Githyanki

Infobox D&D creature


caption=Githyanki on the cover of the "Fiend Folio". Artwork by Emmanuel
name=Githyanki
alignment=
type=Humanoid
subtype=Extraplanar
source=
first="Fiend Folio" (1981)
mythical=
based=

The "githyanki" are a fictional humanoid race in the "Dungeons & Dragons" role-playing game. They are cousins to the githzerai. In the "Dark Sun" setting, they are simply called gith. Githyanki appeared in, and on the cover of, the 1981 edition of the "Fiend Folio".

Publication history

The githyanki were created by Charles Stross [*Interview with Charles Stross by Sevendead blog. http://www.sevendead.com/?page_id=12] for his "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" campaign. Stross borrowed from a fictional race created by George R. R. Martin in his 1977 science fiction novel "Dying of the Light". George R. R. Martin himself was not aware of the name being borrowed until the 2000s. The githyanki/ illithid relationship was inspired by Larry Niven's "World of Ptavvs".

The Githyanki have appeared in all four editions of the Dungeons & Dragons game.

Martin's githyanki

In Martin's novel, the githyanki were called "soulsucks" because of their dangerous psychic powers. They were slaves of another alien race called the hrangans, and were used by them in their long space wars with humanity. Unlike the D&D race, they were barely sentient. No githyanki actually appear in "Dying of the Light", as the book takes place after the war between the humans and the hrangans is long over, and the soulsucks are nearly extinct. There is also passing reference to them in Martin's short-story collection "Tuf Voyaging".

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)

The githyanki was first published in "White Dwarf" #12 (April/May 1979), in the "Fiend Factory" column, [cite journal | last = Turnbull| first = Don| authorlink = | coauthors = | title =Fiend Factory| format = | journal =White Dwarf | volume = | issue =Issue 12 | pages =8–10 | publisher =Games Workshop | year = 1979 | month = April/May | url = | issn = | accessdate = ] which was later reprinted in "Best of White Dwarf Articles" (1980). The githyanki then appears in 1981 in the first edition "Fiend Folio", [Turnbull, Don, ed. "Fiend Folio" (TSR, 1981)] and even appears on the book's cover (see above).

Stross later wrote a follow-up article on the githyanki which appeared in "White Dwarf" #76 (April 1986). [Stross, Charles. "AD&D Githyanki." "White Dwarf" #76 (April 1986)]

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)

The githyanki appears first in the "Monstrous Compendium Outer Planes Appendix" (1991), which also included the g"lathk githyanki, the hr'a'cknir githyanki, and the mlar githyanki. The githyanki and these variants are reprinted in the "Monstrous Manual" (1993). [Stewart, Doug, ed. "Monstrous Manual" (TSR, 1993)]

The githyanki was further detailed in the first "Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix" (1994). [Varney, Allen, ed. "Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix" (TSR, 1994)] Githyanki society and their Astral cities are further developed, and their leader Vlaakith the Lich-Queen are described in "Guide to the Astral Plane" (1996).

Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 edition (2000-2002)

The githyanki first appears in the "Psionics Handbook" (2001), and then in this edition's "Manual of the Planes" (2001). [Grubb, Jeff, Bruce R. Cordell, and David Noonan. "Manual of the Planes" (Wizards of the Coast, 2001)]

Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition (2003-2007)

The githyanki appears in the revised Monster Manual for this edition (2003), and was further detailed in the "Expanded Psionics Handbook" (2004) (along with the psionic githyanki) [Cordell, Bruce R. "Expanded Psionics Handbook" (Wizards of the Coast, 2004)] and the "Complete Psionic" (2006).

The "Incursion" storyline running through July 2003's "Dragon" #309 [Wyatt, James. "Incursion: A World Under Siege." "Dragon" #309 (Paizo Publishing, 2003)] and "Dungeon" #100 [Perkins, Christopher. "The Lich-Queen's Beloved." "Dungeon" #100 (Paizo Publishing, 2003)] focused on the githyanki heavily. "Dungeon" #100 included the duthka'gith, the kr'y'izoth template, the tl'a'ikith template, and Vlaakith the Lich-Queen.

The githyanki captain, the gish githyanki, and the githyanki soldier appeared in "Monster Manual IV" (2006). [Kestrel, Gwendolyn F.M. "Monster Manual IV" (Wizards of the Coast, 2006)]

Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008-)

The githyanki was initially featured in the 4th Edition preview book "Worlds and Monsters". [cite book| last = Clark-Wilkes | first = Jennifer| authorlink = | title = Wizards Presents: Worlds and Monsters (D&D Supplement)| publisher =Wizards of the Coast| date = 2008| location = | pages = 96| edition = 1st| isbn =0786948027]

The githyanki then appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2008), including the githyanki warrior, the githyanki mindslicer, and the githyanki gish. [Mearls, Mike, Stephen Schubert, and James Wyatt. "Monster Manual" (Wizards of the Coast, 2008)]

Licensing

The githyanki is considered a "Product Identity" by Wizards of the Coast and as such is not released under its Open Gaming License. [cite web |url=http://www.d20srd.org/faq.htm |title=Frequently Asked Questions |accessdate=2007-02-23 |publisher=D20srd.org]

Ecology

All githyanki children possess minor telekinetic abilities, but only a few work to develop them into something stronger. Githyanki generally prefer psionics over magic.

Environment

Githyanki make their homes on the astral plane.

Typical physical characteristics

Githyanki resemble tall, gaunt humanoids with almost skeletal features. Their garb tends to be ornate.

Alignment

Githyanki are commonly neutral evil.

ociety

Githyanki society is martial, with both males and females training heavily in magic and swordfighting. Although they are loyal to each other, they are also fiercely individualistic. Raiding illithid strongholds is considered a rite of passage.

The current queen, Vlaakith CLVII, is an undead wizard who has ruled her people for more than a thousand years. So paranoid is she, that when any githyanki achieves a certain level of power and skill, she summons them to her palace to consume their souls, thus preventing them from ever threatening her power. Most githyanki willingly present themselves out of blind loyalty and pride, whilst those who try to flee this fate are hunted down and dragged before her in shackles. These victims afterwards become some form of undead servant under her direct control.

Vlaakith will sometimes present powerful githyanki with an incredibly rare silver sword. These swords possess several unique properties, most notably the ability to sever the silver cords that act as lifelines to travelers on the astral plane, killing the traveler instantly. These swords are highly sought after, and a cult of githyanki knights called the "Sword Stalkers" is tasked with recovering any swords that fall into the hands of the unworthy, i.e. non githyanki.

The githyanki use a unique form of writing called "tir'su". It is an alphabetical set of runes in which words are formed in circles instead of linearly, with the letters of a given word being linked around a ring clockwise from the top. Sentences are formed from a series of these rings. Much as runes were given a mystical significance, the Githyanki employ the tir'su when creating magical wards and symbols.Fact|date=April 2007

History

The ancestors of the githyanki (the "") were once slaves to the illithids, a race of powerful telepaths who mentally enslaved sentient humanoids to work as the backbone of their vast worlds-spanning empire. It is believed these slaves were originally humans transformed through selective breeding. Eventually, these slaves developed mental resistance to their masters' mind control and, under the guidance of their leader Gith, revolted, causing the downfall of the illithid empire.

Gith, however, was not satisfied with the destruction of the illithids alone, and sought to spread the war to any race that could potentially enslave her people again. She was opposed in this endeavor by the followers of Zerthimon, who believed that such a path would lead their people to corruption and ruin. Thus, at the Pronouncement of Two Skies, the gith race fractured into the githyanki and the githzerai, the latter founding their own domain in Limbo. The githyanki hate the githzerai because their betrayal allowed the surviving illithids to retreat to isolated subterranean strongholds; the two races have been at war ever since.

After settling her people on the Astral Plane, Gith is said to have visited the Nine Hells, where she made a pact with Tiamat. In exchange for Gith's servitude, the githyanki could call upon red dragons anywhere in the multiverse as allies. Gith's advisor, Vlaakith, became the new queen of the githyanki, and all her heirs were named after her.

Dwelling in the timeless Astral Plane, the Githyanki inhabit numerous fortresses constructed from materials imported to the Astral Plane as well as cities built atop god-isles, the vast stone corpses of deceased gods. Their capital and largest city, Tu'narath, is built on the god-isle of a deceased power known only as "The One in the Void."

References

External links

*cite web | author = | year = | title = Picture of a githyanki and a githzerai | format = | work = Wizards of the Coast | publisher = | url = http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/MotP/Githyanki_Githzerai.jpg| accessmonthday = February 15 | accessyear = 2006
* Steinmetz, Ferret & Pare, Veronica. "Wedding Part 10" [http://www.homeonthestrange.com/view.php?ID=287] "Home On The Strange (webcomic), 2007