Based on Arabian folklore, the Sha'ir is a mysterious and powerful wizard that gains their power from Genies, and often acts as an ambassador on behalf of mortals to Geniekind. Sha'irs are both feared and respected for this role. Sha'irs are unable to cast any spells themselves, instead relying entirely on their Genie companion for this. This means they must work together in order to survive battles.

The most important thing in a Sha'irs life is his gen. Without this creature, there is no way for the Sha'ir to gain spells, and the connection with geniekind becomes very strained. Sha'irs are, therefore, highly protective of their gens and liable to aid them before helping out a friend or relative. Gens are as different as the Sha'irs who call them, and their attitudes do not always coincide with those of the Sha'ir with whom they work. Gens often have an agenda of their own, though it may seem inconsequential to their masters. Still, the gens regard their private goals as nearly sacred, and Sha'irs must pay attention to the requests of their gens. While a genie cannot leave a Sha'ir, it may certainly become difficult to deal with if it is not allowed to see to its own affairs. If a genie deems it necessary that his master go and retrieve a magical item the genie has heard of, the master most often will go simply to avoid a conflict with the gen. Even gens know their bounds, however, and are not likely to force an issue with which their master has voiced his extreme displeasure.

In addition to their own plans and the occasional genie quest, there are other things that must be taken care of in order for a genie to prosper. First, the genie must be allowed to rest on the elemental plane appropriate to its type. Gens usually rest when their masters do and do not appreciate being woken from their rest. If a character, for whatever reason, wakes in the middle of the night (or during the normal resting period) and demands the presence of the genie, there is a very good chance that he will be ignored. This chance of being ignored by the genie is equal to 50 percent minus 5 percent per level of the Sha'ir (to a minimum of 10 percent). Sha'irs of the same alignment as their genie receive an additional 10 percent bonus to this roll. If the genie chooses to ignore the Sha'ir to whom it is loyal, it will not appear until its normal rest period is over and will be very grumpy about having its sleep disturbed. For the following day it will take the genie an additional 10 minutes to find any spell it is sent to retrieve. If the genie does wake and respond to its master, it will be very sleepy and not at all in a mood to go searching for spells. If sent to find a spell, it will spend five minutes griping and groaning before it departs and will take an extra half an hour to return with the spell.If it knows its master is in dire need of the spell, it will take only the normal time to find the spell but will gripe and complain even louder until it is free to return to its elemental plane. Gens who wake and come to their master in the night will require an additional 20 minutes to locate spells during the next day.

The second requirement that must be dealt with is the payment of the gen. While they are loyal to their masters, they like to feel as if they are valued allies rather than slaves. For every level of the caster, the genie will require 10 gp per month in payment. Sha'irs may substitute other forms of treasure appropriate to the gens element for gold and are encouraged to do so. No genie is happier than when carting back a nice bit of art or a new tool to its home on the elemental plane. Such items might include a nice brazier for a fire genie, an ornately crafted wind chime for an air genie, a beautifully carved model boat for a water genie, or a painstakingly sculpted piece of semi-precious stone for an earth genie, All of these are appropriate, as are many others. The genie appreciates those items made by its master over those crafted by the hands of strangers but will accept any items it is given. Precisely what gens do with their payments is unknown, but it is believed they simply hoard the stuff. Rumours that they send a portion of their tribute to others of geniekind are unfounded but still popular.

The third necessity required by all gens is praise. Gens believe that they perform a necessary function for their Sha'ir and should be complimented for taking such action whenever possible. (The fact that it is also being paid for its services doesn't concern the average gen.) A Sha'ir who doesn't introduce his genie to new acquaintances should expect the genie to handle this chore itself. This can be particularly disconcerting if the Sha'ir is trying to conceal the fact that he is such a mage. Fortunately, most gens have enough sense not to endanger their Sha'ir over much. Though they feel it is fine to make the Sha'ir feel some discomfort (after all, humility is a sign of greatness), they will never do anything that may result in overt harm to their master.

The last thing that gens require is contact with those of geniekind. Gens are very much dependent on their more powerful cousins for their magical powers and, some believe, for their very existence. Gens must be allowed to spend at least five hours a week talking to their kindred. While this requires no special actions on the part of the Sha'ir, it will place the genie beyond contact range for a time. Most gens like to tack this social time onto the beginning or end of their resting time. This allows them to enter the elemental plane and talk to some genies and then rest.

If a genie is deprived of any of these requirements for a week, the genie becomes very irritable and prone to irrational fits of anger. During this time, the genie will not actively hurt the Sha'ir or cause the Sha'ir harm in any direct way, but it will not go out of its way to help the Sha'ir, either. If a Sha'ir wants a spell and is not in immediate danger of being killed without it, the genie may take up to twice as long as normal to find the spell. This continues until the genie has received the treatment it requires in addition to some small, special treat that its master has long denied it. All gens have tendency to ask for things they cannot have; this is a good chance to make a Sha'ir pamper the genie a bit. If a Sha'ir is so callous as to pay no heed to his gens surly attitude, the genie becomes even harder to handle and takes even longer to retrieve spells. All spells will take double the normal time to find, and the genie will deliver the spell with a snide comment of some sort or another. In addition, the genie will refuse to wake during its rest period regardless of the situation its Sha'ir is in. After a week of this, the genie will come right out and tell the Sha'ir what the problem is and how to fix it. This will require no less than a weeks vacation for the genie, as well as some sort of special prize that the genie has had its eye on. This gift must be worth at least 100 gp per level of the caster and must be delivered to the genie as quickly as possible. Should all of this fail to apprise the Sha'ir of his gens exceedingly poor attitude, the genie will make the ultimate show of disgust the poor creature will simply disappear for a week. What the Sha'ir doesn't know is that the genie has sought refuge with geniekind and is busy pouring its heart out to anyone who will listen. At the end of the week, a genie will appear before the Sha'ir and explain the problem to him in terms that cannot be misunderstood. The genie who appears will be a step above the most powerful genie that the Sha'ir can bind and will not be amused should the Sha'ir try anything so foolish. This member of geniekind will act as an arbitrator in the dispute and will protect the genie until something satisfactory has been worked out. If things get to this stage, the Sha'ir is going to pay dearly and only some very persuasive arguments will prevent the forfeiture of the gens services for no less than a month and tribute worth at least 1,000 gp per level. Geniekind will enforce the agreed upon settlement. Should the Sha'ir decide to break his agreement, his genie will leave forever and he will be forced to begin his career over as a sorcerer or elemental mage. While all of this may make gens seem to be vain, troublesome creatures, in truth what they ask is quite reasonable. After all, the genie provides its Sha'ir with magicks that other wizards of similar levels can only dream about. And the genie is also a competent servant. While they require a little more care and pampering than a standard familiar, they are far more versatile and considerably more powerful. A Sha'ir who abuses such a creature deserves whatever he gets.

Gens are very similar to familiars, though there are a number of differences between a genie and a standard familiar (as stated in the Arabian Adventures rule book). The connection between a genie and its Sha'ir is also a bit different from that enjoyed by a standard sorcerer and its familiar. One of the major differences is the intensity of the connection. While an ordinary wizard shares an empathic link with her familiar, a Sha'ir and a genie become very closely linked. A Sha'ir can see and hear through a gens eyes and ears and may indulge in two-way, mental conversation with the gen. The range of this communication is equal to 10 feet per level of the caster. This ability allows a genie to become a consummate spy, instantly reporting to its Sha'ir and gaining further orders without the need to return and confer with its master. Gens are also more intelligent than standard familiars, which gives them the ability to handle more complex tasks. Gens are as intelligent as bright children and only a little more mature. Thus, while they are able to perform complex tasks, the wording of such tasks is extremely important. A Sha'ir who commands his genie to go and take a precious gem from the coffers of the caliph must remember to also ask the genie to be sneaky. Otherwise the genie is likely to walk up to whoever is guarding the gem and demand the item, usually in the name of its Sha'ir. This is a situation that could become very embarrassing very quickly. Like all of geniekind, the gens are somewhat capricious; ask what you will of them, but always be very specific.

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