The Book of Char

The Book of Char is an item gained as a reward from The Firemaker's Curse and can be found in the player's bookcase in a House.

It can be wielded in the off-hand slot and has a right-click ability activated by selecting the "Unleash" right click option. When activated, fiery domes will spin around the player, immediately igniting any log the player walks/runs over. Doing this will give the player double the Firemaking experience they would normally get when lighting logs and lasts for around 2 to 3 minutes (or until unequipped). This effect does not stack with any other firemaking experience boost such as Bonus experience, Flame gloves, or Ring of fire. The ability can only be used once per day, and recharges at midnight UTC. When you try to Unleash the book again before it has regained its power, the following message appears: "The book is still recharging power."

The logs do not have to be dropped beforehand in order for them to be lit. The player can simply drop the logs while walking or running and they will turn into ashes instantly. Continuous movement is required; if the player stops, the logs will simply drop to the ground without turning into ashes.

If a stack of two or more logs are passed over by the player while The Book of Char is active, the effect will only burn one log at a time. In order to ignite additional logs, you will have to walk off of the square with the logs and back onto it to ignite the next log.

Following an update in January 2012 a teleport option was added when right-clicking the Book of Char. This will teleport a player right to the entrance of Char's training cave. Note that once you click "teleport" you will instantly teleport there. This may only be used once per day and resets at 00:00 UTC. Trying again results in the game message, "You have already used this today."

If you lose the book you can simply speak to Char and use the third option about losing your journal pages.



First Journal
I pour my life into these books, to hold my power so that it may be restored by those who seek to find me. May they be loyal allies, or suffer my scorn.

I was born in a travelling settlement in the desert. It was little more than a village, by the name of Auspah. My parents were farmers, and I spent my early childhood helping them to the livestock. However, the highlight of each year was a festival.

It was a celebration of life and freedom, and it is where all the young of Auspah learned the skills of the elders. The festival lasted a week. Each year passed so quickly, but I will always remember the delights it held: my father and the other men raising great, burning beasts from the bonfire, sending them stampeding across the desert to simmer away, or my mother and the other Auspah dancing, with flames twirling around their bodies like the lightest of robes. For the rest of those years, I relentlessly plagued my parents to teach me their skills, and I spent every spare minute practicing so I could hope to be in the next festival.

Second Journal
When I was still young, my village was destroyed by raiders. My parents led the defence, but we were a peaceful community, they had not trained their powers for fighting and were easily overwhelmed. I tried to help them, conjuring pathetic sparks that singed the raiders trousers, but it was no use.

I saw my parents come to bloody death before my eyes, failing among the villagers littering the ground. As the carnage continued, I was knocked unconscious. Some might call it a stroke of luck as the raiders left me, assuming I was dead, but when I awoke in the aftermath I wished they had taken me too.

My saviors found me a week later, starving and dehydrated, Benedict, who spotted me in the desert, always said how amazed he was that I survived. They took me in and raised me as if I was their own, and I grew up to be a strong follower of the god Zaros.

I found work as a dancer, and my talents did not go unnoticed. Word of my performances spread, and I eventually caught of Zaros himself. In his own way, he enlisted me into his forces, keen to use my skills for more than just entertainment. I was keen to revenge against those who had wronged me as a child, and I quickly showed prowess in battle. Then came the day I will never forget.

Third Journal
It was only days ago, though it felt like years. The poison must be slowing me faster than I had anticipated. Zaros called me to him, his voiced ringing around my head, booming yet soft. He was curious of the activity of the ‘goddess’ Seren, hidden away in her crystalline city, and wished to send a party of the most trusted followers to scout the area, or so he claimed. When he told me, something seemed wrong, Zaros was troubled, I could feel it.

I was to lead the party, along with Zaros’s trusted mahjarrat, Zamorak. I had worked with Zamorak before. He is one of the longest-lasting generals, and is greatly respected. When he spends time with Zaros, no one may intervene.

In truth, I was jealous of him. However, I also regarded him with great suspicion. Not only is Zamorak a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield, he is very clever. He can twist words and bend almost anyone to his will. Rumours had been spreading about him, and he had been leaving the empire, often for weeks on end, I could not ignore my feelings about him, but I had to trust my god Zaros.

Fourth Journal
The party for the mission was mostly made up of Zamorak’s ranks, who all followed him devoutly. We were also accompanied Perjour, Zaros most valued scholar, eager to learn more about the elven lands. His strength lay in knowledge, I knew he would not stand up to Zamorak if threatened. I would be lying if I said I was not afraid.

The worst happened sooner than I expected, I thought Zamorak would at least wait until we had completed the mission. We were on our way towards Prifddinas, when we were ambushed. They were elven out-riders, no match for us individually, but we are heavily outnumbered. The battle was arduous, but it became clear that we were going to be victorious. I could not have expected it at that point. In the middle of our enemies, I turned to see Zamorak. He was not fighting, but walking serenely towards me, with a twisted smile. There, amid the blood and struggle of the fight, he stabbed. I had no time to react, it was so quick. As I fell to ground, he signaled to his troops. The elves were finished off quickly.

Zamorak did not join the remains of the fight. He crouched over me, and whispered, explained that he had poisoned the dagger he had gored me with. It was a special concoction of his. I was not to die, the poison would, in fact, extend my life, but I would be barely strong enough to move.

He commanded his troops to seal me in these caves. Only the scholar showed any signs of regret as they shut me in, to live out centuries with the pain of knowing I could not stop Zamorak’s plan.

Fifth Journal
What a fool, I am quite proud to write that Zaros must have shared something with me that he did not share with Zamorak, I had always had a great interest in learning more than my fire skills, so Zaros agreed to teach me some of his ancient magic.

Just days before the mission, Zaros showed me this. By reliving my story into these journals, enchanted by Zaros himself, I am able to store my powers within them. It is not an easy task, the poison is still seeping through my veins, stinging every inch of my body. I think this text will be enough. Soon I will sleep, until Zaros comes to awaken me. He will come...

Training firemaking with a beast of burden
Since dropping a log requires a right-click option for each log, more logs may be dropped by using a Beast of burden. This is accomplished by systematically filling a beast of burden's inventory with logs and dismissing it. Upon dismissal, all the logs will be dropped in a single stack.

Instructions
In order to maximise experience, follow these steps:


 * 1) Empty the inventory and go to a bank which permits fire lighting (Ex. Edgeville Bank)
 * 2) Withdraw and equip The Book of Char (Be sure NOT to activate it now)
 * 3) Withdraw 1 summoning pouch for the desired beast of burden (Preferred Spirit Terrorbird or better)
 * 4) Summon Beast of burden.
 * 5) Fill the Beast of burden's inventory with the logs using Beast of burden Bank presets or using the Withdraw X to BoB interface.
 * 6) Position the Beast of burden so that the creature's south-west corner occupies the space where the logs are desired
 * 7) Dismiss the Beast of burden
 * 8) Repeat steps 3-7 as many times as desired (try to drop subsequent log stacks adjacent to existing log stacks)
 * 9) Activate The Book of Char by right-clicking on it in the Equipment window
 * 10) Run repeatedly over the various stacks of logs

Important notes

 * Once the logs are dropped, they will become visible to other players in 1 minute. Try to begin burning the logs before 1 minute passes in order to avoid other players picking up the logs
 * Once the logs are dropped, they will disappear after 3 minutes pass.
 * Once The Book of Char is unleashed, the effect will be active for 2 minutes.

Experience expectations
This table assumes that the player drops logs using only a beast of burden, the total time for dropping logs and burning logs is 5 minutes, and all dropped logs are burned using The Book of Char. The column headers represent the different beasts of burden. (S for Spirit terrorbird, W for War tortoise, P for Pack yak)

This method for gaining experience is not sustainable; therefore it cannot be used for prolonged firemaking training. The experience per hour ratios are meant for the purpose of time comparison.

Trivia

 * It is the first item in RuneScape 2 to have more than its first letter capitalised.
 * The orb that forms around your character when the book is activated bears a resemblance to the Stone of Jas effect after The Ritual of the Mahjarrat when entering certain areas. The sound that it makes is the same as the Clan Citadel portal, which visually bears an even stronger resemblance.
 * This was one of only two items in RuneScape that has a double experience effect to Firemaking, until the bonus experience update, which made the Penance horn redundant as experience was given straight to the skill.
 * When players light logs from their inventory with The Book of Char's special ability enabled, they will move east from a lit fire instead of the normal western direction.
 * If the player ran in 1 direction, with logs on each tile before them a maximum of 200 logs could be lit each minute (400-600 logs for the total duration and upwards of 243,040-364,560 Firemaking experience could be gained using magic logs). If walking the number would be halved.
 * If you look close enough, on the inside of your offhand arm, you can see that, when equipped, the Book of Char is wielded upside down.
 * The Book can light logs that you lack the firemaking level to light normally. For instance, with a firemaking level of 74 (bare minimum to complete the quest) and you used the book's ability on magic logs, you would still light them even though you would need a firemaking level of 75 to light them using a tinderbox.
 * Experience gained from burning logs with The Book of Char will not count towards the growth progress of a Harmony Pillar attuned to the firemaking skill.