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.

 

[Mind of tempest]

Wouldn’t that still fall under their current definition of Aberrations as things either originating from the Far Realm or changed by it though? Since in theory any entities that gained psionic abilities as part of this “cosmic immune response” would not have gained said abilities if not for the incursion of the Far Realm.

that assumes only the far real could trigger it, could be like a fever a general response to illness

 

[Dragonhelm]

I'm not a fan, but mostly because I don't want everything with psionics to be Aberration-based. I mean, yes, weird crap from beyond reality can mess with people's heads and do telekinetics and see things far away and such.

You know who else can do those things? Jedi. And Jedi aren't aberration-based. The default for psionics should not be "slime and tentacles".

AGREED!

I can see it as one possible origin (GOO warlock), but the aberrant mind should be more generic, IMO. I still like psionics to have a connection with crystals. Or someone mentioned Jedi.

 

[Dragonhelm]

Isn’t it a D&D lore thing that Psionic power originates from the Far Realm though? I’m far from a D&D lore expert, but I thought that was the case in the assumed setting. I’m pretty sure that was the case in 4e at least.

Beginning in 4e, it was said that psionics was the material plane's response to the incursion of the Far Realm. Kind of like an antibody.

 

[Charlaquin]

Read thread.
Great and valid points from everyone, good conversation.

Not to concerned about Hold Person. (mainly because goblins aren't fey, and gith will stay humanoids)
That leaves the lore, I like the "gith hate aberrations, especially mind flayers" theme in my camapign's prehistory, so I dislike the change. But this is a me problem, a molehill, not a mountain to die on.

Obviously feel free to continue running gith as humanoids if that suits your games. But RE: the lore, I don’t see why gith being classified as aberrations would get in the way of the “gith hate aberrations” theme. They’re being classified that way because they were altered by aberrant influence, which if anything I would think gives them all the more reason to hate (other) aberrations.

"Slightly" curious about so many "humanoid > X category" changes, but will just keep an eye on it.

I think it’s probably being done to justify creatures being considered monsters. The thinking is, if humanoids are going to be afforded moral agency and all the nuance that comes with it, any creatures represented by a monster stat block as opposed to an NPC stat block need a creature type other than humanoid. This is how they’re attempting to get around the question of “if orcs are people, are devils/illithid/whatever people too?”

 

[Charlaquin]

that assumes only the far real could trigger it, could be like a fever a general response to illness

Wouldn’t any such foreign incursion be indistinguishable from the Far Realm? I mean, for all the inhabitants of the multiverse know, “the Far Realm” might not actually be one realm. I kinda view it as a catch-all term for “not of this multiverse.”

 

[Charlaquin]

Beginning in 4e, it was said that psionics was the material plane's response to the incursion of the Far Realm. Kind of like an antibody.

Yea, I’d still file that under “originating from or altered by the Far Realm.”

 

[Bae'zel]

...
That leaves the lore, I like the "gith hate aberrations, especially mind flayers" theme in my camapign's prehistory, so I dislike the change.
...

I have a similar sentiment, although I love the irony about either truths (ie, Gith being Humanoids or Aberrations) in that these societies actually being what they dismiss as inferior or deem as existentially hated.

 

[SkidAce]

... which if anything I would think gives them all the more reason to hate (other) aberrations.

I see some potential for the 'yanki to be becoming more like their creators and fighting it or "becoming what you hate", decent story... /nods

'zerai would be about purging themselves, and maybe they think the 'yanki have crossed the line and are unredeemable.

So yeah, I see the story potential, its just not whats going on in our campaign.

 

[Shardstone]

The Force obviously originates from the Far Realm.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

As someone who resembles the Gith, I find this offensive.


C'mon. It's so much easier to type "6e."


I bet the Dark Souls RPG used this excuse too.

Whatever. I don't know that.

All D&D editioms that came before did that.