How do you deal with the Githzerai? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

How do you deal with the Githzerai?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
degausser
Aug 22, 2008 11:58:34 Okay, for those who are in the know, Githzerai are a race of grenish-skinned gaunt people that live in Limbo (or Elemental chaos) and shape it with their wills. They were once a race of slaves under the Illithid (Mind flayers) but the legendary warrior Zerthamon broke them free, overthrew the mind flayer oppressors, and led his people to salvation. The people promptly split into the evil, xenophobic Githyanki (who will kill you with their silver swords) and the neutral, not-as-xenophobic Githzerai. The Githzerai have long been a character race (at least since 2nd ed planescape). But here's my question: WHAT ARE THEY LIKE?

2nd ed had a rule that no Gith could be of lawful alignment, and emphisized their freedom over everything else. They wished to remain in limbo for the most part in their cities made from thought and meditate, but they weren't lawful . . .

3rd ed completely reversed this decision, saying that their favored class was Monk (meaning all monks HAD to be lawful.)

And, of course, Planescape torment portrayed a very cool version of Dak'kon, a lawful Githzerai Fighter/Mage.

So, how do you guys handle Githzerai? I know that they hate slavery, Illithids, and Githyanki (in that order) but I'm not sure how to properly role-play them or do them justice. Any thoughts?
#2
Kensan_Oni
Aug 22, 2008 12:05:31 I handle them as backstory. Githzaeri are those mysterious people that pop up when the Githyanki start raiding the Prime, who either A) Offer help fighting off the Githyanki becuase they know where they come from, or B) Make things even further complicated by showing up and trying to steal what the Yanki want, to prevent the Yanki from accomplishing their goals.

Overall, Zerai tend to be one of those races I don't mind seeing as a PC race, so I don't do too much with them.
#3
the_ubbergeek
Aug 22, 2008 16:26:17 They are the mysterious 'third party' kind, the subtile and discrete oposition... Individualists it seems, but honorable and self-disciplined. A mystic, complative kind but also warriors.
#4
degausser
Aug 24, 2008 9:11:24 I'm just asking because one of my characters is going to be a Gith in an upcomming campaing, and he seems to be lifting his personality direcly from Dak'kon from Planescape: Torment, figuring that Dak'kon was a typical Githzerai

Thing was, Dak'kon WASN'T a typical 2nd ed. Githzerai. He was VERY atypical. 2nd ed Githzerai couldn't be of a lawful alignment because they hated restricting themselves in any way. True, they spent many hours in meditation, honing their mind, but their default philosophy was always to never give up personal freedoms.

This changed radically in 3rd ed, when they all became monks and started living by a super tight moral code. True, they still hated slavery, but now they didn't care about personal freedoms, they just didn't want to be a race of slaves again.

So, in those respects, which Gith society do you prefer?
#5
KenkakuKnight
Aug 24, 2008 11:57:12
I'm just asking because one of my characters is going to be a Gith in an upcomming campaing, and he seems to be lifting his personality direcly from Dak'kon from Planescape: Torment, figuring that Dak'kon was a typical Githzerai

Thing was, Dak'kon WASN'T a typical 2nd ed. Githzerai. He was VERY atypical. 2nd ed Githzerai couldn't be of a lawful alignment because they hated restricting themselves in any way. True, they spent many hours in meditation, honing their mind, but their default philosophy was always to never give up personal freedoms.

This changed radically in 3rd ed, when they all became monks and started living by a super tight moral code. True, they still hated slavery, but now they didn't care about personal freedoms, they just didn't want to be a race of slaves again.

So, in those respects, which Gith society do you prefer?

I always viewed personal freedom as having the choice of whether or not to give up personal freedoms, and to choose which ones to give up.

I could live in a country where I can eat as much as I want, play video games all day long, and spend as much time as I'd like reading books. The only rules is I can't not do any of those three.

I would find that as restricting as not being able to do those activities at all (especially the eating part).
#6
the_ubbergeek
Aug 24, 2008 19:00:22 Liberty and freedom are paradoxaly also the option of forgetting both by honor, by example. The freedom of choosing your own path.
#7
ramses_iii
Aug 24, 2008 20:01:15
Okay, for those who are in the know, Githzerai are a race of grenish-skinned gaunt people that live in Limbo (or Elemental chaos) and shape it with their wills. They were once a race of slaves under the Illithid (Mind flayers) but the legendary warrior Zerthamon broke them free, overthrew the mind flayer oppressors, and led his people to salvation. The people promptly split into the evil, xenophobic Githyanki (who will kill you with their silver swords) and the neutral, not-as-xenophobic Githzerai. The Githzerai have long been a character race (at least since 2nd ed planescape). But here's my question: WHAT ARE THEY LIKE?

2nd ed had a rule that no Gith could be of lawful alignment, and emphisized their freedom over everything else. They wished to remain in limbo for the most part in their cities made from thought and meditate, but they weren't lawful . . .

3rd ed completely reversed this decision, saying that their favored class was Monk (meaning all monks HAD to be lawful.)

And, of course, Planescape torment portrayed a very cool version of Dak'kon, a lawful Githzerai Fighter/Mage.

So, how do you guys handle Githzerai? I know that they hate slavery, Illithids, and Githyanki (in that order) but I'm not sure how to properly role-play them or do them justice. Any thoughts?

This is kind of a nitpick, but the legendary warrior was a female named Gith. Both races took their names from hers. Zerth'amon was a githzerai, born after the two races differentiated, and is credited IIRC with establishing the Zerth cenobites, an order of githzerai monks.

By way of answering your question, I'll point out that 4E has apparently removed all alignment restrictions from both classes and races (and it's about time), so alignment restrictions aren't a viable basis for determining a racial personality. The githzerai lore in the 4E MM says that the race is introspective, most have martial arts training, they hunt illithids but are also encouraged to pursue individual goals (whether benign or not), that particularly wicked githzerai tend to live outside of their society, and that they contemplate order, destiny, entropy, and destruction and attempt to perfect their bodies and minds.

As a group their mindset and culture seems very zen; I imagine them living a rather spartan lifestyle wherein they spurn luxury in favor of living simply with few possessions or adornments. They would spend several hours each day in meditation, martial arts practice, and the like and would favor simple and minimalist arts that are closely in touch with nature and that don't involve a lot of modification of the media they use. Good examples would be rock gardens and flower arrangement.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 degausser Aug 22, 2008 11:58:34	Okay, for those who are in the know, Githzerai are a race of grenish-skinned gaunt people that live in Limbo (or Elemental chaos) and shape it with their wills. They were once a race of slaves under the Illithid (Mind flayers) but the legendary warrior Zerthamon broke them free, overthrew the mind flayer oppressors, and led his people to salvation. The people promptly split into the evil, xenophobic Githyanki (who will kill you with their silver swords) and the neutral, not-as-xenophobic Githzerai. The Githzerai have long been a character race (at least since 2nd ed planescape). But here's my question: WHAT ARE THEY LIKE? 2nd ed had a rule that no Gith could be of lawful alignment, and emphisized their freedom over everything else. They wished to remain in limbo for the most part in their cities made from thought and meditate, but they weren't lawful . . . 3rd ed completely reversed this decision, saying that their favored class was Monk (meaning all monks HAD to be lawful.) And, of course, Planescape torment portrayed a very cool version of Dak'kon, a lawful Githzerai Fighter/Mage. So, how do you guys handle Githzerai? I know that they hate slavery, Illithids, and Githyanki (in that order) but I'm not sure how to properly role-play them or do them justice. Any thoughts?
#2 Kensan_Oni Aug 22, 2008 12:05:31	I handle them as backstory. Githzaeri are those mysterious people that pop up when the Githyanki start raiding the Prime, who either A) Offer help fighting off the Githyanki becuase they know where they come from, or B) Make things even further complicated by showing up and trying to steal what the Yanki want, to prevent the Yanki from accomplishing their goals. Overall, Zerai tend to be one of those races I don't mind seeing as a PC race, so I don't do too much with them.
#3 the_ubbergeek Aug 22, 2008 16:26:17	They are the mysterious 'third party' kind, the subtile and discrete oposition... Individualists it seems, but honorable and self-disciplined. A mystic, complative kind but also warriors.
#4 degausser Aug 24, 2008 9:11:24	I'm just asking because one of my characters is going to be a Gith in an upcomming campaing, and he seems to be lifting his personality direcly from Dak'kon from Planescape: Torment, figuring that Dak'kon was a typical Githzerai Thing was, Dak'kon WASN'T a typical 2nd ed. Githzerai. He was VERY atypical. 2nd ed Githzerai couldn't be of a lawful alignment because they hated restricting themselves in any way. True, they spent many hours in meditation, honing their mind, but their default philosophy was always to never give up personal freedoms. This changed radically in 3rd ed, when they all became monks and started living by a super tight moral code. True, they still hated slavery, but now they didn't care about personal freedoms, they just didn't want to be a race of slaves again. So, in those respects, which Gith society do you prefer?
#5 KenkakuKnight Aug 24, 2008 11:57:12	I'm just asking because one of my characters is going to be a Gith in an upcomming campaing, and he seems to be lifting his personality direcly from Dak'kon from Planescape: Torment, figuring that Dak'kon was a typical Githzerai Thing was, Dak'kon WASN'T a typical 2nd ed. Githzerai. He was VERY atypical. 2nd ed Githzerai couldn't be of a lawful alignment because they hated restricting themselves in any way. True, they spent many hours in meditation, honing their mind, but their default philosophy was always to never give up personal freedoms. This changed radically in 3rd ed, when they all became monks and started living by a super tight moral code. True, they still hated slavery, but now they didn't care about personal freedoms, they just didn't want to be a race of slaves again. So, in those respects, which Gith society do you prefer? I always viewed personal freedom as having the choice of whether or not to give up personal freedoms, and to choose which ones to give up. I could live in a country where I can eat as much as I want, play video games all day long, and spend as much time as I'd like reading books. The only rules is I can't not do any of those three. I would find that as restricting as not being able to do those activities at all (especially the eating part).
#6 the_ubbergeek Aug 24, 2008 19:00:22	Liberty and freedom are paradoxaly also the option of forgetting both by honor, by example. The freedom of choosing your own path.
#7 ramses_iii Aug 24, 2008 20:01:15	Okay, for those who are in the know, Githzerai are a race of grenish-skinned gaunt people that live in Limbo (or Elemental chaos) and shape it with their wills. They were once a race of slaves under the Illithid (Mind flayers) but the legendary warrior Zerthamon broke them free, overthrew the mind flayer oppressors, and led his people to salvation. The people promptly split into the evil, xenophobic Githyanki (who will kill you with their silver swords) and the neutral, not-as-xenophobic Githzerai. The Githzerai have long been a character race (at least since 2nd ed planescape). But here's my question: WHAT ARE THEY LIKE? 2nd ed had a rule that no Gith could be of lawful alignment, and emphisized their freedom over everything else. They wished to remain in limbo for the most part in their cities made from thought and meditate, but they weren't lawful . . . 3rd ed completely reversed this decision, saying that their favored class was Monk (meaning all monks HAD to be lawful.) And, of course, Planescape torment portrayed a very cool version of Dak'kon, a lawful Githzerai Fighter/Mage. So, how do you guys handle Githzerai? I know that they hate slavery, Illithids, and Githyanki (in that order) but I'm not sure how to properly role-play them or do them justice. Any thoughts? This is kind of a nitpick, but the legendary warrior was a female named Gith. Both races took their names from hers. Zerth'amon was a githzerai, born after the two races differentiated, and is credited IIRC with establishing the Zerth cenobites, an order of githzerai monks. By way of answering your question, I'll point out that 4E has apparently removed all alignment restrictions from both classes and races (and it's about time), so alignment restrictions aren't a viable basis for determining a racial personality. The githzerai lore in the 4E MM says that the race is introspective, most have martial arts training, they hunt illithids but are also encouraged to pursue individual goals (whether benign or not), that particularly wicked githzerai tend to live outside of their society, and that they contemplate order, destiny, entropy, and destruction and attempt to perfect their bodies and minds. As a group their mindset and culture seems very zen; I imagine them living a rather spartan lifestyle wherein they spurn luxury in favor of living simply with few possessions or adornments. They would spend several hours each day in meditation, martial arts practice, and the like and would favor simple and minimalist arts that are closely in touch with nature and that don't involve a lot of modification of the media they use. Good examples would be rock gardens and flower arrangement.