Imperial Gunnery School

"Three things make The Empire great - faith, steel and gunpowder"

- Magnus the Pious, Emperor of Nuln

The Imperial Gunnery School of Nuln is one of the most industrial institutions within the Empire of Man, whose sole responsibility is the mass production of gunpowder weaponry and the training of the the Empire's artillery crews. The province of Wissenland and its capital city of Nuln is respected across the Empire as the home to the finest handguns, cannons, and war-machines to have ever existed, save for those constructed by the Dwarfs. This makes them a desired commodity for any Imperial army using cannonry and as such, graduates from the Imperial Gunnery School are highly prized for their skills in training and maintaining artillery pieces on vulnerable targets with unerring accuracy.

Perhaps hte most surprising fact is that the Imperial Gunnery School does not create new weapons of war. Such task are executed by their sister institution; the College of Engineers. Once the Colleges of Engineering create a blueprint for a new war-machine, the Imperial Gunnery School then start manufacturing more of them and train their gunners on its use. This creates a high demand for their services with only a limited number are available at any one time. Yet this demand has still led to the school refusing to lower its standards to concentrate on producing better skilled gunners and engineers, rather than a lot of sub-standard graduates.

Most of the students at the school come from the Imperial nobility, for such is the cost for education that only those of noble wealth could hope to afford it. Once they are accepted into the institution, the student begin to learn basic mathematics and how to operate simple firearms. One of the requirements of the school is that all students must undergo fieldwork to see how weapons perform in the field, and how the students perform too. They are sent out under the tutelage of a Senior Gunnery Officer or a Master Engineer and begin field tests.

For such an excursion, the group leave the school and Nuln for a period of time and travel wherever they feel like, often journeying alongside campaigning Imperial armies where the opportunity of battle can be used as a means of testing out the weapons efficiency. The instructor evaluates the aptitude of the students, making assessments of whether they are likely to graduate. Their abilities will always vary from undeveloped to talented, but they are always very well equipped nonetheless.

Once they graduate, the students have a choice to stay within the school and begin further training and study to become a Master Engineer, or return home and join the ranks of the Pistoliers and Outriders.

Source
Warhammer: Path of the Damned (FRP) -- pg 75