The Baldur's Gate Training Facility

One of my players and I sat down one afternoon, brainstorming ideas for ways to recruit crewmembers for his character's growing fleet of ships and we decided that instead of Shanghai-ing them, we would make them. Thus, this school was born. The mock-up vessel is based on the Marlinspike at the US Navy's recruit training center (boot camp) in Great Lakes, IL and was used again in the lighthouse that he eventually built as well.

The Baldur’s Gate Training Facility (BTF) was established as part of the Coberal Trust Company in late 1362 DR. The Seafarer’s Development Group (SDG) is composed of three distinct units. The combined purpose of these units is to meet the training, development, and crew staffing needs of the seafaring community.

The Seafarer’s Vocational School specializes in the short-term training of individuals in the arts of seamanship in order to prepare them for a career aboard merchant vessels. The Seafarer’s Officers’ Academy is a formal education environment which provides instruction for youths who desire to become shipboard officers. Lastly, the Seafarer’s Staffing Services works in conjunction with the two schools to place trained and qualified graduates as crew members and officers aboard ships.

The SDG is based in Baldur’s Gate with all three aspects of the SDG operating out of the same four-story wooden building on Baldur’s Gate’s waterfront. The building, referred to as “The Sailor’s School” by students and locals alike, is located on its own private pier. Cranes on iron rails load and unload cargo from ships safely and quickly, serving this pier like all others in Baldur’s Gate. There is enough room on the SDG’s pier to berth four different ships without breasting outboard of each other. Just south of the SDG building is a large open area the school uses as a training field for hand-to-hand combat and training with missile weapons. This training field also serves as a staging area for cargo going on or coming off of the ships berthed here. A fence is located at the head of the pier to restrict access to casual passersby. There is also a 20’ long x 10’ wide stable located at the southwest corner of the SDG building.

Normally, the Siren’s Reach uses berth one and the Blazing Cutlass uses berth two. The two remaining berths are rented out at a cost of 1 gp/10’ length of ship/day. School fees are as follows: a six-month enrollment in the Vocational School costs 12 gp. This fee includes room and board, the issue of a standard uniform package (breeches, tunic, sash, belt and knife) and the training itself (payment plans are available). The Officers’ Academy charges 100 gp for a six-month enrollment. This fee includes the cost of classes, room and board, a standard uniform package (2 pairs of cannons, 2 chemises, 2 doublets, an oilskin cloak, a weapon’s belt, and a pair of hard, low boots), a cutlass, and a field glass. Only twenty students are accepted per class for both schools. The Seafarer’s Staffing Services receive 4 gp for graduates from the Vocational School and 12 gp for its officers.

The Vocational School provides instruction in marlinespike seamanship, cargo handling and storage procedures, swimming, fresh water conservation, hand-to-hand and missile combat aboard ships, boating, signaling/basic heraldry, and shipboard life and protocol. The top 10% of the Vocational School’s graduating class is offered placement in the Officers’ Academy (entrance fee waived in exchange for serving as a Graduate Instructor).

The Officers’ Academy’s first six-months is identical in scope to the Vocational School. During the second half of the year, teachers demonstrate leadership techniques, navigation and rules of the road, reading and writing, deck logs, shipboard damage control, supply procedures and accounting, the use of artillery, and practical religious observations for both Umberlee and Valkur. Trust Company wizards sometimes teach exceptionally intelligent students basic spellcraft for a modest apprenticeship fee after graduation from the Academy. The length of this apprenticeship period varies greatly from one student to the next.

The ceiling of each level of the SDG building is 10’ high unless otherwise noted. Common spaces are lit by mundane means (windows, oil lamps, candles, etc) except for the stairways, which are illuminated by Continual Flame spells.

Exterior Walls: Masonry Wall 1’ thick: Hardness: 8; Hp: 90; Break DC35; Climb DC20

Strong Wooden Door: Hardness: 5; Hp: 20; Break DC33

Level One

1. Quarterdeck: The quarterdeck is the main entrance to the SDG building. Located in the center of the west wall of the ground floor, the quarterdeck looks out even with the quarterdeck of the ship in Berth One (usually the Siren’s Reach). The quarterdeck is manned 24 hours a day by one of the students in the Officers’ Academy who logs in visitors and important events. A small bell is located beside the door and is rung every half-hour to denote the time of the day (except from 2200-0530). A cloakroom is located directly north of the quarterdeck and the SDG offices are found directly south of this area.

2. Cloakroom: The cloakroom is a 10’ x 10’ closet used to store foul weather gear (boots, rain cloaks, and gloves) and the cloaks of visitors to the building’s office.

3. Mock-up: This massive area is the centerpiece of life in both schools during the first three months of their curriculum. The ceiling rises all the way to the top of the fourth floor and the room itself is 80’ long x 40’ wide. Two rows of benches line the south wall of the room, with the door in the center of the wall providing the only means of access to this chamber. The north wall of the mock-up boasts a replica of the starboard side of a caravel.

The school headmaster or a senior student who has proved him or herself knowledgeable instruct younger, less experienced students in various facets of shipboard life. The simulation of the ship has working capstans for tending lines or raising the anchor, rigging identical to that found aboard an actual vessel and an internal layout identical to the passenger deck of the Siren’s Reach. A sunken area (6’ deep) also surrounds the replica and is filled with water where students are given swimming lessons.

4. Jakes (x 2): Both jakes on the ground level of the SDG building are 10’ x 10’.

5. Mess Decks: The mess decks are located along the east side of the ground floor. Two doors lead into the mess decks, one from the galley and the other from the large open area across from the shrine to Valkur. Meals are served from 0600-0700 (Morningfeast), 1100-1230 (Highsun meal), 1530-1630 (Eveningfeast) and 2330-0030 (Midnight rations a.k.a. Mid-Rats). Fare is identical to that served aboard ships at sea and Mid-Rats consists of the day‘s leftovers that are reheated by one of the assistant cooks. Long tables run lengthwise with the mess decks. The south end of this room is taken up by the scullery where dishes, pots and pans are washed in preparation for the next meal by three members of the Vocational School.

6. Galley: Referred to as “Mum’s Kitchen”, the galley is run by the wizened matron of the school, Mirrie Hullspeeder. Mirrie is an older woman, believed to be in her late-forties to early fifties with silvered hair and several missing teeth. She claims to have given birth to eight children (including a set of twins) and now mothers her young charges with a mixture of iron-handed discipline and maternal advice and has no qualms about “roughing up” unruly students.

Mirrie was married to a ship’s mage of some renown who disappeared several years ago while on a voyage from Baldur’s Gate to Calimshan and recently sold several of her husband’s tomes to the school. “Mum” is a skilled cook with a small degree of healing skills learned while tending to her brood of children. Gregor pays Mirrie a salary of 5 gp/month. Rumors have begun to circulate that Mirrie has become involved with Blanc Hemplock on an intimate basis but as the subject has not been broached to either of them, these rumors are unsubstantiated.

The galley has a shipping door located in its south wall for deliveries and another door in its north wall that opens into the clear area in front of Valkur’s shrine. A door to the east leads into the mess decks and another in the west wall opens into the galley’s storeroom. The galley has a baking oven, a large fireplace, several tables and cabinets and a wide variety of pots and pans. Tables for food preparation, cupboards for storing flatware and eating utensils line the walls. A deep sink is located near the southeast corner of the room. The galley is supervised by Mirrie who is responsible for the preparation of all meals. She is assisted by two other cooks and the three students who work in the scullery.

Mirrie “the Sea-Mum” Hullspeeder: Human female Monk 3

CR: 3 Medium-sized Humanoid (Human) HD: 3d8+6 Hp: 21

Init: +1 Spd: 30’ AC: 13 (+1 Dex, +2 Wis); touch: 13; flat-footed: 10

Attacks: (BAB +2; Grap +5); +5 (+3/+3 flurry of blows) Unarmed Strike: 1d6+3 or +6 Masterwork Cutlass: 1d6+3 (19-20/x2)

SA: Unarmed Strike; Stunning Attack; Flurry of Blows

SQ: Deflect Arrows; Evasion; Still Mind

Align: LN Saves: Fort +5 Ref +4 Will +5

Str: 16 (+3) Dex: 12 (+1) Con: 15 (+2) Int: 16 (+3) Wis: 14 (+2) Cha: 10

Skills: Balance +5; Climb +7; Craft (Cooking) +9; Gather Information +2; Heal +5; Jump +6; Listen +7; Move Silently +6; Profession (Sailor) +7; Read/Write and Speak Alzhedo, Chondathan, Common, Damaran and Illuskan; Swim +6; Tumble +3

Feats: Expertise; Martial Weapon Proficiency (Cutlass); Sea Dog

Gear: Artisan’s Outfit; Cook’s Apron; Cooking Utensils; Masterwork Cutlass; Potion of Cat’s Grace (3rd lvl)

7. Galley Storeroom: The galley storeroom is a 20’ x 20’ chamber that contains dried meats, flour for making hard biscuits, fruit and vegetables, replacement cookware and flatware, clean linens for the staterooms, and cleaning gear for the rest of the building.

8. Seafarer’s Development Group Office: The office for all three branches of the Seafarer’s Development Group is located within this 20’ wide x 30’ long room. Directly to one’s left as he enters this room is a desk manned by one of the students from the Officers’ Academy. This student is responsible for scheduling appointments with the school‘s headmaster (or Mirrie, if the headmaster is away).

An “L” shaped couch runs along the west wall of the room and forms a partition from the area set aside as an office. Another couch is set directly across from the first. A pair of filing cabinets stand in the southwest corner of the room and contain students’ records, pending and filled requests from ships for graduates, ledgers containing the financial activities of the SDG, completed deck logs from the quarterdeck, and another log that contains a running tally of supplies on-hand for use in the galley.

9. Shrine to Valkur: Valkur the Mighty is a sailor’s god, a demipower who intercedes to protect ships against the cruel natures of Umberlee and Talos. The shrine to Valkur is a 10’ wide x 30’ long semi-enclosed area located directly across from the door to the mess decks. Students are encouraged but not required to pay homage to the Captain of the Waves here. Small offerings are often left by students departing upon graduation and sometimes before getting underway aboard the Siren’s Reach, which serves as a training vessel for the school. Ghett and other priests tend the shrine as part of the daily devotions to their god.

Level Two

1. Artillery Instruction: This open area is located at the top of the stairs leading up to the second floor. Life-sized working models of a light catapult and heavy ballista are located here. Members of the Officers’ Academy are instructed in the use and maintenance of these artillery pieces. Long racks containing ammunition for both models are located against the east wall of this area. The wall in the north end of the room contains a balcony that overlooks the replica of the caravel in the mock-up room on the ground floor.

2. Classroom: Similar in layout to the other classroom on this floor, this room is used to teach members of the officers’ academy in the many aspects of their education. The north wall of this chamber slides away as part of a partition to combine this classroom with the vocational school. The south wall has a large window that provides a view of Baldur’s Gate’s harbor and the training field and staging area to the south of the building.

3. Classroom: This classroom is used to provide instruction in simple shipboard procedures to the students of the vocational school before attending a practical examination aboard the mock-up on the ground floor. Small desks and chairs fill the west end of the room. The east wall contains a blackboard that is used to illustrate the procedures being discussed. The north wall is open to provide a view of the mock-up below. The south wall is really a partition shared with the officers’ classroom that can be rolled away to make one large combined classroom on days that the subject matter is similar.

Level Three

1. Officers’ Academy Dorm: The officers’ academy dormitory is a 40’ long x 30’ wide room. All bunks are stacked three high. The bottom and middle bunk open coffin-style to reveal a locker within to simulate life aboard ship. The top bunk has a standing locker assigned to it. The school headmaster inspects the berthing on the first and sixth day of each tenday. A maximum of 78 personnel can be berthed here.

2. Vocational School Dorm: The vocational school dormitory is a 60’ long x 20’ wide room. All bunks are stacked three high. The bottom and middle bunk open coffin-style to reveal a locker within to simulate life aboard ship. The top bunk has a standing locker assigned to it. The berthing is inspected every day by a member of the teaching staff. A maximum of 114 personnel can be berthed here.

3. Jakes (x 3): The jakes on this floor are 10’ x 10’. The students in the vocational school are responsible for the cleanliness and material condition of these small rooms.

4. Storage: The storeroom on this floor of the SDG building is 10’ wide x 20’ long. It is lined with shelves that contain fresh linens and cleaning supplies. The class leader of the officer’s academy is responsible for inventorying all contents (due at the end of each school day) and issuing supplies to the residents of this floor. The door to this room is kept locked (Open Lock DC20) at all times.

Level Four

1. Library: The library is a small, cozy room that often serves as a private meeting room for the officers of the Coberal Trust Company. Bookshelves line the walls and contain copies of the completed deck logs of the Siren’s Reach. Other books found on the shelves are almost universally of a maritime nature and include treatises on celestial navigation, histories of the Sword Coast, novels about the deeds of famous heroes and villains, and the collected myths of Valkur the Mighty. Phillip also keeps copies of his spellbooks here so Ghett can surreptitiously monitor the magical potential of his students. Soft leather chairs form a circle in the center of the room. A window in the south wall provides a view of the harbor.

Mirrie recently sold several of her late husband’s tomes to the school. Most of these included navigational charts and a journal from the sea-mage’s journeys but one was a partial copy of his spellbook (see below).

1st: Buoy, Far Sight, Sea Fins

2nd: Current, Current Sensing, Drown, Scholarly Perusal

3rd: Body of Water, Calm Air, Proof Against Combustion, Shield Bubbles

4th: Shape Waves

2. Ghett Loasd’s Stateroom: The Wavetamer’s stateroom is filled with simple furniture. A canopied double bed stands against the west wall just beneath a window that overlooks berth one on the pier below. A pair of nightstands flanks either side of the bed. A desk and chair have been placed against the north wall. A chest-of-drawers against the east wall of the room contains Ghett’s day-to-day clothing. A stand in the southwest corner of the room holds the priest’s armor and weapons. A small idol of Valkur is located in the southeast corner of the room.

3. Gregor Coberal’s Stateroom: The chairman and owner of the Coberal Trust Company uses this room when visiting Baldur’s Gate. The room has windows that look out onto the pier below and the mock-up of the ship on the ground floor. The chamber is furnished nearly identically to Gregor’s cabin aboard the Blazing Cutlass. A king-sized bed dominates it and a large sea chest is located at the foot of the bed. The floor of this room is the only one in the building with carpeting. The carpet is burgundy and extends from wall to wall. A mahogany and teak desk is located against the east wall. Closets built into the remaining walls hold Gregor’s clothing and adventuring gear.

4. Won Knumber’s Stateroom: This room is used by Won whenever he is in port. The room is furnished with a large bed, a nightstand, a desk and chair, and a chest-of-drawers. An open area in the north wall looks out over the mock-up of the training ship below.

5. Blanc Hemplock’s Stateroom: Bos’n’s stateroom is filled with simple furniture. A single bed stands against the east wall just beneath a window that overlooks berth four on the pier below. Another window in the north wall provides a view of the training ship below. A desk and chair have been placed against the south wall. A chest-of-drawers against the west wall of the room contains Blanc’s day-to-day clothing. A stand in the northeast corner of the room holds the sailor’s armor and weapons.

6. Jakes (x 2): The jakes on this floor are 10’ x 10’. The students in the vocational school are responsible for the cleanliness and material condition of these small rooms.

7. Phillip McHoald’s Stateroom: Phillip uses this stateroom when in Baldur’s Gate. Due to his infrequent visits to the city, he has furnished his room in an identical fashion to Won Knumber’s stateroom.