Romance

Celtic mythology has tragic love stories, star-crossed lovers, and vengeful suitors in spades. The story of is perhaps the most famous of these.

It tells of old Ki♛ng Conchobhar, who takes Deirdre as his bride on hearing a prophecy about 🌼her beauty. Once at court, Deirdre falls in love with Naoise, one of the king's young warriors. This event kicks off a tragic tale of love, vengeance, and regret.

Tragedy

Celtic history may include many romantic tales. But these stories seldom end happily. Many of the most famous legends end with the tragic death of one or both of the young lovers. Tragic events like this can be hard to write directly🌸 for your player chaඣracters. But tragedy can form an important part of an NPC's background.

For example, a king hires the party to hunt down the bar🍌d that lured his daughter away to her death.

War hounds

The Irish word cú was commonly used to refer to a warrior. (Cú Chulainn being the most famous and celebrated Irish warrior in history.) However, a literal translation of the word cú is "hound". The reason for the dual meaning is that Irish warriors were accompanied into battle by their massive, loyal hounds.

An ancient Irish🍒 legal text lists four types of dogs: shepherd, lapdog, hunting, and slaughter. It's not hard to imagine how the last of these got their name. Slaughterhounds are thought to be related to contemporary Irish wolfhounds (a scary thought!).

Magical transformation

Transformation and metamorphosis are common themes in Celtic legends. Sometimes, these tra🐎nsformations are a form of punis🐼hment. But some legendary figures could shapeshift at will, increasing their powers of battle or evasion.

For example, the Mórrígan (who inspired a 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dragon Age character) could turn into a raven to escape her enemies or cover great distances. She also transformed into an e💃el, cow, and wolf while battling th🌌e legendary Cú Chulainn.

Regional kingdoms in conflict

Celtic-era Ireland had a high King. However, this didn't mean the populous was permanently united under a single figure. The country was divided into provinces (which exist to this day). The leaders of each province were often in conflict, raiding each other's land. is the most famous account of these raids.

Magical vows and curses

A geas in ancient Ireland was somewhere between a blessing and a curse. Usually, someone would place a geas on another by insisting that person adheres to certain criteria. For example, Cú Chulainn was under a geas never to eat d꧃og meat or any food offered to him by a woman. Violating these terms led to his death.

Other realms

Celtic cosmology included an Otherworld subdivided into realms. The most famous of these is Tír na nÓg, a paradise of eternal youth. Other realms include Tír fo Thuinn (the land underꦜ the waves), Tír Tairngire (the promised lan𒈔d), and Tír nAill (the other land).

In Celtic mythology, a banshee's wailing heralded the death of 🎃someone nearby. For this reason, banshees weren't especially beloved. But neither were they evil by default. The DMG's banshees are entirely malevolent, and their wailing injures any who he🍷ar it.

In some legends, banshees only wail for the impending death of one of the Sons of Mil. These were Gaels who travelled to Ireland from the co🐓ast of ܫIberia in prehistory.

The bodak is a trickster/bogeyman figure in Celtic mythology. The historical version of this creature is largely harmless, playing tricks on children for its own entertainment. The DMG's bodak is a little different.

The D&D bodak is a chaotic evil ♓creature with many nefarious powers. Play around with the historical and fantastical elements to find something perfect for your campaign.

The📖 cailleach bheur of Celtic mythology was the blue-faced daughter of the winter sun. She is often associated with the weather and the creation of the land.

Bheur hags in the DMG are a more evil creature but bear some resemblance to the mythical creature.

For example, bheur hags in 5E suffer no penalty when traversingꦇ icy or snowy surfaces. This is a nod to her position of master of weather and landscape.

Druids were the religious and political class of Celtic society. While little is known about their practices and beliefs, including some druids in your campaign is a surefire way to give proceedings a Celtic feel. Druids often acted as advis꧃ors to powerful Kings and Queens🐎.

Tales from the Middle Ages often include corrupting, malevolent druids that lead their monarchs astray. ꦜThese tales were influenced by the rise of the C💃hristian faith, which viewed the druids with suspicion.

Kelpies were shape-shifting water creatures that could take the form of a horse on land. They would entice humans to ride on their backs only to drag them to a watery death.

D&D's kelpies can turn into convincing humanoid shapes but are otherwise similar to the legends on which the𓃲y're based.

The Celtic púca♐ was a shape-shifter that could take the form of a horse, goat, cat, dog, or hare. It wasn't an exclusively evil creature and could bring good or bad fortune to those who saw it.

Púcai could also take on human form, but typically, animal elements (tail, ears, or fur) would remain. The D&D pooka is remarkably similar to its legendary analogue.