Genies are one of the many patrons that Warlocks can form a pact with in Dungeons & Dragons. They’re often portrayed as tricksters and don’t really have set alignments. They might form a pact with a mortal for any number of reasons, but whatever they are, it will not be obvious.

RELATED: Dungeons & Dragons: How To Build An Archfey Warlock

Genie warlocks are solid magical attackers who get some elemental bonuses. With the right combination of spells, pact boons, and other class features, you can focus entirely on attacking or make a support build, making it a good option for players who want some versatility.

The Best Stats For A Genie Warlock

Genie With A Hammer via Wizards of the Coast

Charisma is your main spellcasting stat, so it's always a safe investment. Otherwise, use the following chart to determine what you'd like to invest in.

Stat

Benefit

Charisma

Charisma is the main spell casting stat, so you want it to be as high as possible to give your spells more oomph and make them harder to resist.

Constitution

Constitution determines HP, so increasing it will also increase your survivability. For spellcasters, a higher constitution means you're more likely to succeed in your rolls to keep your concentration for your spells up.

Strength

Used for melee weapon attacks, so it is especially good if you have the Pact of the Blade feature. Otherwise, it's a good dump stat.

Dexterity

Determines your armor class, so another way to increase your survivability by making you harder to hit. It's especially good since magic users don't usually wear armor.

Intelligence

If you take wizard spells through certain feats, you'll use intelligence to cast spells. It's also a common saving throw for spells from other magic users, but you can also make it a dump stat if you're not worried about that.

Wisdom

If you take druid or cleric spells through certain feats, you'll use wisdom to cast spells. Many attacks from other spell casters also use wisdom for saving throws, but you can also make it a dump stat if you're not worried.

Choosing Your Patron As A Path Of The Genie Warlock

Djinn Genie with a Sword via Wizards of the Coast

Now that you have your stats set, you can decide on your patron. Genie warlocks have four different types of genies they can form a pact with, including the dao, djinni, efreeti, or marid.

The patron you choose will determine what spells you get as you level up and give you an elemental resistance starting at sixth level. Make sure you decide because you cannot change this later.

Here is a chart detailing the spells and resistances you'll get from each genie type.

Genie Type

Spells Learned

Associated Element

All

Detect Evil and Good, Phantasmal Force, Create Food and Water, Phantasmal Killer, Creation, Wish

-

Dao

Sanctuary, Spike Growth, Meld Into Stone, Stone Shape, Wall of Stone

Bludgeoning

Djinni

Thunderwave, Gust of Wind, Wind Wall, Greater Invisibility, Seeming

Thunder

Efreeti

Burning hands, Scorching Ray, Fireball, Fire Shield, Flame Strike

Fire

Marid

Fog Cloud, Blur, Sleet Storm, Control Water, Cone of Cold

Cold

Genie's don't have a set personality you must adhere to, but when designing your patron, talk with your Dungeon Master about why they are making a pact with you and what your warlock can offer them.

Genie Warlock Class Features

Djinni Windseer by Livia Prima 

You'll get various features as you level up, with some more useful than others. Here are the genie class features you'll receive and how best to use them.

Genie’s Vessel

When creating a patron decide what their vessel is. Think, of the genie's lamp from Aladdin (the Disney movie), although it doesn't have to be a lamp. All that matters is that there's some compartment to go inside.

Size doesn't matter, either.In fact, smaller is better because it's easier to keep on you while you're running around adventuring. You can even keep your genie in a ring on your finger, something you're not likely to lose.

You can either use the vessel offensively and have it boost your attack or defensively by entering it to rest. However, you will be kicked out if you die or the vessel is destroyed.

While there is a time limit based on your proficiency bonus, by default, that's multiple hours, so it won't come up in combat. For roleplaying, while you're inside your vessel, you can hear everything that's going on as if you were in the room.

This is perfect if you need to hide or want to eavesdrop; just make sure no one else is around when you're forced out.

You can leave objects in your vessel as well, basically giving you a free bag of holding unless your vessel is destroyed.

You can't destroy your vessel yourselfto drop the items inside on enemies. The objects will reappear in unoccupied spaces.

If you do manage to lose your vessel, or it's destroyed, you can take an in-game hour to summon a new one.

Elemental Gift

Elemental Gift is the feature that grants you resistance based on your patron, but it also gives you the ability to hover up to 30ft in the air as a bonus action.

It's flashy and can be used to be intimidating in roleplay, but probably not that useful unless you're specifically focusing on ranged attacks and can hit enemies on the ground. The resistance is always nice, though.

If you need mobility, it's better to just cast the third-level spell Fly, as this feature doesn't let you actually move.

Sanctuary Vessel

You and your party (so long as there are only five extra people) can enter your vessel and get a short rest as long as you spend ten minutes in there once you hit tenth level.

On top of that, if they want to heal, they can add your proficiency bonus to their hit die rolls. You never know when a single hit point will be the difference between victory and a total party kill, so once you gain this feat, it'll be best to just take short rests inside your vessel from that point on.

You can't put anyone in your vessel on their own; you have to be with them for them to enter.

Limited Wish

The fourteenth-level capstone ability of the genie warlock is pretty impressive: you can ask your patron to create the effect of any sixth-level spell or lower with a casting time of one action.

You do not need any materials, spell slots, or even to know the spell already. The spell can be chosen from any spell list. The wording is vague, so you'll have to talk it over with your DM and be sure to clarify the following:

  • If you're using your own stats for this spell or your patron's stat block.
  • If you're maintaining concentration on the spell or your patron is.

While this is potentially game-breaking, the downside is you don't automatically regain use of it on a long rest like most features. You have to roll 1d4 after using it, and the number on the die determines how many long rests you must take to use it again.

Why Should I Play A Genie Warlock?

Efreeti Genie via Wizards of the Coast

Like with an actual genie, the limits to what you can do with a genie warlock all come down to how creative you want to be in interpreting the rules.

You could hide objects in your genie’s vessel, kidnap someone (provided someone else can carry the vessel away), and provide extra healing to your party.

Limited wish is worded in such a way that, if your DM is ok with it, you can cast a sixth-level spell without concentration.

Even if the DM isn’t charitable to that reading, you can cast any spell from any list, like heal, mass suggestion, or revivify, to name a few.

This class is best for someone who knows a lot about spells and is willing to be a little pedantic on the wording. You will have lots of versatility and can fill multiple roles depending on what your party needs.

Which Pact Boon Should I Take

Art via Wizards of the Coast

Since the genie warlock is pretty versatile as far as warlocks go, you can combine this with any pact boon and make it work. Here are the benefits of each.

Pact

Benefit Description

Pact of the Tome

You can get three extra cantrips from any other list that don’t count against your number of cantrips known, allowing you to have more variety in your magic options.

Pact of the Blade

You can summon a melee weapon in your hand as an action, you gain proficiency in it, and it counts as magical for resisting non-magical attacks. You'll have an easier time with close-range fighting this way.

Pact of the Chain

You can cast the spell find familiar as a ritual, giving you a familiar who can act on your turn and attack with you. You also get a little pet to join you on your adventures.

Pact of the Talisman

While wearing your talisman, you can add 1d4 to an ability check you failed. Great for turning potentially disastrous failures into successes.

These can all further be improved with certain eldritch invocations.

Which Eldritch Invocations Are Best For A Genie Warlock

Marid Genie via Wizards of the Coast

In exchange for having fewer spell slots of lower levels, warlocks get eldritch invocations, which can expand their abilities.

You should take invocations that allow you to either improve your pact or improve your eldritch blast cantrip.

Here are the eldritch invocations you can choose from.

Eldritch Invocations

Requires Eldritch Blast

Agonizing Blast, Grasp of Hadar, Lance of Lethargy, Eldritch Spear, Repelling Blast

Requires Pact of the Blade

Eldritch Smite, Improved Pact Weapon, Lifedrinker, Thirsting Blade

Requires Pact of the Tome

Far Scribe, Gift of the Protectors, Book of Ancient Secrets

Requires Pact of the Chain

Investment of the Chain Master, Gift of the Ever-Living Ones, Chains of Carceri, Voice of the Chain Master

Requires Pact of The Talisman

Bond of the Talisman, Protection of the Talisman, Rebuke of the Talisman, Aspect of the Moon

Best Spells For A Genie Warlock

Genasi Enforcers by Joshua Raphael

It’s a running joke that warlocks always spam Eldritch Blast, and that’s because it’s a very good cantrip that you should always have.

If you want to use spells other than Eldritch Blast, here are some others you should consider when playing this class.

Cantrips

  • Friends
  • Mage Hand
  • Poison Spray
  • Minor Illusion

First Level

  • Hex
  • Hellish Rebuke
  • Witch Bolt
  • Unseen Servant

Second Level

  • Cloud of Daggers
  • Invisibility
  • Shatter
  • Misty Step
  • Hold Person

Third Level

  • Counterspell
  • Dispel Magic
  • Fly
  • Remove Curse
  • Vampiric Touch

Fourth Level

  • Dimension Door
  • Elemental Bane
  • Banishment

Fifth Level

  • Scrying
  • Dream
  • Hold Monster

Sixth Level

  • Circle of Death
  • Mass Suggestion
  • True Seeing

Seventh Level

  • Finger of Death
  • Plane Shift

Eighth Level

  • Dominate Monster
  • Power Word: Stun

Ninth Level

  • True Polymorph
  • Power Word: Kill
  • Imprisonment
read more

What Are The Best Species For A Genie Warlock

Art via Wizards of the Coast

Here are the benefits of some of the best species for a genie warlock. Note that Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters Of The Multiverse allows you to choose where you want to place your stat increases at your first level. This means you will choose what you want instead of using the assigned increases below for each species in the Player's Handbook.

Species

Benefits

Human

If you're a regular human, you can get a flat increase to your stats for free, allowing you to keep a well-rounded build if you want to play a jack-of-all-trades character. Alternatively, you can play a variant human to get an extra feat for free, offering you some nice bonus abilities.

Elf

A boost to dexterity to raise your armor class is always nice because mages don't usually wear armor, but even more useful is the ability to be immune to being put to sleep via magic, meaning you won't have to worry about an annoying condition that is very common, and you get some extra spells with certain sub-species like High and Dark elves.

Half-elf

The boost to charisma is good because you use charisma for both spell casting and determining your spell save DC, so you want it to be as high as possible. Like with elves, you also get an immunity to being put to sleep via magic.

Dragonborn

This species your charisma to make your spells stronger, plus you get extra resistance, allowing you to take less damage from more types of magical attacks. Furthermore, your breath weapon gives you an extra attack option once per long rest.

Tiefling

You'll get a boost to charisma to be a stronger caster, and you'll also get resistance to fire damage, so this is extra nice if you didn't pick an efreeti for your patron. You can also get access to other spells to expand your spell list.

Genasi

For genasi, the elemental resistance and access to extra spells are nice. However, the most fun part is that since genasi are descended from genies, your patron can be your great-great-great grandpa if you want a fun dynamic.

Best Feats For a Genie Warlock

Hellish Rebuke by Heonhwa Choe

Here are some recommended feats if you opt to use that feature instead of increasing your stats.

Feat

Benefit

War Caster

Allows you to cast spells instead of making melee opportunity attacks and gives you an advantage on checks to keep up concentration spells. You can also cast spells with somatic components while holding your pact weapon.

Elemental Adept

Allows you to ignore resistances when casting spells of a certain damage type. It works best if your patron is a djinni, efreeti, or marid.

Metamagic Adept

Allows you to learn two Metamagic options from the sorcerer class and grants two sorcery points. Take quickened spell so you can attack and enter your vessel on the same turn.

Crossbow Expert

You won't use most of the benefits if you don't have a crossbow, but it's still beneficial because you do not receive penalties when casting ranged spells against nearby enemies.

NEXT: Dungeons & Dragons: Best Warlock Invocations, Ranked