Post by Stix on Nov 6, 2005 18:05:46 GMT -5
The history of the githzerai is one of ancient war and ancient slavery. Once of one race with the githyanki under the enslavement of the mind flayers, the githzerai broke away from their illithid masters and then from their gith brethren, sparking a racial war on multiple fronts that has continued into the present. The two gith factions separated and found new homes: the githyanki in the emptiness of the Astral Plane, and the githzerai in the swirling chaos of Limbo. The cause of that split has long been lost, but the ageless bloodfeuds and forays of revenge continue unabated.
Githzerai look almost exactly like humans (but woe to the sod who suggests they're of the same stock!), except that they are slightly thinner and taller. Also, their features are sharply cut and their faces are longer, but the most notable difference is in their eyes, which range from gray to catlike yellow. Githzerai are a severe lot who don't dress in bright colors, don't wear jewelry, and don't smile, at least not in public. They have no particular dislike of other races (beyond mind flayers and githyanki), but they don't often grow close to others either; they say what needs to be said and little more. Bards know githzerai make bad audiences; they have no sense of art within them, it seems.
However, githzerai do have fierce passions that burn dangerously. First, as mentioned, the githzerai hate the githyanki. The long-time enemies will never willingly cooperate and will rather try to do each other in. (This hatred isn't suicidal, though.) Second, the githzerai have a single-minded dedication to the security of their own race, no doubt the result of their never-ending war with the githyanki. Similarly, they are sworn to protect their race on their adopted home of Limbo, since that refuge was only won after millennia of hardship and war; any threat against their haven is met with whatever force is necessary to eliminate it. The githzerai say little of their fortresses on Limbo, lest they say too much, and say even less of other activities. Finally, if githzerai have a sport, it's illithid hunting. Organized into parties called rrakkma, their youths cross the planes, hunting mind flayer prey.
To the githzerai, there are only three truths: that the githyanki and illithids will never be anything but mortal enemies; that they will allow nothing to hinder the survival of their race; and that no one will ever enslave them again.
Most githzerai receive martial training early in their lives to prepare for the war of annihilation in which their race is enmeshed. Fighters, rangers, and pugilists are popular choices; rogues and scouts are prized for their ability to reconnoiter, and mages, specialists, and sorcerers often cultivate their abilities toward manipulating destructive energies.
Barbarians, bards, swashbucklers, and other types whose abilities revolve around displays of emotion or style are never found among the githzerai. Likewise, they largely consider religion to be a form of willing slavery, and so none will follow a god or pantheon; the closest the githzerai come to religion is a cult among their ranks who worship Zerthimon, the liberator of the githzerai people (Zerths, as the adherents are called, are not priests of any sort, but fighter-mages).
Strength: 7 to 16
Dexterity: 11 to 20
Constitution: 9 to 18
Intelligence: 11 to 20
Wisdom: 7 to 16
Charisma: 9 to 18
Size: Medium
Alignment: Any non-lawful
Base Speed: 30
Darkvision, 60'
Spell Resistance: 5 + character level
+2 Racial bonus to Control
Favored Class: Fighter
Male height range: 5'4" - 6'10"
Female height range: 5'0" - 6'6"
Male weight range: 120 - 180 lbs
Female weight range: 90 - 150 lbs
Starting age range: 32 - 78
Lifespan: 250 years