Do genies suffer the side effects of the Wish spell?

Question

In the section on genies in the Monster Manual (p. 141), it says that noble genies can grant wishes. The "Variant: Genie Powers" sidebar (p. 144) details this variant rule, but doesn't mention anything about wish's side effects on the caster.

In accordance with legends, and the way that the text describes it, surely these genies aren’t risking losing the ability to cast the wish spell every time they grant a wish, right? Or else, why would a genie ever agree to grant a wish (unless they only ever duplicated the effect of an 8th-level spell or below)?

Answer 1

They can suffer the side effects of casting wish

The specific wording in the "Variant: Genie Powers" sidebar (MM, p. 144) is:

The genie can then cast the wish spell on the creature's behalf to bring about the effect.

Since there are no hidden rules, the wish spell is the wish spell and the genie is subject to all the same consequences as anyone else.

... surely these genies aren’t risking losing the ability to cast the wish spell every time they grant a wish, right?

Well, no. But then no one does unless they try to do something "beyond the scope of the above examples".

Or else, why would a genie ever agree to grant a wish?

Why, indeed?

Presumably for all the same reasons that anyone might. Therefore, it is extremely unlikely that a genie would take this risk unless they were somehow motivated to by inducement or coercion.

Putting aside D&D, genies in folklore have never been really keen to grant wishes. Now you know why.