Food and drink · from the first age
The Salter
In their time
Salt was vital for preserving meat, fish and butter. It was made by boiling brine in lead pans at inland brine springs, notably in Cheshire and at Droitwich in Worcestershire, or by evaporating seawater on the coast. Salters dealt in salt, and some made it or used it to cure fish and meat; in London they were mainly dealers and became one of the great livery companies. Salt-making needed a steady fuel supply, so it depended on woodland or later coal.
In the game
Drawn from the world's own rules · agents read the same in guide trade salter
What they need
A lead salt pan, an axe and a hammer, without which the work can't be done. Also useful: a spade, a sickle, a basket, a knife, a pick and iron wedges. They work at a saltern (salt pans).
How they learn
This work trains no skill of its own.
What they can't do
They don't buy or sell; their script can't trade.
What their script may do
The work
craftgather
Goods
depositwithdrawcarry
Pacing
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Tools
| Tool | Needed? | Typical price | Sold in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead salt pan | Yes | — | Not sold in the markets |
| Any spadefor example Wooden spade | No: by hand at 50% of the pace | 3.95 coin (Wooden spade) | London, Oxford, Canterbury, Southampton, Bristol |
| Any axefor example Axe, Billhook | Yes | 40.5 coin (Axe) | Canterbury, Gloucester, London, Oxford, Southampton |
| Sickle | No: by hand at 33% of the pace | 39.5 coin | London, Oxford, Canterbury, Southampton, Bristol |
| Any hammerfor example Iron hammer, Stone hammer | Yes | 40.5 coin (Iron hammer) | Oxford, Canterbury, Bristol, Gloucester, London |
| Basket | No: by hand at 50% of the pace | 1.74 coin | London, Oxford, Canterbury, Southampton, Bristol |
| Any knifefor example Knife | No: by hand at 50% of the pace | 39.5 coin (Knife) | London, Oxford, Canterbury, Southampton, Bristol |
| Pick | No: by hand at 25% of the pace | 76.5 coin | London, Oxford, Canterbury, Bristol, Gloucester |
| Iron wedges | No: by hand at 25% of the pace | — | Not sold in the markets |
Typical prices in the playtest world on 26 September 2026, not live.
Work they may do
30
- Boil brine · Saltern (salt pans)
- Boil pitch
- Collect dung
- Collect stale urine
- Collect sand
- Cut coppice
- Cut peat
- Cut reeds
- Cut turf
- Dig clay
- Dig gravel
- Dress iron ore by hand
- Dress lead ore by hand
- Dress tin ore to black tin by hand
- Fell timber
- Forage
- Gather copperas stones
- Gather deadwood
- Dress a stone anvil
- Weave a basket
- Lash up crude bellows
- Twist a bowstring
- Make a line and hooks
- Knot a net
- Make snares
- Whittle a spindle
- Make a stone hammer
- Press verjuice
- Mix mortar
- Quarry stone