Githyanki

Githyanki are an ancient line of humanlike beings who reside in the Astral Plane, filling their armories for their next skirmish, raid, or war.

They are gaunt, averaging 6 feet 3 inches tall and typically weighing around 170 pounds. They possess rough yellow skin and black hair that is often pulled into one or more topknots. Their eyes gleam darkly and their ears are pointed and serrated in back. They enjoy elaborate dress and baroque armor. In fact, they revere weapons and armor, and it is not uncommon for githyanki to show more regard for their panoply than for a mate.

Githyanki speak their own secret tongue, but most also know Common and Draconic. Like dwarves, githyanki are craftmasters, although they focus exclusive on items of warfare. Their items are distinctive, and non-githyanki who acquire them run the risk of immediate retribution should they encounter githyanki.

Most githyanki encountered outside their homes are fighters; however, wizards (called warlocks) and multi-class githyanki (called gish) are also found.

Combat

Githyanki are seasoned warriors, familiar with the tactical use of ambush, cover, and psionic sniper attacks from afar. However, they prefer to engage their enemies hand-to-hand so they can bring their devastating melee weapons to bear. Githyanki weapons are usually greatswords, bastard swords, and other particularly large bladed weapons of special githyanki manufacture, all masterwork and each distinctively decorated and named. Githyanki wizards direct their powers with pinpoint accuracy to support their comrades in melee.

Psionics (Sp): At will - clairaudience/clairvoyance, dimension door, mage hand, telekinesis. Upon advancing to 8th character level, a githyanki can use plane shift once per day. These abilities are as the spells cast by a 16th-level wizard.

Spell Resistance (Ex): A githyanki has spell resistance of 5 + 1 per character level.

Silver Swords

These impressive weapons are carried by githyanki combatants of 7th level and higher. Of githyanki make, a silver sword is a +3 greatsword that looks much like a standard githyanki weapon. However, when the weapon is drawn in melee, the blade transforms into a column of silvery liquid, altering the weapon's balance round by round as the blade's shape flows and shimmers. In the hands of someone without the appropriate Exotic Weapon Proficiency feat, the weapon is clumsy (-4 penalty on attack rolls) and possesses only its enhancement bonus. A proficient user on the Astral Plane, however, is able to attack the silver cord that connects the astral form to its material counterpart. The normally insubstantial cord is treated as a tangible object with the owner's AC, hardness 10, and 20 hit points (see Attack an Object page 135 of the Player's Handbook). A silver cord visibly trails 5 feet behind an astral traveler before fading into the astral medium.

Attacking it draws an attack of opportunity from the astral traveler. When the cord is damaged, the astral traveler must succeed at a Fortitude save (DC 13) or be immediately forced to return to its body - which might be a good idea anyway if the traveler is not up to fighting githyanki on their home plane. Severing the silver cord destroys both the astral form and the body on the Material Plane.

Silver swords with an enhancement bonus of +5 and vorpal characteristics exist, but these are minor artifacts, relatively few, and only handed down to heroes of the race. If a silver sword falls into the hands of a non-githyanki, githyanki kill the possessor if they can, steal the weapon if they have to, negotiate if they must, or ally with the thief's most potent foe as a last resort.

Caster Level: 11th; Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, creator must be a githyanki; Market Price: 98,350 gp; Cost to Create: 49,000 gp + 3,920 XP.

Githyanki Ecology and Society

Githyanki consider all other sentient creatures to be enemies, and they harbor a special hatred for mind flayers. In a battle, they usually try to eliminate any mind flayers first. Githyanki might intervene when adventurers are fighting mind flayers, only to turn on the party once the illithids are dead.

In eons past, the mind flayers enslaved entire races, including the forerunners of the githyanki. Centuries of captivity bred hatred, nurtured resolve, and finally instilled psionic powers into these slaves. With mental armaments of their own and a powerful leader to rally behind (the legendary Gith), the slaves instigated a cross-planar struggle that, in the end, threw down the mind flayer empire, bringing freedom to the surviving slaves. However, these soon split into the racially distinct githyanki and their mortal enemies, the githzerai. Each constantly attempts the extinction of the other. This animosity has burned through the centuries, warping the githyanki into the evil, militaristic creatures they are today. Both peoples' hatred of the mind flayers knows no bounds, though, and they break off hostilities to slay illithids if the opportunity presents itself.

Githyanki live within massive fortresses adrift in the Astral Plane. Here they conduct commerce, manufacture goods, grow food, and live out their lives. Family dwellings are nonexistent, since most githyanki prefer their own abode; however, githyanki are often found in groups, honing their fighting skills. A fortress contains noncombatants (mostly children) equal to 20% of the fighting population. Githyanki males and females may be found in almost any role or class. In the Astral Plane eating and drinking are not necessary, and the githyanki have lost their appetite for food. They require nourishment when venturing onto other planes, however, and most of their Astral settlements include caves where farmers raise some livestock and tend fungus beds. Githyanki food is notoriously bland, in keeping with their general lack of interest in the culinary arts. Field rations usually include salted meat, dried mushrooms, and a smattering of other preserved foods, such as dried fruit and hardtack, which they have stolen or acquired through trade.

Environment: Githyanki are most at home on the Astral Plane, where conditions such as gravity, inclement weather, or hunger don't bother them. On the Material Plane, githyanki can be found wherever they can prey on other beings. They usually remain near the fringes of civilization, where they have a good chance of staging successful raids without encountering too much opposition.

Alignment: Most githyanki have evil alignments, although they might be lawful, neutral, or chaotic. The githyanki's evil largely stems from their kill-or-be-killed philosophy. Lawful githyanki embrace their militaristic society, and they thrive on the structure it provides. Chaotic githyanki chafe under the yoke of military discipline and generally do all they can to work independently or in small groups far away from a superior's influence. Neutral githyanki acknowledge the benefits of an established social order but privately doubt that it is the only way their people can survive.

Red Dragon Pact: Githyanki have a racial pact with red dragons, who sometimes serve githyanki as steeds. Individually, githyanki gain a +4 racial bonus on Diplomacy checks when dealing with red dragons. In large groups, they can make temporary alliances with red dragons at the option of the Dungeon Master.

Githyanki Characters

Fighter is the favored class of the githyanki. Githyanki are never clerics, unless they've forsworn the lich-queen (a dangerous and ultimately lethal choice). Some of the most powerful githyanki warlords are blackguards.

History

By their own account, the githyanki once served the mind flayers as slaves and chattel. They won their freedom through a brilliantly and patiently organized revolt - quite an accomplishment in the face of the mind flayers' ability to read thoughts. A female named Gith organized the revolt. When the time to act was right, the slaves rose as one. Small groups escaped into the Astral Plane, where they regrouped and fought off scores of mind flayers that pursued them. Eventually, the mind flayers were forced to give up the struggle (or chose to give it up, according to the mind flayers). When the war finally ended, the slaves chose the name githyanki, which means "children of Gith" in the secret tongue the slaves developed for their revolt.

The githyanki have never known peace. Just after helping them win their freedom, Gith ordered the githyanki to begin a full-scale extermination of the mind flayers. But one group among the freed slaves believed that Gith was simply replacing one tyrannical regime with another. A male named Zerthimon led this group of rebels, and the crusade against the mind flayers ended prematurely as civil war erupted among the newly freed slaves. In the end, the race splintered into two factions: those who fled to the Astral Plane and followed Gith (the githyanki) and those who fled to Limbo and followed Zerthimon (the githzerai). To this day, the races cannot stand each other, and githyanki and githzerai attack each other on sight. Only the sight of a mind flayer can cause a githyanki and githzerai to temporarily put aside their differences and unite against the common, most hated foe.

Githyanki live in fortified settlements organized along military lines. Each community has a ruler, whose orders all subordinates are bound to obey. Each community leader in turn has a superior based in a larger settlement. A githyanki leader's position is far from secure. Individuals tend to be loyal to their people as a whole, not to particular leaders. Mutinies that remove incompetent leaders occur from time to time, and these small internal revolts are generally tolerated as long as the mutineers succeed and can demonstrate that they did not act capriciously. Githyanki who rebel and fail face swift execution.

The current leader of all githyanki is Queen Vlaakith, who has reigned for more than a thousand years. Vlaakith is a 24th-level wizard and a lich. She slays all githyanki who become powerful enough to challenge her rule. Scholars well versed in interplanar affairs suspect that these sacrifices are part of Vlaakith's continuing effort to achieve godhood. Those githyanki who draw the lich-queen's ire or fail in an assignment might be destroyed even before they reach sufficient power to be viewed as a threat. Most githyanki are blissfully unaware of Vlaakith's intentions toward them when they reach higher levels, which is why she has ruled uncontested for so long - and because her actions leave no witnesses.

Whatever Vlaakith's true motivations for slaying her brightest subjects, the githyanki have a culture without a god and largely without religion, which suits their desire for self-sufficiency. They do not have any clerics, but a few pursue alternative divine spellcasting classes, mostly rangers and blackguards. Most githyanki revere Gith, but she is honored as a legendary ancestor and heroine, not as a deity.

Typical Treasure

Most githyanki have standard treasure for NPCs of their Challenge Rating. They favor masterwork weapons and armor, and usually carry a few other offensive items as well.

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