"Three things make The Empire great - faith, steel and gunpowder"
- —Magnus the Pious, Emperor of Nuln
Banner of the Gunnery School
The Imperial Gunnery School of Nuln is one of the most industrious institutions within the Empire of Man, whose sole responsibility is the mass production of blackpowder 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, with their graduates being always in high demand for their skills in firing and maintaining many types of artillery pieces.[1a]
Overview
The entrance to the courtyard of the Imperial Gunnery School
Perhaps the most surprising fact about the Imperial Gunnery School is that it does create new weapons. Such task are executed by their sister institution; the College of Engineers. Once the College of Engineers creates a blueprint for a new warmachine, the Imperial Gunnery School are then tasked in manufacturing them and train their crews in its use. This creates a high demand for their services with only a limited number of crews being available at any given time. Even with such high demand, the School still refuses to lower its standards to concentrate on producing better trained gunners and engineers, rather than a mob of sub-standard graduates.[1a]
Most of the students at the school come from the Imperial nobility, for such is the cost of education that only those of noble wealth could hope to afford it. Once they are accepted into the institution, the student would begin to learn the fundamental skills on how to operate and maintain simple firearms. One of the requirements of the school is that all students must undergo fieldwork to see how well both the weapon and the crew preformed. To observe this field-test, these students are often sent out under the tutelage of a Senior Gunnery Officer or a Master Engineer.[1a]
For such an excursion, the group would leave the safety of 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 both the students and the war-machine they are operating, making assessments of whether they are likely to graduate and if the weaponry is fit for regular campaigning. Their abilities will always vary from undeveloped to talented, but they are always very well equipped for the task at hand. 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 or the elite Outriders.[1a]