TEXT: Player’s Guide to 
  Gith
  DASTOW GAMES
  David Noonan
  20035E
  
  PLAYER’S GUIDE TO GITH
  Racial traits and expanded bonds 
  for githyanki and githzerai player characters
  by DASTOW Games
   
  Design: David Noonan 
  Editing: Stacey Janssen 
  Cover: digital transformation by David Noonan 
  based on illustration by Wayne Reynolds 
  Layout and Typesetting: David Noonan
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  Player’s Guide to Gith — 2
  
  Who Is DASTOW Games?
  DASTOW Games is an indie publisher devoted to shar-
  ing high-end (and often high-concept) RPG material. 
  Composed of Princes of the Apocalypse designer David 
  Noonan and Princes editor Stacey Janssen, DASTOW 
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  If you liked Player’s Guide to Gith, give it a review! 
  For a glimpse at our D&D line, visit dastowgames.com.
  Player’s Guide to Gith — 3
  Table of Contents
  Gith Names 
   
   
  p. 4
  Gith Traits 
   
   
  p. 4
  How Expanded Bonds Work 
  p. 6
     Bearer of the Silver Sword 
  p. 7
     Mind Flayer Hunter 
   
  p. 8
     Clasped Hand  
   
  p. 9
     Gith/Zerth 
   
   
  p. 10
     Red Dragon Rider 
   
  p. 11
     Rebel in Exile  
   
  p. 12
     Limbo Contemplative  
  p. 13
  Gith Feats and Treasures 
  p. 14
  Introduction
  You’ve seen them in the Monster Manual—or in 
  the Fiend Folio if you’ve been playing Dungeons 
  & Dragons long enough. The githyanki and the 
  githzerai, gaunt warriors from the planes beyond, 
  make great adversaries...but they can make even 
  better protagonists. 
  The Player’s Guide to Gith gives you the rules 
  and background you need to make a githyanki or 
  githzerai PC come to life at your gaming table. In 
  here, you’ll find everything from racial traits to 
  roleplaying advice to an expansion on the bonds 
  presented in Chapter 4 of the Player’s Handbook. 
  The gith have been part of D&D for more than 
  35 years, and no player’s guide could hope to 
  capture them as they’ve been expressed in dozens 
  of rulebooks and countless Dragon and Dungeon 
  magazine articles across that time. As we wrote 
  this book, we surveyed all the gith information 
  we could find, but we relied most heavily on two 
  sources: the Fiend Folio monster book, where the 
  world met the githyanki and the githzerai for the 
  first time, and the 5th edition Monster Manual. 
  What you’re getting here is an approach that’s old-
  school in terms of flavor, but up to date in terms of 
  rules.
  Readers with particularly high Wisdom (Percep-
  tion) checks will notice that in a couple of cases, we 
  opted for the Fiend Folio option rather than what’s 
  in the 5th edition Monster Manual. We like our gith 
  to be descended from humans, and we like zerth to 
  mean a githzerai fighter/wizard. Those aren’t ex-
  actly huge variations, so we figure you’ll indulge us.
  We also take a more expansive approach to the 
  gith’s iconic weapon: the silver sword. As described 
  in the Monster Manual, the silver sword is a +3 
  greatsword that deals extra psychic damage and 
  can end astral projections...but only in the hands of 
  its githyanki creator. We think the githzerai deserve 
  silver swords, too (they had ’em in the Fiend Folio), 
  and we think it’s more interesting if the silver 
  sword is a powerful weapon in anyone’s hands. 
  That just makes the gith even more keen to get a 
  missing silver sword back by any means necessary. 
  Gith
  Here’s a truth that stretches across the planes: 
  Nothing inspires unity like a common set of shackles. 
  When the mind flayers had us in bondage—slaves 
  and food supply in equal measure—all gith yearned 
  for freedom in unison. 
  Here’s another, more obvious, truth: “Freedom” 
  and “unison” don’t mix. Once we paid for our free-
  dom in blood and horror, we kept fighting...fighting 
  each other. Pile vendetta upon vendetta, and you get 
  two races that hate each other as only siblings can. 
  Say what you will about the mind flayers, but they 
  certainly taught us to hate...
  —Th’Nakuur, Myrmidon-Sage of the Ebon Star
  The gith were once human—but centuries of 
  mind flayer experimentation followed by millen-
  nia of exposure to the outer planes have rendered 
  them distinct—and imposing to behold. Proud war-
  riors, the gith still hunt mind flayers whenever they 
  can, their enmity undimmed by the toll of years. 
  The gith also reserve a special hatred for each 
  other. After escaping the clutches of the mind 
  flayers, the gith split into two cultures: the warlike, 
  evil githyanki and the solemn, pragmatic githzerai. 
  Floating cities of the githyanki launch astral war-
  ships full of githyanki warriors in baroque armor 
  bearing magic silver swords. Their fleets assault 
  the fortress-monasteries of the githzerai, islands of 
  order in the chaos of limbo. Whatever the outcome, 
  the victors leave none alive among the vanquished. 
  Driven to Succeed. The gith are a driven people, 
  profoundly ambitious and capable of focus that 
  borders on the monomaniacal. As slaves of the 
  mind flayers, their ancestors endured horrors that 
  other races can scarcely imagine, and the sacrifices 
  required to win their freedom left little in the way 
  in the way of kindness or more pleasant virtues. 
  While exceptions exist, the typical gith is grim 
  
  A Gith-tory Lesson
  The githyanki and githzerai began as entries in a monthly UK magazine 
  column, “Fiend Factory.” TSR, makers of Dungeons & Dragons, com-
  piled monsters from “Fiend Factory” into the second major monster 
  book for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (which we now call 1st 
  edition): Fiend Folio. 
  Maybe it was the fierce-looking githyanki on the cover of the 
  Fiend Folio. Maybe it was that the gith had levels in PC classes—a rare 
  phenomenon. Maybe it was the psionics or the silver swords. What-
  ever the reason, the gith caught the imagination of D&D players, and 
  they’ve been a beloved part of the game ever since.
  The 1st edition D&D books didn’t always do the greatest job of 
  identifying individual contributors, but Fiend Folio was an exception 
  because most of the monsters came from the “Fiend Factory” articles. 
  Flip to the back of your 1981 Fiend Folio, and you’ll see the githyanki 
  and githzerai credited to Charles Stross—submitted as a teenager, long 
  before he became a Hugo Award-winning author.
  Stross borrowed the name “githyanki” from a 1977 novel, The Dying 
  of the Light. The githyanki in that novel merit only a brief mention, and 
  they aren’t like D&D’s githyanki. And The Dying of the Light? It was 
  George R. R. Martin’s first novel. When you roll up your gith character, 
  know that you’re standing on the shoulders of some fantasy/sci-fi greats.
  Player’s Guide to Gith — 4
  and devoted to the task at hand. “Relaxation” is a 
  foreign concept—or a weakness that other races 
  display. The githzerai in particular are famously 
  humorless, while githyanki humor tends to be 
  sarcastic or caustic. 
  Psionic Talents. One consequence of their time 
  as chattel of the mind flayers is a psionic birthright 
  that all gith share. The mind flayers bred their 
  ancestors to be psionically aware, and the gith 
  developed their talents in secret as they plotted the 
  overthrow of their illithid masters. Now every gith 
  has a modicum of psionic power, and some develop 
  mental abilities that would astound even the mind 
  flayers themselves.
  Imposing Presence. Gaunt figures with skull-
  like faces and unnatural strength, the githyanki 
  inspire fear wherever they go. Even a rank-and-file 
  githyanki warrior stands out on the Material Plane, 
  bedecked in elaborate armor and wielding a greats-
  word polished to a brilliant sheen. Arrange those 
  warriors on the deck of an astral ship, give them a 
  fighter/wizard commander with a massive silver 
  sword, and watch their foes quail in terror.
  As for the githzerai, they’re imposing for the op-
  posite reason: their fearsome calm and relentless 
  austerity. A githzerai wastes no motion, no word, 
  no thought. Everything is efficient and crafted with 
  purpose. Others find that intense focus unnerv-
  ing and may lose their composure in the face of a 
  githzerai’s imperious stare.
  Gith Names
  Gith use only a personal name, and they take care 
  to make it unique among living githyanki or githze-
  rai. The mind flayers denied the gith individual 
  names, and now that they’re free, a unique name 
  is of great cultural importance. The Gith language 
  tends to be flexible in terms of phonemes and sylla-
  bles, so speakers of Common sometimes find their 
  names challenging to pronounce.
  Among the githyanki, apostrophes are common; 
  they indicate a contraction, not a glottal stop. The 
  name Th’nakuur, for example, is short for Thauhir-
  inakuur. Both githyanki and githzerai have a ten-
  dency to use double vowels, even the unusual aa, ii, 
  and uu combinations.  
  Githyanki Names: Th’nakuur, Y’ele, Zan’kiri, 
  Quanajiir, Chan’durak, Na’wrokirr, Seli’kasim, 
  Di’rikhe, Xau’huri, Zuri’kanan, Indak’ala, Tauurilon. 
  Githzerai Names: Vaukanaan, Rotaa, Eredeskri, 
  Pyraul, Bantoorak, Aurizon, Cheliost, Anarratha, 
  Muurtanna, Endreila, Paushuu, Gherendaam.
  Sobriquets and Appellations: While the gith 
  eschew family names, they’re fond of sobriquets 
  like “The Dread Th’nakuur” or “The Austere Che-
  liost.” They also put appellations after the name, 
  such as “Th’nakuur of the Ebon Star” or “Cheliost 
  the Unforgiving.”
  Gith Traits
  Your gith character has certain characteristics in 
  common with other gith—especially those of your 
  culture, githyanki or githzerai.
  Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score 
  increases by 2.
  Age. The gith age at the same rate humans do, 
  though their exposure to the strangeness of the 
  Astral Plane (if githyanki) or Limbo (if githzerai) 
  means that a few have unnaturally long lifespans.
  Alignment. Githzerai are almost always lawful 
  and tend to be ambivalent and pragmatic on mat-
  ters of good and evil. The githyanki, on the other 
  hand, are generally evil and lean toward the lawful 
  (or in their case, the tyrannical).
  Size. A typical gith is more than 6 feet tall and 
  weighs between 160 and 170 pounds. Whatever 
  your physical ability scores, you have a lean, almost 
  gaunt frame.
  Speed. Your base land speed is 30 feet.
  Darkvision. You have superior vision in dark 
  and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 
  60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in dark-
  ness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color 
  in darkness, only shades of gray.
  Resilient Mind. You have advantage on saving 
  throws that would prevent you from being stunned 
  or that would end a stun early—a gift from your 
  ancestors who won their freedom from the mind 
  flayers.
  
  Design Notes: Gith Traits
  We designed the gith with the githyanki and githzerai of the Fiend Folio 
  open on the desk, and that has influenced the decisions we made.
  Those original gith could advance as fighters, magic-users (what we 
  now call wizards), or a multiclass combination of both. Githyanki 
  could also be anti-paladins, and githzerai could also be monks. All had 
  psionic powers that weren’t directly tied to their mental ability scores, 
  though the AD&D psionics rules generally gave more power to those 
  with high Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores.
  More broadly, there’s something cool about gaunt, almost skeletal 
  creatures possessing the sort of strength we associate with bulky 
  muscles, so that’s why all gith get a Strength bonus. Beyond that, the 
  original githyanki were quintessential fighter/wizards, so they get an 
  Intelligence bonus, and the githzerai get a Dexterity bonus to make 
  them better monks. If you want to split the gith races further, you 
  could make the githyanki +2 Str, +1 Int and the githzerai +2 Dex, +1 
  Wis. That makes githzerai good (maybe too good?) as monks. Give 
  githzerai fighter/wizards a try, though! They’re as old school as they 
  come.
  For the basic psionic abilities, we diverged from the gith in the 
  Monster Manual to tone down the gith’s power to bypass low-level 
  hazards and encounters. The basic githyanki warrior in the Monster 
  Manual, for example, can cast a self-only nondetection three times 
  a day. Because nondetection lasts 8 hours, that’s tantamount to 
  permanent nondetection. But we adhered to the overall thrust of the 
  monster design (and it’s one that previous editions have employed, 
  too), granting further powers as the gith advances in levels.
  We also made most of the higher-level abilities 1/day rather than 
  3/day. When you accumulate a number of 3/day abilities, it can 
  overshadow the actual spellcasting you get via your class. We want 
  higher-level gith characters to feel like wizards (or other spellcasters) 
  first and psionic users second.
  Player’s Guide to Gith — 5
  Psionics. You have an innate spellcasting ability 
  based on your subrace (see below). You can innate-
  ly cast a number of spells that increases as you gain 
  levels, requiring no components.
  Languages. You can speak, read, and write 
  Common and Gith. (The gith in the Monster Manual 
  don’t speak Common, but it’s more fun for every-
  one at the table if your character does.)
  Subrace. The divide between the two gith cul-
  tures, githyanki and githzerai, is a gulf of seething 
  hatred—a feud that spans the planes. Choose one 
  of the two subraces, and learn to hate the other.
  Githyanki
  The word “githyanki” means “children of Gith,” and 
  you trace your lineage to Gith herself, the revolu-
  tionary leader who organized the uprising against 
  the mind flayers. Since then, your people have 
  done whatever it took—no matter how grievous or 
  appalling—to maintain your freedom and carve out 
  a place in the cosmos. 
  Among your people, a sort of pragmatic wick-
  edness is a virtue. Some might question whether 
  the githyanki have become akin to the mind flayers 
  they hate so much, but that sort of dissent would 
  never be tolerated by your civilization’s leader, the 
  lich-queen Vlaakith.
  Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score 
  increases by 1.
  Psionics. Your spellcasting ability is based on 
  your Intelligence. You can innately cast the follow-
  ing spells, depending on your level:
  1st level: mage hand (the hand is invisible) at 
  will, jump 3/day
  3rd level: misty step 3/day
  5th level: nondetection (self only) 1/day
  9th level: telekinesis 1/day
  13th level: plane shift 1/day
  Githzerai
  The sage Zerthimon questioned Gith’s fitness to 
  lead her society when it became apparent the gith 
  would win their freedom from the mind flayers. 
  Revolutionaries don’t always make the best civili-
  zation-builders, he reasoned, and Gith’s ruthless 
  warmongering was exposing a tyrannical side that 
  Zerthimon abhorred. Zerthimon’s followers called 
  themselves the githzerai, a compound word that 
  honored Gith’s struggle, but Zerthimon’s wisdom. 
  They retreated to the entropic disorder of Limbo, 
  where they study and train both body and mind. 
  Some githzerai have even made an uneasy truce 
  with the mind flayers—which the githyanki see as 
  an unforgivable betrayal.
  Your culture is a solemn, austere one, and it 
  tends to look inward both collectively and individu-
  ally. Your people have had to raise walls of all sorts 
  to keep the chaos of Limbo at bay (to say nothing 
  of rapacious githyanki), and the ideal githzerai is a 
  fortress of mind, body, and soul. 
  Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score 
  increases by 1.
  Psionics. Your spellcasting ability is based on 
  your Wisdom. You can innately cast the following 
  spells, depending on your level:
  1st level: mage hand (the hand is invisible) at 
  will, jump 3/day
  3rd level: shield 3/day
  5th level: see invisibility 1/day
  9th level: phantasmal killer 1/day
  13th level: plane shift 1/day
  
  Design Notes: Expanded Bonds
  In our experience, bonds work better when they’re chosen, not rolled 
  randomly. (In a one-shot or a limited convention experience, of course, 
  it’s a different story.) That’s why we aren’t presenting six expanded 
  bonds for githyanki and six for githzerai. We’re hitting the high points 
  of each race, but we aren’t trying to force a strict parallel. For what-
  ever reason, the githyanki have a little more drama built into them, so 
  they’ve got a couple more expanded bonds.
  As with many things we do, expanded bonds are an experiment. 
  We think they might be useful beyond the context of the gith. If you 
  like them—and especially if you use them at your table—let us know 
  in the comments section of this product on DM’s Guild. That helps us 
  immensely as we plan future content to share.
  Player’s Guide to Gith — 6
  How Expanded Bonds Work
  During character generation, you’d ordinarily roll 
  or choose a bond (presented in Chapter 4 of the 
  Player’s Handbook) as part of your character’s 
  background. The gith have such a rich racial heri-
  tage, though, that it makes sense to offer bonds that 
  have deep roots in githyanki or githzerai culture.
  That’s where the idea of expanded bonds began. 
  Rather than having a bond that’s a single sen-
  tence—like “I pursue wealth to secure someone’s 
  love” or “my loyalty to my sovereign is unwav-
  ering”—we’re broadening the idea to include an 
  expanded bond as a page you’ll present to your DM, 
  with suggestions on how that bond can be woven 
  into the story of your D&D campaign.
  Player Advice. No spoilers here; your DM will 
  have a hand in the narrative arc, and even though 
  you’ve read the expanded bond, you won’t know 
  exactly what twists and turns are in store for your 
  character. The expanded bond is a tacit agreement 
  between you and your DM. You’re saying, “This is 
  something important to my character’s story arc, 
  and here are some ways it might play out.” In turn, 
  your DM is probably cackling like an archvillain, 
  thinking of ways to integrate the expanded bond 
  into the (probably sinister) plans every DM makes.
  The expanded bonds are written more for your 
  DM than for you. That’s intentional, because after 
  you’ve selected an expanded bond, you’ll give your 
  DM the expanded bond page. The DM uses the 
  expanded bond as a blueprint for future character 
  developments—some you’ll find rewarding and 
  some you’ll find challenging.
  DM Advice. When a player hands you an ex-
  panded bond, the player is essentially telling you, 
  “Here are some things that will make me happy.” 
  The implementation is up to you. We’ve crafted 
  each expanded bond to give you lots of options—
  enough that the player won’t know how the 
  narrative arc will play out. If you’re a DM, you’re a 
  natural storyteller and you’re probably thinking of 
  your own plots and schemes already.
  The overall idea is that an expanded bond gives 
  you ideas for tailoring your narrative to match (and 
  sometimes dramatically thwart) a player’s desires. 
  It shouldn’t overshadow the broader story you’re 
  telling with the whole table, of course. The bullet 
  points in the expanded bonds can spice up the 
  adventure you’re already playing, or they provide 
  story seeds for the adventures you create.
  You can encourage other players to give you 
  expanded bonds, too. This technique isn’t just 
  for the gith! If every player tells you the kinds of 
  stories they’re hoping to see for their characters, 
  then building a campaign means weaving and com-
  bining those narrative threads into a tapestry that 
  gives everyone—including you—a moment in the 
  sun, dramatically speaking.
  Race
  Expanded Bond
  both
  Bearer of the Silver Sword. My soul 
  stirs whenever a silver sword is near, 
  and I hope to earn one and master its 
  use.
  both
  Mind Flayer Hunter. The illithids are 
  an existential threat to all gith and the 
  denizens of the Material Plane. They 
  must be stopped by any means.
  both
  The Clasped Hand. I support a secret 
  society devoted to an impossible task: 
  the reunion of the githyanki and githze-
  rai.
  both
  Gish/Zerth. I am devoted to both sword 
  and spellbook, keen to master both the 
  martial and the arcane arts.
  githyanki
  Red Dragon Rider. Since I was a child, 
  I dreamed of becoming a mighty 
  githyanki warrior astride a fearsome red 
  dragon.
  githyanki
  Rebel in Exile. My eyes have been 
  opened to the wickedness of my peo-
  ple, and I can never truly go home.
  githzerai
  Limbo Contemplative. As I meditate be-
  fore the chaos of Limbo, my mind sees 
  deeper truths—truths worth exploring.
  
  Player’s Guide to Gith — 7
  Bearer of the Silver Sword
  Githyanki or githzerai
  ____________________’s bond: “My soul stirs whenever 
  a silver sword is near, and I hope to earn one and 
  master its use.”
  The silver sword is the signature weapon of the gith, 
  ensorcelled with their magic and particularly effec-
  tive against interlopers on the Astral Plane. It’s also 
  important to them culturally, symbolic of their power 
  now that they’re free of the mind flayers’ clutches. Al-
  most every painting or sculpture of a gith in battle in-
  cludes a prominent silver sword, and many a gith child 
  plays with wooden swords painted silver, dreaming of 
  the day when that sword will be real.
  The silver sword is of critical importance to 
  the githyanki, but the githzerai revere them, too. 
  They’re almost always greatswords, convenient for 
  fighter/wizards who can hold them in one hand 
  when they’re spellcasting with the other hand.
  The Silver Sword Arc
  u Early in the campaign, give the gith PC an op-
  portunity to see a silver sword in action and deliver 
  some silver sword exposition to the D&D table.
  • The PCs get in over their heads, and a friendly 
  gith bearing a silver sword comes to their rescue.
  • The gith PC faces off against an antagonist gith 
  (of the opposite race) with a silver sword. If the 
  gith PC wins, friendly gith arrive to keep the 
  silver sword safe from the overwhelming reprisal 
  everyone expects.
  • The gith PC has a older friend or mentor who 
  bears a silver sword and intends to pass it on to 
  the “most worthy” friend or protege upon death 
  or retirement.
  u The gith PC earns a silver sword to wield.
  • A powerful patron within the gith leadership gives 
  the PC a silver sword in a ceremony honoring the 
  successful conclusion of a recent adventure—pref-
  erably one that advanced the patron’s interests.
  • The gith PC loots a silver sword from an antagonist 
  gith and decides to keep it, despite the certainty 
  that the other gith faction will try to get it back.
  • The gith PC discovers the instructions, blue-
  prints, and magic rituals necessary to craft a 
  silver sword—but the smithy is guarded. This can 
  be a solo adventure you run before or after the 
  regular game session. 
  u The silver sword comes with complications.
  • The gith PC is the target of periodic attacks from 
  the other gith faction. They want the silver sword, 
  and they have a habit of showing up at the most 
  inopportune times.
  • The silver sword is a sentient magic item (as 
  described in Chapter 7 of the Dungeon Master’s 
  Guide), and its personality comes into increasing 
  conflict with the gith PC.
  • The silver sword is haunted...by the souls of 
  those slain when the sword severed the astral 
  cord connecting the astral body to the physical 
  one. Those souls have returned as incorporeal 
  undead, and they want vengeance against the 
  sword—and by extension its wielder.
  u The stakes go up as a special version of the silver 
  sword is on the line.
  • A rival gith of the same faction as the gith PC 
  emerges as a full-fledged antagonist...and the 
  rival has a special silver sword with powers that 
  outstrip the typical silver sword. Whether the 
  conflict is a full-fledged adventure or a one-on-
  one duel, it ends in a swordfight for the ages.
  • The gith PC’s silver sword urges the PC (either di-
  rectly if the sword is sentient or indirectly through 
  brief prophetic visions) to a special location on 
  the Astral Plane. There lies a floating tomb with 
  an undead githyanki knight at its center—and a 
  special silver sword thought lost forever.
  • A great gith NPC—possibly a mentor or patron—
  has fallen, and a silver sword of singular quality is 
  in the hands of the other gith faction. The gith PC 
  must lead an epic reprisal raid into the heart of 
  enemy territory (Limbo or the Astral Plane, de-
  pending on the faction) to get the sword back…
  no matter what the cost.
  Key NPCs. A mentor or patron with a silver 
  sword, a rival within the same faction who covets a 
  silver sword, and one or more antagonist PCs with 
  silver swords from the opposite faction.
  Rewards for the PC. The silver sword itself is 
  the biggest reward. As described in the Monster 
  Manual, a silver sword is a +3 greatsword that deals 
  an additional 3d6 psychic damage on a hit. It’s your 
  campaign, though, so feel free to adjust the power 
  of the sword to a level you’re comfortable with. The 
  complications that come with owning a silver sword 
  should give the gith player some reluctance about 
  the weapon—but on balance, it should be worth it.
  At the climax of the arc, an even better version 
  of the silver sword comes into play. This is a chance 
  for you to let out all the stops and make a weap-
  on your players will mention along with classic 
  swords like Excalibur or Stormbringer.  
  Players: Give this page to your DM
  
  Player’s Guide to Gith — 8
  Mind Flayer Hunter
  Githyanki or githzerai
  ____________________’s bond: “The illithids are an exis-
  tential threat to all gith and to the denizens of the 
  Material Plane. They must be stopped by any means.”
  The mind flayer is a classic D&D villain. They’re 
  schemers and slavers, plus they’ve got tentacles 
  and eat brains. What’s not to love?
  A player who picks this expanded bond would 
  love to see mind flayers appear in the campaign—
  because their appearance will fuel the PC’s hatred. 
  With this bond, you’ve got a built-in recurring 
  villain that scales well, no matter the players’ level 
  and no matter where the campaign takes you. It’s 
  also a chance to amplify the gith PC’s racial back-
  ground and explore what it means to hunt the 
  creatures that once enslaved your people.
  This expanded bond functions particularly well 
  if your campaign involves the Underdark or similar 
  locations known for a mind flayer presence. Other 
  PCs at your table can certainly have their own rea-
  sons for hating the illithids, which improves party 
  cohesion—unity against a common foe.
  The Mind Flayer Hunter Arc
  u Early in the campaign, establish an extra reason 
  for the gith PC to hate mind flayers, beyond the 
  ordinary antipathy all gith feel for the illithids.
  • The gith PC spent some time as a prisoner of the 
  mind flayers and witnessed their mind-bending 
  horrors firsthand.
  • A friend or relative of the gith PC was captured 
  by the mind flayers and hasn’t been seen since.
  • The mind flayers are targeting the gith PC for 
  reasons they refuse to explain.
  u Introduce a particular mind flayer—or a small 
  group of them—to use as a recurring villain.
  • A mind flayer slaver has established a lucrative 
  business in selling unusual slaves—often import-
  ant NPCs the gith PC interacts with.
  • A mind flayer has been experimenting with 
  psionics and can transfer its consciousness from 
  one body to another. Even if the PCs defeat it, 
  it might escape into the body of a bystander to 
  wreak havoc later.
  • A particular clutch of mind flayers uses brains 
  not just for sustenance but for power, effectively 
  “leveling up” by killing important victims.
  u Throughout the campaign, reintroduce mind 
  flayers periodically, adding complications to the 
  gith PC’s conflict.
  • A rival mind flayer hunter, probably from the 
  other gith faction, has a habit of appearing at the 
  most inconvenient time.
  • The mind flayers seek revenge and capture the 
  gith PC. Play out the escape as a brief solo adven-
  ture before or after your normal game session.
  • The gith PC learns that the mind flayers are the 
  proverbial “power behind the throne” for a key 
  antagonist...or worse, for a key ally.
  u As the campaign nears its climax, give the gith 
  PC a chance to earn a lasting victory against the 
  mind flayers—perhaps at a cost.
  • The gith PC gets a chance to assault a mind flayer 
  stronghold and confront the giant elder brain 
  that rules the illithids. Facing an elder brain 
  means facing all sorts of horrors, both physical 
  and mental.
  • A means to end the mind flayer threat emerges, 
  perhaps through magic ritual or psionic discov-
  ery. But to use it, the gith PC must undertake ac-
  tions that others find reprehensible. This option 
  is particularly good for non-evil githyanki PCs, 
  because it mirrors the decisions the first githyan-
  ki made...decisions that turned them to evil.
  • The gith PC discovers an entire culture enslaved 
  by the mind flayers and leads them to freedom, 
  echoing the heroic path of the original Gith 
  herself.
  Key NPCs. The most important NPC is a recur-
  ring mind flayer villain—one with the wherewithal 
  to escape death the first few times the PCs encoun-
  ter it. A specific mind flayer puts a name to the gith 
  PC’s conflict—it makes it more personal. Beyond 
  that, you can have fun with NPCs who’ve been sub-
  ject to the mind flayers’ mental control, whether 
  they’re captives or hidden thralls of the illithids.
  Another useful recurring NPC is a rival hunter—
  either from the same gith culture or its opposite. 
  (And if one rival falls by the wayside, maybe both!) 
  That hunter can either be someone the gith PC 
  emulates, someone the PC wants to supplant, or an 
  up-and-comer who’s determined to be the younger, 
  better version of the gith PC.
  Rewards for the PC. After the gith PC has faced 
  the illithids’ mind blast a few times, a magic item 
  that improves Intelligence saving throws will be 
  welcomed with open arms. Beyond that, consider 
  magic items that thwart classic mind flayer pow-
  ers like telepathy, detect thoughts, and dominate 
  monster...or items that duplicate them, if you want 
  to play with the notion of a hunter becoming more 
  like the hunted.
  Players: Give this page to your DM
  
  Player’s Guide to Gith — 9
  The Clasped Hand
  Githyanki or githzerai
  ____________________’s bond: “I support a secret society 
  devoted to an impossible task: the reunion of the 
  githyanki and githzerai.”
  If the mind flayers are the githyanki’s greatest ene-
  my, then the githzerai are a close second—and the 
  githyanki are #2 on the githzerai’s enemies list, too. 
  Each side of the gith divide sees the other as a be-
  trayal of what it really means to be gith. But there is 
  a secret society among both githyanki and githzerai 
  devoted to reuniting all gith under one banner. The 
  Clasped Hand (Sha’sal Khou in the Gith language) 
  wishes to repair the rift that tore the great heroes 
  Gith and Zerthimon apart.
  To the rest of mainstream githyanki and githze-
  rai society, the Clasped Hand is treasonous, and its 
  members know they face permanent exile at best 
  and a death sentence at worst. Yet the vision of a 
  reunited gith society is compelling enough to be 
  worth the personal risk. The Clasped Hand’s num-
  bers are small, but so were the first revolutionary 
  cells that eventually freed the gith from enslave-
  ment. Who’s to say the Clasped Hand can’t ignite a 
  similar revolution?
  The Clasped Hand Arc
  u Early in the campaign, have the gith PC establish 
  an interest in the Clasped Hand, then introduce the 
  secret society.
  • A member of the other gith faction rescues the 
  gith PC from danger, then explains the Clasped 
  Hand and recruits the player.
  • The gith PC finds forbidden writings that lay out 
  the reasoning behind the Clasped Hand, then 
  tracks down the author.
  • While pursuing an unrelated adventure, the 
  gith PC stumbles upon a Clasped Hand meet-
  ing, hears what they’re saying, and is intrigued 
  enough to join.
  u Give the gith PC a brief taste of githyanki/githze-
  rai cooperation.
  • Githyanki and githzerai are stranded together in 
  a remote place and must band together against a 
  common threat.
  • A mind flayer city is under siege from separate 
  githzerai and githyanki forces, but the Clasped 
  Hand is secretly coordinating their attacks to 
  make the siege more effective.
  • The gith PC helps the Clasped Hand secure a hid-
  den base within either a githyanki or a githzerai 
  community.
  u Conventional githyanki and githzerai forces turn 
  up the pressure on the Clasped Hand.
  • An inquisition begins to arrest Clasped Hand 
  members, one by one.
  • One of the gith factions (probably the githyan-
  ki, as it’s more their style) introduces a double 
  agent within the Clasped Hands’ ranks.
  • The Clasped Hand is branded as collaborators 
  with the mind flayers, and only a daring assault 
  on the illithids—with no help from conventional 
  gith forces—will prove that the Clasped Hand 
  isn’t in league with the gith’s greatest enemy.
  u The Clasped Hand has a chance to flourish—if it 
  isn’t wiped out.
  • A change in leadership in one of the gith fac-
  tions is a chance to install a leader that openly 
  tolerates the Clasped Hand, but there are rival 
  candidates...
  • The Clasped Hand establishes a Material Plane 
  enclave for exiled gith from both factions to call 
  home, but the githyanki and githzerai establish-
  ment attack it.
  • The mind flayers have relics and writings from 
  the days of Gith and Zerthimon that may change 
  how the gith see their own history. If the Clasped 
  Hand can assault an illithid city and reclaim that 
  history, perhaps that new perspective will make 
  a reunion possible.
  Key NPCs. Introduce two NPCs within the 
  Clasped Hand to act as mentors and sounding 
  boards for the gith PC: one from each faction. 
  Beyond that, show some “churn” in the ranks of the 
  Clasped Hand by introducing new members...and 
  arresting or killing the old ones. As for recurring 
  villains, an inquisitor devoted to hunting down the 
  treasonous Clasped Hand is a natural.
  With this expanded bond, it’s more important 
  than most what you actually do with the NPCs. 
  The gith PC’s relationships with githyanki and 
  githzerai NPCs should mimic on the micro scale the 
  blood feud that’s engulfed the two cultures. Create 
  frequent opportunities for the gith PC to mediate 
  disputes between githyanki and githzerai, whether 
  they’re within the Sha’sal Khou or not. Those inter-
  personal conflicts shine a light on the difficulty of 
  ending a centuries-long cycle of vendettas.
  Rewards for the PC. One of great rewards of 
  this expanded bond is the chance to have a secret 
  base free from the prying eyes of both githyanki 
  or githzerai. The gith PC (and friends) should have 
  largely unfettered access to a “Batcave” of sorts 
  where the Clasped Hand gathers and plans their 
  upcoming missions.
  Players: Give this page to your DM
  
  Player’s Guide to Gith — 10
  Gish/Zerth
  Githyanki or githzerai
  ____________________’s bond: “I am devoted to both 
  sword and spellbook, keen to master both the mar-
  tial and the arcane arts.”
  The gish are githyanki fighter/wizards, striding 
  into battle with ornate armor and casting spells 
  one moment, then swinging their greatswords 
  the next. The zerth are the githzerai equivalent, 
  dressed more austerely but no less lethal. (Remem-
  ber that we’re adopting the Fiend Folio convention 
  for zerth; they aren’t monks.)
  Both gish and zerth receive great acclaim among 
  their respective societies. They’re almost distinct 
  castes, equivalent to attendees of modern-day 
  military academies. They represent the “best and 
  brightest” among the gith—and they’re asked to ac-
  complish great things for the glory of their people.
  If your campaign starts at 1st level, then the PC 
  can’t begin as a gish, and this expanded role as-
  sumes that the PC is a fighter first, probably reach-
  ing 3rd level before taking a wizard level. If you’re 
  starting with higher-level characters or your player 
  takes a more roundabout multiclassing path, adjust 
  the pacing of the events below to compensate.
  The Gish/Zerth Arc
  u Early in the campaign, the gith PC is a fighter 
  who becomes curious about the arcane arts.
  • Wizards notice the gith PC’s high Intelligence, 
  but say that choosing the martial path has closed 
  off the arcane one. “Only the gish/zerth can 
  master both…”
  • The PC acquires a spellbook during an adventure 
  and starts studying it, more than a little sur-
  prised that it’s starting to make sense.
  • The gish/zerth trainers reject the PC, who is de-
  termined to master the martial and magical arts 
  through self-study, if that’s what it takes.
  u At 3rd level, the PC takes the eldritch knight 
  archetype and casts spells for the first time.
  • The PC takes part in a grand ceremony in the 
  gith faction’s capital, meeting powerful NPCs and 
  taking the first steps into the political arena.
  • The PC has a sudden breakthrough on the battle-
  field: Those spells he or she has been trying to 
  cast actually work!
  • Before revealing the last secrets of true spell-
  casting, a gish/zerth instructor demands the PC 
  undertake an initiation quest. Play this out as 
  a short solo adventure before or after the main 
  D&D session.
  u As the PC’s magic power grows, gith society 
  expects more.
  • The PC attacks on the other gith faction and 
  crosses swords for the first time with a gish or 
  zerth from the other faction.
  • The mind flayers—or the other gith faction—
  capture a famous gish or zerth, and the PC must 
  plan and execute the rescue.
  • This varies from gith canon, but perhaps in your 
  world the gish or zerth are all but extinct, and 
  the PC is a curiosity—”the first gish/zerth in 
  decades!”
  u The PC earns the title of gish or zerth and leads 
  other gith into battle.
  • One or more apprentices seek to learn the 
  secrets of the gish or zerth, and the PC becomes 
  their master.
  • The PC gains a retinue of fighters to lead into bat-
  tle on behalf of the githyanki or githzerai.
  • Earning the title demands the PC win a political 
  struggle among rivals in the faction’s leadership.
  Key NPCs. Because this expanded bond is all 
  about personal growth, a gish/zerth mentor is the 
  most important NPC. This NPC can be gish or zerth, 
  but it’s not mandatory. Most start with fighter 
  levels and then transition into wizard levels, so a 
  single-class wizard mentor makes sense, too.
  Rewards for the PC. Fifth edition D&D is par-
  ticularly kind to fighter/wizards: Casting in armor 
  is okay, and the eldritch knight archetype smooths 
  out the spell progression. As with many multi-
  class characters, fighter/wizards have to have a 
  strong spread of ability scores, so magic items like 
  gauntlets of ogre power or headband of intellect are 
  particularly welcome. No self-respecting gish or 
  zerth would say no to a silver sword, of course...
  Perhaps the biggest reward for a gish or zerth, 
  though, is the chance to lead other gith in battle. As 
  the player ascends in level, provide opportunities 
  to call on a retinue or bodyguard of generally loyal 
  githyanki or githzerai. As long as the PC’s activities 
  don’t actively flout the desires of their culture, a 
  squad of troopers will do whatever the gish or 
  zerth asks. Becoming the quintessential hero of 
  your people should have its privileges after all.
  When you are running a combat with gith NPCs 
  helping the PCs, don’t spend too much time figur-
  ing out the exact details of NPC-on-NPC combat. 
  We don’t know much about your game, but we’re 
  pretty sure the real-life friends at your table aren’t 
  NPCs. Just balance realism and drama, then get on 
  to the good stuff—stuff that involves the players.
  Players: Give this page to your DM
  
  Player’s Guide to Gith — 11
  Red Dragon Rider
  Githyanki only
  ____________________s bond: “Since I was a child, I 
  dreamed of becoming a mighty githyanki warrior 
  astride a fearsome red dragon.”
  The githyanki have a centuries-old pact with a 
  bloodline of red dragons. In exchange for food and 
  treasure, the red dragons willingly bear the greatest 
  githyanki into battle on the Material Plane. This is an 
  old pact, and it’s survived through the years because 
  of red dragon greed and githyanki warmongering—
  not because either side is particularly honor-bound. 
  Githyanki commanders know that if they want the 
  red dragons’ help during a foray onto the Material 
  Plane, the gith had better deplete their treasuries.
  While the githyanki leadership considers this 
  a mercantile transaction, for the rank-and-file 
  githyanki it inspires awe. Seeing their greatest 
  heroes fly overhead, seemingly in command of such 
  a fearsome beast, a typical githyanki knows that 
  victory is inevitable.
  The Dragon Rider Arc
  u Early in the campaign, give the player contact—
  but not necessarily conflict—with a red dragon or 
  githyanki who knows about the pact.
  • A powerful red dragon shows mercy on the 
  githyanki PC (and by extension the other PCs) 
  because of the pact; that way the whole table 
  learns about it.
  • A group of githyanki on red dragons do a fly-
  by, and one of the githyanki is a friend of the 
  githyanki PC. Enable a brief interaction and 
  foreshadow the dragons’ importance.
  • The PCs discover the aftermath of a githyanki/
  red dragon attack, and conversations with the 
  survivors provide the exposition.
  u The githyanki PC gets to ride a dragon—for the 
  moment.
  • Near the climax of an adventure, a group of 
  githyanki aboard red dragons joins the battle. 
  When a githyanki rider falls, the githyanki PC can 
  finish the battle atop a dragon.
  • The githyanki dragon riders actively recruit the 
  githyanki PC...if the PC can pass the “trials” atop 
  a dragon. Play this out as a short solo adventure, 
  perhaps before or after the main game session. 
  Success means the PC is “next in line” to become 
  a dragon rider.
  • The PCs, laden with treasure, encounter a red 
  dragon willing to honor the pact in exchange for 
  some of that treasure. The dragon knows of a 
  nearby mutual enemy (something the PCs can 
  polish off in one session), so if it goes well, every-
  one comes out ahead. 
  u The githyanki discovers a dark side to the red 
  dragon pact. The PCs hear reports—at first frag-
  mentary, but then more and more detailed—that 
  both the red dragons and their riders are becoming 
  more active...and more cruel. But why?
  • In the first ride on the red dragon, the githyanki 
  PC got a sense that the dragon’s mind was probing 
  the PC’s mind. Further interactions with dragon 
  riders reveal that the force of a red dragon’s per-
  sonality can overwhelm a githyanki’s mind, and 
  that the dragons are seizing control of the pact.
  • The dragon riders are building a secret fortress 
  on the Material Plane, and they plan to over-
  throw the githyanki’s lich-queen leader, Vlaakith.
  • Red dragons want to end the pact. Perhaps the 
  red dragons participating in the pact want to 
  break it, or perhaps other red dragons want 
  to end such undragonlike “collaboration” with 
  humanoids.
  u In a final conflict, the githyanki PC earns a more 
  lasting dragon steed—or changes the pact forever.
  • The githyanki PC takes to the air once more as 
  part of a breakaway group of dragon riders (in-
  cluding the other PCs), setting up a titanic battle 
  of dragon riders versus dragon riders.
  • The githyanki PC challenges a powerful red drag-
  on—with the existence of the pact on the line.
  • The pact between the githyanki and the red drag-
  ons has a mystical aspect that must be periodi-
  cally renewed: a quest requiring one rider and 
  one dragon to undertake it. A host of enemies, in-
  cluding githyanki betrayers and red dragons who 
  want the pact broken, stand in the PC’s way.
  Key NPCs. A red dragon the PC will ride, a 
  friendly githyanki dragon-rider, a more hostile 
  dragon-rider, a red dragon that opposes the pact.
  Rewards for the PC. Periodic access to a red 
  dragon. To keep the game in balance, attach a 
  significant cost to getting a dragon’s help; you’re 
  essentially duplicating the overall githyanki-dragon 
  pact on a smaller scale. Over time, you can make 
  obtaining a dragon steed less costly because the 
  PCs are more powerful and the presence of the 
  dragon won’t overshadow others at your table. 
  As for the mechanism, a magic item such as a 
  battle-horn might be able to summon a red dragon 
  under certain conditions. If the githyanki PC is a 
  spellcaster, a custom ritual spell would do the trick. 
  Players: Give this page to your DM
  
  Player’s Guide to Gith — 12
  Rebel in Exile
  Githyanki only
  ____________________’s bond: “My eyes have been 
  opened to the wickedness of my people, and I can 
  never truly go home.”
  Githyanki society is a place where the strong 
  prosper—on the backs of anyone weaker. Intrigue 
  and betrayal are practically a currency among the 
  leading factions, and any means justify the ends of 
  acquiring power and holding it close.
  Not every githyanki feels that way, but the 
  githyanki populace is inculcated with such values 
  from birth, so the life of the githyanki exile or rebel 
  is a lonely one indeed.
  The Rebel in Exile Arc
  u Before the githyanki character joins the cam-
  paign, work out with the player what event caused 
  the break between character and githyanki society.
  • The character’s clan was dishonored—fairly 
  or unfairly—and the character saw firsthand 
  how cruel githyanki can be to those they see as 
  inferior.
  • The character spent time in another society, per-
  haps undercover or as a prisoner, and witnessed 
  altruism and other ordinary civic virtues.
  • The character had frequent contact with an out-
  sider who became a mentor of sorts, pointing out 
  the evils and cruelty of githyanki society.
  u Early in the campaign, the githyanki charac-
  ter comes into contact with traditional githyanki 
  values.
  • The PCs interrupt githyanki raiders pillaging a 
  settlement on the Material Plane, and the raiders 
  expect the githyanki PC to join in.
  • A githyanki patron approaches the githyanki PC 
  and offers a quest—but one accomplished with 
  evil deeds.
  • The githyanki invite the the PC back into githyan-
  ki society to participate in a ceremony (such as 
  marriage, political promotion, or coming of age). 
  Play this out as a solo adventure you play out be-
  fore or after the regular game session. The PC’s 
  presence is controversial, and intrigues among 
  the githyanki threaten to engulf the PC and ruin 
  the ceremony.
  u Some time later, an outsider expects the githyanki 
  character to behave like the rest of his or her race.
  • A traditional enemy of the githyanki, such as a 
  githzerai or a mind flayer, targets the githyanki 
  PC and seems to show up at the most inconve-
  nient times.
  • A githyanki NPC offers advice and assistance 
  from time to time, but with sinister strings 
  attached.
  • An NPC finds a silver sword and gives it to the 
  githyanki PC, knowing that it’s unwise for a non-
  gith to possess a silver sword. The githyanki PC 
  must negotiate with the war party that arrives 
  afterward, seeking the sword—and troubled by 
  the very idea of a githyanki living in exile.
  u Eventually, the character confronts githyanki 
  society and has a chance to change it.
  • The githyanki PC has a chance to act as a mentor 
  for a young githyanki, probably a relative, who 
  is also struggling with the morality of githyanki 
  society.
  • The githyanki PC’s exploits draw the attention of 
  other githyanki exiles, and the PC has a chance 
  to found a community of githyanki who have 
  rejected their society’s evil ways. Reprisals from 
  traditional githyanki are guaranteed, of course.
  • A power struggle emerges among the githyanki, 
  and the PC becomes a possible leader—an out-
  sider beholden to no faction and thus an accept-
  able compromise candidate. This puts the PC 
  in the difficult position of leading a society that 
  doesn’t initially share his or her values. Can the 
  PC pull the githyanki away from cruelty and evil, 
  or will the PC become a tyrant by necessity?
  Key NPCs. Create at least two recurring 
  githyanki NPCs who act as sounding boards for 
  the githyanki PC. One is sympathetic to the exile’s 
  plight and agrees—at least to a point—with the 
  PC’s misgivings about githyanki society. The other 
  NPC is personally sympathetic to the PC but an 
  ardent defender of “traditional githyanki values”—
  wickedness and tyranny, in other words.
  Rewards for the PC. One key reward that makes 
  this expanded background come to life at the table 
  is a magical means to contact—and at higher levels 
  visit—the githyanki on the Astral Plane. This can be 
  sending stones, a psionic device enabling astral pro-
  jection, or another item you create. The githyanki 
  PC should know, though, that asking the githyanki 
  for help comes with significant strings attached.
  It’s also interesting to give a rebel githyanki a 
  silver sword at some point—however temporarily. 
  By doing so, you’re subverting the symbolic value 
  of the silver sword and building another reason 
  for the rebel githyanki to come into conflict with 
  githyanki society.
  Players: Give this page to your DM
  
  Player’s Guide to Gith — 13
  Limbo Contemplative
  Githzerai only
  ____________________’s bond: “As I meditate before the 
  chaos of Limbo, my mind sees deeper truths—truths 
  worth exploring.”
  D&D’s Outer Planes are strange and otherworldly 
  (that’s the point, right?) but none are as weird as 
  Limbo where, as the Dungeon Master’s Guide puts 
  it, “the whole plane is a nightmarish riot.”
  That’s one of the genius bits of the githzerai’s 
  backstory: They’re intensely lawful people, recently 
  freed from bondage...and they decide to make their 
  home in the most chaotic environment possible. 
  It takes great focus indeed to meditate on reality 
  when it’s crumbling all around you.
  This expanded bond is for a githzerai PC who 
  embraces the disparity between inner order and 
  outer disorder. The Limbo contemplative discovers 
  that gazing into the chaos of Limbo isn’t just a med-
  itation challenge. It can be actively dangerous.
  The Limbo Contemplative Arc
  u Early in the campaign (or even as backstory), the 
  githzerai PC meditates while staring at the chaos of 
  Limbo, despite a mentor’s warning.
  • The mentor’s concern is the githzerai’s sanity: 
  “By studying the chaos without, you invite the 
  chaos within.”
  • The mentor’s concern is that unknown powers 
  will tempt the githzerai: “Limbo is home to malign 
  presences—presences who will lead you astray.”
  • The mentor’s concern is more pragmatic—a 
  physical attack against the githzerai PC and the 
  monastery: “To the predators of Limbo, you are a 
  beacon of vulnerability.”
  u The PC explores Limbo, finding answers—and 
  danger.
  • The githzerai PC sees something out in the chaos 
  that connects to a mystery in the ongoing cam-
  paign. Venturing out (and battling the denizens 
  of Limbo), the githzerai PC gets a prophetic clue 
  before having to retreat.
  • The githzerai PC glimpses slaadi massing nearby, 
  perhaps for an attack. Moving quickly to disrupt 
  them, the githzerai engage in battle. One slaad 
  says something cryptic about the githzerai PC 
  being “kindred” before dying.
  • A mysterious robed githzerai beckons the PC 
  into the chaos of Limbo, leading a chase. After a 
  brief conversation with prophetic overtones, the 
  robed githzerai disappears and the PC must fight 
  his or her way back to safety.
  u The chaos of Limbo invades other aspects of the 
  githzerai PC’s life.
  • Temporary portals to Limbo open when the PC is 
  nearby, often at inconvenient times. Also inconve-
  nient are the monsters that pour through them.
  • A particular slaad starts hunting the githzerai PC 
  down, acting as a recurring villain.
  • This option takes a particularly cooperative play-
  er and is more work on your part, but the payoff 
  is great: The githzerai PC has periodic “episodes” 
  under great stress that affect either body or 
  mind. The PC’s body might become a flowing, 
  amorphous mass, or the PC might briefly act in-
  sane. Try to set it up so that these episodes make 
  the PC different, not weaker.
  u The PC journeys into the heart of Limbo in an 
  attempt to master chaos itself.
  • A mad githzerai has been plotting the downfall of 
  githzerai for centuries, and subverting the PC is 
  key to his plans. Only by journeying to the “Impos-
  sible Fortress” can the githzerai PC end the threat.
  • A chaotic evil demigod wants to extend Limbo’s 
  reach to the Material Plane and intends to use 
  the githzerai as “carriers”—almost like a virus. 
  The githzerai PC is uniquely able to navigate 
  Limbo to track down the demigod.
  • The githzerai PC discovers the location of the 
  Spawning Stone, a creation of the modrons that 
  makes it possible for the githzerai to tame Limbo 
  near their enclaves—but also spawning the slaa-
  di. After battling to reach the Spawning Stone, 
  the githzerai PC must choose whether to destroy 
  the Stone, which will end the slaadi threat forev-
  er, but wipe out the githzerai’s enclaves across 
  Limbo.
  Key NPCs. The mentor who initially warns about 
  the dangers of Limbo can be an important recur-
  ring NPC who sets up any number of Limbo-based 
  adventures. Beyond that, this extended bond is rich 
  with opportunities for recurring villains who exude 
  chaos, whether they’re slaadi, mad githzerai, demi-
  gods, or terrors of Limbo you invent yourself.
  Rewards for the PC. As the githzerai gains lev-
  els, consider playing with the optional rule on p. 61 
  of the Dungeon Master’s Guide: Power of the Mind, 
  which lets a creature temporarily alter the reality 
  of Limbo. As a reward, you could grant the githzerai 
  PC a bonus on Intelligence checks to reflect special 
  training and familiarity with the chaos of Limbo. 
  When the PC reaches higher levels, you could even 
  extend this ability beyond the plane of Limbo. It’s 
  as if the PC’s ongoing contemplation of Limbo has 
  granted insight into the nature of reality itself.
  Players: Give this page to your DM
  
  Player’s Guide to Gith — 14
  Gith Feats
  Ordinarily feats aren’t tied to race—for very good 
  reasons. But in the absence of full-fledged psionics 
  rules, we wanted to introduce some simple ways 
  for psi-curious players to give their gith mental 
  powers a little extra oomph. If you have non-gith 
  running around with similar racial abilities, these 
  feats should work for them, too.
  Psionic Prodigy
  You are capable of calling upon reserves of psionic 
  energy to use your powers more frequently than 
  your peers, and you’ve always been a quick study in 
  the mental arts.
  • Increase your Intelligence or Wisdom score—
  whichever one you based your psionic abilities 
  on—by 1, to a maximum of 20.
  • You are treated as one level higher than your actu-
  al level for purposes of acquiring psionic powers.
  • If a psionic power of yours was usable 1/day, it’s 
  now usable 2/day.
  Forbidden Psionics 
  You’ve taken it upon yourself to learn mental tech-
  niques of the enemy gith faction.
  • Increase your Intelligence or Wisdom score—
  whichever one you based your psionic abilities 
  on—by 1, to a maximum of 20.
  • You know the psionic abilities on both the 
  githyanki and the githzerai list, though they 
  share a common frequency of use. For example, 
  at 3rd level you can use misty step and shield 
  a total of 3 times per day (two shields and one 
  misty step, for example). 
  Gith Treasures
  We know this is primarily a book for the player, 
  but we’d be remiss if we didn’t write up the silver 
  sword as a magic item—and provide some other 
  gith-themed weapons. Make sure your DM knows 
  you’ve got stats for these magic items, and you nev-
  er know. You might find them in a treasure chest 
  somewhere...
  Silver Sword 
  Weapon (greatsword), very rare
  You gain a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls 
  made with this magic weapon. When you hit a 
  living creature with it, that creature takes an extra 
  3d6 psychic damage.
  If you score a critical hit against a target in an 
  astral body (as with the astral projection spell), 
  you cut the silvery cord that tethers the target to its 
  natural body, instead of dealing damage.
  Silver Sword, Lesser 
  Weapon (greatsword), rare
  This version of the silver sword breaks canon a bit, 
  but it’s useful in campaigns where a +3 weapon 
  would be too powerful. (And yes, the githyanki 
  and/or githzerai will still chase down a missing 
  lesser silver sword, no matter what.)
  You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls 
  made with this magic weapon. When you hit a 
  living creature with it, that creature takes an extra 
  1d6 psychic damage.
  Fedifensor
  Weapon (longsword), legendary (requires attune-
  ment by a creature who is neither chaotic nor evil)
  A creation of the gray elves for the paladin Boyd de 
  Thalion, Fedifensor was lost in battle and drifted 
  through the Astral Plane until a githyanki war party 
  found it. It remains locked in a githyanki armory, 
  waiting for a day when it gains a new wielder who 
  will let it slay demons once more.
   You get a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls 
  made with this magic weapon. It has the following 
  additional properties.
   Paladin Affinity. In the hands of a paladin, Fedif-
  ensor’s attack and damage bonus increases to +3. 
   Demon Antipathy. When it hits a demon, Fedif-
  ensor deals an additional 14 (4d6) damage. 
   Hunter of Evil. While you hold the weapon, you 
  are aware of the presence of demons, devils, and 
  undead within 120 feet. 
   Dispel Magic. Fedifensor can cast dispel magic on 
  you three times per day. It decides when to cast the 
  spell and does so as if it were a spellcaster equal to 
  your level.
  Sentience. Fedifensor is a sentient lawful good 
  weapon with an Intelligence of 17, a Wisdom of 17, 
  and a Charisma of 18. It has hearing and darkvision 
  out to a range of 120 feet.
  The weapon can speak, read, and understand 
  Abyssal, Common, and Gith, and can communicate 
  with its wielder telepathically. 
  Personality. Fedifensor has been sitting disused 
  in a githyanki armory for centuries, and it desper-
  ately wants to be unsheathed so it can spill demon 
  blood once more. It would prefer to be in the hands 
  of a paladin, of course, but it will be grateful to any 
  wielder that frees it from what amounts to captivi-
  ty among the githyanki.
  Game History. Fedifensor was the titular magic 
  weapon of a D&D adventure by Allen Rodgers 
  back in 1982. It was the first adventure to feature 
  travel to the Astral Plane, and you guessed it—the 
  githyanki were the bad guys. 
  
  Player’s Guide to Gith — 15
  Also available from DASTOW Games...
  Visit www.dastowgames.com to see the latest releases 
  for 5e D&D, Pathfinder, and 13th Age!
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/5th Edition (5e)/3rd Party/Dastow/Dastow - Player's Guide to Gith.pdf