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That was the most handsome and delightful company, the fairest of form, the most
distinguished in their equipment and apparel, and their skill in music and playing, the
most gifted in mind and temperament that ever came to Ireland. That too was the
company that was bravest and inspired most horror and fear and dread, for the Tuatha
Dé excelled all the peoples of the world in their proficiency in every art.
— The First Battle of Mag Tuired
I cut off his head and placed it on a stone pillar, so all would see the fate of one who
scorned my aid. He came back a few decades later and we had a good roll in the hay.
What can I say, spears really turn me on.
— Barb McNiven, incarnation of the Morrígan
Other pantheons think of the Tuatha Dé Danann — the People of the Goddess Danu — as simply the
eldest of a host of whimsical fairy creatures. They're not wholly wrong, but the Goddess' children won
their place with blades and words of power. The Irish pantheon stands atop a bloody heap of
vanquished gods and conquered monsters.
Since the time before reckoning, the titanspawn Fomhóraigh, or Fomorians, and their Titanic monarchs
have claimed the Emerald Isle. Time and again, others came to drive them out and steal their wild land,
but none succeeded permanently until the Tuatha Dé Danann.
The Tuatha and their cousins, the Fir Bolg, descended from a tribe the Fomorians had driven off
centuries before. The exiles' descendants returned to reclaim their ancestral homeland — first the Fir
Bolg, then Danu's children. The Tuatha rode not in ships as the Fir Bolg did but atop magical storms
rolling with thunder across the sea. The two tribes spilled much blood between them until the Tuatha
emerged victorious and claimed the land.
But Bres, their new half-Fomorian king, cruelly subjugated the gods and usurped all their wealth for his
titanspawn brethren. The Tuatha rebelled and won another war. They imprisoned the Fomorians
beyond the edges of the World, but not before the land was soaked in divine blood on both sides.
Finally, the Gaels invaded and defeated the Tuatha. The victors claimed the World while the People
claimed the Otherworld. From the Gaels descended the Irish people, and the Tuatha Dé Danann
became their gods.
Principal Members
The Tuatha Dé Danann are a fierce, proud pantheon of warrior-poets who revel equally in love and
battle. Fate and family ties — both by blood and by fosterage — tangle them in rigid systems of arcane
rules, but their potent magics and myriad arts make them foes fearsome and wild. They adhere to only a
and kings who rule the sídhe, or fairy mounds, that divide the
loose organization, with queens
Otherworld into fiefdoms. A few gods, like Donn, also have particular functions to perform, but most
of them are too busy doing whatever (and whoever) they want.
The Tuatha are more likely than most gods to adopt Scions born of others, hearkening back to their
ancient tradition of fosterage. Thus, it's common to find Scions of the Tuatha who inherit Callings and
Purviews from multiple divine parents, or even strange powers from Fomorian ancestry.
The gods of the Irish pantheon include: Aengus the Mac Óg (love and youth), Brigid (fire and
inspiration), the Dagda (All-Father of knowledge and magic), Danu (mother of the gods), Dian Cécht
(healing), Donn (the dead), Ériu (land and sovereignty), Lugh Lámhfhada (excellence and skills/arts),
Manannán mac Lir (the sea and passage to the Otherworld), the Morrígan (prophecy and war), Nuada
Airgeadlámh (wise rulership), Ogma (strength and language).
Pronunciation Guide
In the below guide, “th” sounds are pronounced as in “the” and “ch” sounds are
pronounced as in the Scottish “loch.”
Badb: bahv
Brigid: bree-yid
Claíomh Solais: kleev saw-lish
Cú Chulainn: coo chuh-lun
Dian Cécht: dee-un kaycht
Eochaid Ollathair: oh-cha ull-a-hair
Fomhóraigh: fo-voh-ruh
geis: gesh
Imbolc: im-mulk
Lugh Lámhfhada: loo law-va-thuh
Lughnasadh: loo-nuh-suh
Mag Mell: mah mell
Manannán mac Lir: mah-nah-nawn mahk leer
Nemain: nev-in
Nuada Airgeadlámh: noo-uh-thuh ar-ged-lawv
ogham: oh-um
Samhain: sah-win
Samildánach: sah-mul-daw-nuch
sídhe: shee
Teach Duinn: tyuch duhyn
Tuatha Dé Danann: too-ah-ha day dahn-un
Uaithne: oo-uh-nyeh
Triple Deities
The Irish pantheon abounds with deities that encompass three in one: the three Brigids,
the three sovereignty goddesses, the three Morrígna. Scions argue over whether each is
one god with three common incarnations, or three close sisters, or three separate gods
that are somehow also the same god — or something even weirder. In the Morrígan's
case, she's not even always the same three gods, depending on who you ask and the day
of the week. To further muddy the waters, this doesn't even take into account potential
cross-pantheon triples, like Lugh's murky relationship to the Welsh Lleu Llaw Gyffes
and Gaulish Lugus. The Tuatha don't care to discuss it. Many a too-curious Scion has
ventured into the sídhe boldly demanding answers only to end up cursed for her trouble.
While three Scions of Brigid can access the same Purviews and Callings, they may feel
as though their divine mothers are different people. One may inherit nothing but the
forge fire, while another is a healer and the third pure muse. Then a fourth sibling
appears with aspects of all three, tearing the nice neat boxes to shreds. The Morrígan's
Scions have an even stranger time of it, some even claiming the bloodline of a goddess
no one's ever heard of, yet clearly wielding the battle-crow's power. “Sibling rivalry”
takes an alarming turn when Scions of Ériu, Banba, and Fótla take it upon themselves to
decide who really deserves to claim the Hill of Tara's Axis Mundi.
Other Tuatha not detailed in this book may have similar triple qualities, such as Goibniu
the weaponsmith with his fellows, Creidhne the metalworker and Luchtaine the
carpenter.
Ultimately, the Storyguide can decide how relevant it is to the game to determine the
exact metaphysics of these triple deity relationships. Keep it mysterious if you want to,
or craft a whole tale based on getting to the bottom of it!