Question: What are Para-Genasi and how do they come to be?

[bunnynoah]

So let me get this strait: if two Genasi of different elements mated or if a child is born in a demi-elemental plane, they would be one of these?

Ice Genasi: Water/Air
Smoke Genasi: Air/Fire
Magma Genasi: Fire/Earth
Ooze Genasi: Earth/Water
Steam Genasi: Water/Fire
Dust Genasi: Air/Earth

[bunnynoah]

Does anyone know?

[Yuki Akuma]

The Para-Elements are from second edition Planescape, I believe - they don't exist in the current versions of D&D. Ice is just an aspect of Water now, for instance.

[hamishspence]

I'm told Dragon 297 has stats for them. And even in 3.0-3.5, the Paraelementals themselves have stats in Manual of the Planes though the Paraelemental Planes themselves, don't. However, the term could be used loosely to apply to border areas.

In 4e, all the elemental planes were replaced with Elemental Chaos - a single plane with chunks that resemble the classic elemental planes, plus the para-elemental planes.

In 5e, Elemental Chaos still exists - but as a border region for all the main elemental planes - travel far enough in any elemental plane, and you reach the plane of Elemental Chaos. I think the Paraelemental planes get mentioned as border areas, too.

[Beneath]

Planescape had an even bigger system. There weren't Air/Earth and Fire/Water crossings, though. Instead there were crossings with the Positive and Negative energy planes, and all of those had elementals, mephits, and weirder things.

Air+ had Lightning, Air- was vacuum, Earth+ was Mineral, Earth- was Dust, Fire+ was Radiance, Fire- was Ash, Water+ was Steam, Water- was Salt.

Technically the Positive and Negative versions of the elemental planes were "quasielemental" rather than "paraelemental", though.

[Lo'Tek]

Planescape had an even bigger system.
Additionally to the quasi elemental planes and para elemental planes there are other planes close to the inner, ethereal and material planes which are called demi planes. These are either in the process of forming or decaying, in contrast to the stable elemental planes (air, water, earth, fire) or energy planes (+, -). Examples from the manual of the planes include the demi-plane of electro-magnetism which is closely related to the quasi-elemental plane of lightning and reported to be "sucked into" it. I dispute that, and argue that the temporal differential between the planes shows that the plane is growing into the past and that the standard notion of inner planar substance movement is backwards in this case. A more theoretical approach assumes that this demi-plane is time curved and also moving into the opposite direction while absorbing substance from the quasi elemental plane of lightning, thereby balancing these "three planes" to a single stable quasi elemental plane. No portal to a time reversed demi plane of electro-magnetism has been observed by the Illithid Association for Planar Cosmology.*

Which brings us to the next hot topic of theoretical planar cosmology:
The demi-plane of time. It is well known that the very existence of this plane questions more than half of the useful models, but it is reachable from the ethereal, so time should be taken for more research.

Then we have the demi plane of shadows: this curious and very large plane has borders with the positive and negative energy planes, and could be considered a para energy plane. Debates if the existence of this plane is the result of the difference between energy planes and elemental planes or if each pair of polar opposite elemental planes also have, yet undiscovered, para elemental planes continue to be inconclusive. The para energy plane of shadows shows a strong affinity for prime material planes, is habitable by primers, and used for short range teleportation by divine and arcane casters as an alternative to the astral and ethereal. Its native inhabitants are interestingly polarised towards the negative plane, which creates rumor of a polar opposite, a demi-plane of light, which, if it had similar properties, would be imba and banned because it has a chance to heal you while you teleport. Cast it towards the sun while riding away from a finished quest.

Note that time-travel might be illegal in a lawful Illithid society and that an evil hive mind may operate cells on a need to know basis where the hive needs to know everything, but the cells do not. Math says the negative charged demi-plane of electro-magnetism should be close to the para elemental plane of ash, between elemental earth and negative energy, when you come from the ethereal. I have also heard about a gate in Sigil, somewhere in the science district. Bring rubber and cat fur. The plane behaves mostly like you would expect: there are electrons everywhere. Substance spills from elemental earth seem to be mineral rich, expect lightning, bring negative plane protection. Lichs love this place, some even forget they have a skull on the prime: They stop caring about the future. Why care about the future if you can control the past? Why are interdimensional travel lanes inhabited by evil species? Game design.

Last but not least: the demi-plane of imprisonment. During creation of the multiverse, woven inside the fabric of the inner planes, an "old one" .. this is snarl territory from 1987 manual of the planes. Old concept, still good. Can be used for other old ones, legends say "they rule there over countless planes" but standard cosmology just assumes someone found an anomaly gate to caerci on ether, most likely created by an outer plane quasi divine entity.

Now if you use imprisoned old ones, planetouched by Cthulhu is a valid planescape concept.

A genasi however is a descendend of a genie.