The Gith Are Now Aberrations in Dungeons & Dragons

The githyanki and githzerai are officially reclassified as aberrations in Dungeons & Dragons. In a video released today about the 2025 Monster Manual, D&D designers Jeremy Crawford and F. Wesley Schneider confirmed that the two classic D&D species are now being classified as aberrations. The reasoning given - the two gith species have been so transformed by living in the Astral Plane and Limbo, they've moved beyond being humanoids. Schneider also pointed out that the illithid's role in manipulating the gith also contributed to their new classification.

The video notes that this isn't technically a new change - the Planescape book released in 2023 had several githzerai statblocks that had aberration classifications.

The gith join a growing number of previously playable species that have new classifications. The goblin, kobolds, and kenku have also had their creature classifications changed in the 2025 Monster Manual. While players can currently use the 2014 rules for making characters of those species, it will be interesting to see how these reclassifications affect the character-building rules regarding these species when they are eventually updated for 2024 rules.

 

[Parmandur]

Silly ppl, come out with 2024e, state changes are for the better, in the process unwittingly nerf one of the staple spells of D&D, lol.

There is nothing unwitting about it, they have stated in the videos that it was quite intentional.

 

[AlViking]

I am trying to remember the last time hold person was used in a game I play by a pc and honestly I'm drawing a blank. Maybe the people I've played with over the past decade both home game and as part of adventurers league were the real abberations all along.

I just don't see it impacting any game I play, do other people really see it as a go to spell? Or are we just talking about a hypothetical nerf that has been replaced by the protection spell?

 

[UngeheuerLich]

So, basically, 2024e is telling you to create a load of Hold <type> spells in your spell slots as far as the MM is concerned. The same goes for Charm and Dominate spells I suspect. Jeebus, sounds more like the old Deluxe Runequest magic.

No. Instead learn spells from the evil and good line.

 

[dave2008]

The Gith sound like they should be planetouched. In this case, they were touched by the Plane of Madness and its' denizens.

I can see that, but the Far Realm is not the plane of madness. In fact, it is not currently described as a plane at all. I don't quite remember how it was described in the video, but here is what the DMG says:

"The Far Realm is outside the known multiverse. In fact, it might be an entirely separate universe with its own physical and magical laws."

 

[Micah Sweet]

Yes, but by the current logic, being a human like creature that was experimented on to give you green skin, long ears, psychic powers, and reproduction via spitting out eggs makes you a aberration now. Psi Goblins and Derro are also considered Aberrations now. Would not be shocked to see Duergar included.

You're not wrong, but obviously some of us have issues with the current logic, especially since in many cases it contradicts the previous logic, without even the fig leaf of being a new edition.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Nah.

It's just a shoddy and silly definition of Aberration for the sake of making fewer things Humanoids, and obviously pretty ridiculous. They're not meaningfully in the same category as any actual aberrations.

6E is undoubtedly going to end up reversing this (or rather giving back dual classifications).

EDIT - Also can you imagine trying to tell Lae'zel that she was an aberration like a Mind Flayer and not a person lol? I can't think of any way to get bisected faster than that! And doing so on the basis of "well they lay eggs, they aren't people" is messed-up on a lot of levels, and a more "problematic" than mind control spells are. Indeed it's actual setting point from Spire, which is literally about racialized oppression.

This is basically what I've been trying to say all along.

 

[dave2008]

Nah.

It's just a shoddy and silly definition of Aberration for the sake of making fewer things Humanoids, and obviously pretty ridiculous. They're not meaningfully in the same category as any actual aberrations.

6E is undoubtedly going to end up reversing this (or rather giving back dual classifications).

EDIT - Also can you imagine trying to tell Lae'zel that she was an aberration like a Mind Flayer and not a person lol? I can't think of any way to get bisected faster than that! And doing so on the basis of "well they lay eggs, they aren't people" is messed-up on a lot of levels, and a more "problematic" than mind control spells are. Indeed it's actual setting point from Spire, which is literally about racialized oppression.

Unfortunately I don't know who Lae'zel is, but I will other wise agree to disagree with most of this. The caveat being I don't know that I am sold on the idea of Gith being Aberrations. I am not necessarily against it, but I have not seen quite enough to know if it is a good fit yet. To be clear, they never said they are not Humanoids because they lay eggs. Nor did they say they are not people (IIRC).

 

[Micah Sweet]

Heh heh... which begs the question why should anyone actually be all that concerned by any of it? Every single thing in D&D has been changed multiple times throughout the last 50 years... some going back and forth, others changing to something completely new each time... and will easily get changed again multiple times down the line in the future whenever a new designer comes in and wants to put their stamp on things.

So why be bothered by what TSR/WotC/Paizo/Kobold/EN Pub put down as their version of "current" lore for D&D? Their views are just their views, same way all our views are all our views. Just keep using whatever (general) you prefer for your own game and to heck with what anyone else writes down. It's not worth the concern.

The regular switching around and shifting of meanings, especially in the WotC editions (where the game itself has also changed more dramatically) definitely encourages one to ignore what they write about this stuff altogether and just use your own lore, so in principle I agree. In practice, this can be hard to do when the new lore is so front and center in community discussion, and the vast majority of conversation revolves around whatever the market leader is doing right now.

But ultimately I suppose that's a personal problem.

 

[dave2008]

a) I feel that robs them of moral agency in the worst way, just having a psychotic existential breakdown would be nicer.

I disagree, but I can understand your point of view.

b) they are not defining aberration in a meaningful way, lots of things have strange biology and give hard examples to get a feeling.

It is not about biology. It is about influence from the Far Realm. Far Realm creatures, or creatures affected by the Far Realm, often have strange biology, but is a one of many symptoms, not the cause for being an Aberration. I feel like that was so clear, but a lot of people have made the same mistake. It must not have been as clear as it seemed to me.

c) this is fundamentally about making it less questionable to kill them but they are space bandits thus of limited consequence to defend yourself from.

I don't think so. From everything they have said over the past few days it is pretty clear that:

1. monsters can be multiple types. A goblin can be Fey or Humanoid for example. IIRC, they specifically said a Gith can be Humanoid as well.
2. monsters in the MM are not meant to represent every aspect of that species, but just one particular version, see #1 above.
3. Existing non-Humanoid species with PC write-ups are still OK to play and non-Humanoid.
4. They will be introducing more non-Humanoid PC options in a future book soon.

Given points 1-4 above, it seems clear to me that non-Humanoid =/= instantly killable and Humanoid =/= not instantly killable. I could be wrong, but it seems clear to me. Maybe we will get more clarity in the Humanoids video?

 

[nevin]

I can see that, but the Far Realm is not the plane of madness. In fact, it is not currently described as a plane at all. I can't remember but something else. I don't quite remember how it was described in the video, but here is what the DMG says:

"The Far Realm is outside the known multiverse. In fact, it might be an entirely separate universe with its own physical and magical laws."

Its where Cthulu and all the creatures from before the universe plot to destroy all and take back thier glorious chaos