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.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I did not. I specified where it is as close as it could be. Regarding spells.

Wow. THAT is descending.

Ok. I should have said: everyone who played the game for 30 years knows that. Because we are used to those terms. Should they rename them to "hold humanoid"? Maybe. But then YOU would be the first one complaining how they rename something just for renaming's sake.

In that case, they would be re-naming for accuracy.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

In that case, they would be re-naming for accuracy.

You say that because they did not do it. As soon as WotC does it, it is totally wrong.

Now I am done.

 

[Mind of tempest]

I think I have figured out what bugs me about gith being aberrations. There is nothing alien or strange about them. They are funny-looking elves who lay eggs. That is, at most, a monstrosity, not something deeply unlike us.

there needs to be a more clear line between monstrosity and aberration

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I think I have figured out what bugs me about gith being aberrations. There is nothing alien or strange about them. They are funny-looking elves who lay eggs. That is, at most, a monstrosity, not something deeply unlike us.

there needs to be a more clear line between monstrosity and aberration

I guess it is their psionic power. Abberation is everything touched by far realm. Monstrosity is: the wizard did it...

But I guess, those categories are arbitrary anyway.

 

[Voadam]

everyone who played the game for 30 years knows that.

Did you mean 25 years since 3e with the humanoid type (leading to weirdness with planetouched and monstrous humanoids and person spells), or 30 years ('95) and later 2e with Planescape and player option stuff?

 

[Mind of tempest]

I guess it is their psionic power. Abberation is everything touched by far realm. Monstrosity is: the wizard did it...

But I guess, those categories are arbitrary anyway.

psionic power does not make you an aberration that is just insane, if I become a soulknife do I become an aberration?

an aberration should be way more removed from conventional biology than a monstrosity

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Did you mean 25 years since 3e with the humanoid type (leading to weirdness with planetouched and monstrous humanoids and person spells), or 30 years ('95) and later 2e with Planescape and player option stuff?

This is what the Wizard spell of 2e said regarding affected creatures:

This spell holds from one to four humans, demihumans, or humanoid creatures rigidly immobile for five or more rounds.

The hold person spell affects any bipedal human, demihuman or humanoid of man size or smaller, including brownies, dryads, dwarves, elves, gnolls, gnomes, goblins, half-elves, halflings, half-orcs, hobgoblins, humans, kobolds, lizard men, nixies, orcs, pixies, sprites, troglodytes, and others.

Note, that nixies and kobolds are affected as they were in 5.14.

So yes. 30 years... or better more than 30 years... (but I play for 30 years now, so I used my experience as a reference): spells that target "persons" target humans, demihumans and humanoids.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

psionic power does not make you an aberration that is just insane

I did not say that. I gave a reasoning why giths are probably categorized as Aberrations. Psionic power and I add touched by the far realm.

, if I become a soulknife do I become an aberration?

depends who you ask...

an aberration should be way more removed from conventional biology than a monstrosity

Your definition is as valid as anyone else´s as it is a game of make belief.

 

[Voadam]

This is what the Wizard spell of 2e said regarding affected creatures:

Note, that nixies and kobolds are affected as they were in 5.14.

So yes. 30 years... or better more than 30 years... (but I play for 30 years now, so I used my experience as a reference): spells that target "persons" target humans, demihumans and humanoids.

Yeah but in AD&D person spells included things you expect to be persons. Humanoids were just nonhuman peoples not necessarily friendly to humans while demihumans were non human people generally friendly to humans.

3e started excluding a bunch of things from being persons based on their new type (planetouched humans with a planar ancestor at some point far back in their bloodline, monstrous humanoids, elan humans whose psionic rituals changed their type), similar to 2024 5e with kobolds, goblinoids, gith etc. not counting as persons based on their new type.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I guess it is their psionic power. Abberation is everything touched by far realm. Monstrosity is: the wizard did it...

But I guess, those categories are arbitrary anyway.

They really are. And it seems like they change them every time a new set of corebooks comes out lately.