Githzerai

The **githzerai** are a race of psionic humanoids formerly dominated by the mind flayers. They escaped their bondage and fled to the plane of Kythri, the Churning Chaos.

## History

The githzerai were encountered 9,000 years ago during the daelkyr invasion from Xoriat.

It is possible the mind flayers created the githzerai and githyanki on their own, or corrupted them from human or hobgoblin stock. Another theory holds that the mind flayers were created when the daelkyr destroyed the native world of the Gith. This would make mind flayers the Gith version of creatures such as the dolgaunts and the dolgrim.

The githyanki and githzerai escaped from the mind flayers after the Gatekeeper druids pushed the realm of Xoriat far from from the Material Plane and disrupted the invasion. The githyanki fled to the Astral Plane, while the githzerai moved to Kythri, the Churning Chaos.

Some **githzerai** are known to reside in the Material Plane. Some githzerai reside in a monastery they have constructed in the Uutkleza manifest zone to Kythri in Adar.

## Appearance & Personality

Githzerai resemble gaunt humanoids with sallow yellowish-green skin and pointed ears.

They have an orderly disposition and despise the mind flayer servants of the daelkyr.

The githzerai and githyanki do not get along, though both hate the mind flayers more than they do each other. This may be due to the two belonging to distinct slave castes under the rule of the mind flayers.

## Abilities

Githzerai are a psionic race, and many githzerai are skilled monks.

## Notes

Keith Baker has suggested on his website that the mind flayers may be the result of the daelkyr corrupting the original progenitor race of both the githzerai and the githyanki.

Keith suggested that his idea for the original home of the Gith progenitors has changed from another world in the same Material Plane of Eberron to a demiplane within Khyber.

Additionally, he has suggested that the githzerai may impose a sort of localized stability on areas they inhabit on the plane of Kythri.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 ***Expanded Psionics Handbook***.
Bruce R. Cordell (April 2004). Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-3301-1.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 ***Monster Manual***.
Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet, and Monte Cook (July 2003). Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-2893-X.
3. ↑ ***Eberron Campaign Setting***.
Keith Baker, Bill Slavicsek, and James Wyatt (2004). Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-3274-0.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 ***Explorer's Handbook***.
David Noonan, Rich Burlew, and Frank Brunner (2005). Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-3691-6.
5. ↑ Keith Baker (07/04/2005). Eberron Expanded -- Lords of Madness. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 07/14/2018. Retrieved on 02/07/2019.
6. ↑ ***Secrets of Sarlona***.
Keith Baker, Scott Fitzgerald Gray, Glenn McDonald, and Chris Sims (2007). Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 978-0-7869-4037-0.
7. ↑ Keith Baker (10/21/2017). Dragonmarks 3/12/15: Origins, Authors and Thrane. Archived from the original on 08/14/2016. “There are some fairly close thematic similarities between the kalashtar and the githzerai: both use psionics, both have extraplanar connections, both are at eternal war with a race of shared origin. Were these similarities intentional when the kalashtar were designed? If so, were they meant to be a playable version of the githzerai for your campaign (ie, lacking in level adjustment)?

Interesting theory, but no. The kalashtar have the distinction of being the one new race that was mentioned in the original ten-page overview of Eberron in the setting search (though the idea of a playable doppelganger was also there in the ten-pager). For me, the defining elements of the kalashtar are that they are mortal humanoids tied to immortal spirits and their unique connection to the world of dreams, something that’s been a long-time interest of mine. My first published piece of RPG material dealt with a conspiracy of people who shared dreams and affected the world through dream manipulation (more than a decade before Inception, mind you). So no, I’m afraid it’s just a coincidence.

Meanwhile, I’ve always used the Gith as a race whose world was destroyed by the Daelkyr before they came to Eberron. I consider the Illithids to be to the Gith as the Dolgaunts are to hobgoblins; they are creatures the Daelkyr created from Gith stock. Thus the Gith are a race who have lost their world, and they despise the Mind Flayers both as the instruments of their destruction and a mockery of their people.”
8. ↑ Keith Baker (10/21/2017). Dragonmarks: Planar Q&A. Archived from the original on 11/10/2018. “You’re not misunderstanding; the idea was half-baked when I originally suggested it. When I originally suggested the Gith were survivors of another world destroyed by the Daelkyr, I was thinking that there were multiple planets in the material plane.

As the cosmology has evolved, I’d take things in a different direction. Eberron is the sole planet in its particular planar constellation. However, it includes demiplanes within it; some of which have their own unique cultures and civilizations. So I’d maintain that the Daelkyr invaded demiplanes before striking Eberron itself… and that the Gith were the dominant culture of such a plane.

Which incidentally means that the Ghaash’kala might have had contact with the Gith prior to their downfall, and might still forage in the ruins of their demiplane.”
9. ↑ Keith Baker (10/21/2017). Dragonmarks: Planar Q&A. Archived from the original on 11/10/2018. “I’d love to read about how the gith survive on Kythri. With how chaotic it is, how do permanent establishments exist?

First of all, I think Kythri is more complex than the previous description gives it credit for. Its layers are symbols of chaos, change and uncertainty; that doesn’t necessarily mean that the entire plane is literally formless, churning chaos. The Githzerai might have drifting monastaries that ARE constantly changing and evolving — but they never stop being monastaries, and the change occurs over hours or days, not seconds. The Githzerai are comfortable with this constant change; like a zen garden, they meditate on the shifting form and how it reflects reality. It may well be that it’s the mental discipline of the Githzerai that imposes this relative stability; if the monks were to abandon their monastary (or if they were killed) it would dissolve into the greater chaos.”