins all over and have burning coal-like eyes.
Elemental Magic. You know spells from the following list, based on your elemental heritage. Your spellcasting ability for these spells is Constitution.
•
Air: your choice of
gust* or
shape air*. When you reach 3rd level, you can also cast the
levitate spell, requiring no material components. Once you do so, you can’t do so again until you complete a long rest.
•
Earth: your choice of
acid splash or
mold earth*. When you reach 3rd level, you can also cast the
pass without trace spell, requiring no material components. Once you do so, you can’t do so again until you complete a long rest.
•
Fire: your choice of
control flames* or
produce flame. When you reach 3rd level, you can also cast the
burning hands spell as a 1st-level spell, requiring no material components. Once you do so, you can’t do so again until you complete a long rest.
•
Water: your choice of
frostbite*,
ray of frost, or
shape water*. When you reach 3rd level, you can also cast the
create or destroy water spell as a 2nd-level spell, requiring no material components. Once you do so, you can’t do so again until you complete a long rest.
* Spells marked with an asterisk are from
Xanathar’s Guide to Everything.
If you are a para-elemental genfolk, you may choose to take the cantrip and spell associated with either your chosen elemental heritage, or with your secondary element.
Charged
Your elemental lineage has been changed through exposure to either the Positive or Negative Energy Planes, and as such, you represent the combination of elemental matter and the energy of either Life or Death itself. You are considered to be a
quasi-elemental.
The positive quasi-elements are
Lightning (from Air),
Minerals (from Earth),
Radiance (from Fire), and
Steam (from Water), and the negative quasi-elements are
Void (from Air),
Dust (from Earth),
Ash (from Fire), and
Salt (from Water).
Positive genfolk typically have skin that comes in every color of the rainbow, their hair is often pure white, and their eyes are either also white or are gemstone-colored, and many have heterochromia. Negative genfolk often have dull skin and hair, gray like ash or dust, white like salt or bone, or charcoal-black, like the void of space; and their skin is usually cool to the touch. Their eyes are usually a fathomless black or white, but some have dully metallic eyes instead.
Choose whether you are a Positive or Negative quasi-elemental. Genfolk with this gift gain the following features:
Charged Legacy. You know a cantrip based on your quasi-elemental heritage. Your spellcasting ability for these spells is Constitution.
•
Positive. Your choice of
spare the dying or
word of radiance*.
•
Negative. Your choice of
chill touch or
toll the dead*.
Child of Life and Death. Depending on your heritage you have an additional ability:
•
Positive: Touch of the Light. You can use your action to touch a willing creature and cause it to gain a number of temporary hit points equal to your proficiency bonus plus the modifier of the attribute you chose as your spellcasting attribute for your Positive Legacy trait.
•
Negative: Touch of Decay. You may touch a nonmagical object, liquid, or fire that is unattended and that fits in a 5-foot cube. If its an object, you may inflict 3 (1d6) force damage to it. This damage increases to 7 (2d6) at 5th level, 10 (3d6) damage at 11th level, and 14 (4d6) damage at 17th level. If this causes the object to be reduced to 0 hit points, it crumbles into dust. If the object is a liquid, it becomes briny and undrinkable. If the object is a fire, it is extinguished. Once you have used this ability, you can’t do so again until complete a short or long rest.
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I'm debating whether or not
Jann should be a gift or an origin.
I'm also going to work on
Genie-Court as an origin.
