Best Way to Make an Accurate Githyanki Gish

[Floorlock]

Hey all.

So...this is a build question...that's kind of more of a lore question in a way...but, really both.

I'm attempting to build a classic Githyanki Gish. Just straight up. But...as a PC. I want to play a Githyanki Gish.

I'm not sure about the best way to go about that...both considering the lore and considering the potential power of the build. Perhaps someone who is more well-versed in all of this could lend me a hand?

There are so many "gish" possibilities now...and I've looked over a few.

1. Eldritch Knight. Seems classic and standard...but, might be lacking in some of the magic they could theoretically reach?

2. Psi-Warrior: Possibly. The Githyanki are very psionics-based...but, if I go this route I'll really have to lean into only that one aspect of their magic and not necessarily get to big spells unless I multiclass.

3. Arcane Trickster Rogue: This does give extra mage hand capability AND a bunch of magic to go along with martial prowess and damage...kinda has similar problems to the Eldritch Knight, though.

4. Soulknife Rogue: This feels as though it will have similar issues to the Psi Warrior...but, an infiltration expert Githyanki could be cool.

5. Paladin...of some kind: I mean...they do pledge their undying loyalty as faithful knights to the lich-queen Vlakith, right? So maybe?

6. Sword or Valor Bard: This...technically has potential...but, I think it would maybe be at the bottom of my list. I already created one Swords Bard Githyanki as an ex-gish of the gith empire...a fleeing pirate still holding onto his prized silver sword. I don't know if I'd go this route for a more standard situation.

7. Warlock: Once again, they are in service to Vlakith the Lich-Queen...a Bladelock could be an answer of sorts. Great Old One could get them up to telekinesis and all that as well.

8. Bladesinger Wizard: Could be cool and get a lot of neat features...but, the bladesong doesn't play nice with medium or heavy armor...which the Githyanki are often known to sport. So I'd have to think it over.

9. Ranger...specifically Horizon Walker: This kinda fits with the "Hunter of Mindflayers" of it all. Could be down for a bunch of extra teleports, too. Who knows.

10. Some sort of multiclass of any of these and beyond. Maybe an Eldritch Knight Bladesinger...or even a Psi Warrior Bladesinger is the ticket? I know Paladin Sorcerer...especially with Aberrant Mind could do a few things.


The Gish as represented in Monsters of the Multiverse seems to be loaded with Fireball, Nondetection, Invisibility, Dimension Door, Planeshift and Telekinesis... along with other things... such as a "telekinetic bolt" attack and longsword capability. They also seem to be classified as a wizard according to the same stat block.


A few things to consider: We play using most of the most "updated" stuff. So we are using Tasha's stuff and Monsters of the Multiverse.

So the Githyanki I would be creating would be the Monsters of the Multiverse option...not the original.

We even cherry pick from some concepts from the recent playtests...We're testing out Weapon Mastery for example.

Additionally, when it comes to Warlock, the Hexblade's features have been mostly warped into pact of the blade for us...meaning the medium armor and casting stat to weapon attack feature goes there for every patron.

Longswords are also houseruled to be finesse weapons for us as well.



So, given all of that, is there anyone out there well versed in the Githyanki enough to give me direction? I would like it to be closer to what the lore would be...or just closest to what makes the most sense for them.

I want to get as accurate, I suppose, as possible while building a PC.

However, if possible, the secondary concern is to also make something that is mechanically viable. I don't want to completely sacrifice optimization. Lol.

Anybody got any direction for me?

[Salmon343]

I've long struggled with the same thing...Monsters of the Multiverse blessed us with a more flexible Githyanki for players, but also cursed us with a Telekinetic Bolt that is super hard to replicate. Here's a few comments:

- Eldritch Blast can mimic an at-will ranged attack force option the best, but also ties you to charisma; while Githyanki Gish's typically use Int
- Magic Missile can also do the blasting, but it's very hard to get that at will
- A wizard or sorcerer can get all of the spells that a Githyanki Gish can cast
- You'd wanna be able to go for a strength build for Longsword. Although its not on the Gish statblock, it'd be ideal to also be able to go for strength as it can give you Greatswords too - for the classic Silver Greatsword.

Super high level, but my best stab at it has always been something like:

- Psi Warrior Fighter 7, War Magic Wizard 13

You could sub War Magic out for other Wizards, to be honest. Psi Warrior gives you lots of neat psychic goodies, and extra attack; while Wizard 13 gets you to Plane Shift. This doesn't give you Telekinetic Bolt, sadly.

Bladesinger is super tempting, but missing out on Bladesong with a Greatsword makes it hard to go for. I've always thought that if I went that route I'd throw in a backstory reason for them having poor strength.

_________

If you don't mind going for Charisma instead, then:

Warlock 6, Sorcerer 14 would work.

Pact of the Blade and you can grab Thirsting Blade as an invocation for Extra Attack, and Eldritch Blast gives you Telekinetic Bolt. The subclasses don't matter that much as Sorc alone can get you all the spells you need but...

- Aberrant Mind Sorcerer would be super flavourful
- Great Old One or Hexblade Warlock would be super flavourful. The minion from Hexblade less so, so you could go Warlock 5 Sorcerer 15 instead. But then you'd miss out on...
- Eldritch Smite. Extra Force Damage on a strike, with prone? Great, and super flavourful for the force damage thing Githyanki have going on.

_________

Those are the best options I've got in mind at the moment. So it's a trade-off of either stat focus, or being able to replicate Telekinetic Bolt at will. If you can convince the DM to let you make Warlock & Sorc work on Int, then I think the second option works better, especially with Aberrant Mind. If not, then Psi Warrior Wizard might be the better choice. But only because I rate the Int focus as being more important - you might have other goals. And even then, I have half a mind to change my mind on that.

[Kane0]

In the past the general consensus was EK/War Wiz, but i guess you could argue for Artificer replacing one side of that?

[RSP]

If you don't mind going for Charisma instead, then:

Warlock 6, Sorcerer 14 would work.

Pact of the Blade and you can grab Thirsting Blade as an invocation for Extra Attack, and Eldritch Blast gives you Telekinetic Bolt. The subclasses don't matter that much as Sorc alone can get you all the spells you need but...

- Aberrant Mind Sorcerer would be super flavourful
- Great Old One or Hexblade Warlock would be super flavourful. The minion from Hexblade less so, so you could go Warlock 5 Sorcerer 15 instead. But then you'd miss out on...
- Eldritch Smite. Extra Force Damage on a strike, with prone? Great, and super flavourful for the force damage thing Githyanki have going on.

I like the Pact of the Blade / Sorc option. I’ll admit to not being super familiar with the Gith, but I know the Silver Greatsword is a thing, and you can make one of those and effectively use it by level 3 assuming you start Warlock. EB as their telekinetic attack works too.

[Salmon343]

I like the Pact of the Blade / Sorc option. I’ll admit to not being super familiar with the Gith, but I know the Silver Greatsword is a thing, and you can make one of those and effectively use it by level 3 assuming you start Warlock. EB as their telekinetic attack works too.

Starting Warlock works. You miss out on Con prof, but I tend to build for Con and Wis saves anyway so it could be grabbed by Resilient Con.

Of course if OP doesn't tend to grab Wis prof, then starting Sorc would be better for this build.

I have come around to preferring the Warlock / Sorc build. I also misread the Warlock replacing invocations - you can replace an invocation with one of your current level, not the level of the replaced one. So you can get both Eldritch Smite and Thirsting Blade at level 5.

People tend to see Cha > Int, so asking for a casting stat swap of Int for both classes wouldn't be too crazy.

Changing both casting stats would prevent it being power building. Otherwise Hexblade 3 Bladesinger 17 would win out by far. Even with a Silver Greatsword so no bladesong, the boosted Extra Attack, combined with 9th level spells and Telekinetic Bolt via Eldritch Blast would make this a winner. You'd also be attacking via Int, so could make a dex build that could use an alternate weapon for when you wanted to bladesong, and use the Greatsword via Int.

[Gignere]

Changing both casting stats would prevent it being power building. Otherwise Hexblade 3 Bladesinger 17 would win out by far. Even with a Silver Greatsword so no bladesong, the boosted Extra Attack, combined with 9th level spells and Telekinetic Bolt via Eldritch Blast would make this a winner. You'd also be attacking via Int, so could make a dex build that could use an alternate weapon for when you wanted to bladesong, and use the Greatsword via Int.

Well if it’s just aesthetics nothing saids a rapier in damage and function summoned via pact of the blade can’t look like a silver great sword.

Then a warlock / Bladesinger combo is fine all you need is 13 in cha to do the combo, you’re attacking with dexterity anyway.

[Skrum]

I strongly prefer to lead with a con-prof class for gish builds, if possible - they cast spells and are probably melee fighters, so they need it.

That said, paladin/sorcerer is kinda hands down the best gish combo. Incredible smite power, cha synergy, and you can vary your paladin levels depending on build. While it delays spell casting even further, a hexblade dip is worth considering as well for Cha SADness

For a variant on that basic build, paladin 2 valor bard X is also a good option. You'll get extra attack and only be delaying spell progression by 2. Smites + flourish makes for the most incredible nova strikes around. The trade off is the bard spell list is much worse than the sorcerers, but for a more martial inclined gish, it's really good.

The other option is EK 5 war wizard X. As someone who's been wanting to play a self-hasting gish, I love the look of this build. Action surge, haste, and arcane deflection are just fantastic abilities. War Caster is essential as well. The downside of this build is it doesn't really come online till 10th, but it should play just fine with a 5 level base of EK.

Now, in terms of having very specific abilities as seen in other stat blocks.... Well obviously you're gonna have to decide how important that is. My inclination though is to not get too hung up on very specific abilities. Depending on your table optimization, there's really only a few gish options that are actually worth it. My advice would be to pick a tried and true gish build, and then work within that to get the feel you want rather than making huge sacrifices in the name of having some particular thing that approximates something else.

[Mongobear]

I will never not recommend EK 8 + Bladesinger 12 multiclass for this purpose. Take Bladesinger 6 before EK 5, their extra attack is better, but start Fighter for weapon/armor proficiencies. I think a normal progression is Fighter 3 for EK / Wizard 6 for their Cantrip Extra Attack / Fighter 4 for BA Attack after using a Cantrip. The main approach at that point is Cantrip + weapon swing Action then a BA weapon swing since you cast a Cantrip. Then you can Action Surge and Cantrip + regular swing again. Using the Blade cantrips, you get a ton of mileage out of this combo, especially if you have magic weapons with bonus dice like a Flame tongue. Also, Elemental Weapon or Shadowblade is an amazing option for your concentration slot, as is Haste for obvious reasons.

[Quietus]

For a variant on that basic build, paladin 2 valor bard X is also a good option. You'll get extra attack and only be delaying spell progression by 2. Smites + flourish makes for the most incredible nova strikes around. The trade off is the bard spell list is much worse than the sorcerers, but for a more martial inclined gish, it's really good.

I think you meant swords bard, given the mention of flourish? If so - I agree completely. Played one of these and had a blast with it. It does have a slow level 6/7, as you're waiting for third level spells and then Extra Attack to come online, but between smites and flourishes, that one attack does still pack a wallop. Before and after that point it still feels incredibly powerful.

[Skrum]

I think you meant swords bard, given the mention of flourish? If so - I agree completely. Played one of these and had a blast with it. It does have a slow level 6/7, as you're waiting for third level spells and then Extra Attack to come online, but between smites and flourishes, that one attack does still pack a wallop. Before and after that point it still feels incredibly powerful.

Oh, yes, I did lol

I've never personally used this build, but two other players at the table did, and yeah, it's super explosive. They both went for a TWF (one got duel wielder, don't remember what the other did), so they had two attacks and then 3 attacks at 8th. If they really wanted to spend resources, they could nova for 75+ a turn, no problem.

[Silly Name]

I don't see why an Eldritch Knight 6/War Mage 14 multiclass doesn't fit the concept, to be honest. You may not perfectly replicate everything the monster version of the Githyanki Gish does, but you can simply take that to be a variance in your training and focus.

Starting stats: STR 16 (+1) DEX 12 CON 14 INT 15 (+2) WIS 10 CHA 8

Go straight Eldritch Knight 6 (Level 4 ASI: +2 STR; Level 6 ASI: Gift of the Gem Dragon, +1 Int), then 14 levels of War Mage (Level 10 ASI: +2 INT; Level 14 ASI: +2 CON; Level 18 ASI: War Caster). Simple and straightforward.

Final Stats: STR 18, DEX 12, CON 16, INT 18, WIS 10, CHA 8

If you want more martial might over arcane power, you can just do the inverse build (Eldritch Knight 14/War Mage 6), and still be quite versatile and powerful. And you get a total of seven ASIs to spend, so you can actually hit 20 on both Strength and Intelligence. But I would also mix up the leveling as Eldritch Knight 6 -> War Mage 6 -> Eldritch Knight, to smooth out the progression a bit.

[Mongobear]

I don't see why an Eldritch Knight 6/War Mage 14 multiclass doesn't fit the concept, to be honest. You may not perfectly replicate everything the monster version of the Githyanki Gish does, but you can simply take that to be a variance in your training and focus.


Because he actually wants to replicate it as close as possible, and EK + Bladesinger just does that better than War Mage. Also, MCing out of EK at 6 before arguably their best class feature at 7 feels wrong, especially with the combo potential of Bladesinger Cantrip extra attack and EK's BA attack after casting. The only issue with the build itself is how long it takes to come online, but once you reach BS 6/EK 7, it is quite strong, not even accounting for your Concentration spell of choice.

[Floorlock]

Thanks for all of the suggestions, guys and/or gals.

So far, you all have me mainly waffling back and forth between the Warlock/ Sorcerer options and the Eldritch Knight / Wizard options.

A couple of other things to note is that...in my group's attempts to stay slightly current with the rules...we've also adapted a few of the Playtest materials for the Warlock...

Most notably that Eldritch Blast scales with Warlock level only, Medium Armor is included, and Pact of the Blade works off of the casting stat.

So Eldritch Blast isn't AS valuable to the Sorcerer combo as it would normally be...but, I still think that having two blasts by getting to level 5 of Warlock is acceptable...especially with having quicken metamagic, attack options, and good spells.

At the same time, though, the Eldritch Knight/ Psi-Warrior + either Bladesinger or War Wizard seems more classic. Hmmm.
Also, in the instance of of the Eldritch Knight's 7th level feature combined with the Bladesinger's extra attack cantrip... does it work in that way? I mean, can you get the bonus action attack proc with the cantrip from the Bladesinger's extra attack...such as with a booming blade or the like? I haven't seen a common consensus online about the validity of it yet.

I saw one comment about using a rapier for aesthetics, but, I also want to restate that we play with a houserule where Longswords are finesse weapons. A longsword is good enough for me in lieu of a silver greatsword, I suppose.

[Gignere]

I saw one comment about using a rapier for aesthetics, but, I also want to restate that we play with a houserule where Longswords are finesse weapons. A longsword is good enough for me in lieu of a silver greatsword, I suppose.

Just watch out if you do go Bladesinger, you can’t two hand your long sword during a Bladesong or it ends. I suggested the rapier as a reskinned silver great sword mainly because you don’t have to worrry about losing Bladesong at all since it can’t be two handed.

[RSP]

. A longsword is good enough for me in lieu of a silver greatsword, I suppose.

The real benefit of Warlock is you can describe your Pact Weapon however you want, so it could actually be a silver greatsword (that you use with Cha if Hexblade).

If a finesse long sword is good enough, then I’d def go Bladesinger: much better defenses

[Joe the Rat]

Thanks for all of the suggestions, guys and/or gals.

So far, you all have me mainly waffling back and forth between the Warlock/ Sorcerer options and the Eldritch Knight / Wizard options.

A couple of other things to note is that...in my group's attempts to stay slightly current with the rules...we've also adapted a few of the Playtest materials for the Warlock...

Most notably that Eldritch Blast scales with Warlock level only, Medium Armor is included, and Pact of the Blade works off of the casting stat.

So Eldritch Blast isn't AS valuable to the Sorcerer combo as it would normally be...but, I still think that having two blasts by getting to level 5 of Warlock is acceptable...especially with having quicken metamagic, attack options, and good spells.

At the same time, though, the Eldritch Knight/ Psi-Warrior + either Bladesinger or War Wizard seems more classic. Hmmm.
Also, in the instance of of the Eldritch Knight's 7th level feature combined with the Bladesinger's extra attack cantrip... does it work in that way? I mean, can you get the bonus action attack proc with the cantrip from the Bladesinger's extra attack...such as with a booming blade or the like? I haven't seen a common consensus online about the validity of it yet.

I saw one comment about using a rapier for aesthetics, but, I also want to restate that we play with a houserule where Longswords are finesse weapons. A longsword is good enough for me in lieu of a silver greatsword, I suppose.
I would lean heavy into PsiKnight/Warlock, if not for that detail that PotBlade is Wis or Cha only in the playtest - otherwise it could completely sub for wizard.

I wonder if EK/Wiz +Telekinetic feat would cover?

[Sherlockpwns]

I guess I don’t see why this “classic” Gith has to be multiclass; other than that is sometimes fun.

Aberrant mind sorcerer checks all the boxes. If you are using LS as finesse just two hand it. Not only does sorcerer get the variety of spells you want (fireball, invis, etc) as well as con prof; it also lets you easily do the most Gish thing imaginable: cast a massive spell as a bonus action and then take the attack action (or more likely booming blade or gfb). You get one of these super charged turns every other level, which makes a nice power curve feeling to the class.

I’m not saying it’s like stupid strong or better than the above, but it does check all the boxes. If you go cha/dex/con you’ll have passable AC for two handing (mage armor). You can dip a level of fighter or cleric if you want real armor + shield too.

Beyond just the combat it also gets a variety of telekinetic abilities and spells.

Just food for thought.

[RSP]

Aberrant mind sorcerer checks all the boxes. If you are using LS as finesse just two hand it. Not only does sorcerer get the variety of spells you want (fireball, invis, etc) as well as con prof; it also lets you easily do the most Gish thing imaginable: cast a massive spell as a bonus action and then take the attack action (or more likely booming blade or gfb). You get one of these super charged turns every other level, which makes a nice power curve feeling to the class.

It works fine: currently playing a single class melee Clockwork Soul reskinned to a Telekinetic and it works. I would suggest CS over Aberrant Mind if you plan on being in melee: Aid, AoA, and Bastion of Law really help out.

[Kvess]

The real benefit of Warlock is you can describe your Pact Weapon however you want, so it could actually be a silver greatsword (that you use with Cha if Hexblade).

If a finesse long sword is good enough, then I’d def go Bladesinger: much better defenses

Warlock is actually a great class for a Githyanki warrior by lore, considering they are pledged to their immortal undead queen, Vlaakith.

[RogueJK]

Warlock is actually a great class for a Githyanki warrior by lore, considering they are pledged to their immortal undead queen, Vlaakith.

Fighter 1/Undead Bladelock X is a great melee gish build anyway (superior in some ways to the Hexblade Bladelock), so that style of Githyanki Gish works both thematically as well as mechanically.

The Fighter dip isn't even strictly necessary, if you don't mind giving up the Fighter's armor and/or shield proficiency and fighting style, and either still have access to the old MToF Githyanki that gets racial medium armor and greatsword proficiency or don't mind being a slightly nontraditional DEX-based lightly armored Githyanki wielding a Rapier pact weapon.

[herrhauptmann]

How about abjurer? The Iron Wizard is intended mostly for hobgoblins, and your version of the Gith don't get the same weapon/armor proficiencies as the regular. https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=23837856&postcount=45

I played it in Ravenloft and while it didn't quite have the melee power I wanted, it had the survivability to keep me up longer than the barbarian.

Warcaster meant I passed my concentration checks even when Strahd was trying to bite my throat out and his horse was trying to trample me. Since you don't get light armor as a racial feature, you'll probably want to multiclass to something that grants you a shield and at least medium armor for a higher AC. Which also saves you a feat.

After that, standard God wizard spell selection. At 9th level take Steelwind Strike for a multitarget attack spell that provides short range teleportation ability. Other key spells for me were Alarm (ritual to charge up my ward every morning), Tiny Hut (ritual for safe resting), and Protection from Evil (let me tank a half dozen ghosts while most of the party was down).

It sucks though that so many of the abjuration spells are concentration and/or expensive components.

[Floorlock]

How about abjurer? The Iron Wizard is intended mostly for hobgoblins, and your version of the Gith don't get the same weapon/armor proficiencies as the regular. https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=23837856&postcount=45

I played it in Ravenloft and while it didn't quite have the melee power I wanted, it had the survivability to keep me up longer than the barbarian.

Warcaster meant I passed my concentration checks even when Strahd was trying to bite my throat out and his horse was trying to trample me. Since you don't get light armor as a racial feature, you'll probably want to multiclass to something that grants you a shield and at least medium armor for a higher AC. Which also saves you a feat.

After that, standard God wizard spell selection. At 9th level take Steelwind Strike for a multitarget attack spell that provides short range teleportation ability. Other key spells for me were Alarm (ritual to charge up my ward every morning), Tiny Hut (ritual for safe resting), and Protection from Evil (let me tank a half dozen ghosts while most of the party was down).

It sucks though that so many of the abjuration spells are concentration and/or expensive components.

I really would go this route if it weren't for my desire for more melee power/ potential.

I know how potent and capable just going straight wizard could be...but, I just don't think it would necessarily emulate the fantasy as well.

I'm still inbetween going the Warlock route or the Fighter Wizard route, I think.

Honestly...one of the things that it is selling me on going Fighter Wizard is the fact that I've been messing around with Baldur's Gate 3 recently and seeing that they have Lae'zel as a fighter...seemingly reaffirming the concept of possibly starting as a fighter...running into Eldritch Knight...and then switching over to Wizard at some point to reach those upper echelons of spell power to cast things like plane shift eventually.

I'm still sort of mulling it over though. I also don't know how "canon" or sticking to source Baldur's Gate 3 actually is...lol...so I also don't even know if that's the best place to look into when considering all of this. Hmmm.

[Unoriginal]

I really would go this route if it weren't for my desire for more melee power/ potential.

I know how potent and capable just going straight wizard could be...but, I just don't think it would necessarily emulate the fantasy as well.

I'm still inbetween going the Warlock route or the Fighter Wizard route, I think.

Honestly...one of the things that it is selling me on going Fighter Wizard is the fact that I've been messing around with Baldur's Gate 3 recently and seeing that they have Lae'zel as a fighter...seemingly reaffirming the concept of possibly starting as a fighter...running into Eldritch Knight...and then switching over to Wizard at some point to reach those upper echelons of spell power to cast things like plane shift eventually.

I'm still sort of mulling it over though. I also don't know how "canon" or sticking to source Baldur's Gate 3 actually is...lol...so I also don't even know if that's the best place to look into when considering all of this. Hmmm.

Lae'zel isn't a Gish, though, lore-wise. And from what I've been told, going Eldritch Knight with her isn't a great idea due to her average INT.

That being said Githyanki Gishes are def. Fighters/Wizards.

[Floorlock]

Lae'zel isn't a Gish, though, lore-wise. And from what I've been told, going Eldritch Knight with her isn't a great idea due to her average INT.

That being said Githyanki Gishes are def. Fighters/Wizards.


Sorry, I was thinking of my own Early Access experience where I made her go Eldritch Knight. She does have interestingly lower intelligence than you would think, though, yeah. Lol. Hopefully I'm able to potentially respec that when the full game releases in a couple of days.

I think I was also thinking of her seeming aspiration...presumably like all Vlaakith loyalists, to become a Kith'rak and have a dragon mount. I sometimes unfortunately conflate the concepts of a Kith'rak and a Gish, though they are clearly different (but maybe not exclusive?) concepts. Once again, I'm slightly new to absorbing all of the Gith lore...I don't know if there are specific books to look into or what. Half of what I've learned about the Githzerai specifically has come from musings on the internet about the ex-monk and the unbroken circle of Zerthimon as discussed in Planescape: Torment. Thankfully, there is often more direct information available about the Githyanki...though, I still find some of it a bit vague.

Notably, though, as I look over the Kith'rak stat block from Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, they still seem to have somewhat powerful spellcasting...
They're loaded up with Blur, Jump, Misty Step, Nondetection, and more importantly Telekinesis and Planeshift. Some of that is stuff that can be simulated by something particularly psionic...like a Psi-Warrior fighter...

But Nondetection and Planeshift definitely couldn't be.

Hmm. Regardless of the situation, it would seem that Fighter specifically might be in their blood...and so that should maybe be the route I go with wizard in there to get me to Planeshift.

[gorfnab]

Order of the Profane Soul ( The Hexblade) Blood Hunter makes for a decent Gish-type option.

[RogueJK]

going Eldritch Knight with her isn't a great idea due to her average INT.


Sorry, I was thinking of my own Early Access experience where I made her go Eldritch Knight. She does have interestingly lower intelligence than you would think, though, yeah. Lol.

Dunno about BG3 specifically, but in 5E itself, Eldritch Knights and similar melee-focused Fighter/Wizards don't need a high INT like a pure Wizard or casting-focused Fighter/Wizard. There are plenty of Wizard spells that don't care about your INT score, including basically all of the best defense/buff spells that a melee gish would want.

[Kenny_Snoggins]

A kalashtar with the telekinetic feat is a good start for any Githyanki Gish build, just flavor it differently. Telepathic, telekinetic, resistance to psychic and advantage on wisdom saves.