ALTHOUGH DESCENDED from creatures said to come from beyond the Gray, Athas’s gith are tribal and savage. The slide into barbarism did not extinguish their mental abilities, however. Combined with the giths’ extreme brutality and absolute mercilessness, their psionic powers might be even more dangerous than those of their forebears.
Githyanki first visited Athas long ago aboard a vast, silvery craft that transported them from a place beyond the Gray. The githyanki sought a way back to their realm, but they found themselves trapped on Athas by the Gray, which serves as a nighimpassable planar barrier between the world and their home realm. Meanwhile, the visitors proved particularly sensitive to the corrupting nature of arcane magic. Today, the descendants of the first githyanki survive as shadows of their former selves, decayed in both mind and body. They have not forgotten their origins, however. A few tribes are dedicated to gathering shards of their long-lost ship, hoping to return home.
Gith tribes wander the mountains and the Tablelands, living as nomadic hunters. Like thri-kreen tribes, gith grant humanoids no special status, hunting them as avidly as any other prey.
Gith travel in small packs, though sometimes an individual can be found with other creatures, working as a mercenary or as a slave. Gith also keep pets, such as baazrags. Although most gith attack foulspawn on sight, a few tribes have begun to collaborate with these aberrations toward some shared ambition.