Githyanki

Githyanki are an ancient race of martial humanoids residing on the Astral Plane. From their astral citadels, they launch countless raids against unfortunate Material Plane lands, carrying off booty and slaves to serve them in their extraplanar castles. Widely known as planar travelers and marauders, githyanki venture to all corners of the multiverse in search of power and wealth.

Personality: Most githyanki are cruel, rapacious marauders who revel in warfare and conquest. They are extraordinarily arrogant, and view other humanoids native to the Material Plane with nothing less than utter contempt. Even the most open-minded githyanki is smugly convinced of his own ability to handle any kind of trouble that might arise on whatever backwater plane he happens to be traveling through, and many are bitingly sarcastic and rude to those they perceive as their inferiors.

While others may find them caustic and condescending, githyanki are often ambitious, clever, and uncomplaining in adversity⁠—​qualities that make them well suited to the vicissitudes of the adventurer’s life. They are not particularly loyal allies and make few friends, but they are fearsome and tireless foes who don’t know when to quit.

Physical Description: Githyanki are tall, gaunt humanoids averaging a little over 6 feet tall and typically weighing around 170 pounds. They have rough, yellow skin and russet hair, which they often pull back into a pair of topknots. Their noses are almost flat, their eyes have a sinister gleam, and their ears are sharply pointed. Githyanki favor ornate and complex clothing and weapons.

Relations: Most githyanki regard Material Plane denizens as ignorant bumpkins at best—or, at worst, slaves that haven’t been captured yet. A few githyanki rise above these conceits and come to value the skills and knowledge of those they encounter in their travels⁠—​but these individuals are uncommon, to say the least.

Regardless of what they think of Material Plane inhabitants, githyanki burn with hatred for the ancient enemies of their race⁠—​the mind flayers, who once enslaved them, and the githzerai, who betrayed the teachings of the great leader Gith (as the githyanki see it). No githyanki will pass up a chance to work harm against either of these foes. In the presence of both, they are inclined to first join with the githzerai to dispose of the mind flayers, and then turn on their alienated kinfolk once the illithids are no more.

Alignment: Most githyanki are ambitious, cruel, self-centered, and violent. They favor evil alignments, particularly neutral evil and chaotic evil. Those who have decided to turn their backs on their native society are neutral or chaotic neutral. Very few githyanki are lawful or good.

Githyanki Lands: Githyanki are natives of the Astral Plane. They live in great drifting citadels and trade outposts clinging to odd bits of astral matter, like rocky islands in a silver sea. Githyanki must use psionic plane shift or similar dimensioncrossing effects to come to the Material Plane (it is assumed that any githyanki player character has already done so at the beginning of his career).

Religion: Githyanki have little use for deities, but all must pay homage to the terrible lich-queen who rules their race. The lich-queen is not a deity and grants no spells to her followers, but she jealously destroys any githyanki who openly venerates a god. A few githyanki clerics exist, worshiping deities who reward ambition and power, but they must conceal their practices while among their fellows.

Language: Githyanki speak Gith, a language they share with the githzerai. They also speak Common.

Names: A githyanki’s primary allegiance is to his clan, so his clan name is usually given first when addressing strangers. A githyanki also has an individual name, to which he does not attach much importance.

Clan Names: Druustya, Fiden-sither, Githom-vaas, Totherka, Saamasal, Zuriith-movya.

Male Names: Baarya, Duuth, Fiden, Flomm, Kastya, Klavya, Saath, Zith, Zomm.

Female Names: Amith, Efromm, Ifrith, Iliss, Olavya, Ummon, Usamm, Ysviden.

Adventurers: The githyanki respect power, and for many of them the path to power lies in the pursuit of magical and psionic abilities, wealth, and knowledge. Many githyanki strike out on their own to comb the planes for the power they need to gain station and prestige among their own kind. More rarely, githyanki who become disenchanted with their race’s cruelty and callousness choose to leave and make their own way in the world. In a remote corner of the Material Plane, a githyanki expatriate might be simply an odd-looking traveler judged by his own deeds or misdeeds, not the depredations of his malicious kind.