Ifrit
Ifrits are powerful jinn made of smokeless fire—proud, often rebellious, and capable of immense strength. They can harm or help humans, bound by oaths, talismans, or Qur'anic verses, and are wary bargainers.
Story beats
- 1) Born of fire before humans, ifrits dwell in ruins, deserts, and subterranean realms.
- 2) They resent forced service but respect contracts sealed with divine names.
- 3) In some tales, an ifrit abducts a bride; heroes confront it with wit, scripture, or talismans.
- 4) Repentant ifrits may convert and aid prophets; others remain proud, testing human arrogance.
Context & symbolism
Ifrits show the ambivalence of power—elemental spirits with agency parallel to humans. Invoking sacred verses to bind them highlights the tension between free will and obedience, and between hubris and humility.
They differ from playful jinn by their severity; fire grants them destructive potential and swift movement.
Motifs
- Smokeless fire bodies
- Binding seals and talismans
- Proud, oath-bound nature
- Ruins and deserts as lairs
Use it in play
- Negotiate a perilous pact with an ifrit for aid in a siege; wording matters.
- Seal an ifrit using verses or calligraphy; a mangled script backfires.
- Rescue a captive taken to a desert ruin held by fiery sentinels.
- Temptation arc: an ifrit offers power if the party honors it above older oaths.