Genies

Even before Solomon, the Great Wise King, tricked the genies into lamps, they were nasty folks. Four out of five were cruel demons who tortured people for sport. Having been trapped by the Wise King's Trick for thousands of years, even the less guilty of the race are now pretty nasty pieces of work. Fortunately, the vast majority of such lamps are in weighted clay pots at the bottom of the sea. Unfortunately, occasionally one of those pots breaks, and a lamp washes up on shore.

The legend is partly true. If you find the real deal and polish the accursed thing, the trapped genie is bound to provide one service - one Wish - for you in return for freeing it. Anything you ask, within a certain set of rules.

They will act subservient, nice, well spoken, kind, and humble. It's a lie. The vast majority consider themselves superior to everyone… including other genies. They are NOT required to speak the truth, but will absolutely claim they are if asked. They can't do anything until after they grant the Wish... and they'll always find some way to twist the thing. After, when the poor sap who wished somethings other than the one safe wish ("I wish you to be bound again as per the code of Solomon, son of David, the Great Wise King of Isreal") is fully screwed over by whatever cruel interpretation the genie could arrange... the genie will move on to find another person to whom to grant a wish. The catch? The genie will no longer be required to grant the wish, and can choose not to grant one it can't twist.

That said... a genie's only power is in granting the Wish. Without that, they're little more than ageless humans.