Kiki clutches her head and takes a knee, a little woozy as the simulation fades away. "Ugh, I hate illusions," she mutters. Once she's regained her composure, she stands up to her full 4'11" and listens to Tarto's mixed review. "I'll definitely hit 'em next time. I'll need to recalibrate the arcanomagnets in the firing mechanism and double-check the rifling - sometimes causes the shot to go wide. Anyway... what do we now, Boatswain?"
Tarto turns on Zap, a hard expression on her face. "Solution? Captain Sardax was one of the finest captains in the Spelljammer Fleet, commanding one of the finest crews aboard one of the finest vessels. If she could not find a solution, do you think we would expect a bunch of raw recruits to?"
To Icarus she continues, "This was not about teaching you. This was about us learning what your natural reaction to pressure is." Looking over the group generally, "But if you want to take a lessen from this, then let it be this: This isn't one of your two-copper stage dramas, where the bad guys are defeated and the heroes are safely home in time for the curtain call. Sometimes good people die. Sometimes all the choices are bad ones. Sometimes," and her expression cracks for a moment and you get a glimpse of something both softer and much harder behind it, like a nebula of sadness and grief compressed into a personal black hole, "sometimes, there is. No. Solution."
The boatswain takes a breath to recompose herself. "Now, Cadet Forger, I give you the history speech I am required to give every group of new recruits, and then I send you down to Administration for them to sign you up and make you someone else's problem for a while."
Her voice takes on the tone of someone repeating a litany they've recited a hundred times. "Spelljamming ships have plied the currents of the Astral Sea since long before anyone can remember—and when 'anyone' includes elves, solar dragons and actual literal gods, that's a very long time—but the Spelljammer Academy in its current incarnation was founded by Mirt the Merciless some decades ago, to train both Spelljammers and members of the Spelljammer Corps, the two branches of the magical navy we call the Spelljammer Fleet. The Fleet is dedicated to defending Toril from cosmic-level threats, much greater than the run-of-the-mill warlords and demon-summoning cults that you might be used to dealing with, as well as to exploring the worlds beyond this one. Few people outside the Fleet know of its existence, and we'd like to keep it that way, so watch who you talk to.
"The 'Old Wolf' is still the Academy's chief financial officer. He manages the institution's operations alongside a small group of powerful high-ranking officers, known collectively as 'the Bridge.' He also keeps our biggest investors out on the Rock of Bral happy, which might just be a tougher fight than any pirate battle.
"Those of you with some magical ability may qualify to join the Spelljammers 'proper': to learn to operate the helm of a spelljamming ship to navigate between worlds through Wildspace and the Astral Sea. The others, or those who prefer not to sit around watching the starts go by all day, may join the Spelljammer Corps," she stands a little straighter as she says the name, "charged with doing the actual work when you get where you're going.
"All right, class over, your mettle has been tested, off to Administration with you if you still want to sign up. Once you're done with their little orientation routine, report back to me here. Oh, and stay on the marked paths, the security detachment are even twitchier than usual at the moment. Dismissed!"
Icarus looks around at who he thought was his life long team and still feels a connection. "I'm still in. What do you all say? He starts to walk toward the Administrations building."
Yaris keeps pace but doesn't lead, he sticks to the middle of the group. He extends a hand to Icarus "Yaris, good to meet you too. I guess this will be our group. We will all be training together, considering the simulation ... i think we work pretty well!" He smiles around to the rest of the group.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Yaris Hurley | Water Genasi Monk Lvl 1 |Karrion's Spelljammer Port
One of the security personnel standing by the door out of the simulation chamber hands you back the green leather cap you were given when you deboarded the ship that brought you here, marking you as a visitor with restricted access. A second security officers posted outside the door escorts you out of the simulation area, down a corridor cut into the stone of the island. As you approach the set of stairs down to the next level, you notice a passage off to your right whose entrance is rimmed with purple; the passage you just came from is rimmed with green. The officer leads you down the stairs, then through several more levels of corridors, off which branch other passages and doors marked red; at one point a halfling cadet dashes past, clearly late for training. Turning a corner, you see them bump into a pair of plasmoid cadets—and become partially stuck in one of them! After pulling themself out and helping the plasmoid correct their uniform, the halfling runs on, shouting an apology.
Eventually you are led through a green door, into the Administration office. Behind the reception desk is a thri-kreen with white chitin mottled with patches of brilliant blue, and matching blue eyes. One of her arms is filling out a form, two are sorting though some incoming correspondence, and the fourth picks up one of several of sending stones arrayed in front of her. She speaks into it, "Academy accounts payable, yes? Please hold," then replaces the stone and looks up at you. "Ah yes, today's new recruits, yes? I am Sor'kur. You have decided to join us? Yes." With two hands she places two sets of forms on the desk in front of you, while a third hands out pens. The fourth picks up a different sending stone, into which she says, "Apologies, yes, but Mr. the Merciless is not taking calls at the moment." Turning back to you, she instructs, "Those joining the Spelljammer Corps please fill in this form, yes? Those for Spelljammers, yes, this form."
[Time to declare which track you're taking; other than the fact you have to be a caster to attune to a helm and therefore get the pilot training, there's honestly not a lot of practical difference, so it's mostly a question, for the casters, of do you think you'll ever want/need to be able to fly a ship? Also, it's highly recommended that at least one of you does take up piloting.]
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
"Corps as well, thank you" Yaris takes a pen and begins to scan the form filling it out where appropriate. Anything of importance on the papers? Investigation check if need be: 17
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Yaris Hurley | Water Genasi Monk Lvl 1 |Karrion's Spelljammer Port
Kiki takes a look at the form and scratches the back of her neck as she reads it over. "Well... I'm more into the arcano-mechanical aspects, but I guess I could be pilot in a pinch. Backup pilot? Pilot-in-waiting? Either way, sure, may as well give it a shot. Best way to learn how to fix something is to learn how it works."
Anything of importance on the papers? Investigation check if need be: 11
It's mostly pretty standard employment contract/military commission legalese. There's a bunch of non-disclosure stuff, and maybe a slightly concerning amount of waiving of liability for injury, disability, death, undeath, planar dispersal, temporal translation, or being otherwise displaced or transformed on an existential level.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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Kiki clutches her head and takes a knee, a little woozy as the simulation fades away. "Ugh, I hate illusions," she mutters. Once she's regained her composure, she stands up to her full 4'11" and listens to Tarto's mixed review. "I'll definitely hit 'em next time. I'll need to recalibrate the arcanomagnets in the firing mechanism and double-check the rifling - sometimes causes the shot to go wide. Anyway... what do we now, Boatswain?"
Tarto turns on Zap, a hard expression on her face. "Solution? Captain Sardax was one of the finest captains in the Spelljammer Fleet, commanding one of the finest crews aboard one of the finest vessels. If she could not find a solution, do you think we would expect a bunch of raw recruits to?"
To Icarus she continues, "This was not about teaching you. This was about us learning what your natural reaction to pressure is." Looking over the group generally, "But if you want to take a lessen from this, then let it be this: This isn't one of your two-copper stage dramas, where the bad guys are defeated and the heroes are safely home in time for the curtain call. Sometimes good people die. Sometimes all the choices are bad ones. Sometimes," and her expression cracks for a moment and you get a glimpse of something both softer and much harder behind it, like a nebula of sadness and grief compressed into a personal black hole, "sometimes, there is. No. Solution."
The boatswain takes a breath to recompose herself. "Now, Cadet Forger, I give you the history speech I am required to give every group of new recruits, and then I send you down to Administration for them to sign you up and make you someone else's problem for a while."
Her voice takes on the tone of someone repeating a litany they've recited a hundred times. "Spelljamming ships have plied the currents of the Astral Sea since long before anyone can remember—and when 'anyone' includes elves, solar dragons and actual literal gods, that's a very long time—but the Spelljammer Academy in its current incarnation was founded by Mirt the Merciless some decades ago, to train both Spelljammers and members of the Spelljammer Corps, the two branches of the magical navy we call the Spelljammer Fleet. The Fleet is dedicated to defending Toril from cosmic-level threats, much greater than the run-of-the-mill warlords and demon-summoning cults that you might be used to dealing with, as well as to exploring the worlds beyond this one. Few people outside the Fleet know of its existence, and we'd like to keep it that way, so watch who you talk to.
"The 'Old Wolf' is still the Academy's chief financial officer. He manages the institution's operations alongside a small group of powerful high-ranking officers, known collectively as 'the Bridge.' He also keeps our biggest investors out on the Rock of Bral happy, which might just be a tougher fight than any pirate battle.
"Those of you with some magical ability may qualify to join the Spelljammers 'proper': to learn to operate the helm of a spelljamming ship to navigate between worlds through Wildspace and the Astral Sea. The others, or those who prefer not to sit around watching the starts go by all day, may join the Spelljammer Corps," she stands a little straighter as she says the name, "charged with doing the actual work when you get where you're going.
"All right, class over, your mettle has been tested, off to Administration with you if you still want to sign up. Once you're done with their little orientation routine, report back to me here. Oh, and stay on the marked paths, the security detachment are even twitchier than usual at the moment. Dismissed!"
Icarus looks around at who he thought was his life long team and still feels a connection. "I'm still in. What do you all say? He starts to walk toward the Administrations building."
D&D since 1984
"Yeah, I'm not going anywhere this is what I've been waiting for!" He gives a nod of respect to his fellow companions and stands straight.
Yaris Hurley | Water Genasi Monk Lvl 1 | Karrion's Spelljammer Port
Kiki fidgets with the strap of her goggles, then stops and takes a deep breath. "Yep, still good to go. Right behind you guys."
As he walks along he says “my names Icarus. Nice to meet you all. “
D&D since 1984
Yaris keeps pace but doesn't lead, he sticks to the middle of the group. He extends a hand to Icarus "Yaris, good to meet you too. I guess this will be our group. We will all be training together, considering the simulation ... i think we work pretty well!" He smiles around to the rest of the group.
Yaris Hurley | Water Genasi Monk Lvl 1 | Karrion's Spelljammer Port
"I'm Kathrin Forger, but most people just call me Kiki. Good to meet you guys, and really glad that crap-show back there was just an illusion."
*I am called Da'Kal, I hope interesting times await*
As she hurries down the hall following the markers, you see her carapace shifting to a solid brick red color.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
One of the security personnel standing by the door out of the simulation chamber hands you back the green leather cap you were given when you deboarded the ship that brought you here, marking you as a visitor with restricted access. A second security officers posted outside the door escorts you out of the simulation area, down a corridor cut into the stone of the island. As you approach the set of stairs down to the next level, you notice a passage off to your right whose entrance is rimmed with purple; the passage you just came from is rimmed with green. The officer leads you down the stairs, then through several more levels of corridors, off which branch other passages and doors marked red; at one point a halfling cadet dashes past, clearly late for training. Turning a corner, you see them bump into a pair of plasmoid cadets—and become partially stuck in one of them! After pulling themself out and helping the plasmoid correct their uniform, the halfling runs on, shouting an apology.
Eventually you are led through a green door, into the Administration office. Behind the reception desk is a thri-kreen with white chitin mottled with patches of brilliant blue, and matching blue eyes. One of her arms is filling out a form, two are sorting though some incoming correspondence, and the fourth picks up one of several of sending stones arrayed in front of her. She speaks into it, "Academy accounts payable, yes? Please hold," then replaces the stone and looks up at you. "Ah yes, today's new recruits, yes? I am Sor'kur. You have decided to join us? Yes." With two hands she places two sets of forms on the desk in front of you, while a third hands out pens. The fourth picks up a different sending stone, into which she says, "Apologies, yes, but Mr. the Merciless is not taking calls at the moment." Turning back to you, she instructs, "Those joining the Spelljammer Corps please fill in this form, yes? Those for Spelljammers, yes, this form."
[Time to declare which track you're taking; other than the fact you have to be a caster to attune to a helm and therefore get the pilot training, there's honestly not a lot of practical difference, so it's mostly a question, for the casters, of do you think you'll ever want/need to be able to fly a ship? Also, it's highly recommended that at least one of you does take up piloting.]
Icarus steps forward and says "Corps please"
D&D since 1984
"Corps as well, thank you" Yaris takes a pen and begins to scan the form filling it out where appropriate. Anything of importance on the papers? Investigation check if need be: 17
Yaris Hurley | Water Genasi Monk Lvl 1 | Karrion's Spelljammer Port
*I am not a master of the mechanikal stuff, I will take Corps as well* Da"kal scritches her name on a form and nods at the others.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
(If needed Icarus would switch to pilot training)
D&D since 1984
Kiki takes a look at the form and scratches the back of her neck as she reads it over. "Well... I'm more into the arcano-mechanical aspects, but I guess I could be pilot in a pinch. Backup pilot? Pilot-in-waiting? Either way, sure, may as well give it a shot. Best way to learn how to fix something is to learn how it works."
It's mostly pretty standard employment contract/military commission legalese. There's a bunch of non-disclosure stuff, and maybe a slightly concerning amount of waiving of liability for injury, disability, death, undeath, planar dispersal, temporal translation, or being otherwise displaced or transformed on an existential level.