Water Genasi

Culture

Culture and cultural heritage

As rare beings, genasi might go their entire lives without encountering another one of their kind. There are no great genasi cities or empires. Genasi seldom have communities of their own and typically adopt the cultures and societies into which they are born. The more strange their appearance, the harder time they have. Many genasi lose themselves in teeming cities, where their distinctiveness hardly raises an eyebrow in places accustomed to a variety of different people. Like the Brokenlands or Belari.

Shared customary codes and values

Water genasi were unusually patient for genasi and had a strongly independent streak. Most were used to solving problems on their own and not afraid to take a lot of time doing so. At times they were like terrible storms, fierce and destructive, but most often they presented a tranquil appearance despite whatever emotions run underneath their quiet surface. Water genasi were sometimes abandoned by their parents. Water genasi usually leave their parents upon reaching maturity, taking to the open sea in order to explore, learn and develop their own personality and place in the world.
A great many water genasi felt that they were unique and superior to the humans that bore them, and they had little or no interest in others of their kind. Only in large communities of sea elves were more than one water genasi likely to spend much time together. Many water genasi even looked down on humans who used the sea as their means to a livelihood, seeing them as vulnerable and weak fools. This brash arrogance means that, in general, water genasi did not get along as well with other races.
Most water genasi had no particular bent in alignment, preferring to avoid extremes.
Because of their few numbers and varied origins, water genasi had no society or culture to call their own. Many water genasi were also raised by other races and sometimes demonstrated values similar to those of the race such as freedom or good behavior. Others were raised by sahuagin and became bloodthirsty killers and the difference between water genasi of different upbringings was sometimes compared to the difference between a quiet spring and a raging waterfall.

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

Water genasi looked generally human except for some distinguishing features, such as lightly scaled skin, clammy flesh, excessive perspiration, blue-black eyes, or a muffled voice that sounds as if drowned in water. Compared with other genasi, water genasi were often slightly more durable, but also less strong.
Their skin is often shades of blue or green, sometimes a blend of the two. If they have a human skin tone, there is a glistening texture that catches the light, like water droplets or nearly invisible fish scales. Their hair can resemble seaweed, waving as if in a current, or it can even be like water itself.
The lapping of waves, the spray of sea foam on the wind, the ocean depths—all of these things call to your heart. You wander freely and take pride in your independence, though others might consider you selfish.