Rudd (Greyhawk)
Encyclopedia
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting
for the Dungeons & Dragons
role-playing game
, Rudd is the Oeridian goddess of Chance, Good Luck, and Skill. As the Great Gambler, she knows every card game invented. Rudd avoids completely cerebral games like Dragonchess, finding them too easy. Rudd's holy symbol is a bull's eye target.
(1983), by Gary Gygax
.
Rudd is described as one of the good deities that celestials
can serve in the supplement Warriors of Heaven (1999). Rudd was featured in the article series on the Oeridian Lesser Gods in Dragon
#265 (1999).
Rudd's role in the 3rd edition Greyhawk setting was defined in the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer
(2000).
, and Norebo
(said by some to be her father), but opposes Iuz
, Zagyg
, and Ralishaz
. She doesn't get along well with Istus
, as Rudd has a big problem with the idea of predestination.
's first layer—Rudd is often found wandering the Flanaess
, searching for games of chance and skill. She also spends time in the realm of Brightwater in Arborea
. In Brightwater, Rudd is most attuned to the Quarter of the Great Wheel, where games and tests of chance and skill abound, and the inhabitants are bold and reckless. Ye'Cind is also said to spend much of his time in Brightwater.
. This is not an official holiday of the church, but her clerics in Bissel often recognize it as such.
One legend has it that on her eighteenth birthday, Rudd successfully fended off an entire battalion of bugbears using only a cake and a spoon. A food fight is held in honor of this event every Planting 10 in Bissel.
Campaign setting
A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place...
for the Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
, Rudd is the Oeridian goddess of Chance, Good Luck, and Skill. As the Great Gambler, she knows every card game invented. Rudd avoids completely cerebral games like Dragonchess, finding them too easy. Rudd's holy symbol is a bull's eye target.
Publication history
Rudd was first detailed for the Dungeons & Dragons game in the World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game SettingWorld of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting
The World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting and the World of Greyhawk Fantasy World Setting are two closely related publications from TSR, Inc. that detail the fictional World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game...
(1983), by Gary Gygax
Gary Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax was an American writer and game designer best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of role-playing games....
.
Rudd is described as one of the good deities that celestials
Celestial (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, celestials are a class of creatures and monsters known as outsiders who are of wholly good alignment....
can serve in the supplement Warriors of Heaven (1999). Rudd was featured in the article series on the Oeridian Lesser Gods in Dragon
Dragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#265 (1999).
Rudd's role in the 3rd edition Greyhawk setting was defined in the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer
Living Greyhawk Gazetteer
The Living Greyhawk Gazetteer is a sourcebook for the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the 3rd edition of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. Despite the title, the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer is not exclusive to the Living Greyhawk Campaign...
(2000).
Description
Rudd is depicted as an athletic, trim, Oeridian woman (though with some obvious Suel blood) garbed in form-fitting clothing with a long cloak of blue. She is young and invariably smiling. She has short black hair. She wields a rapier named Keleshe, a stiletto, and shortbow.Relationships
Rudd is on good terms with her mentor, OlidammaraOlidammara
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting and the default pantheon of deities for the third edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, Olidammara is the god of Music, Revels, Wine, Rogues, Humor, and Tricks. He is often called the Laughing Rogue.Olidammara is one of the more...
, and Norebo
Norebo
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Norebo is the Suel god of Luck, Gambling, and Risks. His symbol is a pair of eight-sided dice.-Publication history:...
(said by some to be her father), but opposes Iuz
Iuz
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Iuz is the chaotic evil demigod of Deceit, Evil, Oppression, Pain, and Wickedness. Iuz is variously called "The Old One" and "Old Wicked," among other titles. Unlike most Greyhawk deities, Iuz makes his home on...
, Zagyg
Zagyg
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Zagyg is the god of Humor, Eccentricity, Occult Lore, and Unpredictability...
, and Ralishaz
Ralishaz
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Ralishaz is the god of Chance, Ill Luck, Misfortune, and Insanity...
. She doesn't get along well with Istus
Istus
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Istus is the goddess of Fate, Destiny, Divination, the Future, and Honesty. She is known as the Lady of Our Fate and the Colorless and All-Colored...
, as Rudd has a big problem with the idea of predestination.
Realm
Though she has an outer planar realm—the House of Cards in YsgardYsgard
Ysgard is the Outer Plane of Chaotic Neutral / Chaotic Good alignment in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. It is also called Asgard, Gladsheim or The Heroic Domains...
's first layer—Rudd is often found wandering the Flanaess
Flanaess
The Flanaess is the eastern part of the continent of Oerik, one of the four continents of the fictional world of Oerth in the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game. The Flanaess has been the setting of dozens of adventures published between the 1970s...
, searching for games of chance and skill. She also spends time in the realm of Brightwater in Arborea
Arborea (Dungeons & Dragons)
In Dungeons & Dragons, fantasy role-playing game, Arborea or more fully, the Olympian Glades of Arborea, is a chaotic good-aligned plane of existence...
. In Brightwater, Rudd is most attuned to the Quarter of the Great Wheel, where games and tests of chance and skill abound, and the inhabitants are bold and reckless. Ye'Cind is also said to spend much of his time in Brightwater.
Dogma
Rudd's priests advocate "making" their own luck by relying chiefly on their skills, yet they'll never rule out the long shot. Her clerics don't abide cheaters, but teach secretly that cheating is acceptable if you don't get caught, as successfully cheating can also be a skill. In Rudd's theology those who are able to recognize and take advantage of good luck may become heroes, while those who mistake bad luck for the good are merely fools.Worshippers
Rudd's faith has become very popular since the 570's CY, particularly with adventurers.Clergy
Rudd's clerics engage in games of chance that allow them to hone their skills, and often working in gambling houses. They can also be found in archery and fencing schools. They adventure for the thrill of it, and enjoy beating the odds. Clergy of Rudd wear bright clothing in the latest fashion. Their favored weapons are the rapier and the shortbow.Temples
The largest of Rudd's shrines, in the Crossed Blades Gambling Hall, is located in the city of Peacekeep on the southern border of Bissel. The priests run the hall, while her shrine lies in the outermost of the hall's chambers.Holy days
Rudd's mortal birthday is celebrated on the 10th day of PlantingGreyhawk Calendar
The Greyhawk Calendar is a fictional calendar used in the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game...
. This is not an official holiday of the church, but her clerics in Bissel often recognize it as such.
One legend has it that on her eighteenth birthday, Rudd successfully fended off an entire battalion of bugbears using only a cake and a spoon. A food fight is held in honor of this event every Planting 10 in Bissel.
History
Rudd was born in -400 CY, supposedly in what is now Bissel; she was a mortal woman who was sponsored to godhood by Olidammara. In 505 CY, Rudd was one of the nine demigods of opposing alignments captured by Zagig Yragerne in his own bid for godhood. Rudd eventually escaped with the aid of Olidammara, but not before her mentor himself was briefly captured by the archmage.Additional reading
- Brown, Anne. Player's GuideGreyhawk Player's GuideThe Player's Guide, also known as the Greyhawk Player's Guide or the Player's Guide to Greyhawk, is a sourcebook for the World of Greyhawk campaign setting. Written by Anne Brown, the work was published by Wizards of the Coast under its TSR imprint in 1998.-Contents:The Player's Guide contains...
. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1998.
- Conforti, Steven, ed. Living Greyhawk Official Listing of Deities for Use in the Campaign, version 2.0. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2005. Available online:http://www.wizards.com/rpga/downloads/LG_Deities.zip
- Miller, Andy. "Campaign Holidays." DragonDragon (magazine)Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
Annual #4. Renton, WA: TSR, 1999 (pp. 18-19).
- Reynolds, Sean KSean K. ReynoldsSean K Reynolds is a professional game designer who has worked on and co-written a number of D&D supplements for Wizards of the Coast, as well as material for other companies. He does not put a period after his middle initial.-Background:...
. "Core Beliefs: Olidammara." DragonDragon (magazine)Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#342 (Paizo Publishing, 2006).