If you’ve recently started Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord and tried to forge some new gear you may have discovered you lack charcoal. You browsed the shops of every city and settlement around and didn’t find any. Well, that’s because you need to make it for yourself.
Charcoal is made from Hardwood in the Refine tab of the Smithy.
You need to make your own charcoal in Mount and Blade II, and to do so you first need to own some hardwood. Hardwood can be found in shops all over Calradia, but is more common in areas surrounded by forests. You can even track the best place to buy some via trade whispers if cost is a concern (displayed after visiting a few towns then highlighting the item).
It’ll take two hardwood to make one charcoal, so if you plan to do some heavy crafting you’ll need to buy a healthy stockpile of hardwood. Once you have the amount you need head to a city and enter the Smithy from the main city menu. From here go to the Refine tab at the top, and then select the first option to turn hardwood into charcoal.
Keep in mind that you can only do so much in the Smithy before needing to rest, and refining charcoal will wear you out. Unless you are using a mod or two you will need to periodically pop out of the Smithy and rest a day to restore your smithing stamina (which can be checked by mousing over your portrait within the Smithy).
