If you’re an aspiring Warlock that’s looking for a patron, why not look at striking a deal with an all-powerful Genie?
Pulling influence from the classic “1001 Arabian Nights” we have the Genie Warlock. Channeling their chosen Genie Patron’s elemental powers, these Warlocks can eventually entreat their patron to grant wishes that can rewrite reality as we know it.
But don’t rub that magic lamp and burst into a performance of “Prince Ali” just yet!
Dealing with Genies is a delicate thing, and you don’t want to find yourself on the losing end of that deal…
If making a pact with a Genie sounds interesting, you’ll want to do some prep with this full guide to the Genie Warlock in D&D 5e!
What is the Genie Warlock Patron in D&D 5e?
To further their reach and influence, Noble Genies are known to enter into pacts with mortals. These Noble Genies are the most powerful of genie-kind and even rival lesser deities in terms of power.
I know what you’re thinking, but, no it hasn’t gone to their heads. They’re the most humble and level-headed beings in the entire universe! Just ask them!
Noble Genies dwell in massive palaces in the Elemental Planes where they indulge in every manner of luxury. They preside over massive fiefs and pride themselves on their vast collection of servants.
However, the Warlocks who serve these Genies are more than just loyal servants. They are the ones who specifically work to spread their patron’s influence in the Material Plane.
This might take the form of recruiting new servants for the Genie, dealing with influential rivals, or collecting all manner of rare and valuable treasures to adorn the Genie’s palace.
Don’t be surprised if it’s all three and more!
In exchange, the Warlock is granted a fraction of the Genie’s power. The most loyal Genie Warlocks are eventually allowed to ask their patron to grant wishes!
Whatever it is that a Warlock desires, it is within the power of a Noble Genie to grant. Well, in exchange for the Warlock’s loyal service, of course.
What Type of Genie Is Your Patron?
There are four types of Genies that you can choose as your Warlock’s Patron: Djinni, Efreeti, Marid, and Dao.
Each type is associated with a different element and has its own overall disposition. You can see this in the table below.
| Genie | Element | Alignment | Language |
| Djinni | Air | Chaotic Good | Auran |
| Efreeti | Fire | Lawful Evil | Ignan |
| Marid | Water | Chaotic Neutral | Aquan |
| Dao | Earth | Neutral Evil | Terran |
The type of Genie that you choose has a huge impact on what spells will become available to you as you level up.
Additionally, it likely does a lot to scope out the exact nature of your character’s relationship with their patron. (I’ll cover that in the Connections section of this guide.)
I recommend checking out my article that covers each of the types of genies in-depth. Considering that you’ll be spending a lot of time with whichever type of Genie you take as a Patron, it’s worth the read.
In the meantime, here are some quick overviews of each of the Genie types.
Djinni
Hailing from the Elemental Plane of Air, we have the Djinni.
These are the most famous of the Genies. With large, muscular builds and blue skin adorned with all manner of precious jewelry, they know how to make an appearance!
Djinni make their homes in grand palaces atop large cloud formations. There they collect the finest luxuries from all of the planes and live lives of comfort and ease.
While attempting to betray a Djinni can only lead to disastrous consequences, they tend to be the easiest for mortals to work with.
Efreeti
The Efreeti come from the Elemental Plane of Fire.
Efreeti have a reputation for being ruthless, cunning, and cruel though they view themselves as practical and orderly.
In the Efreetis’ opinion, all other creatures exist to be conquered and forced into servitude. Raids on the Material Plane are common to fuel the Efreetis’ tyrannical ambitions.
Taking an Efreeti as your patron is sure to be intense, but what else would you expect from fire? Just be careful not to get burned!
Marid
In the depths of the Elemental Plane of Water, the Marid reside in ornate palaces of coral and pearls.
Marid resemble large fish-like beings with some humanoid features. Depending on their mood, their voices might sound like a light breeze over an open sea or powerful waves crashing.
While Marid collect servants like any Genie, they tend to largely ignore them once they’ve acquired them.
The exception, however, is for those who are possessing of great creative talents. Particularly skilled writers, musicians, and entertainers who wander too close to the shores are perpetually at risk of being kidnapped by a Marid who wishes to add them to their court.
If your patron is a Marid, they’re more likely to take a “hands-off” approach to communicating with you. They’ll likely still check up from time to time, and their requests are likely to dwell in a type of “morally gray” area.
Just take care to never interrupt one of a Marids’ famously over-the-top stories. There’s no quicker way to anger them!
Dao
Dao are the greedy and cruel Genies from the Elemental Plane of Earth.
They pride themselves on their massive mining operations that are fueled entirely by slave labor. Those who venture into the labyrinth-like mining caverns in the Daos’ domain are rarely ever seen again.
The extreme greed that Dao are so infamous for makes them easy to manipulate. However, they will only ever aid a mortal if they stand to gain a large amount of treasure.
Of the four types of genies, Dao are likely to be the most contentious patrons. (Considering the Efreetis’ temper, that’s really saying something!)
Role in the Party
Because there are four different types of patron options, the Genie Warlock’s exact role in the party isn’t as clear-cut as some other subclasses. Each type of Genie grants you extra spells that see you specializing your spellcasting in a different way.
For example, serving an Efreeti makes your Warlock a better blaster as you channel your patron’s fiery power.
Meanwhile, Dao grant you spells that give you some nifty defensive options while the spells granted to you by a Marid patron make you much more effective as a controller in combat.
Lastly, a Djinni patron strikes a type of middle ground with options that can be used for utility, defense, offense, or control purposes.
The common thread between all Genie Warlocks regardless of what type of Genie they are serving is the utility that they bring to the party.
Their Genie Vessel can be used in a number of creative ways including as a safe place to take rests. Of course, there’s also the incredible utility (and oh so much more) offered by the ability to ask the Genie for wishes.
We’ll cover the specifics of this subclass’s features in the next section. But it’s safe to say that, all in all, there’s a lot of versatility to the Genie Warlock!
There’s definitely a focus on spellcasting though. From there, it’s up to you if you want to be more utility-focused or go all-in on damage output!
Related: The Ultimate Guide to Warlock Patrons in 5e
Genie Warlock Patron Abilities
The Genie Warlock gets some seriously cool features.
Not only are they both stylish and useful, but they open opportunities to really showcase the relationship between the Warlock and their Genie Patron.
With that said, let’s get into the breakdown!
Expanded Spell List
As with all Warlocks, you gain an expanded spell list based on the Patron that you’ve selected.
Unlike other Warlocks, one of your spells for each spell level will be determined by the specific type of Genie that your Patron is.
Remember: your choice of Genie (and the spells they give you) will have a large impact on your character’s role.
| Spell Level | All | Djinn | Efreeti | Marid | Dao |
| 1 | Detect Evil and Good | Thunderwave | Burning Hands | Fog Cloud | Sanctuary |
| 2 | Phantasmal Force | Gust of Wind | Scorching Ray | Blur | Spike Growth |
| 3 | Create Food and Water | Wind Wall | Fireball | Sleet Storm | Meld Into Stone |
| 4 | Phantasmal Killer | Greater Invisibility | Fire Shield | Control Water | Stone Shape |
| 5 | Creation | Seeming | Flame Strike | Cone of Cold | Wall of Stone |
| 9 | Wish | – | – | – | – |
The spells available to all Genie Warlocks are ok.
Detect Evil and Good can have some use, but tends to be pretty situational. Phantasmal Force and Creation can both be fantastic if you’re creative with them.
Create Food and Water is useless unless you track resources in your game, but even then you don’t have the spell slots to justify it. Throw that responsibility to the Cleric or Druid.
Phantasmal Killer is ok. If an enemy has low Wisdom, it can really ruin their day with both psychic damage and the frightened condition. It’s nothing amazing, but it’s not bad.
Then, of course, there’s the Wish spell. It’s easily the most powerful spell in the game and very likely the reason you chose this subclass, to begin with.
Related: The Wish Spell in D&D 5e (For Players and DMs)
The spells you gain from each type of Genie are as I mentioned earlier.
Efreeti spells are geared towards blasting enemies with hellfire. Marid spells are all about battlefield control. Dao spells are more protective in nature but also involve controlling terrain with options like Spike Growth. Finally, Djinni spells hit a balance between the others, but Greater Invisibility is the main attraction of that list.
Genie’s Vessel (Level 1)
Your first feature as a Genie Warlock, Genie’s Vessel, is the most important to playing your character. This feature is at the core of how your character plays and will become even more useful at later levels!
The vessel is a tiny-sized object that your Patron gives you. It could be something more classic like an oil lamp or a bottle, or you could go for something like an urn, lantern, or a ring with a secret compartment.
Your Genie’s Vessel works as your spellcasting focus in addition to powering some of your class features.
Using the Genie’s Vessel
You have two uses for the vessel right out of the gate at level 1.
Both of these will be getting quite a bit of use! One option offers a TON of utility while the other gives you a nice bump to your damage output!
Bottled Respite
Bottled Respite lets you use your vessel as a little hideaway. It’s fully furnished with tables and cushions so that you can relax while still being able to hear what’s going on outside of the vessel.
Specifically:
As an action, you magically vanish and enter your vessel which remains in the space you left. The interior is an extradimensional space in the shape of a 20-foot-radius cylinder, 20 feet high, and resembles your vessel.
You can remain inside the vessel up to a number of hours equal to twice your proficiency bonus. You exit the vessel early if you use a bonus action to do so, die, or the vessel is destroyed.
When you exit the vessel, you appear in the unoccupied space closest to it. Any objects you bring into the vessel remain in there until they are carried out or the vessel is destroyed.
Once you enter the vessel, you can’t enter again until you finish a long rest.
So it’s more than just a place to relax and gather your thoughts! You’ve basically got your own version of a Bag of Holding to start your own little hoard!
Additionally, this can be incredibly useful if you find yourself needing to infiltrate somewhere. Instead of the Trojan Horse, you’ve got yourself a Trojan Lamp/Bottle/etc!
Genie’s Wrath
With Genie’s Wrath, you’re able to give your damage output a nifty bump.
Once during each of your turns when you hit with an attack roll, you can deal extra damage to the target equal to your proficiency bonus.
The type of this damage is determined by your Patron.
Genie’s Wrath is great for adding some extra power to your attacks, especially Eldritch Blast. Even though this bonus only applies to one of the beams you fire with Eldritch Blast, it does stack with the Agonizing Blast invocation.
In other words, your Eldritch Blast will be hitting like a truck (especially at the lower levels!).
The extra damage’s type depends on what type of Genie your Patron is. You can see the table below for reference.
| Genie Type | Damage |
| Djinni | Thunder |
| Efreeti | Fire |
| Marid | Cold |
| Dao | Bludgeoning |
Destroying or Losing the Genie Vessel
So what happens if you lose your Genie Vessel or it gets destroyed?
Thankfully, your Patron has taught you a ceremony to summon a replacement vessel. This takes 1 hour and must be done during a short or long rest. If the old vessel is still out there somewhere, it’s destroyed.
If someone or something is specifically trying to destroy your vessel, you’ll want to know the vessel’s stats.
The vessel has an Armor Class equal to your spell save DC. Its hit points are equal to your Warlock level plus your proficiency bonus. Naturally, poison and psychic damage have no effect on it.
If the Genie Vessel is destroyed, any of its contents harmlessly spill out into the unoccupied space where it was.
Should worse come to worst and you die, the vessel vanishes with an elemental flare based on your patron.
You Might Like: The Complete Class Guide to the Warlock in D&D 5e
Elemental Gift (Level 6)
As a type of conduit for your Genie Patron’s power, you begin to take on some of their characteristics.
This grants you resistance to a damage type based on what kind of Genie you serve. You can see the table above under Genie’s Wrath to learn what Genie type offers what resistance.
Generally speaking, this resistance will be most helpful if your patron is an Efreeti or Dao. Fire and Bludgeoning damage are much more common than cold and thunder, after all. That said, every little bit helps regardless!
But it gets even better! You can fly now!
As a bonus action, you can give yourself a flying speed of 30 feet that lasts for 10 minutes, during which you can hover.
You can use this bonus action a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
As far as rewards go, your Patron has really hooked you up with this one!
Sanctuary Vessel (Level 10)
At level 10, you’re able to bring others into your Genie Vessel with the Bottled Respite feature!
You can choose up to five willing creatures that you can see within 30 feet of you. The chosen creatures are drawn into the vessel with you.
As a bonus action, you can eject any number of creatures from the vessels. Everyone is ejected if you leave or die or if the vessel is destroyed.
Anyone (including you) who remains in the vessel for at least 10 minutes gains the benefit of finishing a short rest and anyone can add your proficiency bonus to the number of hit points they regain if they spend any hit dice as part of a short rest there.
This is simply fantastic. Reducing the time required for a short rest (of which you’ll be taking plenty as a Warlock) down to 10 minutes is great. That gives less opportunity for wandering monsters or the like to find you while you rest.
If time is really pressing and a few party members (like yourself, a Monk, or a Fighter) still need to recover some resources that recharge on a short rest, some of the party can rest in the vessel while the others continue towards the party’s destination. If things get bad in the meantime, the rest of the party can still quickly pop out of the vessel to help out!
Adding the extra hit point recovery to the mix makes for a great feature that gives a huge benefit to the whole party.
Psst! Learn more about spending Hit Dice here!
Plus being able to yeet everyone out of your vessel as a bonus action could make for a bit of comic relief. Do with that what you will…
Limited Wish (Level 14)
When you hit level 14, you are able to ask your Genie Patron for small wishes.
While these wishes aren’t as grand as the Wish spell, you can use this feature much more frequently.
As an action, you can speak your desire to your Genie’s Vessel, requesting the effect of one spell that is 6th level or lower and has a casting time of 1 action.
This spell can be from any class’s spell list and you don’t need to meet the requirements in that spell (including costly components). The spell simply takes effect as part of this action.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish 1d4 long rests.
This is effectively the ultimate ace up your sleeve. Being able to effectively cast any level 6 or lower spell in the game gives you tons of options in a pinch.
As far as capstone abilities go, this one is pretty amazing!
Pact Boons for Genie Warlocks
As a Warlock, you’ll be choosing a Pact Boon at level 3. The Pact Boon that you choose gives you extra abilities in addition to making certain exclusive invocations available to you.
In other words, the Pact Boon that you choose reinforces how your character works and their role in the party.
So let’s look at the different Pact Boons and how they relate to the Genie Warlock.
For a more in-depth look at Pact Boons and how they work for Warlocks in general, check out my full guide to Pact Boons!
Pact of the Blade
Unfortunately, the Pact of the Blade doesn’t really have any synergies with the Genie Warlock’s features.
The Genie Warlock is very caster-focused, so this isn’t a particularly good option. While Genie’s Wrath and invocations like Thirsting Blade and Improved Pact Weapon will help your damage output, you’ll be lacking in the defensive department.
It’s possible to play a Genie Warlock with the Pact of the Blade, but it’s far from an optimal choice.
Pact of the Chain
The Pact of the Chain is a solid option for any Warlock, and the Genie Patron is no exception.
Especially in the early game, having a familiar gives you a ton of extra options and utility. The imp is easily your best pick, but you can possibly work with your DM to flavor it as something more fitting with your theme.
Even when you leave the early levels of the game, your familiar still makes for a great scout!
Plus, you’ll have a familiar that can carry your vessel while you’re resting without slowing down the party!
Pact of the Talisman
Offering some passive support to your team with the Pact of the Talisman can work reasonably well for Genie Warlocks.
This isn’t a bad option, but I wouldn’t recommend it over the Pact of the Tome or Pact of the Chain.
The bonuses the talisman gives are good, and there are some interesting invocations for this pact. However, they just aren’t quite as suited to how the Genie Warlock plays.
If you want to try something weird and different, this might be worth trying. If you’re going for something more optimized, I don’t think this is for you.
Pact of the Tome
The top pick for Genie Warlocks is easily the Pact of the Tome.
Choose extra cantrips that offer extra utility and bonuses to the party like Guidance and Message. Remember: they can come from any class’s spell list!
For your invocations, be sure to pick up the Book of Ancient Secrets option to expand your ritual casting abilities. Look to collect ritual spells that add extra utility options and fill holes in your party’s capabilities.
At level 9, Gift of the Protectors is a strong option that can be a literal lifesaver for you and your allies! It’s especially useful when combined with your Bottled Respite!
Related: The Best Warlock Invocations in D&D 5e!
Connections
It’s easy enough to connect a Genie Warlock to the party and the story being told.
In addition to whatever else their Genie patron wants from them, the Warlock is almost certainly expected to gather treasures to adorn their patron’s palace. There are worse motivations for adventuring!
But where it gets really interesting is establishing what happened that prompted you to make a deal with a Genie.
The big two questions to consider for your character are:
- What do they want more than anything in the world? (This is for the Wish spell and is their ultimate reason for serving the Genie.)
- How did they find the Noble Genie that could help them achieve that?
You might also consider your character’s opinion on the deal.
Do they deal with their Efreeti patron’s explosive temper as a means to an end? Maybe your character actually admires their patron’s ruthless pragmatism.
While all genies both appreciate and expect flattery, is your character’s admiration for their patron genuine?
Is the Genie Warlock Good?
The Genie Warlock is incredibly powerful and a very good choice for any Warlock player! They’re incredibly versatile while also offering a great deal of utility to any group. Genie Warlocks are easily among the best Warlock subclasses in D&D 5e.
There is also a colossal amount of roleplay potential between the Warlock and their patron with this subclass. The dynamic of the Noble Genie plays with the typical ideas of what a Warlock is without disregarding those very ideas.
Personally, I’m pretty fond of the Marid and Djinni options.
As cool as Efreeti are, they’re probably the weakest option for you unless you take the Elemental Adept feat. Otherwise, there are enough creatures with resistance to fire damage that you might find yourself having less of a good time.
But how does the Genie Warlock compare to other patrons?
Check out my full ranking of every Warlock subclass in 5e to find out!
Conclusion – Guide to the Genie Warlock in D&D 5e
Well, that wraps up this guide to the Genie Warlock in D&D 5e!
For years I’ve wanted a Genie option to be available, and I’m so happy that we got it with Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. This subclass certainly exceeded my already-high expectations!
Have you played or considered playing a Genie Warlock? I’d love to read about your character in the comments!
Want a funny story about a dashing Halfling thief who found himself pledged to four genies at once? Check out this article about the legendary (in his own mind) Prince Jiffy!
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