Large man-like creatures from the Elemental Realm of Water

Marid are a race of man-like creatures believed to be from the Elemental Realm of Water. They are large beings, 10-11 feet in height, and weighing around 1,500 pounds. The marid's morale score of 12 reflects its absolute control over its own fear, but does not indicate that the creature will throw its life away easily. Use the "8" figure to determine whether an outmatched marid decides to leave a combat.

Hailing from the Elemental Plane of Water, the marids are the most wondrous of genie-kind. Although all genies wield great power, even the lowliest marid sees itself as clearly superior to the flighty djinn, the ground-hugging dao, and the fuming efreet. Large and piscine, marids are a strange sight to behold, particularly when clad in the finely stitched vests and colorful pantaloons they favor. They speak in voices as soft as the sea breeze or as sonorous as storm waves breaking against a rocky cliff. In flight, their lower bodies transform into columns of foamy water.

Water Lords

Water is a marid's native element, and the genie can manipulate water in virtually any way it desires. A marid can walk on water and breathe naturally beneath its surface. It can create water or shape clouds of fog and mist from the vapor in the air. It can even transform itself into mist, or use water as a weapon to bludgeon its foes.

Marid Homes

Marids are rare on the Material Plane. They inhabit mighty and majestic coral fortresses located in the Elemental Plane of Water. These citadels float in the depths of the plane and contain opulent, air-filled chambers where slaves and guests reside.

A marid doesn't expect much from its slaves, simply wanting to have them for the status of ownership. Marids go out of their way to obtain skilled slaves, and aren't above kidnapping mortal artists, entertainers, or storytellers for use in their courts.

Egotistical Hierarchs

All marids claim a title of nobility, and the race is awash in shahs, sultans, muftis, and khedives. Most of these titles are mere pretense on the part of the self-important marids.

Marids treat all others-including other genies-as inferiors of various grades, ranging from poor cousins to petty annoyances. They tolerate djinn, dislike dao, and despise efreet.

Humanoids are among the lowest of the creatures that marids must tolerate, although they sometimes deal with powerful wizards and exceptional leaders on an almost-equal footing. Doing so has sometimes proven to be a mistake, since wizards have managed to imprison marids in conch shells, flasks, and decanters over the ages. Bribery and flattery are the best means of dealing with marids, to which an obsequious mortal is a creature that knows its place.

Whimsical Storytellers

Marids are champion tale-tellers, whose favorite legends emphasize the prowess of marids in general and of the speaker in particular. Fanciful genies, they lie often and creatively. They aren't always malicious in their deception, but embellishments suit their fancy. Marids consider it a crime for a lesser being to interrupt one of their tales, and offending a marid is a sure way to invoke its wrath.

The marid poured out of the flask like water and said, 'Your wish is my command.' The halfling, overjoyed, wished for immortality, so the marid polymorphed him into a fish that flopped around humorously until, finally, it expired. It's a cautionary tale that has survived through the ages, so I suppose the halfling got his wish.

Marid

Genie of the Water

Marids surge with the power of the seas, using it to manipulate the waves or create water. These genies typically dwell in or near bodies of water. While gentle marids make homes amid springs, oases, and serene pools, tempestuous marids inhabit sea stacks, whirlpools, and treacherous coasts. Marids vary in appearance, their bodies reflecting the colors of the waves while distinctive fins and scales accent their features. Marids lend their powers and knowledge of the seas to those who defend the marids' watery realms or who offer them pleasing gifts. Marids appreciate rare aquatic treasures, such as colorful pearls, shell instruments, or delicacies from distant seas.

Marids hail from the Elemental Plane of Water, where they live in wondrous homes drifting amid the endless ocean. Among these is the Citadel of Ten Thousand Pearls—a coral sphere studded with dozens of domed theaters and libraries—and the air-filled, cosmopolitan City of Glass.