Alternate History of the Gith

[Bella]

Below is an alternate history of Gith, just like my previous post concerning Dwarves and Elves. Again, it includes a twist that GM’s may want to keep secret from their players and let them discover it hint by hint. Maybe following a researcher that left notes similar to the Wanderer.

Unknown researcher’s Journal

Uncovering knowledge lost to the sands of time, I stumbled upon writing created and preserved by a most surprising source. The race of primitive and seemingly irrelevant Gith seems to remainder of one of the strongest forces in the Tablelands at one point in time. Not only that, the writing bears great similarities to an ancient form of elvish.

Investigating several unlogical situated outposts of House Shom revealed various mysterious dig sites. The depth and a typical style of architecture surely linked them as ruins of ancient well hidden strongholds.

Several sites had a large number of Gith living in the area, the newest was actively defended by a uncharacteristically well-trained tribe.

Having managed to copy only a few of the many stone tablets found in these sites it was disappointing some contained none. Recently the sites are not as accessible with security increased tenfold, even supported by Nibenese templars.

The structures indicated to have had many very peculiar thick doors, and traces of rust indicate these may have been made of iron or steel! This means the outposts must be truly ancient, probably predating most Sorcerer-Monarchs.

There are no known accounts of Gith ever being a major race, and they did not seemed to have had a Champion tasked with eliminating them.

Hard to translate, the tablets seem to be military reports collected by an extremely well organized and large force. They seem to be dated, referring to familar 7 and 11 year cycles of Ral and Guthay and a third which seems to last 45 years. Like a King’s Age contains a combined cycle of 77 years, this mentions multiples of 77, 315 and 495 years as special and the date seems counts down from 3465. While the guessed dates of the tablets are only a few decades apart they reference dates a millennium past.

They mention a huge war, apparently won but an enemy not defeated. Often it speaks of a door, guarding The Gate or the Beyond. Sometimes it uses a symbol with a number of dots one of which is bigger.

I will need to study these astrological events, but my first guess is these Gith were guarding the region for millenia, starting maybe seven millenia ago!
What is their link to ancient elves? Are they some elven reptilian halfbreeds?

[Bella]

DM Notes

These notes can be presented to the players to solve as a puzzle, finding more tablets, or translations by the unknown researcher, a team from Nibenaj or a group of mysterious elves.

The dates can be translated to astrological events, that influence magic and portals, allowing limited planar travel. When two out of three events happen at the same time, this will be easier.

Not just can the players uncover history of Gith and existance of Githyanki but hint at major events about to happen and hidden agendas of Sorcerer-Monarchs.

Overruling contradictory timeline events, players may find out year -34 was the last comet, and the year Kalak died (or is about to do his ritual) has one special moon event as did the years -11, -22, -33, etc. The other special moon events were in the years -3, -10, -17, -24, -31, etc and the next is expected in the year +4. Any players born in these years may be special in some way, like having visions or being special psionically or magically.
The last two special double events were in the years -484, -304 and -66. If the players have means to find out, note to change the start of the Cleansing Wars, the Champions being enhanced and the Sun turning red to the year -3454 (not the official -3531).

Guessed what happens next? If the players find out in time, they can experience a minor event in the year +4 and experiment or find a portal (parts of the Black Spine adventure?).

And yes, the unknown researcher is off by 3465 years, the period all three events happen. Four such periods ago (Pristine Tower finished or activated?) roughly 14 millennia ago the blue age ended and the green age started.
What if another 3465 years later a new age started, totally lost in time?
Whatever happened in this green age, in the end psionics ruled, literally. The strongest, mindflayers or Illithids, ruled suppreme.
What if this dominance was broken at the end of the age, the start of a new (Yellow?) age, a little over 10 millennia ago? With the threat completely eliminated on Athas how to seal this victory against an enemy that can go “beyond”. An actual seal of the “Beyond”, prepared and finished starting the next (Orange) age 7 millennia!
This also sealed away the “Gith” that continued to hunt their enemy in the beyond. Most of the history of this age is lost or rewritten by their victors, the champions that rule Athas during the latest (Red) Age.

Assuming the timeline is way different than in the prism pentad, a lot of epic stuff can happen in a lot of ways. For a start the return of both Rajaat and Dregoth who may or may not be allies, evil and / or insane. Also one can expect the ascension of any (or all!) of the (remaining) Sorcerer-Monarchs (who could have been working toward this for the past 3465 years). Kalak forseeing he would fail rushed his. Any avengions may pick this time to finish their metamorphosis.

Regardless of anyone’s agenda and power, one major event will happen, the end of an era, when all three events happen simultaneously for the fourth time since the creation of the Pristine tower:

The fall of the astral shielding protecting Athas!