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The Tale of the Gith

This is as close to recorded history as we have anymore. Evey Gith – Githyanki and Githzerai alike – are sure to tell their children this tale so they never forget the terrors that befell our once great people. Zar’Nath was once a glorious Utopian city-state, back before we were the Githyanki and Githzerai when we were just the Gith. While we did share a border with the terrible and dangerous masters of the mind, the Illithids, our military cast, the Yan’ki managed to keep them safely at bay. Even as a near-ideal utopia, Zar’Nath was not without its problems. Some were unhappy with our caste, separating the wise from the strong and the noble from the uncouth.

The Adlun were our leaders, politicians, and nobles. They were in charge of the bureaucracy of Zar’Nath, managing trade routes, establishing laws, and governing our peoples.

The Yan’ki were our military leaders, warriors, and police. They protected us from our neighbors, policed our streets, and protected the Nathi.

The Zerai were our scholars, teachers, and philosophers. They were in charge of educating our young, making our moral decisions, and looking out for the future of our race.

Finally, the Tu’nar were the poor, downtrodden, and ill begotten of our race. They dealt with all the rubbish the other castes weren’t expected to, like waste management, funeral rites, and even serving as wave men for the Yan’ki.

There was a growing division between the Adlun and Zerai against the Yan’ki and Tu’nar but our city-state prospered on. While tensions between the castes was on the rise, so was our population. The Adlun first passed laws restricting birth rates but such things are hard to regulate. The Tu’nar bread without care of the Adlun’s laws, babies born on the battlefield by the Yan’ki were simply not reported, and the Adlun thought themselves above such rules. Only the Zerai adhered to the law and when the rising population began to hit a breaking point they suggested a radical idea for control. The Zerai, being concured with only our race’s future, suggested we bargin with the evil next door; the Illithids.

It was reasoned that since the Illithid were masters of mental facilities they could easily indoctrinate our society to follow our own reproduction laws . The Zerai made no qualms about the danger of this endeavor, for the Illithid are an vile and evil people. This idea sparked great debate but in the end the Zerai succeeded with their request and the Adlun ordered the Yan’ki to escort a group of Adlun ambassadors to the Illithid capital. Over the next few years more and more Illithids began showing up in Zar’Nath, studying us carefully but always under the watchful eyes of Yan’ki guards.

The Illithids then began to cast the ritual that would be the undoing of our Utopia. The ritual was called The Quickening, a meaning lost with our ancestors, and it helped quell our population. The caste system had been such a strong influence in our minds that the Illithid only had to exploit it further. The Adlun grew paranoid and frightened of other Gith; withdrawing from society and avoiding contact with all other Gith. The Tu’nar turned violent and rebellious, striking out against their perceived oppressors and attacking any Gith that stood against them. Similar to do Adlun, the Zerai grew sullen and also withdrew from society; barricading themselves in their monasteries for years of long study and little contact with other Gith. Lastly the Yan’ki reacted similar to the Tu’nar by growing angry at all other Gith but unlike the Tu’nar they weren’t mindless about it, just violent. The Great War raged on within out falling City and the vile Mind Flayers started exploiting the situation; Capturing Gith and enslaving them.

Decimating ourselves by the Quickening the Gith that weren’t captured fled and grew apart. The caste was forever broken, yet at the same time a new caste became cemented in our very nature. Over the course of hundreds of years two species emerged from this tragity, the Githyanki and the Githzerai. The Githyanki are now mostly the reminants of the Yan’ki and Tu’nar classes while the Githzerai are composed of those formerly of the Zerai and Adlun class.

The Githzerai retreated deeper and deeper into hiding as their blood grew more and more stilled and serene. Occasionally the Githzerai would muster the courage and mate but most of the time they secluded themselves in research and training. The Githyanki, driven by their blood rage, became nomadic warriors scouring the land for other Gith to fight and kill. For hundreds of years it looked like the Githyanki would slowly whip out the entire species but fate, or perhaps the Gods, smiled upon the Githzerai. A group of Githzerai had managed to overcome their own Quickening and work together on a means to save our race. They formulated detailed and intense rituals that could slow the Quickening in out blood, they never found a cure but this was a step to restoration.

These small few Githzerai set out to establish churches and temples dedicated to quelling the Quickening in the Gith and soon small communities started appearing around them. The very ground that these temples were built on had to be prepared by elaborate rituals and then even the construction of the building was designed to focus the effects. Every week the Githzerai hold a service that silences the blood for another week, but its a long and rigorous process that few Githzerai can undertake for long. After a time it became apparent that these rituals are only effective on the very young and very old. When a Githyanki or Githzerai child is still young the blood is easy to quell but once adolescence sets in the Quickening comes at them full force, some even say its worse because of the suppression. Both races have adapted to this fact and it can be seen in their every day life.

From a young age Githzerai are trained about the Quickening and when they reach puberty they are left to seclude themselves in their family’s study. Hundreds of years may pass while the Githzerai is attended to in secret by their younger and older family members, carefully guiding their seemingly self-imposed withdrawal from society. Once the Githzerai reaches their middle age their family starts secretly preforming cleansing rituals and a few lucky Githzerai manage to overcome their Quickening shortly after their mid-life. It takes longer for some but it appears that with old age comes a return to society.

The Githzerai have a fairly easy to manage curse, but the Githyanki had to take a different approach. From birth a Githyanki are separated from their biological family and are given to military training groups called cadres. A githyanki views their cadre as singularly important and typically does not know the name of their true parents or siblings. Trained from youth to fight and kill the Githyanki have turned their curse into the central focus of their lives. The Githyanki right of passage from child to man is to leave the city and explore the world, hunting down and killing the other Gith might happen across. Luckily the cleansing rituals seem to permanently quench the blood lust found when a Githyanki encounters a Githzerai, after so long it appears that the blood now thinks of them as separate people. Only after a long life on the road fighting and killing are the Githyanki allowed to return home and foster a family. Only Githyanki with so many kills are allowed to take a wife and then they are allowed children for additional kills.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of years have past since the fall of our Great Utopia. The culture of the time is lost with the sands of time and a new life has been born from its ashes. Never forget the mistakes of the Gith and deal with our curse one day at a time. Most importanly, never forget what the Mind Flayers did to us. There is an Githyanki saying, “When you find a Mind Flayer, act as if your blood calls to theirs.”

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Githyanki

RACIAL TRAITS
Average Height: 6’0” – 6’5”
Average Weight: 160-190 lbs.

Ability Scores: +2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence
Size: Medium
Speed: 6 squares
Vision: Normal

Languages: Common, Deep Speech
Skill Bonuses: +2 History
Danger Sense: You gain a +2 bonus to initiative checks
Githyanki Willpower: You gain a +1 bonus to your Will defense and a +2 bonus to saving throws against charm effects.
Telekinetic Leap: You can use Telekinetic Leap as an encounter power.

Telekinetic Leap
You hurl yourself or one of your allies safely through the air using your mind.
Encounter
Move Action	Ranged 10
Target: You or one ally
Effect: The target can fly up to 5 squares. If this power is used on an ally, that ally must remain in your line of sight at all times during the effect.

The Githyanki and the Githzerai were once a single race, the Gith, tricked and enslaved by Mind Flayers, splitting them into two races. Whereas the Githzerai fled and became introspective and monastic, the Githyanki became xenophobic and militaristic. They became nomadic, and set out to destroy every other Githyanki in their path.

Play a Githyanki if you want…

• to have an irrational and intense blood rage.
• to be a lone survivor.
• to be able to jump really, really far.
• to be a member of a race that favors the Warlock, Fighter, and Warlord classes.

PHYSICAL QUALITIES
Githyanki resemble tall, gaunt humanoids with almost skeletal features. Their garb tends to be ornate. Githyanki mature at about the same rate as humans, but show few effects of age past adulthood. Most Githyanki live to be well over 200 years old and remain vigorous almost to the end.

PLAYING A GITHYANKI
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.
Githyanki don’t have families; from birth they belong to military training groups called cadres. A githyanki views her cadre as singularly important and typically does not know the name of her parents or siblings. Even more important than a githyanki’s cadre is her weapon. A githyanki lavishes more care on her weapon than her fellows.
Tu’narath is the largest githyanki city. It is built atop the body of a mountain in the Astral Sea and ruled by Vlaakith, the githyanki lich queen, who has ruled supreme for over a thousand years. The githyanki revere the lich-queen as the stepmother of their race. To them, her word is truth. She has the reputation for slaying any who challenge her policy or power, devouring their life essences.
Vlaakith will sometimes present powerful githyanki with an incredibly rare silver sword. These swords possess several unique properties. 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

Githyanki Characterstics:
Male Names:
Female Names:

GITHYANKI ADVENTURERS
Three sample Githyanki adventurers are described below.

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Githzerai

RACIAL TRAITS
Average Height: 6’0” – 6’5”
Average Weight: 160-190 lbs.

Ability Scores: +2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom
Size: Medium
Speed: 6 squares
Vision: Normal

Languages: Common, Deep Speech
Skill Bonuses: +2 Acrobatics, +2 Athletics
Danger Sense: You gain a +2 bonus to initiative checks.
Iron Mind: You can use Iron Mind as an encounter power.

Iron Mind
After withstanding an attack, you use the power of your mind to fortify yourself against further harm.
Encounter
Immediate Interrupt	Personal
Trigger: You are hit by an attack.
Effect: You gain a +2 bonus to all defenses until the end of your next turn.

The Githyanki and the Githzerai were once a single race, the Gith ,tricked and enslaved by Mind Flayers, splitting them into two races. The Githyanki became xenophobic and militaristic. Becoming nomadic, and setting out to destroy every other Githyanki in their path. The Githzerai study, disciplining their minds and bodies. They congregate in hidden monastic settlements in remote corners of the world. They are formidable warriors when provoked and maintain a deep-seeded hatred for Mind Flayers.

Play a Githzerai if you want to…

• Racial characteristic
• Racial characteristic
• Racial characteristic
• Racial favored classes

PHYSICAL QUALITIES
Githzerai look very human, though they are thinner and their skin tone is frequently gray or yellowish. They are, on average, six feet in height and about one hundred sixty pounds in weight. Most have a high natural resistance to magic. Githzerai children grow much as human children do, but their aging process slows to a crawl when they reach maturity. They enjoy youth and health for most of their lives and don’t begin to feel the effects of age until the middle of their third century. Most live for over 300 years, and even at the end they suffer few of the infirmities of old age.

PLAYING A GITHZERAI
Most githzerai have martial arts training, enabling them to better protect their settlements. A few mix more arcane teachings with martial prowess, becoming multitalented githzerai called zerths. Githzerai warriors form parties to hunt the enemies of their people, particularly mind flayers. Githzerai are also encouraged to pursue their individual goals, some benign and others less so. Githzerai are as capable of evildoing as any sentient race, although particularly wicked githzerai tend to live outside of githzerai society. Zerthadlun, an austere walled settlement with many open fields and markets, is the greatest and most widely known githzerai city. There, the githzerai contemplate order, destiny, entropy, and destruction. They perfect their bodies and minds, testing themselves against the dangers of the world. Instead of worshipping a god, a form of slavery in their opinion, they revere the memory of their ancient hero, Zerthimon. His followers call themselves Zerth.

Githzerai Characterstics:
Male Names:
Female Names:

GITHZERAI ADVENTURERS
Three sample Githzerai adventurers are described below.

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