"We are nearing the Eye of Oblivion. We usually use the Warpstone to jump past it: Many sailors speak of it giving them nightmares, and we've lost two ships of record to its pull. But, seeing as you are paying us a king's ransom to take you there, I am obliged to do what even few Githyanki are willing to do. That's saying something, seeing as my people are mostly insane."

-Captain of the Lex Aether, Vrenith

Githyanki Culture

The Dread Astral Fleet

In their ancient past, the Gith were a united people, their oldest origins shrouded in mystery. All that is known is that, at some point, they became dominated by the Mind Flayers, who put them into permanent bondage. The early Gith peoples were used both as stock for creating new Mindflayers, and as a hardy and capable slave workforce. For many centuries, these Gith helped to propel the Mind Flayer empire to become the premier super power of the Underdark. However, as the Mind Flayers committed their forces to costly wars against Aboleth, Drow, and Duergar, the Gith grew in number, eventually serving to fulfill every non-military role in the empire of the Illithids. They became too reliant on the Gith, and a group of revolutionaries organized the workers to kill the few Illithids that guarded their fortresses, enabling themselves to sabotage the entire backbone of their empire. Some remained, attempting to hold their new Mind Flayer fortresses, though these fighters would eventually succumb to siege. Most however ran, using Mind Flayer gateways to travel to the Astral Sea. There, they began to collect onto motes of floating matter, commonly called 'islands' in the Astral Sea. They built minor holds on these motes, and began to hold out against Mind Flayer retaliation. They were divided however on what to do next. There were those who believed they should retreat further, moving into a place where even the Mind Flayers would be discouraged from following them. These Gith believed that the time plane of Limbo would be just such a place; it was known that Limbo was difficult to escape from once entered, and they believed that the Mind Flayers would not risk their own lives in mass by following them there. The other Gith however, a slightly larger faction, believed that offense was the best defense. They should martial their forces, and utilize the technology they had taken from the Mind Flayers to build Astral Ships of their own. A conflict arose, and eventually the group split in twain. The Githzerai, or in the Gith language, those who step back, became the faction to leave the Astral Sea, and forever emigrate to the plane of Limbo. The Githyanki, or in the Gith language, those who strike forth, became the faction to build up their Astral Fortresses into massive "Sky Citadels", and developed the Illithid technology to be useable by regular Gith minds. They built up fleets of Githyanki Warships, and even discovered the ability to open 'Warpholes' or massive Teleportation Circles using Warpstones. This allowed them to become the most terrifying hit and run force in all of the planes. They first warred against the Mind Flayers, striking at them ferociously and making away with many thousands of pounds of loot. These Githyanki raids, along with the original Gith rebellion, became a key factor in the decline of the Illithid Empire from its towering apex. However, the success of these raids, and the fierce militarism had its own effects on the culture and disposition of the Githyanki as well; they built their civilization around their martial ability, around a ferocious and lightning fast attack, and a stalwart and unorthodox defense. They demurred from and neglected the sorts of work they once performed for the Mind Flayers, in their focus on conquest. Therefore, in order to continue maintaining supply, food, and a flow of resources to their Dread Fleet, they took to raiding in general, not just of the Mind Flayers, but of all peoples and in all places. The common Kith of the material plane of Adra began to see portals open in the sky, only to have terrifying green men descend upon them to loot and pillage. In their looting of the Material Plane, they came upon the dragons, and warred with them as they would with anyone else. They destroyed a matriarch of a Red Dragon clan, and in doing so, claimed the egg clutch of the family. From this original egg clutch, the Githyanki bred Red Dragons that were completely loyal to their empire. Detesting slavery, they did not dominate the dragons, but bonded with them; the finest and most skilled Githyanki warriors became bonded with a red dragon, and would become dragon riders. With Illithid technology, made their own, an array of skilled warriors, and red dragons, the Dread Astral Fleet became one of the most skilled militaries in the world of Adra. The only thing that saved the world from its terror was the relatively modest ambitions of the Githyanki: they had no dreams of conquering the world, and building an empire. They had no interest (obviously) in slavery or domination. They only wished to raid and plunder, bringing that which they found back to their towering Sky Citadels. Furthermore, the Githyanki showed at least some restraint also in whom they raided. After taking the wealth of a village, they might not return there for 10 generations, allowing it to build up its wealth again. A common Githyanki expression belied this policy: "The point is to sheer the sheep, not to skin it."

          Githyanki have some of the strongest wills of the people of Adra. Their way is to resist all domination, all pretense to superiority, all attempt at the subversion of an individual's freedom. In their proverbs and sayings, it is repeated as a mantra that the Githyanki shall die choking, screaming, and in terror, before giving an inch of their life to a higher power, or any power for that matter. Not only that, they apply this stern resistance outwardly to others as well in their dealings with those weaker than them. They will kill and rob, but never enslave, or make any claim to the ownership of the very lives of those they defeat in battle. Most nations in the history of Adra cannot make this claim, and so the Githyanki are rare among conquering cultures. Stranger still is the combination of this fact with their extreme aggression towards other cultures and races. They view battle as honorable, and death in battle as the ultimate marker of a life well-lived. Therefore, they view no contradiction between ensuring a world free of slavery and exploitation, and going to war constantly with anyone whose goods they value. The psychology of the Githyanki is complicated, but most outsiders tend to just view them as violent thugs, not to be trusted, and impossible to entreat with. This of course obscures a further truth, that the Githyanki choose their enemies and prey, and do not randomly attack those that come near them. Therefore, despite their reputation, the Sky Citadels of the Astral Sea serve as key nodes in an Astral Network of travel, trade, and communication. People in the know assume rightly that the Githyanki will not attack those that come to them with good intentions, and this is almost always true. Therefore, the Githyanki act both as agents of chaos, and as protectors of order. Without them, many villages, towns, and fortresses would be far safer. But also without them, organized travel across the Astral Sea would be much harder. Githyanki life is centered around combat, travel, and defense, and all members of the great Dread Fleet spend time in all of these roles, before settling into that which suits them best. They spend most of their time honing and conserving the abilities and technologies that set them apart from most of the world: their psionic abilities and their flying technology. Due to their honor-based society, Githyanki take easily to insults and sleights. As a result, honor duels are frequent at all levels of the society. Matters are decided upon by the Ship Captains and Citadel Defenders, both equal in rank, who commiserate together to decide the key positions of the Githyanki people. These Defenders and Captains in turn answer to their crews and garrisons. Therefore, Githyanki value a sort of decentralized democracy, where each man and woman has an equal say in the progress of the Dread Fleet. There is no chief ruler of all Githyanki, and Githyanki are extremely suspicious of anyone who claims rulership of an unjustified sort. They believe that Ship Captains and Citadel Defenders are needed to organize military affairs, but no such higher position is needed, for the Githyanki naturally organize themselves to achieve a united purpose.

          The Githyanki people are most highly concentrated in the Astral Sea, though given the extreme nature of their existence, it is not uncommon to find those that break from the ranks and go to live elsewhere in Adra or on the planes. The races of the Githyanki are most predominately Githyanki, and are very rarely anyone else. In rare circumstances, soldiers of other races that have proven to be capable in battle have pledged themselves to the Dread Fleet, and converted to the culture. By far, when the Githyanki make an offering to a god, it is usually Sorthal. The Githyanki tend to be strong-willed, democratic, and abolitionist. They also tend to be violent, honor-obsessed, and piratic. The Githyanki speak Gith, as it is not only their own language, but often serves as a lingua-franca of the Astral Sea.

If you choose the Githyanki Culture, you gain the following:

~Either a +1 to your Strength score or a +1 to your Dexterity score~

~A -1 to your Wisdom score~

~As a known language, Gith~

~A Sub-Discipline in every knowledge skill on checks relating to Githyanki Culture~

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