Manannan Mac Lir
| Religion in NetHack |
|---|
In NetHack, Manannan Mac Lir is the chaotic god of the Knight pantheon.
Origin
Manannán or Manann, also known as Manannán mac Lir ("son of the sea"), is one of the supernatural race known as the Tuatha Dé Danann. He is a sea god warrior and king of the Otherworld in the mythology of the Irish, Manx and Scottish peoples, and is described as ruling the surviving Tuatha Dé after the advent of humanity: he was tasked with allotting which sídhe (or fairy mounds) the surviving members of the Tuatha Dé Danann were to be settled in, and used the mist of invisibility to cloak the whereabouts of his home and the sidh dwellings of the others. Manannán ensured the welfare of the Tuatha Dé Danann by holding the Feast of Goibniu (Fleadh Goibhneann) which conferred eternal youth, and fed them with meat from a swine who provided an inexhaustible supply of food.
Manannán appears in all of the four cycles of Irish mythology, although he only plays a prominent role in a limited number of tales, and is often seen in the traditional role of foster father, raising a number of foster children including Lugh. Manannán is lord and guardian of the Blessed Isles, Mag Mell, and Emhain Abhlach, the Isle of Apple Trees, and is also said to dwell in the Land of Promise (Tír Tairngire) - the Manx regard him as the first ruler of the Isle of Man. In modern tales, Manannán is said to own several unique objects and animals, including: a self-navigating boat named Sguaba Tuinne ("Wave-sweeper") and a horse named Aonbharr that can run over water and land, both loaned to Lugh; a deadly strength-sapping sword named Fragarach, also loaned to Lugh; and a soothing musical silver branch with apples made of gold, and the Goblet of Truth, both of which were given away to the High King Cormac mac Airt.
Variants
dNetHack
In dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, Manannan Mac Lir is a chaotic god of holiness, and his minions consist of naiads, Noviere Eladrin, water elementals, ice paraelementals, lightning paraelementals, and storm giants.
His crowning artifact is The Dark Claymore, a chaotic Knight-favoring two-handed sword made of obsidian. The Dark Claymore has +1 to-hit and deals +1d6 bonus damage against mortal monsters, and invoking it can detect all pets on the level and increase their tameness.
Encyclopedia entry
Normally called Manannan, Ler's son was the patron of merchants and sailors. Manannan had a sword which never failed to slay, a boat which propelled itself wherever its owner wished, a horse which was swifter than the wind, and magic armour which no sword could pierce. He later became god of the sea, beneath which he lived in Tir na nOc, the underworld.
