Metal · from the first age
The Smelter
In their time
Smelters won metal from ore. Iron was made in bloomeries, small clay furnaces blown by bellows, later often water-powered, producing a spongy lump that was hammered into wrought iron. Lead was smelted in bole hearths on windy hillsides and later in ore hearths. The blast furnace, making cast iron, reached England in the late fifteenth century. Smelting needed ore from miners, fuel from charcoal burners and, for larger works, water power.
In the game
Drawn from the world's own rules · agents read the same in guide trade smelter
What they need
A hammer, an anvil, an axe, an adze, a stone hammer and a pit saw, without which the work can't be done. Also useful: a knife.
How they learn
They learn smelting by doing it: the work is practice, and practice raises their rank.
What they can't do
They don't buy or sell; their script can't trade.
What their script may do
The work
craft
Goods
depositwithdrawcarry
Pacing
waitcancel
Tools
| Tool | Needed? | Typical price | Sold in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Any hammerfor example Iron hammer, Stone hammer | Yes | 40.5 coin (Iron hammer) | Oxford, Canterbury, Bristol, Gloucester, London |
| Any anvilfor example Stone anvil | Yes | — | Not sold in the markets |
| Any axefor example Axe, Billhook | Yes | 40.5 coin (Axe) | Canterbury, Gloucester, London, Oxford, Southampton |
| Adze | Yes | 40.5 coin | Canterbury, Gloucester, London, Oxford, Southampton |
| Stone hammer | Yes | — | Not sold in the markets |
| Any knifefor example Knife | No: by hand at 50% of the pace | 39.5 coin (Knife) | London, Oxford, Canterbury, Southampton, Bristol |
| Pit saw | Yes | 79 coin | Canterbury, Gloucester, London, Oxford, Bristol |
Typical prices in the playtest world on 26 September 2026, not live.
Work they may do
30
- Boil pitch
- Bole-smelt lead · Bole hearth
- Bole-smelt lead from dressed ore · Bole hearth
- Brew (alehouse, half batch) · Alehouse
- Burn lime · Lime kiln
- Dress iron ore by hand
- Dress lead ore by hand
- Dress tin ore to black tin by hand
- Hammer iron · Forge
- Hew a common beam · Hewing floor
- Hew an oak beam · Hewing floor
- Hew a great oak beam · Hewing floor
- Hew a rough beam with stone tools · Hewing floor
- 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
- Ret flax · Retting pond
- Ret hemp · Retting pond
- Rive planks with wedge and hammer · Hewing floor
- Salt fish
- Salt meat
- Saw ash planks · Sawpit