After a long pull on her cigar, Boatswain Tarto surveys the assembled crews.
Boatswain Tarto
Tarto levels a steely eye and says with a glare,
Intact, not first. Get the mission done well; not quick.
After those instructions, the two groups of cadets are each led into a simulation chamber. Each simulation chamber is a broad circular space with a domed ceiling, its stone walls carved with arcane runes that fill the area with bright light. Each chamber is equipped with a training version of a spelljamming helm and creates complex illusions designed to test cadets’ speed, skill, and ability to work together in a crisis.
Saerthe Abizin accompanies you to a simulation chamber where Mister Blip, the academy’s autognome quartermaster, is preparing the physical aspects of the simulation. Mister Blip hurries over when he sees the characters enter, his eyes shifting to a green color as he greets the cadets. Mister Blip’s eyes shift to a bright blue as he hurries over to a table set with magical gear and mysterious devices and tools.
Mister Blip
Mister Blip hands your group two pages of parchment: a Wildspace map that shows the route to their destination, and a crude sketch of the logbook they’re supposed to retrieve. Saerthe then directs you to gather around the training helm atop the platform.
Saerthe Abizjn
Saerthe steps back from the platform, holds their palms outward, and begins an incantation. The sigils scrawled along the walls and floors glow brightly, intensifying as the training officer weaves their powerful illusion.
Good luck, cadets, Saerthe says,
and don’t be afraid. Though these illusions are realistic, thanks to my arcane prowess, they are just that—illusions.
Blue-white lines form around you, etching the shape of a ship deck around the platform upon which you stand. The room then melts away amid an explosion of colors, textures, and sounds that place you on the deck of a ship that is shaped like a gigantic hammerhead shark. The ship is situated in the Sky Dock atop Spelljammer Academy. Scudding clouds fill the sky above you. You also see a number of identical sailors, obcously illution crew, that brings you up to a fully crewed ship.
[ +- ] Simulator Rules
Each simulation chamber channels powerful illusion magic that adheres to the following rules:
Just Like the Real Thing. The simulation around the characters affects all their senses. Everything looks, feels, and sounds real, with the illusion able to create the sense that the characters are in areas whose dimensions are larger than the room. Everything that happens within the illusion should be treated as if the characters are truly where they appear to be.
Illusory Wards. Characters can’t sense that they are in an illusion, nor can the illusion be dispelled. The detect magic and dispel magic spells don’t register or disrupt the magic of the illusion, nor of the creatures or objects it creates.
Damage. Any character who is reduced to 0 hit points by the simulation falls unconscious but isn’t dying. The character remains unconscious until the simulation ends, at which point the character awakens and gains 1 level of exhaustion from lingering psychic shock.
Restored Resources. When the simulation ends, characters regain all their lost hit points, spell slots, and limited-use powers.
Taking Off
Once the illusion begins, the crew must take off and ascend into Wildspace. This requires the character in the Spelljammer role to succeed on a DC 13 ability check using their spellcasting ability. If the check succeeds, the character uses the spelljamming helm to propel the ship skyward. If the character succeeds on the check on the first try, it counts toward the group’s score in the training exercise (see appendix A). A second attempt at the check succeeds automatically.
