Semi-human psionic race of monastic individuals native to the Astral Plane
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The githzerai are a race defined by paradox. Their society is structured around an intense devotion to personal freedom, derived from their ages of suffering. Former slaves of the now-lost illithid empire, the githzerai were freed by the warrior-queen Gith, but later joined their leader Zerthimon in opposing Gith's plan to continue their war for freedom until every one of their enemies was destroyed. That, said Zerthimon, would lead them to ruin and an evil as great as the illithids themselves. The Pronouncement of Two Skies sundered the two races forever, and the githzerai fled to Limbo following Zerthimon's death in battle against the githyanki.
Since their liberation, the githzerai have struggled to survive amid a chaos-plane almost incapable of supporting permanent humanoid life. In order to adapt to such an extreme environment, the githzerai have evolved both physically and socially. They now appear quite different from their once-humanlike forms. They are tall, thin humanoids, with hard, angular features and firm but quiet dispositions. Their skin and eyes have yellow tones, and their dress is traditionally sombre and simple.
Githzerai have adopted a different ideology from their sworn foes, the githyanki. Rather than a heartless society of conquest and destruction, the githzerai value individualism, devotion, and vigilance. Githzerai tend to be tight-lipped, untrusting, and grave, especially when wandering outside of Limbo, although a fair number of githzerai can be found all across the planes. As a culture, though, they remain suspicious, if not hostile, as a matter of survival. Outsiders are never treated as equals- how can they be? They have not suffered as the People have.
The githzerai live in fortresslike monasteries within Limbo's chaos-soup. Within these grounds, Anarchs maintain order and stability of the plane enough for the githzerai to live. Each githzerai learns that anyone can be a potential oppressor, and so learns to watch and destroy those who are not of the People. Periodically, though, githzerai will organize a warband and raid githyanki or illithids, not returning until they have met a certain number of kills. This is seen as a matter of survival, and membership in an illithid-hunting band, or rrakkma, is a prestigious honor. The githzerai are fervently devoted to their civilization not by compulsion or edict, but by personal decision. The strength of their unity lies in its freedom: they are a society of self-elected devotees.
A githzerai knows what the price of failure is for the People: eradication. The githzerai have survived for this long because each one is devoted to protecting its integrity. Zerth warriors protect the traditions and philosophies presented by Zerthimon, while githzerai Anarchs protect their fellows from the swirling maelstrom of chaos around them. In this way, each githzerai strives to be a beacon of rigorous virtue, according to the People's longstanding tenets. A githzerai is like one of their monasteries: a center of calm amid a storm of chaos.