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Gith in Sigil

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Sun, 2006-08-20 00:12
#1
Maes
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Gith in Sigil

I wish to know how DMs handle the Githyanki and Githzerai in Sigil. When dealing with the Githyanki, it seems that this race that has taken conquest to the extreme, would be ill-suited to interact with other races peacefully in Sigil. So I wish to know how each DM use Gith in their game. How subtle and not-so-subtle have you made their actions and what plans do they have? Yes, it's impossible to conquer Sigil (which would in turn lead to a staging area for planr conquest on a dimensional scale), but try telling that to the Githyanki.

I have an Illumian PC who's world was raided and summarily destroyed by the Githyanki. I intend to use the Githyanki as a major threat. Does this require buying the Psionic books in order to properly use this race as a threat.

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Sun, 2006-08-20 03:38
#2
Calmar
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Gith in Sigil

Even with their -2 Wis penalty I don't think, githyanki would be so stupid to start real big trouble in Sigil. Somewhere I saw the City of Doors being described as a place where even demons and angels may have a drink together - and if they are capable of putting their hostilities away for a while, gith should be as well. Smiling

I think psionics may fit better to 'psionic' races, but a 10th level wizard is certainly as good as a 10th level psion.

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Sun, 2006-08-20 06:45
(Reply to #2) #3
Azure
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As far as Githyanki in Sigil go, I remember some mention (fan-content?) of a Githyanki Ghetto in Sigil. It is a small neighborhood populated by outcast Githyanki, and spies for the Lich-Queen. I always figured that the Yankis respected the peace of sigil for the most part, but the streets of Sigil can be dangerous and duels are comman.

Read the Githyanki Embassy posted on this site and tell me what you think.

Sun, 2006-08-20 06:47
(Reply to #3) #4
Azure
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BTW I kinda....HATE the 3rd ed Psi rules. They made Psionics too much like just another type of magic.

Sun, 2006-08-20 08:33
(Reply to #4) #5
Jack of tears
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>>BTW I kinda....HATE the 3rd ed Psi rules. They made Psionics too much like just another type of magic.<<

I have to agree. While the second edition psionic rules were by no means perfect, at least they were a seperate system from magic.

For that matter, I hate the way spells are organized and all the overlapping spell lists in 3rd edition.

Oh, I have to admit it ... for the most part, I hate third edition - which is why I use a system loosely based on 2E still.

As for Gith, I've made little use of either in Sigil. As the most famous denizens of their respective planes I've tended to keep them fairly limited to those regions. Sure one occasionally comes across a member of either race in Sigil, but those are typically loners, outcasts, scouts, spies, etc. and not encountered in number.

No sane race makes too much trouble in Sigil, however, lest they attract the lady's attention. (Though a current storyline of mine has Drow involved in a vastly complex manipulation encompasing many sects of the city, spiraling toward a climactic event which will come a hair's breadth from tearing the city of doors apart. But, they're being very subtle and while I don't intend for it to succeed, I'm using the plot as a means to remind players just why Drow were once a feared people, rather than the joke they've become in recent years. [I don't think my players have much more than seen a dark elf in passing in almost a decade])

Sun, 2006-08-20 11:44
(Reply to #5) #6
Azure
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Gith in Sigil

In my game, my friend plays a Psionic (2nd ed all the way!) And the recurring villans are Mind Flayers and related nasties. One of the NPCs is a Githyanki who, after his warband was slaughtered in an ambush in Sigil, became a Merc. (Hiring a Githyanki Bodyguard is a really good way to say "Don't touch me, Berk.")

Thus, I see the Gith races, and Illithid, in Sigil as such:

Githzerai -
Make up perhaps 2-5% of the population. 80% of them mind their own business and go about life. The rest are travelers from here to there, on Rrakkma, working the crosstrade, etc. They hold to Sigil's neutrality for the most part, but exceptions are the rule with the "Greyboys." There are Zerai neighborhoods scattered throughout Sigil, concentrated for the most part in the chaotic sprawl of the Hive.

Githyanki -
Githyanki warbands are sometimes seen in Sigil on missions from their leaders, and woe the berk that doesn't scamper out of the way when twenty or thirty heavily armed and armored Githyanki warriors come down the street. There are two places where Githyanki live within sigil itself. One is the Githyanki Ghetto of Git'riban in the Guidlhall Ward. On the opposite side of the ring is the Githyanki Embassy, a castle in the Lower ward that guards a stable gate to the Astral. Git'raban is populated by Githyanki outcasts, Spies and Agents of the Lich Queen (who keep an eye on those outcasts, upon Sigil, and upon the Githzerai and the Illithid), and a few other Gith-race residents (Gith Pirates, a few Zerai outcasts).

Illithid -
Sigil is one of the few places where Illithid are looked upon no differently than any other race (then again, so are fiends, undead, beholders, etc). Sigil is sort of a "Safe Zone" for them, and representatives from major Enclaves reside in the Cage. Of course, they still have many enemies in the city, hence they opperate a series of secret locales collectively known as "Illithid House" to cater to their needs. Occasionally a Rrakkma band may come to Sigil, but the residents of the Cage still consider it murder to slay an Illithid. Indeed, there are Illithid who are prominant members of Sigilan high society.

A recurrent antagonist in my game is an Illithid known as the mask (read Penumbra, Falling in Chronicles)

Sun, 2006-08-20 21:24
(Reply to #6) #7
nick012000
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Gith in Sigil

3e Psionics might not be all that great, but they were apparently better than 2e psionics by a long shot, and 3.5 psionics are just as much an improvement. Now psionics are actually balanced in the system- no more random save-or-dies at first level like 2e.

Mon, 2006-08-21 07:23
(Reply to #7) #8
Azure
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We'll just have to agree to disagree, Nick. Smiling

Wed, 2006-08-23 00:06
(Reply to #8) #9
nick012000
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You'll be disagreeing with the majority opinion, then- the XPH is widely regarded as far superior to the PH, which was far superior to 2e, because they fit into the system better, and are much more balanced.

Sun, 2006-09-03 17:25
(Reply to #9) #10
Maes
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'Azure' wrote:
As far as Githyanki in Sigil go, I remember some mention (fan-content?) of a Githyanki Ghetto in Sigil. It is a small neighborhood populated by outcast Githyanki, and spies for the Lich-Queen. I always figured that the Yankis respected the peace of sigil for the most part, but the streets of Sigil can be dangerous and duels are comman.

Read the Githyanki Embassy posted on this site and tell me what you think.

My personal take on the Githyanki as a race, is an organized fascist army of raiders. Among the things I am unclear on is what their goals are since they are tied to their Lich Queen. Yet they also raid the material plane with Red Dragon mounts in some pact. This seems odd to me, since this implies they attack the material plane like vikings and bring their loot to the astral. If they don't require food or drink on the astral what is the purpose of these raids? What resources are important to the Githyanki? I understand they hunt the mind flayers with an unbridled passion but like fiends and devas, do these races "play nice" in Sigil? Finally, I would like to know how any GMs have used this race in their games? As a minor race of villains? As simple high-level threats? As a major enemy in their games and how?

I do like your idea of a Githyanki embassy, but find it odd the Gith in the main texts have simply a "ghetto". Since there seems to be little written on the Githyanki ghetto, this does seem odd considering this is a race that has a distinct "baroque" look in various descriptions would settle for a ghetto in Sigil. This might be interpreted as the Lich Queen simply not giving much care to a presence in Sigil. She might keep some low level ambassadors or githyanki she cares little for to deal with trade and her troops may stop by on occassion as a port, but perhaps since she feels she cannot control Sigil, and why bother since by reputation the Guthyanki have a reputation of controlling the Astral, she simply ignores Sigil by design.

Sun, 2006-09-03 17:56
(Reply to #10) #11
ripvanwormer
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Githyanki mostly go to the Material Plane to make trouble for the illithids. Anything they do to other humanoids is usually in service to that - for example, they may raid treasure from a human fortress in order to buy weapons/mercenaries against the illithids (for example, paying a group of drow to be on their side against the mind flayers, or buying exotic artifacts from the yugoloths).

Most of the time, when they go to the Material Plane it's to strike at the illithids directly.

Githyanki, githzerai, and illithids don't war openly in Sigil (the Lady of Pain puts a stop to open war in her city, eventually) but I'm sure there are many murders that are caused by racial hatred. Even murder-suicides, actually: imagine an illithid dropping dead because a githzerai poisoned his own brain shortly before allowing himself to be captured by a mind flayer, or a githyanki blowing up a crowd of githzerai with a psionic suicide bomb.

Sun, 2006-09-03 18:12
(Reply to #11) #12
Maes
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'ripvanwormer' wrote:
Githyanki, githzerai, and illithids don't war openly in Sigil (the Lady of Pain puts a stop to open war in her city, eventually) but I'm sure there are many murders that are caused by racial hatred. Even murder-suicides, actually: imagine an illithid dropping dead because a githzerai poisoned his own brain shortly before allowing himself to be captured by a mind flayer, or a githyanki blowing up a crowd of githzerai with a psionic suicide bomb.

Interesting idea, rip. Even better, think "The Manchurian Candidate" on a much wider scale. With the illithid activating a sleeper Githyanki assassin killing public figures and civilians, imagine the ensuing chaos and backlash against the Githyanki.

Mon, 2006-09-04 04:26
(Reply to #12) #13
Almighty Watashi
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Gith in Sigil

'Maes' wrote:
I have an Illumian PC who's world was raided and summarily destroyed by the Githyanki. I intend to use the Githyanki as a major threat. Does this require buying the Psionic books in order to properly use this race as a threat.

I had an illumian in my game. He was wise and didn't attack Githyanki on sight, especially in Sigil Smiling

As for githyanki and magic, they have their spellcasters and are friendly to red dragons. In other words, they're pretty much compatible with fully arcane campaigns. For further reading I reccomend my all-time favorite (not that I've seen many) polyhedron, the #159:

Knights of the lich queen

Tue, 2006-09-05 11:38
(Reply to #13) #14
Xaos_Bob
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Gith in Sigil

As to the relations between gith and flayers in the Cage in my games--

I generally see githyanki like a neighborhood watch--if the watch is made of militant survivalists. They are always ready to over-respond to 'zerai or illithid aggression, but won't necessarily go out of their way to start anything.

The githzerai are more like big-city gangs in structure, somewhat random in their movements and goals, but more united than the real world. They're rash, but try not to call down too much 'yanki or illithid wrath upon their heads.

The illithids, with their network of cranium rats and other thralls, serve nicely as an organized crime syndicate (more yakuza than mafioso), surgical in aggression and response, seeking to subjugate or drive off the gith from Sigil, though that's actually a minor goal.

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