Efreeti 5e: Stats, Spells, Wishes and Running a Fire Genie

The efreeti is a CR 11 Large Elemental, a genie of the Plane of Fire, with AC 17, 200 hit points (212 in 2024), a 60-foot fly speed and immunity to fire. It fights with a burning scimitar up close and Hurl Flame out to 120 feet, and carries a toolkit of utility spells (Invisibility, Gaseous Form, Plane Shift, Wall of Fire) that let it pick the fight or leave it. The 2024 version makes three attacks instead of two, roughly doubling its damage, gains Magic Resistance, changes alignment from lawful evil to neutral, and comes back to life on its home plane when killed elsewhere. Only the 2024 stat block says anything about efreeti granting wishes.

Table of Contents

• •Efreeti Stat Block (2014)
• •The Efreeti in the 2024 Rules
• •Efreeti Wishes: What the SRD Actually Says
• •How the Efreeti Fights
• •Running an Efreeti Encounter
• •How Players Beat an Efreeti
• •Efreeti Encounter Ideas
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Efreeti Stat Block (2014)

The SRD 5.1 efreeti:

Read it as a bruiser with a spellbook. Two scimitar hits deal 13 slashing plus 7 fire each, 40 damage if both land, and Hurl Flame trades that for two 17-damage bolts at range. Its 200 hit points and AC 17 make it durable for CR 11. Its saves are strong everywhere except Dexterity (+1).

The spell list is about control of the scene, not damage. Enlarge/Reduce (3/day) can shrink a fighter or grow the efreeti. Conjure Elemental brings a fire elemental, but it takes a minute to cast, so it happens before the party kicks in the door. Plane Shift in the 2014 rules has a hostile use: a melee spell attack (+7) followed by a DC 15 Charisma save, and a failed save sends the target to a random location on a plane the efreeti names. Almost every spell on the list needs concentration, so it can run only one of them at a time.

The SRD has no lore entry for efreet. The Monster Manual's version (the City of Brass, a sultan, a slave-taking society) isn't in the SRD. The 2014 SRD names the City of Brass only as an example destination in the Plane Shift spell.

The Efreeti in the 2024 Rules

SRD 5.2.1 keeps the CR and XP and gives the efreeti the Genie tag.

The changes that matter most:

• •Damage jumps. The Multiattack is three attacks in any mix of Heated Blade and Hurl Flame. All three Heated Blades hitting is 78 damage, nearly double the 2014 maximum.
• •Magic Resistance. Advantage on saves against spells. Banishment, Hold Monster and the like fail far more often.
• •Wall of Fire is cast at level 7. That's 8d8 (36 average) instead of 5d8 (22.5), at DC 16.
• •Plane Shift no longer banishes. The 2024 spell only moves willing creatures, so it's an escape button, not an attack.
• •Elemental Restoration. Kill it anywhere except the Plane of Fire and it dissolves into ash and reforms there with full hit points in 1d4 days. The 2014 Elemental Demise trait just leaves its gear behind.
• •It's no longer evil by default. A neutral 2024 efreeti is easier to bargain with, and still has its own agenda.

Efreeti Wishes: What the SRD Actually Says

Genie wishes are the first thing people ask about. The SRD rules are narrow:

• •2014 stat block: no wish ability at all. The only 2014 SRD source of efreeti wishes is the Efreeti Bottle, a very rare item. On the first opening the GM rolls d100. On 91-00 the efreeti casts Wish three times for the owner, then leaves.
• •2024 stat block: the Wishes trait gives each efreeti a 30% chance of knowing Wish. It can cast it only on behalf of a non-genie creature that communicates a wish it understands. It suffers none of the spell's stress, and after three castings it can't cast Wish again for 365 days.
• •2024 Efreeti Bottle: on the first opening the GM rolls 1d10. On a 10 the efreeti can cast Wish once for you.

So in 2024, 7 efreet out of 10 can't grant a wish at all, and the ones that can have a limited supply. Neither SRD forces an efreeti to grant anything. The twisted wish is in the rules, though: the Wish spell says a wish beyond its listed effects might fail, only partly work, or bring an unforeseen consequence from how it was worded. Wishing a villain dead might send the wisher forward in time to after the villain's death. That's the part to bargain over.

How the Efreeti Fights

Open from the air. With a 60-foot fly speed and Hurl Flame's 120-foot range, an efreeti can stay above the party and throw fire. Against AC 18, the 2014 Hurl Flame (+7) hits on an 11, 50%, for about 17 damage a round. The 2024 version (+8) hits on a 10, 55%, and three bolts average about 40 a round. In 2024 it hovers, so knocking it Prone mid-air doesn't drop it.

Close when it's winning. In melee the numbers get ugly. Against AC 18 each blade hits on an 8 (65%):

A 2024 efreeti that lands all three blades on a level 9 wizard drops them in one turn.

Split the party with a wall. Wall of Fire can cut the room in half or ring a caster. The efreeti is immune to fire, so it can stand inside the wall and fight from there, while anyone who closes to melee on the burning side takes fire damage for ending their turn within 10 feet of it.

Pick concentration carefully. The efreeti has one concentration slot. A smart efreeti keeps Wall of Fire up and fights with attacks. A cautious one uses Invisibility to reposition, then breaks it with an attack. A 2014 efreeti may open with Enlarge on itself (extra 1d4 per weapon hit) or Reduce on the strongest fighter (Disadvantage on Strength checks and saves, 1d4 less weapon damage).

Leave when it's losing. Gaseous Form and Plane Shift are both escapes. A 2024 efreeti killed on the Material Plane also comes back in 1d4 days. Either way, an efreeti fight that goes badly for it rarely ends with a body.

Running an Efreeti Encounter

An efreeti is worth 7,200 XP. With the 2024 budget (SRD 5.2.1) for four characters:

Under the 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide guidelines (used by our encounter calculator), one efreeti is a Hard fight for four level 8 characters and Medium at levels 10 and 11. Remember that a 2014 efreeti can summon its own fire elemental if it has a minute's warning. That adds 1,800 XP and raises the multiplier to ×1.5 (13,500 adjusted XP), which is Deadly for four level 8 or level 10 characters.

Use the 2014 block at levels 8-10 and the 2024 block at 10-12. The 2024 damage output is high for a single creature, so its first round can drop someone at level 9.

How Players Beat an Efreeti

• •Resist fire. Every efreeti attack except the slashing half of its blade is fire. Fire resistance (Protection from Energy, a tiefling's heritage, a potion) halves Hurl Flame and Wall of Fire. Fire spells are useless: it's immune.
• •Target Dexterity. At +1, Dex is its only bad save. Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning and Ice Storm hit that save, and Faerie Fire counters its Invisibility. In 2024 it rolls those saves with Advantage, so prefer attack rolls and damage over saves.
• •Banishment is a coin flip at best. In 2014, Banishment at DC 17 against its +7 Charisma save works 45% of the time, and a full minute sends it home to the Plane of Fire. In 2024, with +8 and Magic Resistance, it shrugs off DC 17 about 84% of the time.
• •Break its concentration. One concentration spell holds up its battlefield. Damage it while Wall of Fire is up and it has to make a Constitution save. It's +7, so focus damage to force a high DC (see the concentration rules).
• •Fight it under water. Underwater combat rules give everything fully immersed Resistance to fire, the efreeti's main damage type. A lake fight is a big win if you can get it there.
• •Talk. A 2024 efreeti is neutral. Offering it something it wants, or a way home, can work better than fighting something that comes back in 1d4 days.

Efreeti Encounter Ideas

The auction lot. A brass bottle sells at a noble's estate auction for a fortune, and the buyer opens it at dinner. The GM rolls on the Efreeti Bottle table. If it attacks, it fights for 5 rounds in a ballroom full of guests and then vanishes. If it serves (the most likely result), the new owner has an hour of service now and two more hours on later openings. Either way, the party is in the room.

The sworn enemy. The party killed a 2024 efreeti on the Material Plane last session. It reformed on the Plane of Fire after 1d4 days. Now it's back, with Plane Shift, a grudge and two fire elementals. Run the rematch as a hunt: it uses Invisibility and Major Image to separate the party first.

The 30 percent. A desert town has an efreeti in its old well who offers a wish to whoever brings back an artifact from a nearby ruin. It's lying: it's in the 70% that doesn't know Wish. It wants the artifact to escape the binding that holds it in the well. The party can find this out with Detect Magic and a careful reading of the binding runes before handing the artifact over.

Frequently Asked Questions

What CR is an efreeti in 5e?

The efreeti is CR 11 and worth 7,200 XP in both the 2014 and 2024 rules. It has AC 17 in both, with 200 hit points in 2014 and 212 in 2024.

Can an efreeti grant wishes in 5e?

In the 2024 rules, an efreeti has a 30% chance of knowing Wish and can cast it only for a non-genie who asks, up to three times before a 365-day wait. The 2014 stat block has no wish ability; the only 2014 SRD route is the Efreeti Bottle, which grants three wishes on a d100 roll of 91-00. The 2024 bottle grants one wish on a d10 roll of 10.

Is an efreeti immune to fire?

Yes. Both versions are immune to fire damage. The 2014 efreeti has no other resistances or immunities. The 2024 efreeti adds Magic Resistance, Advantage on saves against spells.

What happens when an efreeti dies?

In 2014, its body disintegrates in fire and smoke and leaves its equipment. In 2024, if it dies anywhere but the Plane of Fire, it dissolves into ash and reforms there with full hit points in 1d4 days.

What's the difference between an efreeti and a djinni?

Both are CR 11 Large Elemental genies with AC 17. The djinni belongs to the Plane of Air, flies at 90 feet and is immune to lightning and thunder. The efreeti belongs to the Plane of Fire, flies at 60 and is immune to fire. In 2014 the djinni is chaotic good and the efreeti lawful evil; in 2024 both are neutral. If your party strikes a bargain with one, Loreify's session notes keep the exact wording on record.

Stat blocks: System Reference Document 5.1 (2014) and 5.2.1 (2024), Wizards of the Coast, CC-BY-4.0. Tactics, encounter math and ideas are Loreify's own.