Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 el_shawno Feb 25, 2010 16:16:23	html_removed html_removed In the Plane Below, a sidebar on p.86 titled “Mind Over Matter” states:   “Is thought another element that churns beneath the skin of reality?...To the githzerai, thought is a very quantity...The githzerai are not guarding against just chaos but against madness.”   This idea fits in perfectly with the Eberron setting. Specifically, I see two of the great evils of that world taking a great interest in githzerai 'research' into this belief – the Quori and the the Daelkyr.   To the Quori, this belief hews closely to their own but takes it beyond even their expectations. They're very interested to see where this line of thought and effort leads but will not interfere in githzerai efforts at pursuing it – at least not right away. Patient creatures that they are, they are willing to let the githzerai do the work for them and then claim these new insights for their very own when the time is right. In the meantime, they will simply keep an eye on the githzerai and ensure that no one else interferes with them or tries to take this wisdom for themselves. With it, they could impose their will on their home plane and then begin to use this knowledge to expedite the process of remaking this world into a place that serves them.   The Daelkyr see these efforts as the answer to their dark prayers. The power to make and unmake reality means that they could finally break the seals that trap them in the depths of Khyber. After that they could then begin making the whole of reality merge with their home plane. All will be Xoriat and Xoriat will be all. They command their agents – the Lords of Dust – to stop at nothing from obtaining this knowledge.   At first the assaults would come from their traditional archenemies the githyanki and the illithids. But as time goes on, they find out that this is more than old rivalries flaring up again and that the Lords of Dust have set their sights on conquering them and stealing their secrets. At this point, the Inspired could offer some small overt assistance with the goal of ingratiating themselves with the githzerai. The githzerai, however, are no fools and suspect that the Inspired want something from them as well. In short, the githzerai find themselves in the crossfire of a shadow war of epic proportions.   Side Note: How the Draconic Prophecy comes into play with all of this is something I haven't even begun to consider.
#2 AvonRekaes Mar 03, 2010 10:56:08	It sounds interesting. Except for one thing, the Lords of Dust don't serve the Dealkyr, they serve the Demonic Overlords of the First Age. I think you might be thinking of the Cults of the Dragon Below, which can serve either. (The Lords of Dust are composed of immortal fiends and demons, and the only similarity they share with Dealkyr who come from outside the known universe are that their Overlords are also stuck in Khyber.) I never really understood the purpose of the gith races though. Having started playing DnD in 3.0, they seem largely a legacy thing of past editions. To me, they're just ugly psionic humans, and I don't really see what's cool about them, or see a point in adding them to Eberron. However, if you do, it does pose an interesting questions. Where do the gith come from in your Eberron campaign? In Eberron, the Ilithids are creatures of Xoriat, so how does that interact with the gith backstory of once being their slaves? I'm pretty sure one cannon interpretation of the gith background in Eberron is that they were the native inhabitants of one of the many worlds the Dealkyr corrupted, and fled their dying world. Maybe this is why the gitzerai are so concerned in guarding against madness, because they have seen firsthand what havoc it can wreak.
#3 el_shawno Mar 13, 2010 15:47:45	*ahem*  I stand corrected on the Lords of Dust/Cult of the Dragon Below mix-up. Actually, both could work as rival factions along with the Quori.  Hmmm... As for guarding against madness (and Madness.  They're not big fans of ska.), the sidebar I pulled those quotes from riffs on a Githzerai monastery in the Elemental Chaos that contains a place called the Room with No Doors.  One possibility offered is that whatever idea is inside this room is being kept there because it has the power to unmake reality and that all that stands between existence and its destruction is the Githzerai guarding it.   Your suggestion that they're guarding against madness dovetails pretty well with this idea, I think.