The Tuatha De Danann
Other pantheons think of the Tuatha Dé Danann — the People of the Goddess Danu — as simply the eldest of ahost of whimsical fairy creatures. They’re not wholly wrong,but the Goddess’ children won their place withblades 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 loose organization, with queens and kings who rule the sídhe, or fairy mounds, that divide the 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), Dian Cécht (healing), Donn (the dead), Ériu (land and sovereignty), Goibniu (crafts and hospitality), Lugh Lámhfhada (excellence and skills/arts), Manannán mac Lir (the sea and passage to the Otherworld), the Morrígan (prophecy and war), Nuada Airgetlám (wise rulership), Ogma (strength and language).
Aengus the Mac Óg
Brigid
The Dagda
Dian Cécht
Donn
Ériu
Goibiniu
Lugh Lámhfhada
Manannán mac Lir
The Morrígan
Nuada Airgetlám
Ogma
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Virtues: the two sides of Enech, Honor and Prowess. The Irish Gods place utmost importance on the concept of Enech, or “face.” It incorporates both their outward reputation with others and their internal sense of self-worth and integrity. Enech is why one of the deadliest weapons of the Tuatha Signature Purview is magical satire: the ability to expose a hero’s darkest secrets and tarnish her name so thoroughly that Fate itself punishes her for it.
Honor is the Virtue of the wise ruler — strength of character. The Honorable hero shows generosity, extends hospitality, and provides for her people. She plays and fights fairly, and never breaks her word. She extends her allies and enemies alike every courtesy. She knows her reputation is predicated upon the success of her companions and the prosperity of those depending on her. She shoulders responsibility for preserving the Honor of her countrymen, her friends, her siblings-in-arms, and her family — no matter how much she’d otherwise like to kill them herself. She is grace under fire and loyalty under duress.
Prowess is the Virtue of the bold warrior — strength of arms. A hero with Prowess is victorious in all things and shows pride in her accomplishments. She never backs down from a challenge and shows no fear. No offense may go unanswered. She is peerless in skill and excels at everything she touches: combat, yes, but also art and music, athletics and dance, poetry and academics. She acts with courage and confidence, on and off the battlefield. Prowess does not allow a hero to remain neutral — she must choose a side decisively and stick with it no matter what. Prowess leaves no room for hesitation and demands action. It means a hero brings her A-game or goes home; there is no in-between.
Scions of the Tuatha get caught between their Virtues when a situation demands tactically questionable action to uphold Enech from one side or the other, pits the two sides against each other, or forces a choice between two extremes of the same Virtue. In the story of Fianna warrior Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, famed chosen of Aengus, Honor sealed the hero’s Fate. Grainne, the betrothed of beloved Fianna leader Fionn mac Cumhaill, decided she’d rather have the young and handsome Diarmuid than the aging Fionn on the eve of her own wedding. She forced Diarmuid to choose between upholding the geis she laid upon him to elope with her and staying loyal to his commander. In the end he followed his geis, betraying the Fianna and becoming a fugitive from the retribution Fionn was himself compelled to seek, thanks to Prowess.
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