Githzerai Neophyte Monk

You spent your youth and early adulthood studying in a Githzerai monastery in the plane of Limbo. Sent to the Material Plane with your fellow monks, you have been tasked by your elders to go out into the world to learn what you can of other races, to hone your skills, and to seek out potential allies against the foes of the Githzerai. 

Work with your DM to establish how you came to join your party in the game world your campaign uses. Here are just a few out of myriad possibilities:

• Did you spot and follow someone who seemed to be psionically gifted?
• Was your monastery sent to the Underdark and you spied some heroes doing battle with thralls of the Illithids?
• Were you travelling the land and met a motley group of diverse beings who could, and were willing to, teach you about multiple races?
• Did you pursue a quest parallel to your new companions, teaming up to complete your mission?

Skill Proficiencies: The intensive mental training of your monastery gives you proficiency with two of the following skills: Arcana, History, Investigation, Nature, Religion.

Tool Proficiencies: Your explorations have allowed you to build proficiency with Cartographer's Tools.

Languages: You can read, speak, and write one of the following languages: Abyssal, Celestial, Deep Speech, Infernal, Primordial, Undercommon.

Equipment: You start with an explorer's pack, cartographer's tools, a quarterstaff, and a pouch with 10 gp.

Suggested Characteristics

Neophytes are shaped by their experience in the monastery, and further defined by their strict mental and physical discipline. 

d8	Personality Trait
1	I often quote the teachings of Zerthimon and Menyar-Ag. It rarely makes sense to non-Githzerai.
2	Meditation has taught me how to keep a cool head no matter the situation.
3	Patience in all things. The first step in any venture is the most treacherous.
4	Begin only those tasks you will finish. Strike only that which you will kill.
5	Emotions are a trap, meant to weaken the intellect and disturb the nerves. Pay them no heed.
6	I only recently encountered other races. I'm frequently at a loss regarding regarding customs and courteous behavior, but I'm learning.
7	All energy must be expended to a useful end. Frivolity is the first step to defeat.
8	I'm willing to listen to every side of an argument before I make my own judgment.

d6	Ideal
1	Faith. Zerthimon shall return, and I will be worthy to walk beside him.
2	Courage. The mind can master anything if it is unfettered by fear.
3	Duty. My people survive only because those like me place their needs above our own.
4	Freedom. No strong soul should be enslaved. Better to die first than live as another’s puppet.
5	Logic. Emotions must not cloud our logical thinking.
6	Self-knowledge. If you know yourself, there's nothing left to know.

d6	Bond
1	Zerthimon provides an example of conduct that I strive to duplicate.
2	Menyar-Ag hand-picked me for my duties, and I will never betray the trust he showed in me.
3	I will not rest until the last elder brain is destroyed.
4	Vlaakith and her toadies will be defeated, if not by me then by those who follow in my footsteps.
5	I'm still seeking the enlightenment I pursued in my monastery, and it still eludes me.
6	I will do anything to protect the monastery where I studied.

d6	Flaw
1	I see githyanki machinations behind every threat.
2	I judge others harshly, and myself even more severely.
3	Now that I've been out in the world, I enjoy its delights a little too much.
4	Most people scream and run away when they see a demon. I stop and take notes on its anatomy.
5	My discipline and devotion to the teachings of Zerthimon often leave others feeling too disconnected from me to form real bonds.
6	Once I pick a goal, I become obsessed with it to the detriment of everything else in my life.