Set inDungeons & Dragons’Faerûn,Baldur’s Gate 3includes lots of content based off of the original tabletop game. With its massive popularity reaching far beyond those unfamiliar with pen and paper roleplaying games, it was many people’s first experience with theD&Dworld and gaming system, just in a video game format. It may just be the closest thing to emulating a proper, planned-out campaign.
Baldur’s Gate 3has been praised for its customization options, and how well Larian translatedD&Dclasses and races into the game. Among the playable races is the Githyanki, a lesser utilized choice in otherDungeons & Dragons-based media despite their connections to mind flayers and allyship with red dragons, both creatures being some of the most iconic to the franchise. However,in the release ofBaldur’s Gate 3, the Githyanki were given a chance to finally shine.
Many Casual Dungeons & Dragons Players Didn’t Know Much Of The Gith Before BG3
Baldur’s Gate 3 Bolsters The Githyanki Into Public View By Exposing Players To Lore They May Not Have Known Otherwise
The githyanki are a rarer race inDungeons & Dragonsparties- being extraplanar, they don’t tend to fit into a lot of Faerûn settings. They’re also not included in the old or currentPlayer’s Handbook, though they actually have been around for quite a long time, with their first official appearance being in 1981, in a revised version of 1eDnDcalled “Fiend Folio.”
In 5e, they are a playable race inMordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse. With such a complicated background and rarely being exposed to new players, it was unfortunately inevitable that the gith were sidelined.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Hidden Reference Is Something Most Players Will Never Discover
A Baldur’s Gate 3 player has discovered an obscure reference that seems to tie back to an important piece of video game history, but goes much deeper.
Baldur’s Gate 3has 11 playable races, with one being the Githyanki and the rest being the original lineup from thePlayer’s Handbook.ConsideringBaldur’s Gate 3’s storyline of the player trying to rid themselves of amind flayer parasite,it makes perfect sense that they would include a playable race with a history with illithids.Mind flayers are absolute staples ofDungeons & Dragonsstories, andBaldur’s Gate 3serves as a great example of weaving the already iconic monsters into a story.
Though still not nearly as popular as other races,it’s undeniable thatBaldur’s Gate 3has greatly improved the popularity of the Githyanki.Peaking around its official release date in August 2023, the search terms for “Gith” and “Githyanki” (viaGoogle Trends) are now about 4 times more popular compared to before the game came out.
Also, while the githyanki were the least chosen race initially, accroding toBaldur’s Gate 3’s official site, it soon rose in popularity over the year (viaBG3on X), overtaking all the shorter races.Githyanki can actually be quite overpoweredand have a lot of unique dialogue, which may have encouraged players to consider giving them a chance.
Baldur’s Gate 3’s Story Puts The Githyanki At The Center
BG3’s Story Wouldn’t Be Complete Without The Githyanki
Baldur’s Gate 3rewards the player for playing as a githyanki in many ways.The githyanki race shines in Act 1 of the game, with some of the most unique potential for dialogue. There are several items, especially thosefound in the Githyanki Creche, which provide additional buffs if equipped by a githyanki. The first companion players meet, Lae’zel, also has a much different reaction when meeting a githyanki Tav, so if players want an easier time bonding with Lae’zel, or want unique gith-specific dialogue, then choosing it as their race is a tempting choice.
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Monks have no shortage of gear to choose from throughout Baldur’s Gate 3, so it can be difficult to choose the right pieces for your character.
Likewise, players see more githyanki where they’re most at home, the Astral Plane, in Act 3. Though the lore, history andpolitics of different racesinBaldur’s Gate 3may be hard to keep up with, the player will always have to face off against githyanki warriors due to their perceived allyship with the Emperor, becausethe githyanki and mind flayers have been at war for eons since the gith broke out of illithid slavery.Later on, whether players choose tofree the githyanki prince Orpheusor betray him, is also a main focus of the late game story.
In short,there is no way players can fully leave the githyanki out of their story.Lae’zel is one of two companions who have multiple points where they can be recruited, and even if players entirely miss Lae’zel in Act 1 and the Githyanki Creche, their story will always lead back to the Astral Prism. It’s impossible for anyone to playBaldur’s Gate 3without having received some exposition on the gith, andtheir queen, Vlaakith.
Despite Its Focus On Githyanki, Baldur’s Gate 3 Is Missing The Other Half Of Gith Society - The Githzerai
Baldur’s Gate 3’s Spotlight on Githyanki Overshadows A Huge Part Of Gith Lore
Though inBaldur’s Gate 3, “gith” and “githyanki” are used interchangeably,the term “gith” actually refers to two sub-sets of gith - the githyanki and the githzerai,with the latter not being present in-game. The two are sometimes referred to as subraces, but this should be said tentatively, as they’re really just two different cultures of the same species. Whilst the githyanki want vengeance against the mind flayers for what they did to their people, the githzerai want to move on and focus on developing their culture outside their past.
There is technically a third, much rarer, subrace of gith, the “githvyrik,” which are featured in a novel published by Wizards of the Coast called"Dawn of Night.“This refers to gith who don’t fit into the githyanki or githzerai subcategories. However, only a handful of individual githvyrik are known to exist, making this an extremely unlikely race to run into during campaigns.
The gith are known for their cruel nature,topping even that of the drow,one of the most notoriously “evil” aligned societies inDungeons & Dragons. However,whilst the githyanki lean towards being lawful evil, the githzerai lean towards being lawful neutral.Though they tend to be less inclined towards violence, the githzerai are hardly docile beings - a lot of them are monks, and despite having moved away from actively waging war on mind flayers, still don’t take too kindly to them, and can be as formidable as their githyanki cousins - they just prefer psychic attack over physical weaponry.
Why You Should Play Baldur’s Gate 3’s Most Evil Lineage In Your Next Playthrough
Native to the Underdark, the drow are one of the most interesting and fun-to-play races in Baldur’s Gate 3, though they have a violent reputation.
After splitting into two groups,the githyanki and githzerai became sworn enemies,raising their young to hate each other - the githyanki see the githzerai as traitors, while the githzerai criticise the githyanki for their needless violence. With that in mind, it’s likely that it would complicate the plot ofBaldur’s Gate 3to include the gith feud on top of everything else.
Since the githyanki take a more active role in their condemnation of illithids, it’s obvious why they were chosen over the githzerai inBG3.However, a githzerai Tav masquerading as a githyanki would’ve been very fun to play.
“All who call themselves gith shall unite under one sky.Ghith’ka tavkim krash’ht.” - Orpheus, “The First Protocol”
There are a few references to the githzerai inBG3despite their absence. In Act 2’s Mind Flayer Colony, a githzerai’s “waking mind” can be found in the Necrotic Laboratory and be spoken to, and has different dialogue when addressing a githyanki. In the ending where Lae’zel joins Orpheus in a rebellion against Vlaakith, it will be implied that the newly released prince plans to mend the relationship between the gith.Baldur’s Gate 3’s promotion of the githyanki has opened up many new ideas for tabletop gamers, and perhaps the githzerai also have a chance to one day take the spotlight.
Dungeons and Dragons
Dungeons and Dragons is a popular tabletop game originally invented in 1974 by Ernest Gary Gygax and David Arneson. The fantasy role-playing game brings together players for a campaign with various components, including abilities, races, character classes, monsters, and treasures. The game has drastically expanded since the ’70s, with numerous updated box sets and expansions.
