culture, a lthough the
githyanki have no priests
or clerics
of normal sort.
Two
aspects of their nature
set knights apart fromother
githyanki. Each knight
wields a che rished silver
greatswo
rd that imparts special
powers to its owner,
a nd the knight
s are among the few githyan
ki who can
not only trave l psionically
between plan
es, but can a lso
tak
e a llies along with them.
Knights often emerge
from
planar travel astride the
backs of red dragons, which
have been serving the githyan
ki as allies ever since
theirtime of ens laveme
nt under the mind
flayers.
SILVER
SWORDS
The first silver swords
were created eons ago,
when the
gith were still a si
ngle race, by those who
would become
the first githyanki
knights. A silver sword
, which func-
tions
as a +3 greatsword, is a conduit
through which
its
wielder
can assail a foe both physi
cally a nd psychically.
The
weapon is particu larl
y effective on the Astral Pla
ne
against any travelers
who are connected
to their phys-
ical bodies by
a silver cord- a strike agai
nst such an
enemy has a c
hance of sever ing the
silver cord , causing
instant dea
th.Knights and their silv
er swords arc inseparable,
anda knight will
fight to the death to pr
event the loss of its
weapon.
If a silver sword falls into
the possession of
someone other than
a githyanki, Vlaakith send
s a squad
of knights out from Tu
'narath to destroy the malefactor
and recover the weapon
.
DRAGON
STEEDSThe relationship
between githyanki a nd
red dragons has
remained
basically unchanged
since a ncient times. Un-
der
the terms of the allianc
e with Tia mat, a small cadre
of
dragons serve as cohorts
and mounts for knights
.
and
other high-ranking githyanki.
The dragons rema
in
above githyanki politics.
They obey the orders of
their
MAC
IC ITEM : GREATER SILVER
SWORDWeapon
(greatsword), legendary
(requires attunement by acreature that has
psionic ability)This
magic weapon grants a +3 bonus
to attack and dam-age
rolls made with it. While you
hold the sword, you haveadvantage on Intelligence, Wis
dom, and Charisma savingthrows, you are
immune to being charmed,
and you haveresistance to psychic
damage. In addition,
if you score acritical hi
t with it against a creature's astral
body, you cancut the silvery cord that
tethers the target to its materialbody
, instead of dealing damage
.riders and fulfill their
terms of service without
offeringopinions or advice.Red
dragons typically serve the git
hyanki during theiryounger
years. Once a dragon
reaches adulthood, it isdismissed a nd re pl
aced with a younger dragon
, takingwith
it the loot it has accumu
lated on raids.Since dragons
don' t age while on the
Astra l Plane,they
don't grow in s ize or
capability. In order to becomeboth stronger and richer, they
prefer to spend as mu
chtime as possible engaged
in raids o n the Materia
l Planeor other rea
lms. The best duty of all
for a dragon is be-ing tasked
to guard a githyanki crec
he on the MaterialPlane, a posting that co
uld last for years. Not on
ly doesit receive treasure as
compens ation, the dragon
agesnormally
while completing its se
rvice, so that it reachesadulthood
sooner than the dragon
cohorts that are sta-tioned in Tu'narath.The
dragons that are bound
to serve githyanki con-s ider their assign ment
an irritant but aren'
t hostile.They resent their
masters, but the promis
e of lootmake
s them eager to participate
in raids. As part of theco
mpact with Tiamat, the githya
nki are forbidden fromusing
psionics or magic to
compel their dragon allies
'actions or rea
d their minds. A dragon
remains a loyalally as long
as its riders and handlers
treat it with re-spect and it
gets plenty of opportuniti
es to pillage.TERROR
FROM THE SKYWE
PRAISED PELOR WHEN WE
REALIZED THE SHAPESabove us were not
dragons. We cursed him when
we sawthey were
the airships of the githyanki.- Lord
Kedrek Thoroden.
Marshal of the Eastern
ReachDuring the great
war between the mind
flaye rs and thegith, one of the
githyanki's greates t achievements
wastheir discovery
of the magic that mind
flayers used toproduce and
propel the flying vesse
ls that the illithidsused to travel
between worlds.Now, the githyanki
scour the worlds of the Mate
ria~Plane in
their versions of those cra
ft. Their astral s hipsare ideal for carrying
troops and the spoils o
f theirraids. Thei r wizards'
divination magic seeks
out greattreasures. Under
the guidance ofVlaakith
, the supremeleade rs
organize raiding parti
es and dispatch them toreturn
with the spoils of war.The githyank
i sky s hips attack from a_bove
in the de_adof night, gaining
an instant advantage since
commun1-CHAPTER·~ I
CITH A:-.DTHEIR ENDLESS
WAR89