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.

 

[Chaosmancer]

No. There's no logical, rational or game-balance justification that's ever been stated for that. Not by you, not by WotC, not by anyone I've seen.

You can't pull out the "TO YOU" line in that particular way unless you've got some kind of actual different/alternative view that you can explicate.

You don't appear to have one. In fact, I strongly suspect you agree!

Why? Their stated reasons re: Gith are already within touching distance of "we did it for the lulz". Hell, when you factor in that PC Gith are apparently humanoid, only NPC Gith are aberrant, then we are 100% in "lulz" territory, that's just silly business.

You're choosing to respond here. You have a choice to not do that, or to respond less or only to points you feel are relevant, so don't blame me for your posting. That's getting into pathological territory - I've been there myself! It's not healthy to blame others for your own posting choices.

They did give reasons. I think their reasons are quite good. Insisting that they did not give reasons and did it for no reason is a lie. I mean, you literally say they didn't give any logical or rational reason, then later say they gave reasons. You just don't find them rational. That's on you, not on them for not providing the reasoning.

Ogres are absolutely humanoids, they're even in the Complete Book of Humanoids in 2E, what on earth are you talking about?! And the idea that angels and demons are "corporeal beings" is pretty funny stuff. Corporeal has a meaning, I suggest you look it up.

Ogres have been Giants for the entirety 5e. Not Humanoid. The fact you seem to have never noticed speaks to how little this matters

And yes, Corporeal DOES have a meaning. It means having a body or consisting of material. That is 100% true of Angels and most demons. How do I know? Because there is an Incorporeal Demon, and the way the game describes these beings. The ability to reform a body on different planes of existence has nothing whatsoever to do with corporeality.

 

[Chaosmancer]

True, I haven't watched the video, but how do you expect it to sway my opinion regarding what appears to be an inconsistency in Monster Type? Since the two of us are both into 5e/5.5e, if you don't like a particular rule, you can either ignore it, take it as is, or come up with something better. I am looking for something better.

Are you asking how evidence might change your opinion on something? Because I would hope that's rather obvious.

Also, you don't have to like it, but if your complaints about it are based on lies and misinformation.... then you don't have valid complaints.

 

[Chaosmancer]

it's about how D&D has used the term "humanoid" historically, which is to say, it means corporeal beings - i.e. specifically ones that are flesh and blood, not beings of spirit - celestials and demons are beings of spirit.

So can you point me to where the flesh and blood dragons were categorized as Humanoid? Since humanoid means corporeal being? Plants and beasts too, right?

I hate being like Diogenes here, but when you present a bad definition, I feel it needs to be called out.

 

[Chaosmancer]

But the gith on Faerun were modified by Illithids just like the Gith on the Astral or Limbo. It is not their growing up in the Astral or Limbo that makes them aberrations but the Far Realms illithid modification connection, correct?

It is not like if a human had a background of growing up in Sigil they would no longer be humanoid, is it?

Two things can be true. What if the changes to the Gith done by the Mind flayers left them more open to the forces of the Far Realms and Limbo altering them? Then being away from those influences would leave them without those influences.

I think we are really running face first into the DMG advice. "The Game rules are not Physics" Neither are they biology. No one went and tested the effects of these things on IRL people to get the precise, scientific, peer-reviewed answers to these things. They left it open to interpretation, so that people can more easily shift it in the manner they want.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I think it makes a degree of sense. Errata assumes that the information is WRONG. Humanoind Gith are not a misprint. They are not wrong. They are just something made before they altered the gith.

If that's what errata means, there must have been an awful lot wrong in 4e! They basically had a whole separate book of errata.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Two things can be true. What if the changes to the Gith done by the Mind flayers left them more open to the forces of the Far Realms and Limbo altering them? Then being away from those influences would leave them without those influences.

I think we are really running face first into the DMG advice. "The Game rules are not Physics" Neither are they biology. No one went and tested the effects of these things on IRL people to get the precise, scientific, peer-reviewed answers to these things. They left it open to interpretation, so that people can more easily shift it in the manner they want.

I thought the advice you're referring to was to rein in problem players. I was specifically told it wasn't general advice I should take as any kind of design philosophy statement.

 

[Voadam]

Two things can be true. What if the changes to the Gith done by the Mind flayers left them more open to the forces of the Far Realms and Limbo altering them? Then being away from those influences would leave them without those influences.

The Chaos forces of Limbo could conceivably work as an explanation for the Githzerai but the Githyanki have no connection to Limbo. They are born and raised on the Prime then live agelessly on the Astral until they hit X level (depends on edition) and Vlaakith eats them. The astral turning things aberration from its influence seems incongruous.

It could just be the Illithid Far Realms manipulation so you get both Gith as aberrations but then that leaves you with the PC/prime non-aberration issue to account for narratively.

I think we are really running face first into the DMG advice. "The Game rules are not Physics" Neither are they biology. No one went and tested the effects of these things on IRL people to get the precise, scientific, peer-reviewed answers to these things. They left it open to interpretation, so that people can more easily shift it in the manner they want.

This is taking their narrative explanation and trying to make sense of it. It does not gel for me.

I could come up with a convoluted explanation to work out everything though. Say that they all start humanoid but have an ancient adult ceremony ritual dating back to before the split that turns them into aberrations and immune to charm and hold and dominate person Illithid powers and this was key to them turning from Illithid slaves to Illithid hunters. This would leave the humanoid Githyanki on the Prime as young adults who have not had the ceremony yet. It seems fairly contrived though and requires a new thing to be added to the lore (a cultural changing ritual) and determining the age of NPC Gith the party meets to appropriately handle the different powers.

 

[Azzy]

I could come up with a convoluted explanation to work out everything though. Say that they all start humanoid but have an ancient adult ceremony ritual dating back to before the split that turns them into aberrations and immune to charm and hold and dominate person Illithid powers and this was key to them turning from Illithid slaves to Illithid hunters. This would leave the humanoid Githyanki on the Prime as young adults who have not had the ceremony yet. It seems fairly contrived though and requires a new thing to be added to the lore (a cultural changing ritual) and determining the age of NPC Gith the party meets to appropriately handle the different powers.

Sure, you could do that. Or you can just say that both PC and NPC gith are all humanoids (or all aberrations, if you prefer). Nobody has to be beholden to the tags that WotC puts on species.

 

[Voadam]

Sure, you could do that. Or you can just say that both PC and NPC gith are all humanoids (or all aberrations, if you prefer). Nobody has to be beholden to the tags that WotC puts on species.

Sure but I am evaluating the lore and mechanics WotC are providing and evaluating how cool or useful they seem and the implications or rough spots that it generates.

 

[Corinnguard]

Also, you don't have to like it, but if your complaints about it are based on lies and misinformation.... then you don't have valid complaints.

True, I don't have to like it. But like @Azzy said, nobody has to be beholden to the tags that WoTC puts on species. If I want the PC Gith and NPC Gith to be humanoid, then as far as I am concerned, they are humanoid. If you want them to be Aberrations, you are free to see them as such.

I am stating a series of opinions regarding the topic of this thread. You are likewise stating your own opinions. We are agreeing to disagree.