Author Topic: Where does the term "Gish" come from?  (Read 3702 times)

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GawainBS

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Where does the term "Gish" come from?
« on: July 11, 2009, 06:57:28 AM »
I know what a Gish in D&D is, but I wonder what the word means? What are its origins? Why don't we call them Fruls?

Thanks in advance.

BowenSilverclaw

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Re: Where does the term "Gish" come from?
« Reply #1 on: July 11, 2009, 07:05:03 AM »
I'm not sure, but from what I've read it originated in one of the older editions, in the fluff regarding Githyanki, as a term for their fighter/mages...

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GawainBS

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Re: Where does the term "Gish" come from?
« Reply #2 on: July 11, 2009, 07:18:02 AM »
I'm not sure, but from what I've read it originated in one of the older editions, in the fluff regarding Githyanki, as a term for their fighter/mages...



Like the Githzerai Zerth? I seem to vaguely recall something like that. Thanks for the reply!

Prime32

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Re: Where does the term "Gish" come from?
« Reply #3 on: July 11, 2009, 10:12:23 AM »
I'm not sure, but from what I've read it originated in one of the older editions, in the fluff regarding Githyanki, as a term for their fighter/mages...
Well, it's in the 3.5e Monster Manual anyway.
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GawainBS

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Re: Where does the term "Gish" come from?
« Reply #4 on: July 11, 2009, 10:41:51 AM »
Thanks.

InnaBinder

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Re: Where does the term "Gish" come from?
« Reply #5 on: July 11, 2009, 11:11:37 AM »
Additionally, as I recall, JosephKell used the term for the first WotC handbook for the archetype, which helped make it stick in the CO community and trickle through the rest of the D&D forumsphere.
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RobbyPants

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Re: Where does the term "Gish" come from?
« Reply #6 on: July 11, 2009, 02:41:15 PM »
I'm not sure, but from what I've read it originated in one of the older editions, in the fluff regarding Githyanki, as a term for their fighter/mages...
Well, it's in the 3.5e Monster Manual anyway.
I know from personal experience that they refered to them as gishes in the 2E Monstrous Manual as well.  I'm assuming the term dates back to when they were first created, which might predate AD&D.
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GawainBS

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Re: Where does the term "Gish" come from?
« Reply #7 on: July 11, 2009, 03:00:23 PM »
Thanks for all the replies.  :)

Josh

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Re: Where does the term "Gish" come from?
« Reply #8 on: July 12, 2009, 04:48:32 AM »
The actual origin of the term was in the fiend folio.  It is explained to be a combination arcane spellcaster and either fighter or thief.  The term is supposed to be the githyanki word for skilled. 
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GawainBS

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Re: Where does the term "Gish" come from?
« Reply #9 on: July 12, 2009, 05:35:06 AM »
The actual origin of the term was in the fiend folio.  It is explained to be a combination arcane spellcaster and either fighter or thief.  The term is supposed to be the githyanki word for skilled. 


I suppose there's no more definite answer.  ;) Thanks.

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Re: Where does the term "Gish" come from?
« Reply #10 on: July 12, 2009, 12:06:28 PM »
The actual origin of the term was in the fiend folio.  It is explained to be a combination arcane spellcaster and either fighter or thief.  The term is supposed to be the githyanki word for skilled. 
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Endarire

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Re: Where does the term "Gish" come from?
« Reply #11 on: July 13, 2009, 02:01:33 AM »
Gish especially applies to githyanki who are level 4 in each of their classes.
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Cromarty

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Re: Where does the term "Gish" come from?
« Reply #12 on: July 21, 2009, 11:32:57 PM »
The actual origin of the term was in the fiend folio.  It is explained to be a combination arcane spellcaster and either fighter or thief.  The term is supposed to be the githyanki word for skilled. 

 :eh You beat me to it. Originally in 2e when the Githyanki first appeared (I think it was 2e) they were big in Planescape and especially Spelljammer. Anyway, they were sort of like Drow originally were-designed to really challenge parties. As part of that they had explicit members of their attack teams (called "rrakma") who fought like fighters (or thieves) and cast like wizards (or whatever.) That made them very dangerous entities and challenged a lot of the expectations of PCs going into the fight. More unpredictability made the fights more difficult without raising the rewards-exactly like the Drow with their special magic items that dissolved in sunlight. At some point the term got co-opted, probably by the CO board on the WotC website and now it just means a double-threat character.

So, that's a bunch of useless trivia that doesn't enrich your life at all. Enjoy!  :D

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