The githzerai were born as a race at the end of the gith's bloody, genocidal uprising against the mind flayers. A gith named Zerthimon, who had gained a significant following during the conflict, challenged Gith's plans and her leadership. Gith was evil, the newcomer proclaimed, and she would lead the people into darkness and tyranny not unlike the one imposed by the illithids.
Thus, no sooner had the gith defeated their sworn enemies than they were plunged into a bitter civil war. In the ensuing conflict, Zerthimon was killed and his followers, naming themselves githzerai, relocated their civilization to the plane of Limbo.
Today, under the leadership of the Great Githzerai, Zaerith Menyar-Ag-Gith, the githzerai continue to stand fast against the githyanki, as well as taking their revenge on the mind flayers. Through forays into the Material Plane and other realms, they provide stiff opposition to their enemies' plans for world domination.
Order in a Sea of Chaos
Strong-minded philosophers and austere ascetics, the githzerai pursue lives of rigid order. Their society focuses on enhancing the potential of the mind through meditation, education, and physical tests. The most accomplished among them stand as exemplars of the githzerai's monastic principles, but even those who perform mundane duties in a community have a significant measure of the same mental fortitude.
Living in the ever-turbulent churn of Limbo requires all githzerai to harness the power of thought to counteract and hold at bay the chaos-stuff of the plane. If they were not relentless in this effort, the tides of Limbo would overwhelm and destroy them.
The githzerai have a unity of purpose that comes from their reverence for their great heroes and their desire to emulate the virtues of those figures in their everyday lives.
Githzerai in the World
It's natural for githzerai to prefer to remain in Limbo. They have carved out a well-ordered civilization in an environment that they can freely manipulate with their minds. When they visit other realms, particularly the Material Plane, githzerai feel sluggish and aren't comfortable functioning in a landscape that they see as being locked in immutability. Despite their disinclination toward travel, the githzerai send groups away from Limbo on a regular basis to keep from giving ground in their battles against the githyanki and the mind flayers.
Spreading the Word
The githzerai see their cause as not just a provincial concern, but one that they strive to impress upon others. As such, they have taken the initiative in preaching the philosophy of Zerthimon and sharing their knowledge of how to fight illithids and githyanki. To this end, zerths sometimes venture to other planes with the intent of founding a new monastery or joining an existing one.
These ''missionaries" are always looking for those with psionic potential who can bring those powers to bear against the githzerai's foes. Most often, they operate in secret or behind the scenes as they pursue their agenda and try to swell the ranks of their allies. Who can say how many monasteries are in truth secret recruiting stations for the githzerai?
Going on the Attack
The githzerai know full well that they can't make progress in the war against their enemies by staying inside their fortresses on Limbo. To check the advances of the illithids and the githyanki and keep their foes' numbers down, squads of githzerai often travel to other planes with the express intent of destroying the objects of their hatred.
Githzerai rarely confront githyanki on their home turf in the Astral Plane, but on other planes they maintain steady surveillance, always on the lookout for githyanki plots to foil and creches to exterminate. During a mission of this sort, the githzerai don't intentionally endanger the natural denizens of the plane, but they never compromise a planned attack on the githyanki just to protect innocent bystanders. In battling githyanki, the end justifies the means.
Githzerai sometimes employ mercenaries on the Material Plane to aid them in battling the githyanki, primarily to keep their enemies off-balance or to provide reinforcements. For those who need such enticement, they offer the promise of sharing the bounty of great treasures held by the githyanki.
Though they devote most of their military efforts to the constant campaign against the githyanki, the githzerai's enmity for the illithids is even older. On one thing the githyanki and the githzerai can agree: the mind flayers must pay for what they did to the gith eons ago.
As their means of vengeance against the mind flayers, the githzerai send bands of warriors called rrakkmasillithid hunting parties- to other planes to do battle with any mind flayers they come across. It is in these circumstances that the natives of the plane most often encounter githzerai away from their monastery. With their attention focused only on their mission, the githzerai pay little heed to those around as long as they don't interfere with the hunt.
Githzerai Traits
Githzerai have the following traits in common, in addition to the traits they share with other elves.
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 2.
Alignment. Githzerai tend toward lawful neutral. Their rigorous training in psychic abilities requires an implacable mental discipline.
Mental Discipline. You have advantage on saving throws against the charmed and frightened conditions. Under the tutelage of monastic masters, githzerai learn to govern their own minds.
Githzerai Psionics. You know the mage hand cantrip, and the hand is invisible when you cast the cantrip with
this trait.
When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the shield spell once with this trait, and you regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the detect thoughts spell once with this trait, and you regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest.
Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for these spells. When you cast them with this trait, they don't require components.
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