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Githyanki

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Not to be confused with Githyanki (Faction) and Githzerai

Githyanki are a playable race in Baldur's Gate 3.

“
With a ruthlessness borne from mind flayer enslavement, githyanki ride the Astral Sea atop red dragons, bringing their silver swords and psionic might to bear against any trace of the illithid menace.
„
— In-game racial description

About githyanki[edit | edit source]

Default Githyanki appearances

Githyanki are peerless warriors from the Astral Plane, known for their legendary silver blades and red dragon mounts. They seek the total destruction of Mind Flayers, whose ancient empire enslaved the ancestral Gith for millennia.

As the effects of time is diminished in their native Astral Plane, githyanki are instead hatched from eggs all across realmspace in places called crèches. Crèches act as hatcheries, training grounds, and shelters outside of the Astral Plane.[1]

Githyanki are ruled by their lich queen Vlaakith⁠Vlaakith and led in battle by her dragon-riding knights, the Kith'raki.[2][3]

Racial features[edit | edit source]

Base racial speed
You can move 9 m / 30 ft per turn
Size
Medium
Astral Knowledge Astral Knowledge
Gain Proficiency Proficiency in all Skills corresponding to a chosen Ability (Recharge: Long rest Recharge: Long rest)
Githyanki Psionics
You gain access to the following Spells:
Martial ProdigyMartial Prodigy
A lifetime of relentless training gave you Armour proficiency with Light armour Light armour and Medium armour Medium armour, as well as Proficiency with Shortswords Shortswords, Longswords Longswords, and Greatswords Greatswords.

Religion[edit | edit source]

In Baldur's Gate 3, githyanki are allowed to be Clerics of Vlaakith. This is arguably a 'gameplay concession' to allow players class freedom. In traditional githyanki lore, a githyanki "cleric" is extremely rare and would almost certainly be a Ch'r'ai inquisitor (forcing doctrine) rather than a traditional priest (shepherding a flock).

The Rejection of Gods (Misotheism)[edit | edit source]

The relationship between the githyanki and religion is defined by a paradox: they are a culture of militant antitheists who fanatically revere a leader aspiring to be a god.[4] While most D&D civilizations view gods as essential patrons, the githyanki view them as tyrants similar to the mind flayers (illithids) who once enslaved them.

The core of githyanki philosophy is freedom from servitude. After millennia of enslavement by the mind flayers, githyanki culture rejects the idea of bowing to any external power.

  • Slavery Trauma: To a githyanki, worship is synonymous with slavery. Giving one's soul to a deity is seen as no different than having one's brain consumed by an illithid.
  • The Astral Plane: Githyanki live primarily in the Astral Plane, a place where time does not pass and mortals do not age. This environment disconnects them from the natural cycle of life, death, and the afterlife that fuels most religions in the D&D multiverse. They often build their cities upon the petrified corpses of dead gods[5][6], literally living on the remains of divinity, which reinforces their view that gods are finite and killable.[7]

The Cult of Vlaakith (The Exception)[edit | edit source]

Despite their hatred of gods, githyanki society is wholly devoted to Vlaakith CLVII⁠Vlaakith CLVII, the Lich-Queen.[8]

  • Not a god (yet): Vlaakith is technically an undead wizard, not a deity. She does not have a "divine spark" in the traditional sense. However, she demands reverence that is indistinguishable from worship.
  • The Grand Deception: Vlaakith consumes the souls of high-ranking githyanki warriors who reach a certain level of power (typically level 12-16). She tells her people this is a ritual of "ascension" to a higher plane of service. In reality, she uses their souls to fuel her own magic in her clawing attempt to achieve true godhood.[9]
  • Clerics vs. Warlocks: In strict lore, githyanki do not have true clerics because they have no god. Instead, they have the Ch’r’ai, a caste of inquisitors and warlocks who draw magical power directly from Vlaakith. In 5th Edition game mechanics, githyanki "clerics" are often mechanically treated as worshipping Vlaakith, though lore-wise they are more akin to fanatics channeling her arcane power.[10][11]

The Pact with Tiamat[edit | edit source]

The only deity the githyanki have a formal relationship with is Tiamat, the Queen of Evil Dragons.

  • The Deal: Ages ago, Gith (the first leader) made a pact with Tiamat in the Nine Hells. The specifics remain a secret, but the result was an eternal alliance: red dragons serve as mounts and war companions to the githyanki.[12][13]
  • Business, Not Worship: Githyanki do not pray to Tiamat. They view the red dragons as allies and tools of war, granted to them by a treaty. A githyanki knight riding a red dragon is not a religious pilgrim; they are a soldier utilizing a military asset.[14]
  • Ephelomon: The red dragon consort Ephelomon gifted his Scepter to Vlaakith I, cementing this pact.[15]

The Afterlife[edit | edit source]

  • In githyanki society the Afterlife is irrelevant. Githyaki live eternally in the Astral Plane, and an individual's value is tied strictly to their service to the race and the Lich-Queen. Death is not a transition to a higher state; it is a failure and the cessation of one's value.[16]

Equipment[edit | edit source]

Certain items have unique bonuses when wielded or worn by a Githyanki. These bonuses can be enabled by being disguised disguised as one before equipping the item.

Notable Githyanki[edit | edit source]

Notes and references[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ If Lae'zel Lae'zel if freed from her cage near the Ravaged Beach and asked, "And what exactly is a crèche...?", she answers, "It is many things. A hatchery, a training grounds, a shelter."
  2. ↑ A gith dictionary
  3. ↑ In the rigid, militaristic hierarchy of the githyanki, the kith'raki (singular: kith'rak) serve as the high-ranking officer class. They are the backbone of githyanki society, acting as both seasoned battlefield commanders and provincial governors of githyanki outposts.
    The word kith'rak is derived from 'kith', the githyanki term for a military company or warband. While a sarth (sergeant) leads a small squad of 10 to 12 warriors, a kith'rak commands multiple squads and is responsible for the strategic success of an entire mission or crèche.
    • Strategic Oversight: A kith'rak is responsible for the training of young githyanki in Material Plane crèches. They ensure that every hatchling grows into a 'sword' worthy of the Lich-Queen.
    • Political Power: In the capital city of Tu'narath, kith'raki serve as the elite bureaucracy. Above them are only the Supreme Commanders and the Lich-Queen herself.
    • A balancing act of extreme power and extreme peril. Because they are the most powerful warriors in the empire, they are the ones most likely to be 'selected' for Ascension by Vlaakith CLVII, who consumes the souls of the most powerful githyanki to prevent any single warrior single warrior from becoming strong enough to lead a rebellion against her.
    • The Ceiling of Power: A kith'rak who becomes too successful or too popular often disappears. Consequently, the most veteran kith'raki are either fanatically loyal or incredibly skilled incredibly skilled at hiding their true power from the Lich-Queen's inquisitors (the Ch’r’ai).
  4. ↑ 1d6Chan on Vlaakith CLVII
  5. ↑ Tu'narath⁠Tu'narath: The capital city of the githyanki is built upon the body of a six-armed dead god. It is a sprawling metropolis of obsidian and silver, housing hundreds of thousands of githyanki who never need to eat or sleep.
  6. ↑ Wikipedia, on Githyanki Religion
  7. ↑ Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes (5th Edition), Chapter 4, details the githyanki hatred of servitude and their views on the multiverse.
  8. ↑ Wikipedia, on Githyanki Society
  9. ↑ Wikipedia on Vlaakith's path to power
  10. ↑ 1d6Chan, on Ch’r’ai
  11. ↑ Source: Dungeon Magazine #100 ("The Lich-Queen’s Beloved") and Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes
  12. ↑ 1d6Chan on Vlaakith's bargain with Tiamat
  13. ↑ 2d4Chan on Vlaakith's bargain with Tiamat
  14. ↑ World Anvil on the Githyank Red Dragon Pact
  15. ↑ Monster Manual (Red Dragon entry) and Tyranny of Dragons lore
  16. ↑ For most races in the D&D multiverse, death means the soul travels to the plane of their deity ('The Afterlife'). Because githyanki reject the gods, their souls have no 'reserved seating' in the Outer Planes⁠Outer Planes:
    • A Guide to the Astral Plane⁠A Guide to the Astral Plane (foundational lore for githyanki) explains that githyanki souls which are not consumed by Vlaakith or tied to a specific purpose often become 'Lost' or merge with the silver void (a githyanki poetic description for the Astral Plane).
    • The Result: There is no 'heaven' for a githyanki. There is only the eternal present of the Astral Plane or the cold hunger of their Lich-Queen. This makes the concept of an afterlife not just irrelevant, but a terrifying threat to their autonomy.

Gallery[edit | edit source]

  • Githyanki Concept Art by Konstantin Porubov
    Githyanki Concept Art by Konstantin Porubov
  • Githyanki Concept Art by Konstantin Porubov
    Githyanki Concept Art by Konstantin Porubov

See also[edit | edit source]

External links[edit | edit source]

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