Gith
Made with Hero Forge
(from Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes - 2018 - [credits])
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The story of the gith is rooted in a cruel twist of cosmic fate. Inspired by the great leader for whom the race is named, the gith rose up to overthrow the mind flayers that held them in servitude. But after they won their freedom, two factions among the gith disagreed on what kind of civilization they would forge. That disagreement quickly flared into open hostility, and the two groups distanced themselves from one another to pursue their separate agendas. They remain bitter enemies today, each side willing to fight to the death whenever they cross paths.
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The githyanki were motivated by revenge and convinced that they deserved to take whatever they wanted from the worlds they traveled. Ranging out from the titanic city of Tu’narath on the Astral Plane, they send raiders out to plunder the Material Plane and other worlds, bringing treasures and slaves back to their ageless realm. At the same time, they hunt down and kill mind flayers whenever possible, as recompense for what the illithids did to them.
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The githzerai believed that the path to an enlightened civilization lay in seclusion, not conflict. Their dedication to the principles of order is so strong that they can manipulate the stuff of chaos and use it to their benefit; thus, they have carved out a stronghold for themselves on the plane of Limbo that is virtually impervious. Though the githzerai are pacifists by nature, they share the githyanki’s racial hatred for mind flayers, and from time to time they send out squads to destroy illithid outposts.
If the two races were ever to team up against the illithids, a combined force of gith could conceivably tip the balance in their favor. But as long as the githyanki and githzerai stay at each other’s throats, their goal of ultimate victory over their original common enemy will likely remain unachieved.
GITHYANKI
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Since winning their freedom from the mind flayers, the githyanki have become corrupt raiders and destroyers under the rulership of their dread lich-queen, Vlaakith. They dwell on the Astral Plane in the city of Tu’narath, a metropolis built on and in the corpse of a deity.
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Vlaakith commands the loyalty of the githyanki from her personal stronghold, Susurrus, also called the Palace of Whispers, which is located deep inside the floating city. She sits on her Throne of Bones, a mighty artifact fueled by the intellects of mind flayers and elder brains that were defeated by her minions. It is crafted from mind flayer skulls and extremities, and the cushion she sits on is made of leather produced from the cured remains of an elder brain. A grand statue of Gith, an obsidian monument over 100 feet tall, stands beside the palace.
The Revered Queen:
Vlaakith sits at the center of everything concerning the githyanki. She is their ruler in every sphere of activity and, as such, demands and receives utter obedience.
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During the war with the illithids, Vlaakith urged Gith to seek out allies from among the planes and in particular advised her to seek counsel with Tiamat. Gith agreed to venture into the Nine Hells to forge an alliance with the Queen of Dragons. She didn’t return. Instead, the great red dragon Ephelomon brought news to the gith: Tiamat had pledged many of her red dragon servants to the gith cause. They would refrain from attacking gith and would provide support against the illithids and protection for the gith’s outposts on the Material Plane. In return, a few select young dragons would serve alongside the gith for a time, for purposes known only to Tiamat. Ephelomon also proclaimed that Vlaakith was to rule in Gith’s place until she returned.
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After the gith overthrew the mind flayers and Zerthimon’s followers began to emerge as a threat to Gith’s preeminence, Vlaakith played a critical role in ensuring that the githyanki under her rule were protected from an immediate, direct assault by their kin. Using her mastery of arcane magic, she helped the githyanki establish a permanent stronghold on the Astral Plane. From there, she began making plans to strike back at both the hated mind flayers and the traitorous githzerai.