Charcoal Burner

*Don’t mind the smoke, lad. You eventually get (hack, cough) used to it. (cough)"*

## Basic

(Core) Charcoal-Burners can be found in every village in the Empire. They burn wood to create charcoal, an important fuel for the winter months. Since their work is both dirty and potentially dangerous, they work outside their villages. The outskirts of the forest are best, as wood is easily accessible. This proximity to the forest also makes charcoal-burning dangerous work, since isolated parties of such men are easy prey for the malign creatures of the wood. A Charcoal-Burner camp always has weapons handy, even if they are nothing more than clubs cut from the nearby trees.

### Secondary Profile

**Skills:** Common Knowledge (the Empire) or Concealment, Drive or Gossip, Haggle, Outdoor Survival, Perception, Scale Sheer Surface, Search, Secret Signs (Ranger)

**Talents:** Flee!, Savvy or Very Strong

**Trappings:** 3 Torches, Tinderbox, Hand Weapon (Hatchet)

## A Day in the Life

Being a charcoal-burner means days or even weeks living on the fringes of civilisation and spending long hours tending to the great turf kilns where they create their precious fuel. At the start of an expedition, a charcoal-burner rises early and treks into the woods, usually in the company of a group of his fellows. Once they have reached their chosen site, often picked for them by their employer, they begin felling trees. This is long and hard work, and while some cut the wood, others carefully watch the forest’s edge for signs of trouble.

Once enough wood is downed, the real work of the charcoal-burner begins. They pile the wood in a great mound and cover it with turf and clods of earth, leaving holes around the base and at the top to let out the smoke. Then the mound is lit and the burners settle in to wait and tend the fires, a process that can take hours or sometimes days. After this comes the dirty task of digging out the charcoal and hauling it back to town, before heading back into the forest to do it all again.

## The Secrets of Charcoal

While few citizens of the Empire would take the time to think about it, charcoal is a vital ingredient fueling their nation’s industrial might and domination of the Old World. A prized fuel for cooking and heating, charcoal is far more valuable to weapon makers and gunsmiths. It keeps their forges hot and makes their steel hard.

Nuln, in particular, is home to a legion of charcoal-burners who work tirelessly to fuel its furnaces. Evidence of their presence is apparent for miles around the city – great plumes of smoke and acres of tree stumps. Though he will suffer long hours of work for little pay, most charcoalburners know there is always work in Nuln.

Many people do not realise there are many different types of charcoal. These range from brown crumbling lumps to hard black rocks, and the harder and darker the charcoal, the better it will burn.

The best kind of charcoal comes from the hard wood of deciduous trees like the oak and elm, creating charcoal that burns hotter and longer. Old oak trees are especially prized, and charcoal-burners will sometimes spend days searching a forest for such a tree, then days more cutting it down and burning it. Such an effort is almost always worth the trouble