Posts on Homebrew Tactics

The Shape of the Absence

Sat, 16 May 2026 10:00:00 -0400

Herbal medicineby Natalia2323, 2019. CC BY-SA 4.0. Unmodified.

The Shape of the Absence

The forest here radiates its age, much older than the village. I can feel that the moment I step past the last of the fences and into the trees proper. Qi’Quilan’s edge is one of those thresholds I’ve started to notice, the way a banner-line marks where one lord’s authority ends and another’s begins. On the village side, the trees know they are useful to humans. On this side, the trees do not particularly care.

A Study in Emerald

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 23:45:00 -0500

Potions Classroomby Mike Prince, CC BY 2.0. Unmodified.

The Alchemist’s Process: A Study in Emerald

The floorboards beneath my desk vibrate with the rhythmic thumping of a minotaur’s dance in the common room below. Even through the heavy oak door of my room at the Pitt, the muffled roars of laughter and the clinking of tankards are inescapable. It’s a far cry from the silent, incense-filled libraries of Golden Bay, but the flickering candle on my bedside table provides enough light for the delicate work ahead.

Campfire Roast Cockatrice

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 21:22:57 -0400

Cockatriceby BarnCat601, CC BY-SA 4.0. Unmodified.

Campfire Roast Cockatrice

A simple camp roast for adventurers, treating cockatrice like game fowl with basic seasonings.

Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 cockatrice, cleaned and gutted
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons butter or lard
4 garlic cloves, crushed
3 sprigs fresh thyme or rosemary
1 onion, quartered
½ cup ale or water

Steps

Prepare the fire. Build a good bed of coals from hardwood. You want steady heat, not flames. Set up a spit or arrange rocks to support a makeshift roasting rack over the coals.

The Shadow of the Freeblade

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 14:56:00 -0500

The Siege of Acreby Dominique Papety, c. 1840. Chateau de Versailles. Public domain.

The Shadow of the Freeblade

Salen Freeblade was born into a legacy of iron and ink. As the second son of Valara and Renald, the legendary commanders of the Freeblades of Agahven, his life was defined by the walls of the Citadel in the merchant-city of Golden Bay. While his elder brother was groomed to one day lead the mercenary company, Salen was the “contingency”—trained with the same brutal efficiency but granted just enough neglect to find his own path. Under his mother’s watchful eye, he mastered the geometry of the blade, while his father drilled him in the cold logic of logistics and the sanctity of contract law.