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View Full Version : Xvarts: mutant smurfs?



dtilque
2014-05-10, 03:51 AM
Well, they're both small blue humanoids, so it was the first thought that went through my mind when I learned about xvarts.

Anyway, what I'm really interested in is who invented them and, especially, where did the name come from? Was it a random coinage, derived from some obscure word, or a word from another language? Or perhaps something else like an acronym or portmanteau?


PS This probably goes in one of the D&D specific subforums, but I wasn't sure which one. Moderator feel free to move it (as if you really needed my permission for that).

BWR
2014-05-10, 04:05 AM
The first thing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xvart)that popped up when I Googled it.

dtilque
2014-05-10, 04:34 AM
The first thing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xvart)that popped up when I Googled it.

Well, yes I saw that, but it doesn't tell me where the name came from.

Yora
2014-05-10, 08:07 AM
The xvart, created by Cricky Hitchcock, first appeared as the "svart" in White Dwarf #9 (October 1978).
Wouldn't be too suprised if it's short for "svartalfar" or black elf, a kind of dwarf that also inspired drow and duergar.

Ravens_cry
2014-05-10, 09:00 AM
Which in turn is probably related to the term swarthy, at least, etymologically speaking.
Some literal mutant Smurfs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Smurfs) with, in the original story, black skin are part of a story that has startling resemblance to your typical modern zombie story, even though it's much older than Night of the Living Dead.

Yora
2014-05-10, 09:59 AM
Yes, svart is the germanic root for black. English as always an exception.

Ravens_cry
2014-05-10, 10:24 AM
Yes, svart is the germanic root for black. English as always an exception.
English is a bastard, in both senses of the word. :smalltongue:

Kid Jake
2014-05-10, 07:25 PM
Next time I run D&D I think I'm gonna have a Xvart village lead by the venerable Papa Xvart who's constantly trying to capture and eat a local wizard and his familiar.

dtilque
2014-05-10, 08:06 PM
Wouldn't be too suprised if it's short for "svartalfar" or black elf, a kind of dwarf that also inspired drow and duergar.

This looks about right.

Thanks for the help, everyone.


Next time I run D&D I think I'm gonna have a Xvart village lead by the venerable Papa Xvart who's constantly trying to capture and eat a local wizard and his familiar.

That's just xvartastic. Don't forget Xvartette.