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.

 

[AlViking]

....?

How is it not backwards compatible? I seriously have no idea what you mean, not putting on a bit.

I would like to know as well what is specifically incompatible with old modules classes or subclasses. Some things are more or less effective but the only way to avoid that would have been to make no changes whatsoever.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

The aberrant stuff is cool as a corruption of all that – they take something pure and spread their wrongness all over it. But that's not where it necessarily originates.

This. In my games, “pure psionics” comes from the Astral Plane, the realm of thought. Aberrations from the Far Realm use psionics because that’s the closest the D&D cosmos has to their native power source.

I also have religions in my worlds that view Psionics as the purest form of magic, without the limitations that restrain traditional magic (outside power sources, spell components, vulnerability to counterspell and anti magic fields, etc). It’s also the rarest type of magic and hardest to unlock.

 

[Chaosmancer]

I have more of an issue with why they made these decisions than I have with the decisions themselves. As much as I disagree, they and I can do what we want. But I can't see any of these choices as being creatively motivated, and frankly that just makes me respect them less.

Just a question, have you watched ANY of the last four or so videos where they talked about the creative decisions behind these changes? Or have you just decided that since it isn't obvious to you, clearly they never intended to do anything creative or cohesive and they just made trash for the heck of it?

Because you keep pounding on this drum of the designers "obvious" intentions... which go against what the designers themselves have stated on the subject.

 

[Chaosmancer]

I would like to know as well what is specifically incompatible with old modules classes or subclasses. Some things are more or less effective but the only way to avoid that would have been to make no changes whatsoever.

For some of them, no changes whatsoever, or changes that made it more like their favorite editions would be the only things that count. Goblins were not fey, now they are fey, CLEARLY NOT BACKWARDS COMPATIBLE WOTC YOU LIARS AND CHEATS!! ect ect ect ect ect ect

It really does boil down to "they made a change. I don't like the change. Therefore I was lied to"

 

[Shardstone]

People say the game isn't backwards compatiable.

I run a game that has both 2014 and 2024 PCs in it.

I actually run one game that has 2014, 2024, and Laserllama PCs in it.

Game works fine.

I could literally run a 1-10 game with RUins of Symbaroum, Lord of the Rings, and typical 2024 classes if I wanted to and it'd still work. Most of these games follow similar maths; the only thing I'd have to add is weapon masteries to the RoS and LotR classes. And that's not even necessary.

People are way to conservative -- the literal, not the political definition -- when it comes to what does and does not work at the table. 5E is a relatively flexible system that can withstand a lot of variation inside of it. I've tested it. Other designers have tested it. The only people I feel who keep beating on this drum don't actively work on game design, only comment on it.*

* That is not an absolute.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Just a question, have you watched ANY of the last four or so videos where they talked about the creative decisions behind these changes? Or have you just decided that since it isn't obvious to you, clearly they never intended to do anything creative or cohesive and they just made trash for the heck of it?

Because you keep pounding on this drum of the designers "obvious" intentions... which go against what the designers themselves have stated on the subject.

It wasn't for the heck of it. I know they had reasons, just not necessarily the ones in the video. And the reason I think that (beyond years of learned skepticism) is simply that the choices are inconsistent. Why are orcs and drow more important to keep as humanoids than goblins or bugbears? Why are kobolds dragons but dragonborn aren't? What creative explanation is there for that? How do those choices make the game better?

 

[Belen]

It wasn't for the heck of it. I know they had reasons, just not necessarily the ones in the video. And the reason I think that (beyond years of learned skepticism) is simply that the choices are inconsistent. Why are orcs and drow more important to keep as humanoids than goblins or bugbears? Why are kobolds dragons but dragonborn aren't? What creative explanation is there for that? How do those choices make the game better?

These are the questions I have.

I do not really care. It just makes little sense even from their states goals. It would have been easier to adopt the 3e style of planar version prime versions. Fey goblins come from the Feywild while normal goblins come from the prime material.

 

[Micah Sweet]

These are the questions I have.

I do not really care. It just makes little sense even from their states goals. It would have been easier to adopt the 3e style of planar version prime versions. Fey goblins come from the Feywild while normal goblins come from the prime material.

That would have been just fine as an explanation.

 

[CM]

Chk!

 

[Corinnguard]

It's just a preference of mine. Psionics is just another form of magic

In Pathfinder, psionics was just another form magic. In 1st edition, psionics was a form of magic known as Psychic Magic. It worked like just an arcane spell or a divine spell except when it came to their spell components. Psychic spells sometimes required Thought and Emotion spell components to work. You had to think and be very emotional when casting such spells.
Second edition Pathfinder renamed this form of magic again by calling it Occult Magic.

How do those choices make the game better?

Types in 5e are more or less a ribbon feature nowadays. If today's Dragonborn existed back in 3e and underwent a type change from Humanoid to Dragon, there would have been a noticeable change in that they would have had Darkvision 60 (and Low-light vision), an Immunity to sleep and paralysis effects, and an immunity to spells those that targeted humanoids.

Hmm...a draconic take on Fey Ancestry?

You have advantage on saving throws you make to avoid or end the sleep and paralyzed conditions on yourself.

I do not really care. It just makes little sense even from their states goals. It would have been easier to adopt the 3e style of planar version prime versions. Fey goblins come from the Feywild while normal goblins come from the prime material.

We need planar subspecies of the known species in 5.5e.