My favorite bit of lore is that they're travelers from the end of time, going back to 'correct' the mistake they made that lead to their downfall. They're basically stuck in a time loop because Mind Flayers are (as you can see in BG3) extremely arrogant and self-serving. They just can't learn from their mistakes, so they just build up the empire, lose the empire, then when nearly extinct they go back in time to try again. Over and over and over. Every campaign, every setting, every thing in existence is basically just another reality in which they are trying to correct their mistake. Also worth noting in an insanely creepy way: Mind Flayers have a strange relationship with Aboleths. Aboleths have extremely powerful memories, and their children inherent the memories of the parents, so forth and so forth. Therefore, Aboleths remember a time before the gods, in the primordial oceans of world. They've seen the rise and fall of countless civilizations. But the freaky part is they're terrified of Mind Flayers. Why? Aboleths don't know where the Mind Flayers came from. They have no memory of their origins. This gives credence to the theory that Mind Flayers are time travelers who travel back in time, remade their empire, lost it, again, and are now hurtling towards the inevitable time loop. It creates all sorts of freaky time paradoxes, which makes the Mind Flayers all the more interesting.
Astral Plane has no passage of time for natives and extremely slow passage of time relative to their native plane for outsiders to it. Combined with colour pools, dead gods and dream portals, it is very possible/probable that its a combination of: Gith time hop to after rebellion over/where they left to hunt them down + Gith hopping to technically their past to hunt those Mind Flayers that went to the past already to try remake/fix their Empire.
@@ANDELE3025 holy shit this hurts my head lol. I'm about to go on a deep dive to learn more about *Mind Flayers & Gith* ... any videos you would recommend for someone who's brand new too *DnD* and the *Baldurs Gate* universe? I've only played *DnD* for about 30 mins total a couple times and never played *Baldurs Gate 1 or 2* so I am now learning about tons of lore and history of this *Universe*
I have a lot of affection for the Gith, mostly from having Dak'kon as a companion in Planescape: Torment. The Unbroken Circle of Zerthimon is possibly my favourite piece of lore from an RPG, which talks about the history of the Gith and the Illithid.
Same. I really wish the githzerai was a playable gith subrace in BG3, but I guess it would require too much work for proper reactivity and would add another layer to the game's already complex lore.
Mort, dude, getting sponsored by Larian is absolutely incredible. It's been incredible to see you grow so quickly. Hope both you and your son are doing well.
It's still so surreal that Larian started off as a company making games inspired by DnD and has now progressed to being the developers for the official DnD game.
I second this. I've never been into min maxing, especially in RP heavy games like Baldurs Gate. Obviously everyone can play their games how they like, but it's annoying to see so much content for this game revolving around "broken OP builds" or "best class/party composition" or whatever, while being genuinely hard to find content that leans more towards RP. Even just interesting RP builds, or unusual dialogue choices and story outcomes would be cool to watch. But everyone always goes for the same choices to get the highest numbers, and the most perma buffs and what not. Ugh... anyway, rant over.
Man, you did really well covering them in a timely manner and hitting all the major points. Like many others, the Gith and Mindflayers have always been one of my favorite settings. I am sp happy to keep seeing this channel grow. You should link those lore videos in the description or the comments lol.
As a D&D Planescape nerd I want to add two things: 1) Ilsensine is a "deity" of sorts of Mindflayers, living in the Outlands. Nobody knows its plans... But I bet it isn't happy with the BG3 situation. 2) Cranium Rats! Rats with clearly visible brain matter. They are spies for the Mindflayers (although there is a hive mind in Sigil that broke free from the illithid control with the help of a gith ratcatcher). You actually can meet cranium rats in the sewers under Baldur's Gate... (and if you're anything like me you'll kill them on sight).
I would love more lore videos like this. There was so much content in the game that I had no idea what they were talking about. I had to keep Googling things to fully understand.
For someone like me who is completely new to Baldur's Gate and the general Dungeons & Dragon world, it would help immensely to see a video like this that hopefully explains the relationship between the Grinch (The Githyanki) and Mindflayers. I haven't seen the video yet but will do it in a few hours, later tonight, when I'm home and have time, but will save this one in the "Watch Later" category.
The video speeds over certain details. Essentially: the gith were once humans long ago, from a different planet. When the Mind Flayers came to their planet in ancient times, they were kidnapped and enslaved. And then, they were subjects of selective breeding. They bred them to grow the tastiest, most psionically nutritious brains. They bred them to reproduce asexually (this is why they have humanoid genitals despite not using them for reproduction). By the end of it, they were no longer recognizable as human. They were cattle. However, breeding them to have psionic brains would be the mind flayer's downfall. When Gith was born, she possessed a powerful psionic mutation which disrupted hive mind communication. She bided her time, she prepared her people and organized them, then she unleashed her power. Slaves were freed from domination, illithids could no longer communicate. Within just one year countless elder brains were slain, such that the illithid empire crumbled and the survivors went into hiding. The Gith people took their leader’s name for their own. But then divisions began to form: Gith wanted to hunt down the remaining mindflayers, and then establish a multiplanar empire such that the gith could conquer the multiverse. Zerthimon argued that this would end in the same kind of tyranny their people just escaped. The Gith race split: the Githyanki are those who followed Gith, and Githzerai are those who followed Zerthimon.
All I know about DnD comes from video games, tabletop never got as popular in my country as in America - Gith lore was quite well explored in Planescape: Torment (as a side content) and Neverwinter Nights 2 (main content), although I am still grateful for this vid, it's informative and to the point, while not being an hour long. Also congrats on Larian noticing you! Well deserved!
I live the fact that Larian is willing to just let you tuber do their thing and sponsor them, its sutch a symbiotic relationship for creator and compagnies
All the way back to the start, but with the recognition you deserve for the years or work you’ve put into your channel. Looking forward to the Baldur’s Gate 3 lore supercut.
When comes to the sbubjest of Gith most people will no doubt think about dak'kon form Planescape torment ( and for good resaons, he's wey well written character ), tho that choice is kind of ironic - he supposed to be outcast among his people, yet he established most of the modern D&D lore about them.
Sounds kind of like a certain drow. People do love the outcasts. (Sometimes a little too much. The number of spelling variations on Drizzt I used to see in MMOs... 😂)
Fantastic Morty son, I love a bit of Morty lore !! Even better that Larian recognise what you did on the DOS lore and chose you to cover some lore!! ❤💀
I wish Githzherai were playable, would be interesting to see reactivity, some people confusing them with Githyanki and Lae'zel being pissed off. Dak'kon in Planescape:Torment was a very interesting character. There is even a popular fan theory about Zerthimon being Nameless one (he was the one who gave Dak'kon this Circle of Zerthimon), but it's just that, fan theory.
A god damn Larian sponsorship awesome! Fun fact for anyone despite the appearance in the game in the table top goblins have dagger like teeth and no lips
You need an Owlcat games and an Obsidian sponsorship too. You're the one covering the best games out there:) Also we do get a githzerai cleric companion in NWN 2 for the bit of lore she shares.
Mind Flayers have always been my favorite DND enemy faction, (Maybe because CoC is my favorite TTRPG) so having them play such a prominent role in BG3 is great. My first playthrough has been mostly pure evil with the sole goal of getting most of my party to have as many tadpoles as possible. Just started Act 3, so looking forward to the fallout.
Just so you know, you are feeding my Mindflayer video addiction. I don't get tired of hearing (potentially) the same information from different voices. Please tell me more about the Grand Design and the 6 tentacled mind flayer royals and the one mindflayer prohesized to ruin them all or whatever. Don't forget about their method of reproduction. That's the good stuff. P.S I have run out of mindfflayer lore videos to watch, anyone know any D&D story video channels with the Mindflayers front and center.
So cool Larian sponsered you in a lore video! I hope they do the same in a future Divinity game. By the way, congrats on your first video with 1 million views!
Id add that we actually know that Elder brain is spawned from Ulitharid - very rare more powerful mind flayer that eventually takes about half of orthers and leaves to settle new colony eventually becoming Elder Brain.
There is a message on screen when I talk about it pointing people to the Ulitharids if they want more elder brain info, but they don't show up in BG3 so I didn't want to confuse people too much.
could you do a video of characters in 3 that appeared in 1 and 2? couldnt find any after a quick search on RUclips. (I know there's the full story recaps, but only interested in the reappeared characters)
If you’re looking for ideas for more videos a lot series on the history of the forgotten realms setting/universe would be cool! It’s changed so much over the years it’s hard to keep track for us casual fans.
3.5e got really weird with Illithids by the end of their run. Monster Manual 5 has some crazy mind-flayer based things in it. Personally, I like The Far Realm as their origin.
Oh I would LOVE to know what Tiamat gets out of the deal with the Githyanki. Is it just because dragons get tadpoled too? At least in the BG3 intro cinematic the red dragon looked extremely pissed off when the nautiloid escaped for the final time. Is there lore on how the dragons travel between planes? Oh lord this rabbit hole.
What makes Gith unique is her ability to completely disrupt and neutralize psionics thanks to a genetic mutation unknowingly granted by the experiments mindflayers performed on the race as whole. Presumably Tiamat wants that nearby. Theres also a bit more too it that involves the current gith ruler Vlaakith and her role in it. As a funny sidenote, mindflayers actually made the same mistake again that led to the creation of the duergar dwarves who also revolted against them.
Yes, they do, just like preety much all living beeings in DnD. As for trust, well, vast majority ( almost all ) of them are evil, self-serving, manipulative and fanaticaly racist. Neutral of even good ones exists, but are RARE
Wow Larian themselves! Congratulations Mort, well deserved.
Thanks to this video, the game's prologue finally makes sense: The role of the red dragons, who is riding them, etc.
Some of you don't wander in wisdom, and it shows.
Lmao!!
My favorite bit of lore is that they're travelers from the end of time, going back to 'correct' the mistake they made that lead to their downfall. They're basically stuck in a time loop because Mind Flayers are (as you can see in BG3) extremely arrogant and self-serving. They just can't learn from their mistakes, so they just build up the empire, lose the empire, then when nearly extinct they go back in time to try again. Over and over and over. Every campaign, every setting, every thing in existence is basically just another reality in which they are trying to correct their mistake.
Also worth noting in an insanely creepy way: Mind Flayers have a strange relationship with Aboleths. Aboleths have extremely powerful memories, and their children inherent the memories of the parents, so forth and so forth. Therefore, Aboleths remember a time before the gods, in the primordial oceans of world. They've seen the rise and fall of countless civilizations. But the freaky part is they're terrified of Mind Flayers. Why? Aboleths don't know where the Mind Flayers came from. They have no memory of their origins. This gives credence to the theory that Mind Flayers are time travelers who travel back in time, remade their empire, lost it, again, and are now hurtling towards the inevitable time loop. It creates all sorts of freaky time paradoxes, which makes the Mind Flayers all the more interesting.
Astral Plane has no passage of time for natives and extremely slow passage of time relative to their native plane for outsiders to it.
Combined with colour pools, dead gods and dream portals, it is very possible/probable that its a combination of: Gith time hop to after rebellion over/where they left to hunt them down + Gith hopping to technically their past to hunt those Mind Flayers that went to the past already to try remake/fix their Empire.
@@ANDELE3025 holy shit this hurts my head lol. I'm about to go on a deep dive to learn more about *Mind Flayers & Gith* ... any videos you would recommend for someone who's brand new too *DnD* and the *Baldurs Gate* universe? I've only played *DnD* for about 30 mins total a couple times and never played *Baldurs Gate 1 or 2* so I am now learning about tons of lore and history of this *Universe*
Lore vids...ahhhhhhh yes!
And sponsored by Larian.
About time and congratulations!
Larian asked you to talk about BG3 lore? Heck yes! You deserve it for all of your hard work
I have a lot of affection for the Gith, mostly from having Dak'kon as a companion in Planescape: Torment. The Unbroken Circle of Zerthimon is possibly my favourite piece of lore from an RPG, which talks about the history of the Gith and the Illithid.
Yeah I see a fellow person of culture! I tip my hat to you.
Yea, Dak'kon is one of the best of all time.
Same. I really wish the githzerai was a playable gith subrace in BG3, but I guess it would require too much work for proper reactivity and would add another layer to the game's already complex lore.
Githzerai lore was really explored in planescape torment
Endure
Mort, dude, getting sponsored by Larian is absolutely incredible. It's been incredible to see you grow so quickly. Hope both you and your son are doing well.
No other channel deserves such a sponsorship more. GG morty.
It's still so surreal that Larian started off as a company making games inspired by DnD and has now progressed to being the developers for the official DnD game.
Yo! Congrats on the larian-sponsored lore vid! Full circle, pretty cool
I'm glad larian picked you. You are easily the best bg3 content creator on RUclips. Pushing for rp over min maxing is very refreshing too.
I second this. I've never been into min maxing, especially in RP heavy games like Baldurs Gate. Obviously everyone can play their games how they like, but it's annoying to see so much content for this game revolving around "broken OP builds" or "best class/party composition" or whatever, while being genuinely hard to find content that leans more towards RP. Even just interesting RP builds, or unusual dialogue choices and story outcomes would be cool to watch. But everyone always goes for the same choices to get the highest numbers, and the most perma buffs and what not. Ugh... anyway, rant over.
Man, you did really well covering them in a timely manner and hitting all the major points. Like many others, the Gith and Mindflayers have always been one of my favorite settings.
I am sp happy to keep seeing this channel grow. You should link those lore videos in the description or the comments lol.
As a D&D Planescape nerd I want to add two things:
1) Ilsensine is a "deity" of sorts of Mindflayers, living in the Outlands. Nobody knows its plans... But I bet it isn't happy with the BG3 situation.
2) Cranium Rats! Rats with clearly visible brain matter. They are spies for the Mindflayers (although there is a hive mind in Sigil that broke free from the illithid control with the help of a gith ratcatcher). You actually can meet cranium rats in the sewers under Baldur's Gate... (and if you're anything like me you'll kill them on sight).
Larian and Bethesda fighting over lining Mortym's pockets is incredible 🙏 I'm playing a Gith dark urge warlock
I would love more lore videos like this. There was so much content in the game that I had no idea what they were talking about. I had to keep Googling things to fully understand.
Wow they asked you for this themselves? That's actually really cool. Hope you do more videos like this in the future
Congrats. :). Fun to see Larian sponsoring some of my favorite RUclipsers, you and Wolfheart I have seen so far.
Finally appreciated by Larian as you should be Mort.. you've done a lot to promote their games.
Happy to hear that!
Few cool tidbits I had never picked up but added good context to my BG3 play through.
Great video! Loved the editing at the end to close it out.
For someone like me who is completely new to Baldur's Gate and the general Dungeons & Dragon world, it would help immensely to see a video like this that hopefully explains the relationship between the Grinch (The Githyanki) and Mindflayers.
I haven't seen the video yet but will do it in a few hours, later tonight, when I'm home and have time, but will save this one in the "Watch Later" category.
Quick summary; the Gith are a slave race which rebelled against the mind flayers.
The video speeds over certain details. Essentially: the gith were once humans long ago, from a different planet. When the Mind Flayers came to their planet in ancient times, they were kidnapped and enslaved. And then, they were subjects of selective breeding. They bred them to grow the tastiest, most psionically nutritious brains. They bred them to reproduce asexually (this is why they have humanoid genitals despite not using them for reproduction). By the end of it, they were no longer recognizable as human. They were cattle.
However, breeding them to have psionic brains would be the mind flayer's downfall. When Gith was born, she possessed a powerful psionic mutation which disrupted hive mind communication. She bided her time, she prepared her people and organized them, then she unleashed her power. Slaves were freed from domination, illithids could no longer communicate. Within just one year countless elder brains were slain, such that the illithid empire crumbled and the survivors went into hiding.
The Gith people took their leader’s name for their own. But then divisions began to form: Gith wanted to hunt down the remaining mindflayers, and then establish a multiplanar empire such that the gith could conquer the multiverse. Zerthimon argued that this would end in the same kind of tyranny their people just escaped. The Gith race split: the Githyanki are those who followed Gith, and Githzerai are those who followed Zerthimon.
I liked Illithid campaigns when I played tabletop back in DnD 3.5. So when Larian showed them in their trailers for the game, I got so excited.
All I know about DnD comes from video games, tabletop never got as popular in my country as in America - Gith lore was quite well explored in Planescape: Torment (as a side content) and Neverwinter Nights 2 (main content), although I am still grateful for this vid, it's informative and to the point, while not being an hour long.
Also congrats on Larian noticing you! Well deserved!
Glad they reached out to your channel!
I live the fact that Larian is willing to just let you tuber do their thing and sponsor them, its sutch a symbiotic relationship for creator and compagnies
You deadset legend :)
You totally deserve Swen love.
You've been sharing the Divinity lore so long.
All the way back to the start, but with the recognition you deserve for the years or work you’ve put into your channel. Looking forward to the Baldur’s Gate 3 lore supercut.
I've never been happier about a videos' sponsorship. Well done, my dude!
Oh sweet baby jesus PLEASE DO MORE BG3 LORE! PLEASE I AM STARVING! Pointed, informative, fast moving, perfect.
Man, after BG3 there was a ton of new Mind Flayer lore added, I wonder if it'll be incorporated into D&D at some point.
Wow!!! Nice man... Congratulations and amazing video as always!
Mindflayers are such cool villains I used them in my tabletop campaign as well.
I love the lore videos Larian are sponsoring. Already saw another one yesterday from another channel.
I love these lore videos as it's tough to find this information anywhere else.
Would love to see more lore vids like this! Never played D&D so all of this is super interesting
Thanks you this. I have been fascinated with mind flares since the forgotten realms stories.
Amazing videos and congratz ! And personally i would love if this becomes a series !
Great video! Nice to see a sponsor from Larian!
Omg you got sponsored by them ❤❤ congrats so well deserved!!
When comes to the sbubjest of Gith most people will no doubt think about dak'kon form Planescape torment ( and for good resaons, he's wey well written character ), tho that choice is kind of ironic - he supposed to be outcast among his people, yet he established most of the modern D&D lore about them.
Sounds kind of like a certain drow. People do love the outcasts.
(Sometimes a little too much. The number of spelling variations on Drizzt I used to see in MMOs... 😂)
Gz on the sponsorship! Great video 👍
I agree with the others. I'm glad Larian is giving your channel its due credit. Onward to 300k. All glory to the algorithm.
Great video. I hope Larian keeps this relationship going. I can never get enough lore videos.
Congrats on the sponsorship!! deserved!!
You are one of the most deserving game reviewers. 😊
This actually really cool to watch! I'm up for more of such videos :)
Congratilations on the sponsorship!
Great video, glad to see you partnering with a great company for lore deep dives :)
Well deserved sponsorship, congrats!
Congrats Mort on the Larian sponsorship. Your passion has paid off.
Much of this I didn't know. Thanks for all the info! ^_^
Well deserved, love your content!
Nice vid - makes BG3 even more immersive.
Fantastic Morty son, I love a bit of Morty lore !! Even better that Larian recognise what you did on the DOS lore and chose you to cover some lore!! ❤💀
WOW! I have learned so much! Thank you!
Yaay new lore, I watched your PoE lore videos ❤ Maybe one lore video on Warhammer 40k when Rogue Trader releases? (I love 40k lore 😁)
I wish Githzherai were playable, would be interesting to see reactivity, some people confusing them with Githyanki and Lae'zel being pissed off. Dak'kon in Planescape:Torment was a very interesting character. There is even a popular fan theory about Zerthimon being Nameless one (he was the one who gave Dak'kon this Circle of Zerthimon), but it's just that, fan theory.
Ahhh thanks for this! This sure brought back memories of solving the unbroken circle of zerthimon!
It's about time that Larian finally noticed you! Congrats
Larian is awesome for supporting good creators. Congrats!
Congrats these videos are great for everyone involved
Fuck yesh, Larian sponsor!!! You deserve that more than any other channel :)
And ah, aberrations... let us grab "Lords of Madness" and rejoice.
A god damn Larian sponsorship awesome! Fun fact for anyone despite the appearance in the game in the table top goblins have dagger like teeth and no lips
Congrats Mort on the sponsorship you deserve it 🎊🎊
Mindflayers are actually kinda badass. But if I was one, admittedly, I would be using disguise self every day lol.
You need an Owlcat games and an Obsidian sponsorship too. You're the one covering the best games out there:) Also we do get a githzerai cleric companion in NWN 2 for the bit of lore she shares.
This was very helpful, I am new to all this. Thanks.
Mind Flayers have always been my favorite DND enemy faction, (Maybe because CoC is my favorite TTRPG) so having them play such a prominent role in BG3 is great. My first playthrough has been mostly pure evil with the sole goal of getting most of my party to have as many tadpoles as possible. Just started Act 3, so looking forward to the fallout.
That’s the content I was looking for 🎉❤ thanks
Please keep those lore videos coming!
Congrats on the sponsorship. I imagen this one meant something given how your channel started.
I love the lore vids, thank you!
Congratulations, great video!
Congrats Mort, you got the big promotions now!
Great content. Good sponsorship choice. A+ all around
If Mindflayers came from the future, they’re responsible for the 1st savescum
Just so you know, you are feeding my Mindflayer video addiction.
I don't get tired of hearing (potentially) the same information from different voices.
Please tell me more about the Grand Design and the 6 tentacled mind flayer royals and the one mindflayer prohesized to ruin them all or whatever. Don't forget about their method of reproduction. That's the good stuff.
P.S I have run out of mindfflayer lore videos to watch, anyone know any D&D story video channels with the Mindflayers front and center.
Playing the game so far i hate these creatures but after hearing your story i kinda sympathize with them now. Great video man
So cool Larian sponsered you in a lore video! I hope they do the same in a future Divinity game. By the way, congrats on your first video with 1 million views!
I'm glad that larian asked ! Well deserved !
Great video Mort 🎉
I think its weird they made a while game about Mindflayers and psychic powers but did not add Aberration (Psychic) Sorcerors
Thanks Mortismal :)
Dude congrats on the sponsor!
Great job. I love it.
Great video!❤
Kudos man !
Id add that we actually know that Elder brain is spawned from Ulitharid - very rare more powerful mind flayer that eventually takes about half of orthers and leaves to settle new colony eventually becoming Elder Brain.
There is a message on screen when I talk about it pointing people to the Ulitharids if they want more elder brain info, but they don't show up in BG3 so I didn't want to confuse people too much.
@@MortismalGaming sorry there :) i was listening to this one instead of watching
could you do a video of characters in 3 that appeared in 1 and 2? couldnt find any after a quick search on RUclips. (I know there's the full story recaps, but only interested in the reappeared characters)
If you’re looking for ideas for more videos a lot series on the history of the forgotten realms setting/universe would be cool! It’s changed so much over the years it’s hard to keep track for us casual fans.
I want beholder lores next
3.5e got really weird with Illithids by the end of their run. Monster Manual 5 has some crazy mind-flayer based things in it.
Personally, I like The Far Realm as their origin.
Oh I would LOVE to know what Tiamat gets out of the deal with the Githyanki. Is it just because dragons get tadpoled too? At least in the BG3 intro cinematic the red dragon looked extremely pissed off when the nautiloid escaped for the final time. Is there lore on how the dragons travel between planes? Oh lord this rabbit hole.
What makes Gith unique is her ability to completely disrupt and neutralize psionics thanks to a genetic mutation unknowingly granted by the experiments mindflayers performed on the race as whole. Presumably Tiamat wants that nearby. Theres also a bit more too it that involves the current gith ruler Vlaakith and her role in it. As a funny sidenote, mindflayers actually made the same mistake again that led to the creation of the duergar dwarves who also revolted against them.
You should do a short video on Whiters, a short or few minutes on him for ppl to appreciate him a bit more :)
More lore please!
I think the people are gonna want a DOS new player guide, for those coming from bg3
Lore videos are back!
The more I hear about Mindflayers, the more I want to romance one :D
I need more tentacle daddy, Larian!
Aww yeah going watch this!
Mortim Do mind flayers have souls?
Hypothetically would you trust a mind flayer?
Yes, they do, just like preety much all living beeings in DnD. As for trust, well, vast majority ( almost all ) of them are evil, self-serving, manipulative and fanaticaly racist. Neutral of even good ones exists, but are RARE