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The Dregs of Clearwine $8.00
Average Rating:4.9 / 5
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The Dregs of Clearwine
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The Dregs of Clearwine
Publisher: Chaosium
by Paul S. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/10/2022 10:27:19

How many times have your group been in a town or city and said something along the lines of 'Can I go and look for xyz?' or 'Where can I find so and so?'. Then you are scrabling around for names of NPCs, locations and all of that good stuff.

Well, Dregs of Clearwine can help you with this! This excellent source book is packed with information about the less desirable area of Clearwine. It contains all of the people, areas and events in a slum corner of the great fort! With plenty of scenario hooks and lots of color, I would say this is a must have to flesh out your visits to the town.

One of the best things about Glorantha, in my opinion, is the depth of detail and personal feel of the world. Dregs falls perfectly into this!

Buy it. Now. You will not be disapointed.

Oh! There are maps and great artwork too.

What are you waiting for? Buy it.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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The Dregs of Clearwine
Publisher: Chaosium
by Tristan N. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 11/28/2021 01:20:07

I absolutely love this seemingly minor addition to the city of Clearwine. The grunginess of life in the dregs is invoked so clearly by the combination of non-player characters, their motivations, and the attention to detail throughout. I am hoping my group’s duck character will get a chance to stay at the Durulz Flophouse next time we get to the Dreg’s. My favourite is definitely Mama Vorlena for the influence she and her family have in the area. I’ll happily exhaust all the story hooks in here.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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The Dregs of Clearwine
Publisher: Chaosium
by Greta G. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 09/23/2021 18:20:26

If there is any setting for a fantasy role-playing game that benefits from a deep dive into a tiny section of a single, relatively small urban area, it is Glorantha. And Dregs of Clearwine is a fantastic book in that genre, because it allows you to construct your own webs of relationships between people for your own cities. Much like Gidlow's Citizens of the Lunar Empire, an essential product in my library.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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The Dregs of Clearwine
Publisher: Chaosium
by Mark D. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/07/2021 15:11:11

I recently GM'd the mini scenario included within The Dregs of Clearwine - great, great fun! What an excellent scenario! It was perfect for our evening Zoom game, with my players completing it in the one session.

We had great interplay between the PCs and the NPCs, with much comic interaction. There were also many serious moments, with quite a bit of intrigue, investigation and a drug fuelled out of body experience.

All in all, what a fantastic murder mystery, who done it; with a great cast of NPCs - including a Waldorf and Statler pair. I totally recommend this RQG supplement, you won't be disappointed.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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The Dregs of Clearwine
Publisher: Chaosium
by Curtis L. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 01/14/2021 18:32:27

A fun addition to your game, whether your game is in Clearwine or just visit a large town or city. Several storylines to follow or interesting NPCs that your players could interact with or even recruit as they build a retinue.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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The Dregs of Clearwine
Publisher: Chaosium
by Matz F. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 09/20/2020 14:39:42

This is a great extra. All to often the focus is on heroic deeds. This is a backalley full of flavor to add for any Colymar or Clearwine campaign. Great value for small bucks.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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The Dregs of Clearwine
Publisher: Chaosium
by Richard M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/31/2020 13:02:33

This is a very nifty little information pack which adds some personalities to a bustling city. I have used a couple of them to get characters involved with the city as well as allowing them the choice of who to deal with and what wares to buy. The crafters can be met, their wares bought by external parties or characters. Any of them can be used to get the characters to Clearwine at any time.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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The Dregs of Clearwine
Publisher: Chaosium
by Tony D. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/30/2020 13:29:04

Beer With Teeth - thank you for this amazing slice of life in Clearwine! So often settings documents focus on military, trade, wealth, and the Important People of a town. Dregs of Clearwine reminds us that everyone is important. Adventures in the Dregs will be just as political, emotional, and tense as anything in the Imperial Court of Dara Happa. I want to see the rest of Clearwine - thanks for starting from the Bottom of the Jug!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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The Dregs of Clearwine
Publisher: Chaosium
by Juha H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/10/2020 12:59:48

I play in the same group as creators, but am not involved in this project.

I like non playe characters who have their own agendas. This book caters to that need in spades. Denizens of dregs may need help of player characters or be able to help them, but they have their own lives in their own small, close-knit community. They have their own livelihoods, not great but respectable, (except for those who do not.) They have their own likes and dislikes, hopes and ghosts.

For me most intriguing parts are the interconnected web of relations spun across the slums and Kristi Herberts sublime portraits of the characters.

At this stage I have come to realize I do not necessarily use my rpg purchases for gaming. I do see several ways to use Dregs though. It works as is - as a location and a community at Clearwine if characters have business tarrying in that Colymar town other than as royal guests. Some of the characters could - with some thought - be dropped in wide variety of locations. Alone or with some of their adversaries or friends.

If one wishes ideas for high powered action usability of this book is limited. Also some noble adventurers might meet denizens only under exceptional circumstances. But for ideas of urban Sartarite life and communal problems book is excellent.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
I was particularly pleased with how Juha used the book when he ran a game recently - an NPC, Kana, with a Lunar history and a bad facial burn, was sort of almost mentioned... We now know, as a group, that somewhere - probably in Sartar - there is a child called Kana whose house was partially burned and whose mother was murdered. We just have no idea in character where she is, or if she's alive.
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The Dregs of Clearwine
Publisher: Chaosium
by Morgan C. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/07/2020 00:27:37
Descripton

I remember roughly 40 years ago playtesting Griffin Mountain and thinking wow. Just wow. Here is an expansive setting, with interesting inhabitants, with interconnecting plot lines. And those are real characters with hopes and fears and actual personalities, not just "3rd level chaotic neutral wizards". What an eyeopener for how a source book could and should be.

The Dregs of Clearwine follows the same inspiration. No, it is not an expansive wilderness, at 50 pages (two column PDF) it cannot be. It covers roughly a city block in the poorer section of Clearwine. But it is full of characters that "feel real" and have some interconnecting plotlines. Plenty of content for a good GM.

Production quality is good for a fan produced work. Nice color cover art, basic maps, grey scale illustrations of major NPCs, and an excellent Table of Contents. There is no index nor PDF "bookmarks". The outline is "top down", starting with the location in Clearwine, 11 general areas, then detailed information on the inhabitants of each area.

Leading characters are richly detailed with a concise physical description, backgrounds, skills, spells, Runes and Passions, and, where appropriate, weapon skills and hit locations. Lesser characters still get a couiple of paragraph background and description, but any further details must be filled in by the GM. (There are aids in the Standardized NPCs section at the end) To help GMs and players track the numerous characters, many have memorable and colorful names: who can forget Rastin No Impala, Smelly Kalarl, or Diryin not-a-Thrall?

How can this help your Runequest Campaign?

If you are doing much day to day "down in the dirt" roleplaying in Clearwine, this is a must. Frankly, any other "city" in Sartar would work fine - just change a clan name here or there and these NPCs will transfer easily. Any "down on their luck" adventurers would be right at home with this lot.

Even if your player characters are wealthier, and live in the ritzier sections of town (like mine!), there are several plot hooks for them. Smuggling, drugs, trade, hired hands, lost items. And the authors cleverly tie in to the standard RQG "Family History" and other scenarios. Some of the NPCs fought at the City of Wonders and Hate Harrek, others are known by prominent NPCs from The Smoking Ruins, etc.

If your campaign styles run towards grander heroic quests, this may not be the ideal sourcebook for you. You won't find anything to save Kallyr, help Argrath, or defeat the Crimson Bat. But this is still an excellent example of how you could run some smaller scale scenarios, and plenty of ideas for character or plot sketches. Need a random lower class NPC for a city encounter? Plenty here.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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The Dregs of Clearwine
Publisher: Chaosium
by Paul B. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/04/2020 11:26:18

Dregs is a slim suppliment that can barely contain its contents; Snippets of information on the industries of the dregs (charcoal and pottery). Detailed and fully fleshed out characters, that bring the secton of the city to life. Although rooted in Clearwine the Dreggs could be placed in any Orlanthi city with the minimum of work, I'm thinking of using it as a neighbourhood in Pavis. Illustrations and artwork are consistent and excellent throughout the book, from the character pics to the charming building line drawings and filler pics. One thing that mystifies me, how did they make a pot that big (the cover)... and there are historic examples of pots that big.

But I do have to say there is something very menacing about the image of Dillamore, his gaze seems to follow me round the room.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
Hello Paul! Thank you for your review. The pots you are wondering about are generally called Pithoi. Diogenes, the cynic philosopher, lived in one because he wished to eschew material goods. Nowadays it's sometimes said that he lived in a barrel, but that's a translation of pithos. We were inspired in the cover by several pictures of him, often with dogs around him. Cynic also means dogged, if you look at the Greek right, but I can't remember exactly how the etymology gets there. Dogs are not Orlanthi, but you'll notice those little alynxes... They were usually used buried in the ground, or for cargo handling - they were far too big to move around without a crane, and you wanted to be able to reach into them, which you couldn't do if you were standing next to them. Minoan palaces often have them, in pits. You'd buy and sell things in bulk, and fill storage jars, but they were not for everyday people. Thank you again, it's great to see that people like the things we liked doing.
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The Dregs of Clearwine
Publisher: Chaosium
by Darren P. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/02/2020 10:51:43

This is a little gem of a supplement. Clearly written by those with a passion for this setting. It details a slum area with compassion and is very detailed. The side bars are excellent and the NPC's fit the setting very well. Lots of plot and hook lines. Again - a gem.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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The Dregs of Clearwine
Publisher: Chaosium
by Carteau H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/02/2020 00:49:28

An amazing description of some of the little people of Clearwine. Even down the social scale, there are stories, adventure seeds, relationships to discover and exploit. The characters described here are amazingly alive and complete, they breathe out of the pages. Very pleasant reading.

Clearly not a book for world-shakers, for Heroes, for Thanes and Priests - if you want to rock the world, go on your way. But if you're into street-level campaigns, in relationships management, in making small differences... this is a MUST.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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The Dregs of Clearwine
Publisher: Chaosium
by Caleb M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/01/2020 10:26:09

Players love NPC interaction and this gives you a large smattering of NPCs, from the lower social classes that are often overlooked in RuneQuest/Glorantha, ready to go, an entire community with their own stories and histories.

Now having The Dregs of Clearwine, I would not run a campaign or session centered around Clearwine without the information in The Dregs of Clearwine ready, and that's about the most glowing review I can give, so.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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The Dregs of Clearwine
Publisher: Chaosium
by Sven L. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 07/31/2020 12:47:35

Very useful! Too often in game books it is the upper echelon of society that is where the focus is laid as they are often the movers & shakers of large events. But it is the back allies where adventures can often be found & this book handles that admirably. I highly recommend this for quick adventure or for when your pc's are on the skids with no money for inns or for when they need to lay low because they crossed the authorities.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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