Genasi

Those who think of other planes at all consider them remote, distant realms, but planar influence can be felt throughout the world. It sometimes manifests in beings who, through an accident of birth, carry the power of the planes in their blood. The genasi are the offspring of ancient humans who have long sense evolved on these planes.   The Elemental Planes are often inhospitable to natives of the Material Plane: crushing earth, searing flames, massive forests, mechanical forges, and endless seas make visiting these places dangerous for even a short time. The powerful elementals, however, don’t face such troubles when venturing into the mortal world. They adapt well to the mingled elements of the Material Plane, and they sometimes visit—whether of their own volition or compelled by magic.   During a visit mortals may attune to these planes and are slowly warped by the elemental energies. Over time this phenomenon could create lineages born of elements. Some genasi are born from mortals, others have two genasi as parents.   Most often, genasi result from exposure to a surge of elemental power, through phenomena such as an eruption from the Inner Planes or a planar convergence. Elemental energy saturates any creatures in the area and might alter their nature enough that their offspring with other mortals are born as genasi.   Genasi inherit something from both sides of their dual nature. They resemble humanoids but have unusual skin color (red, green, blue, gray, etc). The elemental blood flowing through their veins manifests differently in each genasi, often as magical power. Those of earth, metal, or water descent tend to be heavier, while those of wood or fire tend to be lighter. A given genasi might have some features reminiscent of the mortal parent (pointed ears from an elf, a stockier frame and large teeth from an orc, small hands and feet from a halfling, exceedingly large eyes from a gnome, and so on).   Habitat is very important to a Genasi. They are specially adapted to live on their respective elemental plane. Those that live on the material plane find themselves with unique challenges that shape their culture. They are inherently built to survive on their plane of origin. As a result things that they take for granted in survival might not be as abundant or in excess on Na'Endreth.   In a similar vein dietary consumption is very different. Needs to maintain bodily functions. In the place of food many Genasi utilize alternative recourses. For example Fire Genasi must consume more oxygen just to maintain their body fire, and wood genasi get by with the passive absorption of CO2 and sunlight.