Githyanki

On Githyanki

"I pity them, our wayward cousins. If only they could find the discipline of the mind necessary to let go of their hate and truly live as free beings."- Kraniar, githzerai adventurer, sharing a sentiment common among his kind.

"They can master the blade and magic, with many even learning the psionic arts. They befriended dragons, live for centuries and carry a long view of the world. Honestly, were it not for the rigidity of their society, and their general barbarity, we could be kin."- Rovalur, sun elf wizard, on his encounters with the githyanki of the Astral Plane.

"No one who hates mind flayers that much can be bad, right?"- Lem, human farmer, shortly before being taken as a slave by githyanki raiders.

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"They fight as individuals! Work together! Overcome their skill with numbers!"- Bansh Pearlson, hadozee first mate, right before githyanki pirates board his ship.

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Githyanki are not native to Apia. No god formed them nor mind created them. Instead they followed the mind flayers from some realm beyond, intent on taking the heads of as many illithids as possible. Eons ago and eons before, githyanki were slaves to the mind flayers and now they will not accept any reality where mind flayers are able to live in peace. Githyanki are known for their deep understanding of magic, psionics and the sword. Because most live in floating cities in the Astral Plane they can live for uncountable years, growing in skill and magic power. However, their rigid cast system prevents any from growing mightier than their wicked Lich Queen allows. Most githyanki encountered outside of raiding parties and warbands are adventurers, either exiled from githyanki society or on the run from it and thus can be any alignment, unlike the majority or their evil kin.

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Physical Description: Like all gith, githyanki are tall and slender humanoids with rough, leathery yellow skin and bright black eyes that were sunken deep in their orbits. They had long and angular skulls, with small and highly placed flat noses, similar to those of bats, and ears that were pointed and serrated in the back side. They typically grew either red or black hair, which they often styled in topknots. Males occasionally grew beards but this was uncommon. Their teeth were sharply pointed. Small mottled patches of raised flesh is not unlike that of reptiles, was also common, as was severely exaggerated elbow and knee joints. Githyanki style of dress was very rigid and militaristic, the bright colors clashing with the armor plating. It was also common for the githyanki of both sexes to wear skin-tight outfits that exposed plenty of skin and accentuated the form. Warpaint, ritual scarring, tattoos and piercings were all common, though body modification was not. The githyanki form was considered the highest, most perfect form that there was, and altering it too much was blasphemous.

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History: According to gith sages, in the far future, long after Apia's sun had gone dark, mind flayers ruled the multi-verse, conquering near infinite numbers of crystal spheres and spreading out among the stars. They were tyrants and dictators of the words kind, enslaving and ruling without thought of those they ruled over. They experimented and flesh-warped as was there lot and eventually produced the precursor of the gith race. This nameless people was a humanoid amalgamation of numerous other slave races, human, elf, goblin and so on, bred for intelligence and psionic power. The mind flayers cruelly oppressed and abused their slave-stock, using them as food, fuel and sources of amusement. However, they underestimated those creatures that they'd made and when Gith, the legendary warrior woman, for whom the race is named, rose up against the mind flayers. They shattered their empire in a massive revolt, driving the illithids to the brink of extinction. In their desperation, the mind flayers went back in time to an earlier era and tried to undo this mistakes, creating an eternal empire that would last the eons. The gith, followed. Gith wanted to establish her own empire, allowing the gith to win the temporal war that they now found themselves in. Yet Gith was cruel and soon became as bad a tyrant as the mind flayers before her. Zerthimon, the mystic and another hero of the gith, opposed her, claiming she was leading the gith to destruction and that they could not follow "two skies." The gith civil war led to Zerthimon's death and the race officially splintering into two, the githyanki (the children of Gith) and the githzerai (those who opposed Gith). The githyanki retreated to the Astral Plane and established themselves as an independent empire. Still, their war against the mind flayers continued and so Gith sought out allies. On the advice of her general Vlaakith, Gith sought out Tiamat, demon queen of evil dragonkind to propose an alliance. Gith never returned but a bond was struck between red dragons and the githyanki for all time as Vlaakith ascended to the throne. Vlaakith's daughters, one after the other, took the same name, all the way to Vlaakith CLVII, who, rather than have any daughters, ascended into lichdom and has ruled the githyanki for thousands of years as an immortal lich. Today, the githyanki live in the Astral Plane, raiding and pillaging others who live there. However, as time does not flow in the Astral Plane, they require outposts on the material plane to raise their young. These bases also serve as safe havens from which the githyanki plunder the surrounding communities, and hunt mind flayers. As Apia has a significant number of mind flayers hiding down in the Hollow, the githyanki have established bases, which they call creches, all across Apia's surface. They also have a significant presence in the Hollow. Githyanki raiders are, while not a common occurrence, are tragically far from rare.

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Geography: While the majority of the githyanki are located in the Astral Plane they have established multiple creches across Apia. While the exact location of these creches are carefully guarded secrets, based on githyanki sightings it can be assumed that the Dragon Empire, Taskanda and the Goblin Dominion all host at least one. The Hollow is also a hotbed for githyanki activity. Lone githyanki or small companies of mercenaries can be found in many locations.

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   Personality: Githyanki were typically cruel, arrogant, and aggressive. They are also notably xenophobic, holding an intense dislike for most non-githyanki. The few exceptional individuals who deserted from the rigid githyanki militaristic society tended to develop a disdain for rules.The high value they placed on individuality also caused them to become ambitious and self-centered. They were also known for their long memories. Even the most open-minded githyanki came across as smug, sarcastic, rude, and overconfident, but they were generally capable of withstanding adversity without complaining. Clever and resourceful, githyanki adventurers were not known for their loyalty or ability to make new friends, but they were extremely persistent in the face of danger. Although rare, it was possible for githyanki to become disillusioned with their people's unsavory habits and to try to set up a reputation on their own act. As a result of their long-lasting presence in the Astral Plane, where time did not pass, the githyanki developed a decadent lifestyle, picking up hobbies, arts, and studies in an endless search for novelty. After centuries, they developed a hollow culture of shallow and unfinished undertakings, never truly mastering any task or seeing any personal project to completion. This constant interest with novelty also reflected in their dressing style: githyanki were fond of collecting and wearing extremely ornate and elaborate tokens of their defeated foes. It was common for their armor and weapons to be overly decorated with gems, feathers, precious metals, and other ostentatious ornaments. Githyanki are proudly individualistic, each setting their own goals, within their appropriate caste of course. They are fanatically devoted to their queen Vlaakith CLVII and many almost worship her as a god, (though openly githyanki are atheists). They do show parental instincts towards their young, but typically attempt to harden and prepare them for the harsh reality of eternal war against the mind flayers. Above all, githyanki are proud and will not tolerate "slander." Point out the hypocrisy of their lifestyle, their claims of freedom backed by slavery and raiding, and they'll likely draw steel.

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Society: Githyanki society was extremely rigid, with its members being divided into one of three castes, though shifting between castes was possible. The castes were, in order of importance, military, craftspeople and common laborers. Beneath them were "thralls," captured peoples who provide the githyanki with cheap labor. It is a martial society, with little regard for blood ties and excellence expected. As githyanki are born from eggs, which are hatched communally, there is little way to tell the direct parents of the individual, and little desire too do so. Children are trained quite intensely from an early age. Males and females are both trained in martial and magical skills, with the greatest warriors wielding the silver swords, magical weapons made from unique metals found only on the Astral Plane, that the githyanki are famous for. They are consummate raiders and plunderers who are unable to completely sustain themselves short of raiding and thus plunder and pillage as needed on both the material and astral plane. It is considered a great honor to take part in these raids, as it is both essential to the survival of the community and a mark of pride to battle the githyanki's many enemies. The ultimate goal of the githyanki as a whole is, of course, conquer and expand, building a vast empire that ultimately ends the mind flayer threat forever, and lands the githyanki in the position of eternal glory they believe they long deserved. Githyanki live alone, unless they chose to keep company; they have no family bonds and no religious ties. The githyanki are connected to the red dragons by way of ancient pact and many gith knights and their dragon mounts do develop a healthy respect for one another, bordering on friendship. Githyanki are loyal to the chain of command, which goes all the way up to Vlaakith herself, who has ruled for so long they'd never dream to oppose her will.

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Religion: Githyanki officially have no religion. No gods helped them and no gods made them. They are their own masters. Unofficially, Vlaakith is a god in all but name and title to the githyanki. Reneges who have broken free of githyanki society can worship whatever god they fancy.

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 Alignment: Most githyanki are neutral evil. They are unpleasant, foul, xenophobic raiders who seek the downfall of all others races in the name of a mad lich. However, plenty of rebels and renegades do exist and these free-thinkers can be of any alignment.

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Relations: The githyanki aren't particularly fond of anyone. They are willing to work with duergar, due to their mutual hatred of mind flayers, though these relationship rarely last longer than convenient. They can often work alongside evil humanoids, if it serves the goal of the githyanki people. The only real respectful relationships they have are with the red dragons who serve as mounts, and even these can be contentious. They despise mind flayers and hate the githzerai, attacking them at any opportunity.

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Language: Githyanki speak common and gith. Please note, the variant of gith spoken by githyanki is notably different than the variant spoken by githzerai.

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Adventurers: Adventuring githyanki are usually rebels and renegades, on the run from githyanki society. Perhaps they have seen through the hypocrisy or fear the wrath of the lich-queen. Whatever reason, rogue githyanki have precious few skills, but those that they do have are well suited to adventuring. As many are warriors and spellcasters both, or psionically augmented warriors, they are not lacking in offers from adventuring parties. While the odd githyanki might be an unusual sight, they are far from the strangest creatures roaming Apia and so tend to get by okay.

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Names: Githyanki do not have surnames as they do not have familiy units. The singular names they do have tend to be long and melodic, with many having at least one apostrophe.Example male names: Elidrian, Gaath, Ja'adoc, Kar'i'nas, Lykus, Quith, Ris'a'an, Tropos, Viran, Xamados

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Example female names: Aaryl,  B'noor, Fenelzi'ir, Jen'lig, Pah'zel, Quorstyl, Sirruth, Vaira, Yessune, Zar'ryth

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Traits: Githyanki traits are described below...

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+2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, -2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma, Githyanki are lithe and tough, but they are arrogant, rude and unlikable.

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Medium

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Base Land Speed 30 feet

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Darkvision 60 feet

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Naturally Psionic: Increase your Psionic Points Pool by +3 psi points.

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Psi-Like Abilities: At 1st level, you can use the Psi-Like Abilities of Far Hand and Psionic Daze 3/day each. You also gain the Psi-Like Abilities of Concealing Amorpha (3/day) at 3rd level, Psionic Dimension Door (3/day) at 6th level, before finishing with Telekinetic Thrust (3/day) and Psionic Plane Shift (1/day) at 9th level.

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Favored Class: Fighter

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(Speak with DM if interested in a non-psionic option)

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