Summary
- The githyanki and githzerai have a complex history in Dungeons and Dragons lore, with ideological differences and a common enemy in illithids.
- Fans of Baldur's Gate 3 may notice the absence of the githzerai until the epilogue, where a potential alliance with githyanki is hinted at.
- Including githzerai as a subrace in the game could have added depth to the narrative and interactions with other gith characters, but is not currently an option.
Baldur's Gate 3 comes with many races drawn from Dungeons and Dragons, with most of them playable. One of the major groups that plays a decisive role in Baldur's Gate 3 that players new to Dungeons and Dragons may not be familiar with are the githyanki. The githyanki have a long and detailed history within the context of Dungeons and Dragons. With Baldur's Gate 3's narrative, which involves mindflayers, including the githyanki is a natural choice because the two groups often go hand-in-hand. But one group intrinsically linked to both the mindflayers and the githyanki is conspicuously absent from Baldur's Gate 3 until the epilogue: the githzerai.
Baldur's Gate 3 Inadvertently Proves One Old Truth of Dungeons and Dragons
Fans of both Dungeons and Dragons and Baldur's Gate 3 found some similarities between the two games, particularly this one gamechanger.
The History of the Gith in Baldur's Gate 3
The Lore in the Forgotten Realms
In Dungeons and Dragons lore, the githyanki and githzerai are biologically the same race, but experienced a schism when determining the future of their people. Gith, the one who had led the gith to victory against the mindflayers, insisted on continuing the battle against the illithids across the Astral Plane. One of her followers, Zerthimon, determined that this was not the correct path to follow, and instigated a split between the gith loyal to Gith and those loyal to Zerthimon. The followers of Gith would become known as the githyanki, while those loyal to Zerthimon would become known as the githzerai.
The Githzerai Differences
While the githyanki are incredibly militaristic and base their society on a military caste system, the githzerai are more akin to monks with a less warlike society. The two groups do not get along thanks to their history and ideological differences, but they both share a common interest in battling illithids wherever they are found. The githyanki tend to stick to the Astral Plane, while the githzerai remain in Limbo, a chaotic plane that they control with their psionic abilities.
The Gith in Baldur's Gate 3
The Githzerai in Baldur's Gate 3
Despite their different outlook, the githzerai are no less uncommon than the githyanki are in the Forgotten Realms, and still battle illithids. Including them in Baldur's Gate 3 as either as subrace for gith players or having NPC githzerai could have provided the githyanki and Lae'zel with another ideological opponent. The githzerai do exist in Baldur's Gate 3 and are mentioned at least twice during the campaign. The first time is in the mind flayer colony in Act 2, where a githzerai Waking Mind can be found and inserted into the machine that allows the player to interact with the brains. The githzerai gives a possible Advantage to Intelligence Saving Throws.
The Future of the Gith
Githzerai are mentioned again in the Epilogue if Lae'zel joins the war against Vlaakith. She journeys to Limbo to speak to Zaerith Menyar-Ag-Gith, the leader of the githzerai, to broker a possible alliance between the githyanki and the githzerai. This would be the first time the two peoples would be brought together since they won their freedom from the illithids, and is potentially a very important moment for lore.
Githzerai Potential
Despite this, the githzerai play very little role in Baldur's Gate 3. Having the option to be a githzerai as a subrace for the player character could have brought in an interesting dynamic with Lae'zel and the other githyanki that are encountered, as well as providing a different perspective on Vlaakith, the history of the gith, and illithids. It also could have been the first step to reconciling the two groups, something that the Epilogue hints at happening but can't follow through, as Baldur's Gate 3 doesn't have any planned expansions or sequels at this point.
Baldur's Gate 3
- Released
- August 3, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
Abducted, infected, lost. You are turning into a monster, but as the corruption inside you grows, so does your power. Forge a tale of fellowship and betrayal, sacrifice and survival, and the lure of absolute power. Caught in a conflict between devils, deities, and sinister otherworldly forces, you and your party will determine the fate of the Forgotten Realms.
THE ULTIMATE D&D EXPERIENCE
Choose from a wide selection of D&D races and classes, or play as an origin character with a hand-crafted background. Adventure, loot, battle, and romance as you journey through the Forgotten Realms and beyond. Play alone or as a party of up to four in multiplayer – and select your companions carefully.
A CINEMATIC STORYTELLING EPIC
Forged with the new Divinity 4.0 engine, Baldur’s Gate 3 gives you unprecedented freedom to explore, experiment, and interact with a world that reacts to your choices. A grand, cinematic narrative brings you closer to your characters than ever before, as you venture through our biggest world yet. Romance, deceive, aid, obstruct, and grow alongside your friends thanks to Larian's next-generation RPG engine.
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Larian Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Larian Studios
- Franchise
- Baldur's Gate
- Number of Players
- 1-4
- Split Screen Orientation
- Vertical Only
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, macOS
- Genre(s)
- RPG
- How Long To Beat
- 100+ Hours
- Metascore
- 96
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- Local Co-Op Support
- 1-2 Players
