Why do we want charcoal?

The answer is simple. Unlike wood or coal, only charcoal is hot enough to forge or smelt the hardest metals with. Additionally it is a very efficient fuel compared to normal wood, yet is much easier to fabricate than coal is to obtain in most instances.

The general process of making charcoal is very simple, though it takes a great deal of practice and insight to do efficiently. The basic method is to get a large pile of wood (timber is best, but if you really want to use your nicely formed lumber you can) and cover it completely with turf, dirt and other nonflammable materials that will keep the wood from getting much air to it. After this, a fire is set to the covered wood pile and more turf is put on to cover any remaining holes. This pile is left for about a complete day to have the fire char away the wood without combusting due to lack of air. During this time the whole pile shrinks and must be closely watched so that any cracks in the turf cover that form can be patched to prevent air entering and combustion burning away your wood to ash. Once the process is done, the turf must be raked off and the charcoal must be immediately quenched with massive amounts of water, lest it combust immediately. After doused, the charcoal must dry and is ready for use.

Charcoal is made by a professional known as a Charmiser.

To make charcoal you must first have the wood to char. The best size batch is about 3.5 tons of wood, or 250 units. The average burning pit takes 3 man days to stack the wood and cover it with the dirt and turf covering. Next it must be set alight and tended for 24 hours. After this, removing the turf, quenching the charcoal and breaking it up takes another 3 man days. This means that the entire process takes 100 General Labor Units (GLUs) to complete. The average individual helping, including the Charmiser contribute about 11 GLUs a day, or 300 a month.

A Charmiser can effectivley manage three unskilled workers.

The Outcome of the burn has a lot to do with the expertise of the managing Charmiser's skill and experience. A table below denotes how many units of Charcoal are produced based on 250 units of timber (or lumber) being burnt.

Summary

• Each batch of charcoal requires 250 units of lumber or timber.
• Each batch of charcoal requires 100 GLUs to complete.
• A Charmiser can manage up to 3 unskilled workers each.
• Each worker, including the Charmiser contribute 300 GLUs a month.
• The percentage of the 250 units of wood converted into charcoal in each batch is determined by the rank of the Charmiser.

Example of a standard Charcoal Manufacturing Operation

The town of Habery has a small charcoal making operation to complement their timber industry. They have one adept Charmiser and three assistants, who produce a total of 1200 GLUs (General Labor Units) a month (300 each). Because they have a good steady supply of timber, they make as much charcoal in a month as they can. Because they do 1200 GLSs of labor and a batch of Charcoal costs 100 GLUs to make, they can manage 12 batches a month. Each batch consumes 250 units of timber, which means they burn up 3000 units of timber every month. Because adept Charmisers get 65 units of usable charcoal from every batch, their 12 batches a month makes 780 units of Charcoal.