Could use some feedback on this githyanki stat block....The Var’ith’n is a type of githyanki who transmutes the energies of the Astral Plane (dreams, thoughts, dead god's essence, psychic winds) into physical form. They belong to the hr'a'cknir caste who can be described as "astral specialists." In my head canon, the hr'a'cknir have an ascending order of power: ghustil (healer, CR 4), yr'n (portal mage, CR 7), var'ith'n (?), senja'si (seer, ?).
While there's definitely a Plot Magic aspect to them where there's an advantage to not having everything super defined, so you can have things like "the githyanki teaches you a ritual to commune with the dead god" or somesuch, I realized that having a baseline stat block for the Var'ith'n also opens up storytelling for "this particularly dangerous githyanki must be thwarted if we want to deal with the overall githyanki threat facing us" scenes.
Some of the concepts I'm playing with for these guys are...
- They make the unmanifest manifest, so spells like phantasmal force & phantasmal killer are their jam. Might include mass dispelling blink / invisibility or tracking by emotional residue.
- In Lich Queen's Beloved, there was a substance called "residuum" (translucent ectoplasm from creatures Vlaakith killed in the Astral) which imbues an object with sentience. There also was a 3e githyanki feat to psionically control objects. So I'm thinking animate objects would fit.
- They draw rough matter from seemingly nowhere, which I've interpreted as often being surrounded by whirling debris.
- In the AD&D Guide to the Astral Plane, there's a spell called "conduit pierce" which basically intercepts a character traveling via conduit (like a wormhole) through the Astral. While the idea of conduits isn't really present in 5e, the original idea was that conduits delivered both belief & souls to the gods. Makes sense that would be part of the "energy" the githyanki could tap into.
- The Var'ith'n are described as overseeing the mining of dead gods which would mean they have some really strange alchemical items ("godsblood" is the only one I know defined in lore). Also, the adventure Lich Queen's Beloved mentioned several weird alchemical items – astral effluvium, cerebral grist, and netherflame – that might be good fits.
- There's a Binder vibe (from 3e's Tome of Magic) that I'm getting from these guys tapping into the essence of dead gods. While I understand the basic idea of the class – choose a vestige & get a bunch of powers associated with it – I don't know if there are any specific mechanics worth borrowing for the Var'ith'n.
- In 3e Complete Psionic, there was a githyanki feat to use "ectoplasmic form" which got me thinking about how in Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes it's confirmed that githyanki hatch in eggs. What if these weren't the hard-shelled eggs of a chicken, but more like the amniotic sack (caul) dialed up to sci-fi... thick, rubbery, slightly luminous and pulsing? What if those githyanki who lingered longer in this caul even upon being taken to the Material Plane to hatch/grow had the psionic gift to manifest an ectoplasmic form?
Githyanki Var’ith’n
Medium humanoid (gith, hr’a’cknir), typically lawful evil
Armor Class 16 (breastplate)
Hit Points 60 (11d8+11)
Speed 30 ft., fly 20 ft. (see Ectoplasmic Caul)
STR 13 (+1) DEX 14 (+2) CON 13 (+1) INT 16 (+3) WIS 15 (+2) CHA 16 (+3)
Saving Throws Con +5, Int +7, Wis +6
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened
Senses passive Perception 12
Languages Gith
Challenge 9 (5,000 XP)
Ectoplasmic Caul. When the githyanki is not surprised at the start of combat, it is surrounded by a translucent shimmering aura. While this aura is active, the githyanki is immune to damage from attacks or effects dealing less than 10 damage, and it gains a fly speed 20 feet.
Innate Spellcasting (Psionics). The githyanki’s spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 15, +7 to hit with spell attacks). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no components:
At-will: mage hand (the hand is invisible)
3/day each: jump, misty step, nondetection (self only), phantasmal force
1/day each: animate objects, phantasmal killer
Actions
Field of Debris. The githyanki conjures a magical field of debris in a 10-foot-radius sphere around itself. The debris field has AC 10 and 15 hit points per creature within 30 feet that is hostile to the githyanki. As long as the debris field exists, the githyanki and its allies in the area gain half-cover (+2 AC and +2 Dexterity saving throws). A hostile creature moving into, or starting its turn within, the debris field must succeed a DC 15 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check or take 10 (3d6) bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone.
Call Psychic Winds (on the Astral only, once per long rest). The sky darkens and in 1d4 rounds at the start of the githyanki’s turn, a psychic wind (see DMG p.47) washes over a half mile radius centered on the githyanki. This requires the githyanki’s concentration; if it is disturbed before the psychic winds arrives, the effect ends.
Reactions
Pierce Soul Conduit. When a creature fails a death saving throw or dies within 30 feet of the githyanki, the githyanki drains it of 2d10 levels worth of spell slots (starting with its lowest level spell slots) and also reduces its maximum hit points by that amount. The githyanki gains that number of temporary hit points.
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