Editing Dao

'''Dao''' are one of the four [[genie]] races of the [[multiverse]] of [[Dungeons & Dragons]], being associated with the [[Elemental]] force of Earth. Like all genies, they are natives of either the [[Elemental Planes]], specifically the Plane of Earth, or the [[Elemental Chaos]], depending on whether you look at them from the perspective of the [[Great Wheel]] or the [[World Axis]].

==Great Wheel==
The dao are the most avaricious of all the [[genie]] races; residents of the Plane of Earth, they constantly seek to mine the gemstones and precious ores of their planes, often extending their operations into the [[Material Plane]] or the Plane of Minerals to pursue their voracious hunger for more and more mineral wealth. They are the only genie race whose love of enslaving mortals and [[elemental]]s to serve them matches - or even exceeds - the [[efreet]]i. The dao occupy a portion of the Plane of Earth known as the Great Dismal Delve, which is made up of all the various maze-like fortress-citadels of the dao. Their ruler, the Great Khan, has the biggest and most impressive mazework citadel of all, a labyrinthine city called the Sevenfold Mazework, which links to all the other dao mazeworks, with the Great Khan's personal fortress being the Hidden Fulcrum of the Dao, located at its center.

Dao are reviled by [[djinn]]i and [[marid]]s; only the [[efreet]]i are willing to trade with them, since the dao are master producers of raw ore for the fiery [[genie]]s to smelt and have the largest slave market in all of the planes. Despite their use of slavery, dao are the most driven and industrious of the genie races, albeit only in the fields of pursuing greater wealth.

Male or female, dao are powerfully muscled individuals. Their polished skin is the color of earth, sand, or granite, and their finger- and toenails are made of a durable but lustrous metal. The fingers themselves are wide and pudgy, even if the dao assume other forms. Both sexes are bald and free of body hair. Males do have facial hair, worn in mustaches and angular beards. All dao enjoy adorning themselves with jewelry, such as earrings, bracers, chokers, nose rings and studs, ankle bracelets, rings, and bells. Many don shirts of lamellar plates.

Of all the genies, daos have the weakest ability to grant wishes, at least in [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]]; according to their expanded lore from the [[Al-Qadim]] setting, not only can a dao only grant 1 wish a dao, but they can only grant it to true natives of the [[Material Plane]] (even [[planetouched]] are too "magical" to benefit), and the wish will '''always''' carry a hidden sting in its tail, even if the dao doesn't want it to!

===5e===
Dao are greedy, malicious genies from the Elemental Plane of Earth. They adorn themselves with jewelry crafted from precious gems and rare metals, and when they fly, their lower bodies become columns of swirling sand. A dao isn't happy unless it is the envy of other dao.

'''All That Glitters:''' The dao dwell in complexes of twisting tunnels and glittering ore-veined caverns on the Elemental Plane of Earth. These mazeworks are continually expanding as the dao delve into and reshape the rock around them. Dao care nothing for the poverty or misfortune of others. A dao might grind powdered gems and gold dust over its food to heighten the experience of eating, devouring its wealth as mortals consume a precious spice.

'''Lords of the Earth:''' A dao never assists a mortal unless the genie has something to gain, preferably treasure. Among the genies, dao are on speaking and trading terms with the efreet, but they have nothing but scorn for djinn and marids. Other races native to the Elemental Plane of Earth avoid the dao, which are always seeking new slaves to mine the mazeworks of their floating earth islands.

'''Proud Slavers:''' The dao trade for the finest slaves that money can buy, forcing them to work in dangerous subterranean realms that rumble with earthquakes. As much as they enjoy enslaving others, the dao hate being enslaved. Powerful wizards have been known to lure dao to the Material Plane and trap them in the confines of magic gemstones or iron flasks. Unfortunately for the dao, their greed makes it relatively easy for mages to cozen them into service. 

==World Axis==
The origins of the dao in the World Axis are unknown. What is known is that they are cruel, rapacious, and greedy creatures, constantly slaves to further their ability to strip mineral wealth from the infinite expanses of the Elemental Chaos. They are... pretty much identical to their Great Wheel counterparts, save for the art implying they are more monstrous; giant, earthen-hued humanoids with glowing eyes, hairless bodies, and horn-like stony growths armoring their skulls and joints.

==Publication History==
The dao, like the [[marid]], are the "youngest" of the D&D Genie races. They only appeared in [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]], making their debut in the article "Featured Creatures" in [[Dragon Magazine]] #66, before seeing official print in the adventure [[Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth]] and the [[Monster Manual]] II.

They first made their appearance in AD&D 2e under the "genie" heading in the Monstrous Compendium Volume One, which was then reprinted in the Monstrous Manual. The noble dao and the Great Khan of the Dao appeared for the [[Al-Qadim]] setting in the Monstrous Compendium Al-Qadim Appendix. The dao also appeared in this setting under the header "Genie of Zakhara" in the Land of Fate boxed set - this sourcebook offers the ''largest'' amount of lore that the dao has ever enjoyed, and is far more informative than the Monstrous Compendium/Manual entry.

History would repeat itself, with the dao losing its place of prominence in [[Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition]]; instead of appearing in the [[Monster Manual]], like the [[djinn]], [[efreet]] and even [[jann]] did, it wouldn't make its debut in 3e until the release of the [[Manual of the Planes]].

It fell even further from grace in [[Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition]], however; it's only presence was the article "Bestiary: Dao and Marid" in [[Dungeon Magazine]] #199.

It finally reappeared alongside its fellow [[genie]]s in the [[Monster Manual]] for [[Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition]], the first time all four were in a core [[splatbook]] since 1993.

==Shaitans==
In [[Pathfinder]], because "Dao" is somehow copyright to [[Dungeons & Dragons]], the earth branch of the genie family are the '''Shaitans''', taking their name from an Arabic name for the Devil.

[[Category: Dungeons & Dragons]] [[Category: Pathfinder]] [[Category: Monsters]]