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Trusted Axe Cartel

13/07/2025thebrazenwolfeLeave a comment

Now for the next Zine of the year I present, in single page zine format, Trusted Axe Cartel. I still believe that these provide DMs a lot more freedom to tinker with it how they want and open up the adventures to be more free formed and flowing than the larger booklet zines.

There is references to the blog nights which are D&D centric but it can easily use the adversary stat-blocks highlighted in Friday nights post if you’re running Daggerheart. As always Kobold fight club can be used to quickly balance an encounter for Dungeons and Dragons and Tetra-cube provides the stat-blocks for many of my D&D creatures.

So I hope you enjoy this weeks adventure, Trusted Axe Cartel, and that all your rolls are made with advantage.

Trusted Axe Cartel

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The Silver Ring Tavern had been brimming with cheer and comfort. Music played, patrons danced, meals were served, and drinks flowed freely. The adventuring party was enjoying a well-earned pause in their journey while soaking in the lively atmosphere. The back booth, occupied by stylish merchants throwing around gold, added to the merriment. That warmth vanished instantly when six furious dwarves stormed through the door, tattoos on their hands marking them as members of the Trusted Axe Cartel.

One younger dwarf shouted loud enough to quiet the entire room, demanding the whereabouts of Jeb and Tarnius, two merchants accused of passing off low-quality gear. As confusion spread, the dwarves searched for answers while the eldest among them paid the barkeep and approached quietly. A calmer dwarf engaged the party with questions about the missing merchants and explained that their guild had delivered finely crafted weapons and armour, yet had been accused of sending faulty goods. Garmanel, the cartel’s leader, arrived with tankards and offered a proposition. He believed the adventurers might uncover who had sabotaged the deal and recover their reputation.

The Cartel’s tale was troubling. Their contract with Jeb and Tarnius had been solid until someone swapped their dwarven wares with inferior items, clearly made by inexperienced human hands. Known for their honour and craftsmanship, the cartel was humiliated and determined to uncover the truth. Garmanel and his ward Gondanel appealed to the party for help. In return, they offered not only gold but a bond of trust and future support that would be worth more than coin.

Drinks helped ease the tension as Garmanel bought a round for the tavern, and Garabek – the fiery dwarf, left to chase a lead. The party now faced a choice: step into this growing conflict for honour and reward, or walk away and leave the mystery unresolved. The promise of dwarven loyalty was tempting, especially given the Cartel’s influence and steadfast nature.

Their first clue led them to a bustling marketplace thick with noise and smells. After navigating the chaos, they found a vendor selling dwarven goods. A mercenary elf tried to interfere, but the party managed to speak with the merchant, who hinted at access to more of the valuable equipment. He invited them to return at sunset when he could show them his best stock.

As the sun fell, the merchant led them to a warehouse where they encountered a dozen armed traders and likely more hidden away. He revealed that his group had taken advantage of careless deals to acquire high-quality gear. But when one man spotted the adventurers and recognized them from the Silver Ring Tavern, panic swept through the warehouse. The tone shifted instantly. What had begun as a quiet lead now felt more like a trap, one bound to unravel deeper secrets.

PDF adventure – Trusted Axe Cartel

Trusted Axe Cartel Download

Thanks for joining me today for another adventure. Please feel free to leave comments if you like what you see when you grab a copy of the PDF. Next time you get a party together consider running this adventure and I hope that you enjoy it. Don’t forget to come back daily so you don’t miss a thing in the coming weeks adventures. And as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Griffin Trading Company

11/07/202513/07/2025thebrazenwolfeLeave a comment

It’s uncommon for a merchant company to not have guards or mercenaries but the Griffin Trading Company came prepared to fight off more than just an adventuring party.

So grab a coffee, find a spot to sit and watch the spectacle in tonight’s encounter!

Griffin Trading Company

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For D&D Systems

D&D Statblocks for Noble, Thug, Gladiator, Mage and Mercenary Mage – created in Tetra-cube.

The secret to having a good warehouse clash is having the right balance of enemies to fight. Some lower level thugs guarding our nobles, the merchants, make up the bulk of the fodder here coming in waves until the party can either escape with proof or the nobles alive.

The Gladiator, Mage and Mercenary Mage fill out the other roles which is the shock troops, the hired mercenaries that were paid in good coin to protect the warehouse, its good and their employers and that’s what they will do.

For Daggerheart Systems

The above Adversary Stat blocks were sourced from the Daggerheart System Reference Document 1.0 and are the copyright of DRP, Darrington Press, who are the creators of the material (Adversary Stat Blocks). This content was not modified is licensed under the DRP Community Gaming License which can be found here: Darrington Press CGL.

Based on the balancing section of the Daggerheart books we can have twelve sellsword’s as they have the minion tag and will die very easily, a single spell blade will command the lower level troops to cause distractions while the two merchants and two petty nobles, the target of this encounter, will try to remain protected as possible by getting their guards where they are. For the sake of this encounter I would change ‘Guards, seize them!’ to summon sellsword’s rather than bladed guards.

The Master Assassin will look to cut off the party and get in as a last resort while eight apprentice assassins follow the lead and jump out to stop vital information from being found, or, from their employers from being taken. This scene has two leaders, a few social adversary who may try to bribe or plead their way out (or stop the party from doing so) and quite a few minions to give a feeling of power and accomplishment to the party as they are able to dispatch many minions at once.

Layer	Role	Purpose
Minion Frontline	Sellswords	Crowd control and visual momentum
Tactical Controller	Spellblade	Battlefield Manipulation
Assassination Elite	Master Assassin	Climatic Threat
Target NPCs	Nobles/Merchants	Social intrigue and leverage
Infiltration	Apprentice Assassins	Disruption, sabotage, targeting key players

Thanks for visiting tonight for another set of updates for this weeks adventure featuring some additional Daggerheart content. Don’t forget to come back over the weekend for more updates and lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Griffin Trading Warehouse

10/07/2025thebrazenwolfeLeave a comment

The Griffin Trading warehouse is where we find our party this week and while I make no effort to conceal my dislike of battle maps that are under a roof or in a city this week is… no different! This week I have a few things to help us get an idea of what the environment and area could be like when we run this encounter in the theatre of the mind.

So grab a coffee, some snacks as we look at a cinematic turn of events in tonight’s environment and theatre setup!

Griffin Trading Warehouse

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The warehouse was large going back easily 60 feet wide and much deeper with several rows of shelves, rooms tables and crates. Stairs led up the left hand side of the wide room to a balcony that overlooked the floor space where a room had been built with a large double door that was securely locked shut. Under the balcony more rooms had been built out of the same cheap looking wood with a single wide door that lay open, invitingly so with chests visible from the floor outside of the rooms.

The sound of guards could be heard from the deeper recesses behind the walls of goods, crates and few barrels that were stacked high on shelves. While the guards moved about several workers in the warehouse were moving goods from shelves to crates and barrels as the sound or horses could be heard from outside – a large order was being made ready.

Two windows could be seen on the roof looking at the dark night sky that was speckled with stars which was the only way in or out other than the large double doors behind them. Despite the volume of merchandise that occupied this room there were several tables that had weapons, maps, notes and other gear that would be associated more with mercenary work than the sale of goods.

The immediate space that the party found themselves in a small clearing of about twenty feet wide by thirty feet deep where two wagons lay side by side filled with sacks, crates and loose goods that look like they were already ready for immediate delivery.

Game Mechanics – Daggerheart.

Taking a leap into this a bit further into the rules of Daggerheart this week I wanted to spend some time building up some additional Enviroments that can be used. While not all Encounters will be confrontational I find that these rules give a basis and some guidelines to help put guiderails around what we can expect from a non-combat encounter.

While this one, and the others I have planned, can lead to combat it doesn’t mean that we have to start there and several party members I have had over the years have attempted to ‘win an encounter’ with something that is left field or non-combative which having Environments can assist in.

The above Environment Stat blocks were created by me. Rules were adapted and inspired by adversaries and environments from the Daggerheart System Reference Document 1.0 and any likeness is the copyright of DRP, Darrington Press, who are the creators of the material (Environment Stat Blocks). This content was modified/created is licensed under the DRP Community Gaming License which can be found here: Darrington Press CGL.

Thanks for joining for another map night this week. Don’t forget that we have a few more nights left this week so make sure to come back each day to see what I add to this adventure. And lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

New Kids on the Block

09/07/2025thebrazenwolfeLeave a comment

Tonight we find our party meeting the new kids on the block, a plucky group of merchants who have the gold and the ambition to try to overthrow the Trusted Axe Cartel. They also stole from the dwarves, swapped out their high quality wares for their own inferior quality goods and orchestrated the closure of the contract between the dwarves and the Five Spokes.

So grab a coffee, take a seat as we get to the bottom of this broken transaction in tonight’s adventure!

New Kids on the Block

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The party had found the dwarven wares quite easily really. The men selling the dwarven shields, axes, chain and other goods were looking for members of the cartel to appear. So when the party appeared and asked about it while flashing some coin the young merchant asked if they’d be interested in getting a lot more of it.

‘So you’re adventurers looking to get into the trading business. Well I have a supplier who has a whole wagon load of this stuff. Real quality Dwarven steel.’ the man said with a knowing grin. ‘Tell ya what. Meet me back here when the sun sets and I’ll show ya so you can make the call yourselves.’

The party came back as the sun was setting and found the man packing up. This time he had a bunch of lower quality wares on display but recognised the party and waved them over. ‘Some other merchants got a bit jealous so we had to hide the good stuff.’ he said as he packed up the last of his wares onto a cart and beckoned the party to follow. There was a few other merchants heading back and packing up this time of night but as they packed up others moved in and started to set up their own wares and tables.

Following the man back he explained a bit more. They were a newer smaller group that had seen an opportunity to get some high quality wares from out dated fools while also opening up opportunities. As they arrived at the large double doors of a large warehouse the man knocked a short pattern before the party heard bolts, beams and even a lock be removed.

As the doors opened the party were greeted by a group of a dozen well equipped men and women with what sounded like many more elsewhere in the warehouse. One man stopped and looked at them before calling out. ‘Wait. They were at the Silver Ring Tavern the other night when the Cartel came snooping about. Why’d you bring them here you idiot!’ It was a matter of moments, a few blinks of the mans eyes before he realised what had been said.

Thanks for dropping by for another night at my tabletop. Don’t forget as we passed the midway point we have maps and monsters, well creature stat blocks left for this week. So make sure you don’t forget to come back the last few remaining days this week to stay up to date with what’s happening at my tabletop. And lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Trusted Axe’s Daughter

08/07/2025thebrazenwolfeLeave a comment

Tonight we learn more about the Trusted Axe’s Daughter – the ward of the cartels leader, Garmanel, Gondanel is considered the rose of the cartel, the soft hand at hard business. But that’s what she specialises in, hard business.

So fill up a tankard of coffee as we kick off into tonight’s adventure!

Trusted Axe’s Daughter

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The party had a long chat with Garmanel and Gondanel and learnt a what the current problem was. Their long term contract with two well renown merchants had fallen through but the causation appeared to be something that was not their doing. The Trusted Axe Cartel was made up from a group of what was once struggling smiths who were banded together to forge dwarven goods inside the city of Armele.

The cartel had made a good name for themselves and they were exceedingly proud in the quality of their armour, weapons and other goods that they sold to larger merchants who would take it from there. They claimed they kept their investments secure and always paid their debts and left nothing outstanding with client or supplier but this time it was different.

Jeb and Tarnius had taken over the Armele branch of the Five Spokes which was the largest merchant company on the continent. The early engagements and contract negotiations had gone well with nothing changing so the same trust and set up had applied to the already established contract. Goods first with a deposit then the rest of the gold upon final shipment.

Yet they had broken the deal, the goods that they claimed they had been given to them were not what the Trusted Axe Cartel had sent them and had obviously been made by human hands, inexperienced hands at that. The party looked at the information that had been given to them but something stood out. They’d have to find where the dwarven goods had truly gone to if they were to help the Cartel. The gold offered for finding information was good but being friends or even partners the Trusted Axe Cartel would last them a long time as the only thing that outlasted their grudges was their loyalty.

Gondanel finished asking them for help and Garmanel had mentioned the reward, including the long term standings with the Cartel, and as the party thought it over they seemed to relax. The Tavern had attempted to get back to normality and after the old dwarf bought a round of dinks for the tavern it seemed to kick off more. The hothead Garabek left following the trail that he believed would take him to the suspicious humans who were spending big in the tavern just before which also helped the mood of the tavern substantially.

The young female dwarf Gondanel had a short high ponytail of dark black hair that made her skin look a bit darker than it was. Tanned from the heat of a forge she had a lean muscular build but a friendly face. Garmanel on the other hand showed his age and despite still having a broad build of a dwarf their was almost no hair that wasn’t white or grey either on his short cropped head or is long braided beard.

Giving them the night to think on it the dwarves let them know where they could find them in the morning once they made a decision and they left. The party now had a tough decision to make. Potential financial stability for as long as a dwarfs memory is came with a price. Finding those who had besmirched their honour and bringing them to the Cartel for justice instead of to the local guard.

Thanks for visiting tonight for another update for this weeks adventure. Don’t forget to come back the last few nights this week to make sure that you don’t miss anything that happens with this adventure. And, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Felkirk’s Fallen

05/07/2025thebrazenwolfeLeave a comment

Now for the next Zine of the year I present, in single page zine format, Felkirk’s Fallen. I still believe that these provide DMs a lot more freedom to tinker with it how they want and open up the adventures to be more free formed and flowing than the larger booklet zines.

So I hope you enjoy this weeks adventure, Felkirk’s Fallen, and that all your rolls are made with advantage.

Felkirk’s Fallen

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The wooden planks of the dock groaned beneath the party’s steps as smoke drifted from the burning galley behind them. In the eerie stillness, Bunker and Cinella emerged, their expressions caught between disbelief and admiration. Where once chaos ruled, silence reigned. Cinella’s voice trembled with both awe and relief as she praised the party’s staggering success. They had expected only to hold the enemy at bay, waiting for royal reinforcements that never arrived. Instead, it was the party who turned the tide. Bunker, always brimming with rough-hewn pride, reminded them of the warehouse lift, the very path that got them here in time.

The moment did not last. A soldier staggered onto the dock, breathless and dirt-smeared, bearing ill news. One of their own had returned from a mission to seek aid at the castle, only to collapse in death, muttering fragments about the dead and Merchants Way. Cinella’s stance shifted; they could send some troops, but mercenaries still stalked the shadows, and no one knew what lay ahead. She issued swift commands to rest and regroup. Her eyes then met the party’s, heavy with unspoken hope. Perhaps, once again, they would be asked to do what no others could

Merchants Way greeted the party with dread. Blood stained the streets in great swathes, walls scarred with frantic claw marks and steel gouges, but not a body lay in sight. The signs of violence were fresh, yet the dead had been moved, dragged up toward the castle. Shattered carts and broken doorframes littered the path, but the party pressed on with Cinella, Bunker, and a handful of steadfast allies. When the dead did return, it was not with blind fury, but tactical malice. From the shadows, the undead swarmed with unnerving coordination, seeking to entrap rather than overwhelm.

Blades cleaved and spells burst as the party stood their ground, but with each strike a deeper horror unfolded. Among the dead were familiar faces; once citizens of Felkirk, and others who bore the long-decayed wounds of battles long past. These were no accidental corpses. They had been gathered and raised for war, prepared well before this night. A raven called from above and wheeled away toward the castle. Somewhere close, a necromancer guided the assault with chilling foresight. Wounds were bound in haste. The party moved, still bleeding, toward the storm that awaited them.

Their pace quickened as they neared the castle. Undead corpses now littered the stones like refuse, signs that someone; perhaps those within, had been fighting fiercely. Fire arrows rained over the walls, igniting swathes of the dead. Standing apart from the carnage was a robed mage, casting destructive spells heedless of which bodies they struck. Tattered like old feathers, the figure remained obscured behind waves of undead. But then, a new threat revealed itself. Rotting ravens, perched high and silent, watched from the rooftops. Their glassy eyes turned toward the party. Moments later, fresh zombies stirred below, forming a living barrier between the party and the mage. Just as all seemed lost, fire tore through the ranks. The mage’s attention faltered. In the chaos, gaps formed, narrow, fleeting, and dangerous. A chance to reach the mage was laid bare, but it would not last long.

PDF adventure – Felkirk’s Fallen

Felkirk’s Fallen Download

Battle for Merchants Way

04/07/2025thebrazenwolfeLeave a comment

The Battle for Merchants way is a bloody one, one filled with old and new dead rising to join the party on the battlefield. However what is an undead army without a leader and boy do we have an iconic one tonight.

So get your spells ready, prepare your prayers as we face the undead en masse in tonight’s encounter!

Battle for Merchants Way

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For D&D Systems

D&D Statblocks for Swarm of lesser zombies, swarm of zombies and Arch Necromancer – created in Tetra-cube.

The undead swarms can be joined with regular zombies to flesh out the battlefield but I think the swarms do a really good job at highlighting just how many zombies there really is on the battlefield. The Arch Necromancer can bring back a few zombies at at time or a swarm to really highlight the power that these dark mages bring to the battlefield.

For Daggerheart Systems

Based on the balancing section of the Daggerheart books we can have four of the Zombie Packs, three Zombie Legions and one Arch-Necromancer calling the shots and really driving the combat forward. This is set up for a series of T4 party members but if its lower tiers then it can be adjusted to make it work by reducing the thresholds and difficulty on the zombie legion and arch-necromancer as well as adjusting the damage and attack bonuses to lower levels.

Merchants Way

03/07/2025thebrazenwolfeLeave a comment

This week the fighting takes place on Merchants way where several buildings lie in ruins, rubble is piled up and fires are spreading. But that’s the real problem as undead flood the streets – but that’s a problem for tomorrow night.

So grab a coffee, maybe a torch as we shamble into tonight’s adventure map!

Merchants Way

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The flickering firelight that had sprung up where the fire laden arrows had missed their undead-marks and landed amongst the wooden debris of the building around the street illuminated the desperate scene that lay before them. Broken buildings, rubble and the evidence at what once was a bustling area for commerce and mercantile now lay in ruins.

Undead patrolled the street and the damage that was being done by the undead to the area around them was met and sometimes exceeded by the damage done by those defending the walls just up the street. The party had stumbled into a battleground where they were caught staring destruction straight into its eyes.

Multiple layers to get the desired effect this week. A layer of dirt with a 70~% opacity for cobblestone was then muted by a soot-like layer and then darker dirt to represent the foot traffic, or undead traffic, that moved through the streets. Multiple layered art assets built up texture around the building to create depth. A night filter cause, its my favourite, and the use of fire assets and light to create visual pinpoints of light and maybe some strategic spots for the players.

Felkirk Merchants Way – created in Inkarnate.

Body Broker

02/07/2025thebrazenwolfeLeave a comment

Welcome to another night at my tabletop where tonight we are meeting the body broker that is currently causing a little bit of chaos down Merchants Way.

So grab a coffee to stay awake was we meet our sorcerous foe in tonight’s adventure!

Body Broker

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Clack, clack, clack was the sound of the boots of the party and their group as they rushed up Merchants way towards where the sounds of combat could be heard. The ground still remained sticky and grimy with blood and the evidence of the brutal slaughter that took place along this street. But the closer that the party drew towards the castle the less devastation there was and the more fallen undead bodies there were.

Broken, dismembered and shattered were some of the ways that the bodies that lay strewn across the rough stone of the street. Up ahead the party could see the volleys of fire arrows that dashed into the heaving mass of undead bodies that pushed at the gates and walls that surrounded the castle and the houses that surrounded it.

But standing further back and weaving spells that were hurled towards the defenders at the wall or outside it regardless of the damage it did to their own troops was a mage. Long dark robes that looked tattered like feathers broke up their form against the wall of undead that consistently moved in front of the magic user as volleys of arrows pelted down upon the dead. For not it looked like the mage had not seen them until the scratching of claws on claw drew the parties attention to the roof near by.

Ravens, dozens of them with various degrees of damage, broken bones or wounds watched them from the streets edge. Undead by the looks of them and by how quickly they were wilting it appeared as if they had been scouting for their mage master for quite some time. So a stealth approach was ruined and even now as they looked between the birds and the mage a gathering of zombies had started to form to create a wall of bodies between them and the mage.

However, as they watched several fireballs littered the ranked undead troops causing large gaps to form amongst their numbers. As the mage tried to reorganise his undead troops before him at the wall the zombies who were massing to form a secondary wall in front of the party started to shamble about creating gaps in their unending masses.

It appeared as if they would have an opportunity to make it to the mage if they timed it well enough.

Ghoul Patrol

01/07/2025thebrazenwolfeLeave a comment

Tonight we have Cinella and Bunker, although reluctantly, join the party on something that would come to be known as the Ghoul Patrol. As undead are found filling Merchants Way the party and their allies race against time to push through the undead in an attempt to save the king.

So grab a coffee as we get ready to re-fill some graves in tonight’s adventure!

Ghoul Patrol

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Cinella and Bunker – Created in Copilot from WordPress generated images.

Each step they took closer to the long road named Merchants Way was filled with dread as the signs of carnage and bloody combat were everywhere. But blood didn’t disturb the party as much as the lack of bodies. Not a single fallen soldier, guard, mercenary or citizen could be found and despite the large amount of blood spilt everywhere the evidence that the bodies were moved was clear as day.

Drag marks, trails of blood and further carnage travelled up Merchants Way towards the castle where cries of alarm and screams of terror could be heard. Being careful to avoid the debris from broken carts, doors and the occasional wall the party pushed on. Soon enough they found where the bodies had been moved to.

The shambling horde of bodies came from the alleys showing unusual intelligence for the undead as they moved to cut off a retreat from the party, Cinella and Bunker who were joined by a few good soldiers. As the undead rushed in the party braced and cut, battered and blasted them down to a true death. However, as the party fought to keep the cracked fingernails, and rotting teeth from sinking into them a strange realisation came over them.

Half of the undead were the populace of this city but the other half were weakened, older corpses that looked like they had already sustained some heavy wounds previously. These had been dead for much much longer than the others and the markings and aging wounds on their body told the party everything they needed to know. They had been prepared for this attack on Felkirk, these were the shock troops that the invading force had planned all along, an army of zombies.

The freshly risen dead told them that there was a powerful mage with them, a necromancer of considerable power and even as the last of the zombies fell as the magic that animated their broken bodies winked out of existence a raven cawed loudly above them before turning to fly off up Merchants way.

It appears as though their company was expected and it was more than just soldiers and street thugs that had been sent to Felkirk to take the city. Taking a moment to staunch their own and their allies wounds they hurried off up the street towards the castle.

Trusted Axe Cartel

PDF adventure – Trusted Axe Cartel

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Griffin Trading Company

For D&D Systems

For Daggerheart Systems

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Griffin Trading Warehouse

Game Mechanics – Daggerheart.

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New Kids on the Block

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Trusted Axe’s Daughter

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Felkirk’s Fallen

PDF adventure – Felkirk’s Fallen

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Battle for Merchants Way

For D&D Systems

For Daggerheart Systems

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Merchants Way

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Body Broker

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Ghoul Patrol

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