Societal Structures (GAP)

__TOC__
For a people with strong individualistic tendencies, the society of the githyanki is well-defined and neatly structured. Some have observed that the githyanki are inwardly orderly, but chaotic in respect to everyone else. Their society is divided among the specialized githyanki professions.
==Knights==
Knights are the greatest of the githwarriors, and therefore some of the most influential of the githyanki. These folks're warriors who have devoted themselves to the direct service of the lich-queen (before her reign, no githyanki knights existed). They serve as her eyes and ears in all situations, so any important mission'll have at least one knight, and all fortresses, towns, or outposts also have a knight. People both revere and fear the knights, for they know that they report directly to the queen. Failure in githyanki society is bad, but failure in front of a knight is usually a fatal mistake.
Knights never become high-ups in the conventional sense but are always involved in important decisions, and it is forbidden to keep secrets from them. Essentially, they function outside the normal hierarchy. In addition to serving as elite combat troops, knights monitor internal matters and enforce the will of the queen and whatever supreme leader they are assigned to.
Knights are as close to religious figures as the githyanki have, since there are no priests or clerics of any kind. The githyanki are too centered around the concept of individuality to have a formal, organized religion, but since the coming of the lich-queen, their reverence for her approaches worship. They recognize no other gods. It is difficult for a people who build their homes on the backs of dead powers to recognize such beings to be divine.
As they focus so much devotion toward their mistress, the knights gain quasi-religious powers. Each knight has the special abilities of a paladin, except that they are perverted toward evil. These reversed abilities include detect good (as the spell) at will, cause disease (as the spell) once per week for every five levels, protection from good, 10' radius (continuous), and they can cause wounds by their touch, inflicting 2 points of damage per experience level once per day. Like paladins, they're immune to disease and gain a +2 bonus to all saving throws. Because the lichqueen's not an actual deity, they gain no power over undead and don't receive any spells from her. The protection from good power is particularly useful against meddlesome primes or even invaders from planes other than the Astral.
Knights carry the infamous silver swords known throughout the planes. These special magical two-handed blades can sever the silver cord of a sod traveling through the Astral in an astral form (see below). These weapons are given to knights of 7th level or higher. Half of those of 5th or 6th level wield two-handed swords +1, the rest using nonmagical two-handed swords. Those of lesser status use either long swords and shields or two-handed swords. Knights always wear plate mail or plate armor - it doesn't affect their movement on the Astral Plane at all.
Some knights ride nightmares into battle, but only when the fiendish steeds' combat abilities are important, because the knights are faster unmounted.
==Githwarriors==
Githyanki fighters're called githwarriors. While not as respected as knights, they can raise themselves to positions of real authority. Most aspire to become supreme leaders of a fortress or city. The supreme leader's will is unchallenged and he or she has complete control over all aspects of life of those under him or her.
As a githwarrior rises in the ranks, he gains the title sarth, or "sergeant." From there, a warrior can raise to the rank of kith'rak, or "captain." Kith'rak are answerable only to the supreme leader they serve (and as always, the queen). Once again, it's important to remember that knights function outside this ranking system.
Githwarriors use a variety of weapons. Although long swords and two-handed swords are the most common, githwarriors also wield bardiches, halberds, large spiked flails, scythes, and barbed whips. A recent innovation is the triple crossbow, a baroque-looking affair that can fire three bolts separately or simultaneously as a light crossbow. Half of the githwarriors of 5th level or over are given two-handed swords +1, while those of 7th level or higher have a 60% chance of having a long sword +2.
Those with one-handed weapons use shields or a second weapon in their other hand. All githwarriors wear chain mail, banded mail, plate mail, or plate armor. 
==Warlocks==
Warlocks're githyanki wizards, the title having nothing to do with gender. To the githyanki, magic's just another tool or weapon, and so these individuals gain no greater or lesser station than nonwizards. 
Despite all of the utility of wizard spells, warlocks are primarily combat mages - warriors with spells rather than swords. Magic missile, Melfs acid arrow, fireball, lightning bolt, and ice storm are some of their favored spells. Direct, destructive magic is their forte, with other sorts of spells used only when necessary. Although necromancy that involves the killing or stealing of life force is also used, githyanki warlocks rarely animate the dead.
Warlocks can be any manner of specialty wizard that a human can be, including wild mages. These wizards particularly like the school of evocation/invocation for its destructive spells. They have all of the proper spell keys for casting spells on the Astral, and many know keys for the various Lower Planes as well. A rare few have access to spell keys created to cope with Limbo's chaotic ways, in order to make attacks against the githzerai.
Warlocks obviously never use armor, and those of very high level usually discard the use of weapons as well. Those of low or medium level use daggers.
==Gish==
Githyanki call those who are trained in both fighting and spellcasting gish, meaning "skilled." These talented individuals are rare and well-respected, often becoming leaders or other people of influence. 
These men and women are multiclassed fighter/wizards the only type of multiclass allowed to githyanki. Gish are rarely specialty wizards, but, like the warlocks, have the proper spell keys needed on the Astral.
Gish use the same sort of weapons that regular githwarriors use, except that they rarely use two-handed weapons and never use shields. They have the same chances for magical weapons as do their nonspellslinging brethren.
==Psionicists==
For those DMs who use this optional character class, it is also available for githyanki. About three-fourths of the githyanki are wild talents, and a great many have the special training of a psionicist. In virtually every respect, these cutters are treated as warlocks and are sometimes even called warlocks. The githyanki do not distinguish much between magic and psionics despite their great differences — they are both just weapons to be used to their fullest extent.
==Mlar==
A profession unique to the githyanki, mlar are magical artisans and craftsmen. Most specialize in the construction and repair of buildings, tools, weapons, and other needed things, but others use their powers to create sculpture and other art pieces. For all basic purposes, these individuals are noncombatants and hold a special purpose in githyanki society. Almost all items — including buildings and fortifications — are constructed by mlar, as are all the astral ships. Githyanki wizards, working with mlar, construct magical items like the silver swords.
These githyanki're treated as wizards, except that they have no spellcasting abilities. Instead, they have the following special magical powers, each usable once per day for every five experience levels. (Note to DMs: There should be no player character mlar.)
WALL OF STONE. AS the spell. (Wall of Stone (Wizard Spell))
STONE SHAPE. AS the spell. (Stone Shape (Wizard Spell))
FABRICATE. AS the spell. (Fabricate (Wizard Spell))
DECORATE. Using this power, the mlar can create intricate, elaborate, permanent decoration on a single object which does not significantly change the shape or strength of the object. 
COLOR. This ability allows the mlar to change the color of an object permanently (or until the mlar wishes to change the color again). 
CONSTRUCT. A mlar can take existing materials and make them into a desired product (sword, shoe, rope, building, wall, sculpture, etc.) at ten times the rate a normal individual could. Basically, the mlar can do the work of ten nonmlar.
REPAIR. This ability allows the mlar to restore a damaged or broken object to its original state, as long as at least 75% of the object is intact. Greater damage cannot be repaired and must be rebuilt. 
FORTIFY. The skill insures that the creations of a mlar are twice as durable and resistant to damage as a normal creation of the same type.
==H'a'cknir==
On the Astral Plane, there are energies flowing through the void found nowhere else on the planes. No one's done a job of finding, cataloging, and experimenting with these energies like the githyanki. These energies, they've found, can be used for various purposes.
Hr'a'cknir are healers (physical, mental, and spiritual), craftsmen, seers, and transport specialists. Each focuses his skills on one type of energy and its usage. Hr'a'cknir ghustil are healers who can focus astral energies and gain the following spell-like abilities: cure light wounds (3 times per day), cure disease (1 time per week), cure blindness or deafness (1 time per week), remove paralysis (1 time per week), remove curse (1 time per week), and restoration (1 time per month).
The var'ith'n are hr'a'cknir who collect astral energies in conjunction with mlar craftsmen in order to construct special creations like astral ships.
Senja 'si are githyanki seers who look into the astral energies to predict the future and view the present and past. Each has the ability of the astrology proficiency, the clairvoyance and clairaudience spells (1 time per day each), and legend lore (1 time per week).
Lastly, the y'rn are transport specialist hr'a'cknir. By utilizing the currents of astral energies, they can teleport up to 2,000 pounds of material anywhere on the Astral Plane one time per day.
All hr'a'cknir abilities are usable only on the Astral Plane. In all respects other than those presented here, these individuals are treated as wizards with abilities rather than spells. Like mlar, hr'a'cknir cannot be player characters.
==G"lathk==
For lack of a better term, g"lathk are githyanki farmers. Fact is, however, they are much more than that. Harnessing the strange, astral energies of their plane, as well as employing a little of their race's inherent magic, the g"lathk grow food where nothing should be able to grow. Much of what they produce is a funguslike organism, which requires no sunlight to thrive. Others cultivate and harvest a tiny grub that grows only within the flesh of one of the dead god islands. Still others grow tiny plants and animals in tanks or pools of specially treated water.
Despite their important duties, these githyanki do not have the respect that warriors or warlocks do. Often, g"lathk are former warriors who have been injured in a debilitating way. Because githyanki need food only for when they are on another plane, there's not a need for huge numbers of these folks.
==Others==
Other positions within githyanki society include caretakers (called varsh) that raise the young and provide them with their rudimentary training. Menial labor is often done by the young (while still training for their eventual position) or by slaves. There are githyanki merchants in larger communities (to transport and sell those goods made by the mlar), as well as criminals (though the githyanki flamboyant, straightforward style doesn't lend them to becoming good thieves).
==Tl'a'ikith==
Tl'a'ikiths, also known as "sword spirits" (not to be confused with the residents of Acheron by the same name), are undead githyanki knights that remain on the Astral Plane (and sometimes other planes) as invisible spirits animating the sword they used in their life.
Tl'a'ikiths hold a strange place in githyanki society. They no longer possess the ability to interact in any fashion other than combat — they cannot speak, and they cannot affect objects other than the silver swords they used in life. So these spirits act as guardians that watch over important locales, such as treasure vaults, egg chambers, and high-up quarters. The lich-queen's palace is said to have hundreds of these undead entities serving as an elite guard.
Although all githyanki are aware of the existence of tl'a'ikiths, they cannot communicate with them, so they are virtually ignored. Military commanders cannot count on the spirits to help, since they cannot give them orders, but the bloods usually know when and where they will appear. Overall, however, the spirits do as they please — which usually entails guarding an area they had regarded as important while they lived. They fight with the same abilities and skills that they had in life, save that they are now invisible spirits.