Githzerai: Difference between revisions

From 2d4chan
Jump to navigation Jump to search
1d4chan>Biggus Berrus
No edit summary
1d4chan>QuietBrowser
No edit summary
Line 4: Line 4:
Anyway, this particular time, they were using mindcontrolled humanoid slaves to work the wheels of their titanic, universe-spanning empire. These slaves were either the first race ever to come into being, or heavily mutated humans, depending on which version of the fluff you read.
Anyway, this particular time, they were using mindcontrolled humanoid slaves to work the wheels of their titanic, universe-spanning empire. These slaves were either the first race ever to come into being, or heavily mutated humans, depending on which version of the fluff you read.


Well, after centuries of being used as free labor/breeding stock, one of them, Zerthimon, was working like the perpetually miserable mindcontrolled slave that he was in the massive fields of brainless dead where the mindflayers dumped corpses that had been used for breeding, to make fertilizer. While working, he happened upon one corpse that had been killed by the sword sticking out of its head rather than something out of ''Alien''. He pulled it out, and he eventually worked out that it had killed the guy.
Well, after centuries of being used as free labor/breeding stock, one of them, [[Zerthimon]], was working like the perpetually miserable mindcontrolled slave that he was in the massive fields of brainless dead where the mindflayers dumped corpses that had been used for breeding, to make fertilizer. While working, he happened upon one corpse that had been killed by the sword sticking out of its head rather than something out of ''Alien''. He pulled it out, and he eventually worked out that it had killed the guy.


This was nothing less than a religious experience for their entire race, which sounds stupid until one considers that every one of them had been in slavery for so long that the very idea of non-illithid-related death was foreign and unimaginable. The idea that steel is stronger than flesh became the Scripture of Steel, and the path to freedom.
This was nothing less than a religious experience for their entire race, which sounds stupid until one considers that every one of them had been in slavery for so long that the very idea of non-illithid-related death was foreign and unimaginable. The idea that steel is stronger than flesh became the Scripture of Steel, and the path to freedom.
Line 38: Line 38:
So. Githzerai = hyperlawful monk or fighter-mage psionic types that breed PCs more often than their cousins. Githyanki = Ur-Quan from Star Control, or for those who don't play [[/v/|vidya gaems]], a mixture of the three [[Just as planned|most]] [[RIP AND TEAR|annoying]] [[Munchkin|prick]] archetypes.
So. Githzerai = hyperlawful monk or fighter-mage psionic types that breed PCs more often than their cousins. Githyanki = Ur-Quan from Star Control, or for those who don't play [[/v/|vidya gaems]], a mixture of the three [[Just as planned|most]] [[RIP AND TEAR|annoying]] [[Munchkin|prick]] archetypes.


{{D&D4e-Races}}
==Statblocks==
Whilst githzerai have never achieved the same popularity as the [[tiefling]]s (lucky bastards), they've at least done better for themselves than the [[bariaur]], having managed to appear in every edition between AD&D and 5th, an their fans are hopeful that they'll make it into 5th once WoTC finally decides to do something planar or psionic in nature.
 
===Advanced Dungeons & Dragons===
Githzerai first appeared in the Planescape boxed set, specifically on page 12 of "A Player's Guide to the Planes", the player's section of the boxed set. They were reprinted in The Planewalker's Handbook, and also made an appearance in Player's Options: Skills & Powers.
 
::+1 Intelligence, +1 Dexterity, -1 Strength, -1 Wisdom (PO:S&P instead presents them as having no racial ability adjustments)
::Infravision 60 feet
::Alignment Restriction: Cannot be Lawful
::Class & Level Limits: [[Fighter]] (9), [[Wizard]] (12), [[Rogue|Thief]] (15), [[Gish|Fighter/Mage]] (9/12)
::Magic Resistance: Githzerai Fighters and Thieves have Magic Resistance 5% per level (maximum 95%); this power cannot be suppressed, and the first time a githzerai attempts to use an item, make a Magic Resistance check; if succeeded, then that item's magic will '''never''' function for that githzerai as a result. Githyanki wizards do not have magic resistance, and fighter/wizards must choose whether or not they have it.
 
===3rd Edition===
Githzerai first appeared in 3.0's [[Manual of the Planes]], alongside their githyanki cousins - however, they were presented with no more specific a character statblock than any generic 3.0 humanoid monster. They received a full racial writeup in 3.5's Expanded Psionics Handbook (having first appeared in 3.0's Psionics Handbook, but nobody talks about that) and were made into a racial class in Complete Psionic.
 
For their EPH writeup, Githzerai were presented as having the following stats:
::+6 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, -2 Intelligence
::Medium
::Base Land Speed 30 feet
::Darkvision 60 feet
::Naturally Psionic: Increase Psionic Power Points Pool by +2 Psi Points.
::Psi-Like Abilities: A githzerai can use the psi-like abilities of ''Inertial Armor'', ''Psionic Daze'', ''Catfall'' and ''Concussion'', all 3/day. At 11th level, they can also use ''Psionic Plane Shift'' 1/day. Manifester level is equal to 1/2 Hit Dice (minimum 1st) and save DCs are Charisma based.
::Power Resistance: Hit Dice +5
::[[Favored Class]]: [[Monk]]
::[[Level Adjustment]]: +2
 
===4th Edition===
4th edition actually gave Githzerai not one, but ''two'' statblocks; the first, an immediate stop-gap, appeared alongside the githyanki in the Monster Manual 1, where it looked like this:
::Ability Scores: +2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom
::Size: Medium
::Speed: 6 Squares
::Vision: Normal
::Skill Bonuses: +2 Acrobatics, +2 Athletics
::Danger Sense: +2 to Initiative checks.
::Racial Power - Iron Mind: Usable 1/encounter, when you would be hit by an attack, you can increase all of your defenses by +2 until the end of your next turn as an Immediate Interrupt.
 
Then, when the Player's Handbook 3 came along and [[psionics]] were formally introduced to D&D 4e, githzerai took pride of place as the traditional and iconic psionic race. Surprisingly, this second version of their statblock was all but identical to their original version, but with some tweaks that made the 'zerai even stronger than they had been.
::Ability Scores: +2 Dexterity or Intelligence, +2 Wisdom
::Size: Medium
::Speed: 6 Squares
::Vision: Normal
::Skill Bonuses: +2 Acrobatics, +2 Athletics
::Danger Sense: +2 to Initiative checks.
::Shifting Fortune: When you use your Second Wind, you can shift 3 squares as a free action.
::Racial Power - Iron Mind: Usable 1/encounter, when you would be hit by an attack, you can increase all of your defenses by +2 until the end of your next turn as an Immediate Interrupt.
 
The 4e PHB 3 also gave githzerai a racial paragon path in the form of the Rrathmal, based on the traditional leaders of the githzerai rrakkmas, or elite trouble-shooting bands dedicated to hunting illithids and other enemies of the githzerai people.


[[Category:Planescape]]
[[Category:Planescape]]

Revision as of 20:02, 19 August 2017

And they're the good guys, who could guess?

Once upon a time (in the future) the mindflayers were being titanic douchebags. Is anyone surprised? You? Well, go screw yourself, that's just how they roll.

Anyway, this particular time, they were using mindcontrolled humanoid slaves to work the wheels of their titanic, universe-spanning empire. These slaves were either the first race ever to come into being, or heavily mutated humans, depending on which version of the fluff you read.

Well, after centuries of being used as free labor/breeding stock, one of them, Zerthimon, was working like the perpetually miserable mindcontrolled slave that he was in the massive fields of brainless dead where the mindflayers dumped corpses that had been used for breeding, to make fertilizer. While working, he happened upon one corpse that had been killed by the sword sticking out of its head rather than something out of Alien. He pulled it out, and he eventually worked out that it had killed the guy.

This was nothing less than a religious experience for their entire race, which sounds stupid until one considers that every one of them had been in slavery for so long that the very idea of non-illithid-related death was foreign and unimaginable. The idea that steel is stronger than flesh became the Scripture of Steel, and the path to freedom.

He used it as a farming tool for a while, reinventing the very concepts of toolmaking and weaponry in the process. His master, Arlathii Twice-Deceased, seeing Zerthimon's driven attitude, promptly accused him of several crimes he did not commit in an effort to find out if Zerthimon was a little less mindcontrolled than his brethren.

Zerthimon, rather than doing the brave but stupid thing a la a certain other grimdark futuristic setting, did the smart thing and endured torture, pain, and the humiliation of thanking his captor for the punishment, all in the name of a future rebellion. In which Arlathii Twice-Deceased was promptly killed for the third and final time as the first casualty.

Decades passed as Zerthimon trained rebels to resist and utilize psionic powers and forge weapons, preparing for an uprising. He came into contact with Gith, a trained soldier who used her psychic powers to overcome her -4 Str. He was also probably in love with her, as he gave her all sorts of magic swords, if you know what I mean.

And I think you know what I mean.

I mean his penis.

Anyway, their combined rebellions ripped up the mindflayers' shit something fierce, and before they knew it, they were sitting victorious on the Blasted Plains. Then, shit got real. Gith wanted to embark on an endless campaign, exterminating all mindflayers across all planes of existence and conquering every other race in all universes to serve as their slaves, slaking her endless lust for war, preventing anyone from ever being their masters again, and allowing her to do a decent impression of the Empra and/or Grommash Hellscream.

Zerthimon then spoke the words that split their race into his followers and hers, the Pronouncement of Two Skies:

"Fuck that shit."

Half of them sided with him, half with Gith, and they promptly fought out a second battle between the two right then and there. It ended when Gith killed him with the sword he had made for her, though no one really knows who won or what else happened during or after the battle, except that Gith named Zerthimon's followers githzerai, after their master, and hers the githyanki, after her.

The githzerai fled to Limbo, where they keep huge chunks of it stable by sheer force of will. Nowadays, they usually act as either monks or Zerths, a sort of githzerai-specific fighter-mage.

Gith, heartbroken, left her people in the Astral Plane and wandered the planes for a bit, "seeking for allies," before striking an alliance with Tiamat's red dragon head, if you know what I mean.

And I think you know......

Did I already do that joke? Shit. Anyway, she's supposedly still there, her second-in-command, Vlaakith, (who brokered the deal, and may or may not simply have fed her master to the dragon and conspired to lie to her people), is now in charge of her endless war of conquest, and most githyanki can summon a red dragon if they're in a pinch.

Gith also apparently lost her original sword, which ended up being used by, in order, an idealistic rebel priest of Myrkul who challenged the will of the Gods to free his lover (and failing), a warlock who tried to kill the personification of the dark side of magic (and failing), and a poor hapless swamp villager....who ended up doing better than both previous wielders and achieving what they both set out to do. Takes all sorts.

So. Githzerai = hyperlawful monk or fighter-mage psionic types that breed PCs more often than their cousins. Githyanki = Ur-Quan from Star Control, or for those who don't play vidya gaems, a mixture of the three most annoying prick archetypes.

Statblocks

Whilst githzerai have never achieved the same popularity as the tieflings (lucky bastards), they've at least done better for themselves than the bariaur, having managed to appear in every edition between AD&D and 5th, an their fans are hopeful that they'll make it into 5th once WoTC finally decides to do something planar or psionic in nature.

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons

Githzerai first appeared in the Planescape boxed set, specifically on page 12 of "A Player's Guide to the Planes", the player's section of the boxed set. They were reprinted in The Planewalker's Handbook, and also made an appearance in Player's Options: Skills & Powers.

+1 Intelligence, +1 Dexterity, -1 Strength, -1 Wisdom (PO:S&P instead presents them as having no racial ability adjustments)
Infravision 60 feet
Alignment Restriction: Cannot be Lawful
Class & Level Limits: Fighter (9), Wizard (12), Thief (15), Fighter/Mage (9/12)
Magic Resistance: Githzerai Fighters and Thieves have Magic Resistance 5% per level (maximum 95%); this power cannot be suppressed, and the first time a githzerai attempts to use an item, make a Magic Resistance check; if succeeded, then that item's magic will never function for that githzerai as a result. Githyanki wizards do not have magic resistance, and fighter/wizards must choose whether or not they have it.

3rd Edition

Githzerai first appeared in 3.0's Manual of the Planes, alongside their githyanki cousins - however, they were presented with no more specific a character statblock than any generic 3.0 humanoid monster. They received a full racial writeup in 3.5's Expanded Psionics Handbook (having first appeared in 3.0's Psionics Handbook, but nobody talks about that) and were made into a racial class in Complete Psionic.

For their EPH writeup, Githzerai were presented as having the following stats:

+6 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, -2 Intelligence
Medium
Base Land Speed 30 feet
Darkvision 60 feet
Naturally Psionic: Increase Psionic Power Points Pool by +2 Psi Points.
Psi-Like Abilities: A githzerai can use the psi-like abilities of Inertial Armor, Psionic Daze, Catfall and Concussion, all 3/day. At 11th level, they can also use Psionic Plane Shift 1/day. Manifester level is equal to 1/2 Hit Dice (minimum 1st) and save DCs are Charisma based.
Power Resistance: Hit Dice +5
Favored Class: Monk
Level Adjustment: +2

4th Edition

4th edition actually gave Githzerai not one, but two statblocks; the first, an immediate stop-gap, appeared alongside the githyanki in the Monster Manual 1, where it looked like this:

Ability Scores: +2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom
Size: Medium
Speed: 6 Squares
Vision: Normal
Skill Bonuses: +2 Acrobatics, +2 Athletics
Danger Sense: +2 to Initiative checks.
Racial Power - Iron Mind: Usable 1/encounter, when you would be hit by an attack, you can increase all of your defenses by +2 until the end of your next turn as an Immediate Interrupt.

Then, when the Player's Handbook 3 came along and psionics were formally introduced to D&D 4e, githzerai took pride of place as the traditional and iconic psionic race. Surprisingly, this second version of their statblock was all but identical to their original version, but with some tweaks that made the 'zerai even stronger than they had been.

Ability Scores: +2 Dexterity or Intelligence, +2 Wisdom
Size: Medium
Speed: 6 Squares
Vision: Normal
Skill Bonuses: +2 Acrobatics, +2 Athletics
Danger Sense: +2 to Initiative checks.
Shifting Fortune: When you use your Second Wind, you can shift 3 squares as a free action.
Racial Power - Iron Mind: Usable 1/encounter, when you would be hit by an attack, you can increase all of your defenses by +2 until the end of your next turn as an Immediate Interrupt.

The 4e PHB 3 also gave githzerai a racial paragon path in the form of the Rrathmal, based on the traditional leaders of the githzerai rrakkmas, or elite trouble-shooting bands dedicated to hunting illithids and other enemies of the githzerai people.