#xvart

Locals of Shady Town

NPCs from my underdark campaign. Near the imposing drow city of Draix’il, there is a community of secretive small folk—deep gnomes, darklings, goblins, kobolds, and such—whose town, built into ancient dwarven tunnels, has a different flavour of edgy aesthetic.

In the back is the Xvart! A 3 ft (1 m) creature that can speak to rats/bats and looks vaguely phallic tbh. They're cowardly, their leaders wear stilts to feel tall, and they hate/envy anything they see as better than them. Which is everything, they're basically flawed clones of a weakling-turned-god with enough intelligence to KNOW they're flawed. If you're after a wretched little creature looking to find shitty loot to sacrifice to a father/god who will never love them, a pathetic little creature, then here you go!

I almost forgot these little guys! Grungs are 3 ft (91 cm) sentient poison tree frog people. Generally aggressive and territorial creatures that live in a (usually) matriarchal caste based society based on color (though your role and color can actually change if you do well enough). The color actually does matter, as it determines the powers their poison holds!

Green poison only lets you move by jumping and climbing. they're the warrior caste.

Blue grung are artisans and childcare workers, and thier poison compels you to make loud noises.

Purples are supervisors, thier poison fills you with the overwhelming urge to soak in water or mud

Reds are mages, usually of primal or divine magic, and make you need to eat anything edible in sight.

Orange are elite guards and make you scared of your friends.

Image © Wizards of the Coast.

[Back in the days of AD&D, there was a logical progression to humanoid opponents, based on how tough they were. Kobolds were weakest, followed by goblins, then orcs, then hobgoblins, then gnolls, lizardmen and bugbears in that order. The xvart was created in the Fiend Folio to fill a perceived gap; they’re weaker than goblins and stronger than kobolds. But other than that, they’re just Yet Another Evil Humanoid, and have kind of floated around from edition to edition looking for a niche. Volo’s Guide to Monsters makes them direct creations and pawns of their god Raxivort, instead of Raxivort being an ascended xvart as his original flavor text described. This is, I think, the best decision that’s been made yet about the xvarts, and it makes them stand out more than the novelty of being shanked by a Smurf.

This version is an adaptation of the Volo’s backstory, with a few adjustments for Pathfinder. Graz’zt doesn’t exist in that setting, for example, so the Infinity Spindle needed a new owner. In 5e canon, xvarts are only created by Raxivort directly, which raises the question of where new xvarts come from. Does Raxivort drop them off when he visits his cults? Does a giant bat deliver them in a bundle and drop them down the chimney? So I wanted to make sure that xvarts could reproduce themselves.]

Xvart CR 1/3 CE Outsider (native) This awful little man is about half head, with dark blue skin, orange eyes and a fringe of black hair surrounding a mostly bald scalp.

Xvarts are malicious little humanoids with an inferiority complex, created as decoys by a nascent demon lord. Their progenitor is Raxivort, who gained his title and power by stealing the Infinity Spindle from the treasury of Mammon, an artifact that can bestow immortality through the power of hundreds of stolen souls. Hunted perpetually by Mammon and his allies, as well as other schemers who want the power of the Infinity Spindle for themselves, Raxivort used his newfound power to effectively clone himself, creating a whole species of miniature duplicates. These are the xvarts. Whenever anyone attempts to use divination magic to learn about Raxivort, the spell instead targets the nearest xvart, leaving him pleasantly anonymous.

Xvarts know of their origins, and tend towards two alternating philosophies focusing on Raxivort. Most worship him, praying for his blessings and sacrificing treasure and lives to him in the hopes of being rewarded. A few renegade tribes hate Raxivort for the crime of creating them, and are nihilists who pray that Raxivort is caught and killed. Both philosophies lead themselves towards a sense of bitterness towards other species, and xvarts know that they are considered small, stupid and ugly by others. They are bandits, robbers and thieves, making a living by stealing from their neighbors. Xvarts are capable of eating a wide variety of foods, but prefer to eat meat because killing makes them feel superior. They look down on kobolds, and hate just about anyone larger than themselves.

Xvarts believe in strength in numbers, and are rarely if ever encountered alone. They train with each other in cooperative combat, and most xvarts have at least one teamwork feat. They use whatever techniques they can to weaken and slow down opponents—nets and traps are favored. As a gift from Raxivort, xvarts can speak with bats, rats, and giant versions of the same, and often use dire rats as hunting dogs or dire bats as steeds. Xvarts see no shame in fleeing from a combat, and do so if they cannot press an advantage.

All xvarts look practically the same, as they closely resemble miniatures of Raxivort—all are approximately 3 feet tall, have dark blue skin, orange or yellow eyes, and are perpetually balding. They have no secondary sexual characteristics, and an xvart who genders themselves is seen as strange by most others. Despite rumors to the contrary, they can reproduce—births are almost always twins, and the children are raised communally, if somewhat negligently. Those that survive are considered to be full adults by 7. Xvarts rarely live past the age of 50. Xvarts advance by class level; most leveled xvarts are rogues or rangers, and spellcasters are typically clerics of Raxivort or sorcerers with the Abyssal bloodline.

Raxivort Raxivort the Packmaster appears as an xvart standing nine feet tall, clutching a falchion limned in blue fire. He is a shapeshifter, capable of transforming into a rat, a bat or a monstrous hybrid of the two. Raxivort’s domain is the Black Sewer, the network of catacombs beneath Alushinyrra, the Porphyry City. He is a nascent demon lord with the Chaos, Darkness, Evil and Trickery domains, and the Deception, Demon, Loss and Thievery subdomains.

Xvarts as Characters Xvarts do not have racial Hit Dice and instead advance through class levels. An xvart character has the following characteristics +4 Dex, -2 Int, -2 Wis, -2 Cha Xvarts are very nimble, but have small, stunted minds Native Outsider An xvart is immune to spells and abilities that target humanoids specifically Normal Speed An xvart has a movement speed of 30 ft. Thievery An xvart gains a +2 racial bonus on Sleight of Hand and Stealth checks. Diviner’s Bane An xvart gains a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against divination effects. Raxivort’s Tongue An xvart may communicate with rodents and bats as if under the effects of a speak with animals spell as a supernatural ability Run Away An xvart does not provoke attacks of opportunity the first time it leaves a space within an opponent’s reach in a round. Passing through additional squares in an opponent’s reach provoke attacks of opportunity as normal. Weapon Proficiency An xvart is proficient with nets Languages An xvart begins play speaking Abyssal. Xvarts with an Intelligence bonus may choose from the following bonus languages: Common, Gnome, Goblin, Halfling, Orc, Undercommon

Settlement: Javhintor’s Keel

 Lets get one thing straight, no one sane travels during the winter, not even adventurers. There’s no food to be foraged in the wilderness, which makes for difficult crossings and even more aggressive predators. Likewise, traveling into unpredictable winter weather is suicide for all but the most prepared groups as snow or sleet can make normally hospitable terrain impassable, and exaustion compounds quickly when traveling overland. If you’re a sellsword: find someplace to hunker down where you can still get paid without ranging too far afield, contract work is best, but plenty of settlements will have odd jobs you can make due with in the cold, lean days. 

Dizidel Lek, “A traveler’s guide to not dying like an idiot and having strangers turn over your bones for loose change” , Vol. 4

Adventure Hooks: 

In the dying days of autumn, while considering where they’re going to winter, the party receives an invitation from the Jarl of Javhintor’s Keel, a thriving freehold on the edge of the sea of daggers. She’s heard of their deeds and bravery, and has invited them to enjoy the hospitality of her hall, to share mead and songs and good tidings and to lend their prestige to her own.  A message with great potential to be sure, as such offers of hospitality are often trialruns for offers of more formal oaths of patronage. The exchanging of gifts is a common practice to make such occasions official, but what gift to give a Jarl when you and your friends are but petty sellswords with narry a gold peice to rub together between yourselves?  Why not that beast that’s been rampaging through the countryside nearby ? Hunt it, slay it, stuff it, and present its head(s) to the Jarl as a trophy for her wall and a symbol of the strength you could lend to her cause. 

Once they get to Javhintor’s keel, the DM has an excuse to really let the players dig into a setting, see it develop over their three months of stay, get to know the locals, and become part of the town themselves.  Such distractions may include: 

Exploring wrecks, islands and sea caves along the coast for bitesized dungeon content.

Solving the Mystery behind a haunted lighthouse

Earning the respect of Captian Priska and her crew of reavers, earning an invitation to their next raid on foreign shores, and their own snake-venom tattoo. 

Hunt the mysterious ice-red stag that haunts the forest like a ghost

Make a Pilgramage up to the shrine of Tyr on the tallest peak and see what the god of valor has to say about their prospects

Help a mad fisherman capture a sea-beast that’s encroached on the bay and has been devouring all the fish from his neighbor’s nets. 

Apprentice under one of the many grizzled warriors that make thier home in the keel, learning new fighting techniques

Help a pair of starcrossed traders realize that though they’re fierce business rivals, the oracle’s dire prophecy regarding their competitor was infact a very poorly worded dating advice. 

Prepare for all hearth’s eve, in the Jarl’s palace the biggest festival of the winter solstice. Sneak into the mysterious forbidden wing, and figure out who the hell has stolen all the Hearth’s eve presents! 

Setup:  Jarl Irwyf is a shrewd woman, and in possession of an understanding that led her through her youth as an honored warrior and to her ascension as Jarl of the Keel. She understand that it is a warrior’s reputation that prevents their rivals from encroaching, and that by perusing a path of peace and prosperity for her people, she has dulled her own reputation in exchange. Not some tyrant to wage war on a neighbor just to strengthen her own position, Irwyf seeks to bolster her kingdom’s reputation for might and valor by playing host to the realm’s next generation of heroes. To this end she intends test the party’s character and mettle, bind them to her in loyalty, then send them out into the world to accomplish great deeds that might reflect favorably on her patronage. 

Something however seems intent on sabotaging all her plans. Her winter stores are running out faster than expected, sections of her fortress are overrun with rats, and just as the festivities really kick into gear, something goes and makes off with the food and gifts she’d prepared to bestow upon her courtiers.  A diplomatic disaster waiting to happen, as many of those courtiers are due gifts by tribal right, or else Irwyf will have been considered to have dishonored her subordinates. Her only hope now is to let the party in on her distress, showing her hand as seemingly implacable benefactor in exchange for their aid and discursion. 

lil purple fuck (affectionate)

you know that D&D thing where the party gets attached to a random one-off NPC and highkey adopts them? our party’s favorite, much-beloved NPC is a nasty little purple man named Kostanza. he’s terrible and we’d all die for him