Rudd (Greyhawk)

Rudd
Game background
Title(s) The Charm, the Duelist, the Great Gambler, Luckbringer, Lady Luck, the Laughing Goddess, Smiley, Queen of Cards
Home plane Ysgard
Power level Demigod
Alignment Chaotic Neutral (Chaotic Good)
Portfolio Chance, Good Luck, and Skill
Domains Chaos, Competition, Destiny, Good, Luck
Superior Olidammara
Design details

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.

Publication history

Rudd was first detailed for the Dungeons & Dragons game in the World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting (1983), by Gary Gygax.[1]

Rudd is described as one of the good deities that celestials can serve in the supplement Warriors of Heaven (1999).[2] Rudd was featured in the article series on the Oeridian Lesser Gods in Dragon #265 (1999).[3]

Rudd's role in the 3rd edition Greyhawk setting was defined in the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (2000).[4]

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, Olidammara, 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.

Realm

Though she has an outer planar realm—the House of Cards in Ysgard'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.

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 Planting. 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.

References

  1. ↑ Gygax, Gary. World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting (TSR, 1983)
  2. ↑ Perkins, Christopher. Warriors of Heaven (TSR, 1999)
  3. ↑ Miller, Andy. "The Oeridian Lesser Gods, Part III: Telchur and Rudd." Dragon #265. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1999
  4. ↑ Holian, Gary, Erik Mona, Sean K Reynolds, and Frederick Weining. Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (Wizards of the Coast, 2000)

Additional reading

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