Steam Genasi
The Quasi-Elemental Plane of Steam is known by many names: "The Great Fog," the "Obscuring Mists, or simply "The Hidden." The very image of the plane conjures up visions of secrecy and mystery and long-lost Darks. As with most things in the Multiverse, there's probably something to all these names. That is, if the Steam Genasi are any indication.
Steam Genasi call themselves Lanterns of the Mists, and most bashers on the Planes figure this to be a fairly apt description. Like their Magma, Dust, and Salt Genasi cousins, Steam Genasi are ardent, enthusiastic explorers of the Multiverse. But the Lanterns of the Mists specialize in (and excel at) the exploration of the obscure.
For some Steam Genasi, this means investigating hidden Darks and unearthing lost (or forbidden) knowledge. This could be anything from uncovering the Dark of why Nemausus has gone missing from Arcadia, to discovering the pattern of a shifting portal in the Hive, to capturing the murderer of the late Colonel Halvart.
But for most Steam Genasi - the overwhelming majority, in fact - this means taking the first portal out of Sigil and striking off for parts unknown. Steam Genasi have a burning curiosity about those areas of the Planes about which there is little (if any) information. Find a spot on the Planes that nobody knows anything about and you can bet that a Steam Genasi will find some way to get there and return alive to tell the tale. One Steam Genasi, a sod named Strom, is systematically mapping Agathion, the fourth layer of Pandemonium. Another Steam Genasi, Kaul Wildmarten, is exploring the nether reaches of Pelion, on Arborea. And an unknown Steam Genasi is wandering about on the Great Glass Sea, on the continent of Taladas, on the Prime world of Krynn.
Given all this exploration of the unknown, it's no wonder why most bashers tend to be respectful of Steam Genasi. For one thing, a lot of the knowledge collected about the the lesser travelled regions comes directly as a consequence of the Lanterns of the Mists. And for another, anybody who wanders into unknown areas of the Planes and lives to tell about it is not someone a body would want to cross. After all, it's one thing to visit Jangling Hiter after consulting with sages and planewalkers to find out the preparations needed to come back from the visit with all your skin still attached. It's another thing entirely to just gad about the lesser-travelled portions of the layer of Minauros without any prior knowledge of who may be out there or what it might take to keep 'em from putting you in the dead-book. Most sods would call such exploring barmy, but experienced Steam Genasi can do it and return six weeks later to toss the chant about it over a cup of mead and a game of dice.
Appearance-wise, Steam Genasi are the most human-looking of all the plane-touched. All Steam Genasi have one or more of the following traits:
Interestingly enough (and with only a very few exceptions), Steam Genasi avoid some of the more popular fashion trends evinced by many Planars (especially Sigillians). In particular, Steam Genasi do not pierce their bodies (female Steam Genasi may be occasionally seen with one piercing per earlobe, but even this is rare), nor do they affect the tatoos or body painting prevalent among other Planar races. The Dark of why the Steam Genasi, as a whole, seem to avoid these things remains a mystery. (Along these lines, the humble author of this description pointed out this mystery to a Steam Genasi of the author's acquaintance. The Steam Genasi in question is now assembling a team to investigate. A trip to the Quasi-Elemental Plane of Steam is anticipated, and interested cutters are invited to inquire at the Rotting Treant tavern, off of Bloodmarsh Way, in the Lower Ward.)
Steam Genasi have earned a well-deserved reputation for being tough to kill, and this is doubtless due to their +1 bonus to Dexterity and Constitution. However, they do seem more susceptible to mind-controlling spells (-1 penalty to Wisdom), and they're not particularly powerful (-1 to Strength). Lanterns of the Mists can breathe water as though it were air, but they suffer the same movement penalties underwater as if they were any other land-based race. They gain a +1 bonus to their saving throws vs. water- and necromantic-based magic every five levels. Finally, they can Obscure themselves once per day. This is a spell-like ability identical to the 2nd-level Wizard spell Obscurement, and Steam Genasi cast it as though they were 5th-level casters.
Steam Genasi can be fighters, mages, Abjurers, Diviners, or bards. They can also be fighter/mages, fighter/Abjurers, or fighter/Diviners. They can be of any alignment.
Ability Requirements:
| STR | DEX | INT | WIS | CON | CHA |
| 3/18 | 7/18 | 3/18 | 3/18 | 9/18 | 3/18 |
Age and Aging Effects: Same as for normal Genasi
Average Height and Weight: Same as for Air Genasi
Bard Racial Adjustments:
Level Limits:
