The index of
TSR's immortal volume
Fiend Folio lists the creator of the xvart as one
Cricky Hitchcock. But the creature's name (if not the spelling) will be familiar to fans of the novels of
Alan Garner, and speakers of
Scandinavian languages.
Where did the blue-skinned
goblins found in
Fiend Folio (and MC14, its
Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Second Edition counterpart), and rampaging in such numbers through the
Baldur's Gate games, spring from?
The answer lies in the same place as the origin of the
drow. The word is simply an excessively science-fictional spelling of '
svart', which is the word for 'black' in many
Scandinavian languages. The
German word
schwarz is from the same root, as is the
obsolete English word
swart (from which
swarthy derives). In
Norse mythology, the
elves (
alfar) are divided into two classes. The
Liosalfar - light elves, Ljusalfar in modern
Swedish - are said to follow
Frey, head of the
Vanir, and an
astral deity. The
dark elves, or
Svartalfar, instead follow (according to some sources)
Wieland/
Wayland, the smith-god, who has a clearly
cthonic aspect. There is also some confusion in this respect with the
dwarves (
dvergar, from which
AD&D gets its '
derro' and '
duergar'), and with the
trolls (
trow/
drow in old
Scottish dialects).
Milton makes reference to a
swart fairy, as a synonym for a spirit of ill-omen, in
Comus. My sources for dark-elf nomenclature are a little patchy after this, but we hit a definite reference in the novels
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and
The Moon of Gomrath, by
British fantasy author
Alan Garner. These books, drawing heavily (too heavily, some might say) on
Celtic and
Nordic legend, feature a race of malignant goblin-like creatures, fitting almost exactly the
Fiend Folio description, called svart-alfar, or svarts for short.
The established society of xvart(s) in their AD&D incarnation has little if anything to do with their Norse heritage. Stripped of interesting mythic background, they become yet another addition to the ranks of '
goblinoids'. Their blue skin does not really distinguish them significantly from the existing
orcs,
goblins,
kobolds (before the Third Edition reinforced kobolds'
reptilian nature),
hobgoblins,
bugbears,
nilbogs and other
bugaboos. In the official AD&D
canon, they were initially restricted to the
World of Greyhawk setting, where they worshipped a cruel god called
Raxivort. However, their appearance in the original
Baldur's Gate computer game confirmed many players' existing use of them in the
Forgotten Realms setting. So far as I am aware, no statement has appeared about the religion of xvart on
Toril.
To confuse your AD&D players, I recommend referring to
drow as
svartalfar (in my
Planescape campaign I gave
svartalfar a contextual spin meaning something like '
elf of colour') and to
xvart as 'swart-fairies', or even 'drow' or 'troll'. Their initial tactics may be amusingly wrong. And play with their minds on the religion front as well. Those drow...do they worship the usual AD&D drow goddess,
Lolth, or the Forgotten Realms 'good' drow goddess,
Eilistraee, or
Wayland, or even
Loki? And what of the xvart?