Xvart Xvarts ( also known as Xivorts or Svarts ) were a race of small blue humanoid s . Description . Xvarts were relatively small , standing at around 3 feet ( 0 . 9m ) . They had blue skin and large yellow eyes . Xvarts often wore simple cloth doublets , preferring greens and blues . Some xvarts had dark patches of hair , often receding . Personality . Xvarts were cowardly and easily intimidated . They were of average intelligence . Xvarts were generally hateful creatures . Their short , miserable lives led them to despise most creatures and take out their angst on anyone and anything they could ; but they particularly enjoyed tormenting larger creatures , in particular goliaths and half - orcs . However they enjoyed somewhat better relationships with gnomes and halflings , having been frequently recruited as spies and minions by evil members of those races . Combat . Xvarts were weak as individuals , so they often attacked in large groups . Ambush tactics were the xvarts preferred form of attack . They would often attack sleeping opponents if given the opportunity . Xvart raiding parties sometimes took prisoners to torture or hold for ransom . Commonly used xvart weapons were short sword s , dagger s , dart s and nets . Xvart " net casters " would try and restrain larger opponents allowing the blade wielding xvarts to swarm their opponent . Some xvarts were able to tap into a type of shadow magic which they used in combat as well as to protect their homes . A small minority of xvarts had shaman powers . Society . Xvarts were most likely to live in hills or caves . Tribes are often made up of around 100 xvarts . Each tribe had a leader and roughly 3 lieutenants . Xvarts had little interest in coins and currency . Making deals with xvarts often meant having to trade goods or services . While the males hunted and pillaged , the females would care for children and basically run the tribe . Xvarts were normally conceived in the spring and the autumn . Offspring were born in pairs and were cared for until they were around 7 years old . At this point they were considered adults and assumed their role in the tribe . Religion . Xvarts had no known formal religion , but the reference to xvart tribal shamans does indicate that they may have had some kind of spiritual beliefs . Interracial Relations . Xvarts were naturally drawn to shadow creatures . They were often used by evil gnomes or halfling s as minions . Xvarts feared human s and would only attack groups of humans if they had a considerable numeric advantage . Xvarts considered themselves above kobold s in a racial hierarchy and would bully kobolds whenever possible . Xvarts had a hatred of large creatures like ogre s and giant s . They particularly loathed goliath s and half - orc s . Xvarts were able to communicate with bat s and rat s and even wererat s . They often used them as allies or beasts of burden . Xvarts sometimes rode particularly large rats or bats . History . Xvarts were once gnome s . They were captured by fomorian s and enslaved in the Shadowdark . Over many generations the creatures were warped by fell magic and slowly began to adapt to their surroundings . As part of a bargain with a cabal of hag s , a number of xvarts escaped the Shadowdark and slipped into the Shadowfell . This led to these xvarts becoming even more disfigured and unlike their gnome ancestors . Eventually many of the creatures found their way back into Toril and into the Feywild , though some are still slaves to the fomorians . Around 1479 DR , a band of xvarts were brought to the sewers beneath Baldur ' s Gate from the Feywild by the gnome illusionist Rothryn Toth in order to pillage the city on his behalf . A population of xvarts had established a significant presence in a region of the Sword Coast near - south of Baldur ' s Gate in the decades after the Time of Troubles . There they established a village in the mountains west of Nashkel and carried out raids on local farmers , taking a particular interest in their cattle . They also allied themselves with a nearby population of gnolls and took up residence in a group of caves close to a fortress of theirs , providing troops to aid in it ' s defense . Appendix . Appearances . Xvarts appear in very few sources . This is probably partly because Ed Greenwood considered Xvarts to be redundant creatures with no unique or interesting characteristics .