Educational RPG

[Cap'n Gravelock]

Being a schoolteacher, I am already planning to use an RPG as an educational tool for my students this coming school year. Being both a science and English-language teacher, I am planning to use a homebrewed game based on Deathwatch and Starfinder. I am aware that some RPGs, namely DragonRaid has been used by teachers before, I thought perhaps that a game is a good way to coax students' creativity and language skills.

However, I am well aware that this could backfire so I've taken the following precautions:


Ditched The Demonic **** (we know where that can lead to)
Tone Down The Violence Except Against Dangerous Flora and Fauna, Zombies and other clearly Hostile enemies (with characters having weapons only set to "stun")
Prepared rules to make the game g-rated or at least PG without compromising FUN


May I ask for additional suggestions in case I'm missing something.

[Bohandas]

You know, I think Toon by SJ Games is designed to be kid friendly

[Florian]

It mainly depends on what you actually want to be teaching and whether that should happen as part of class or as an extracurricular activity.

As a youth growing up in cold war/divided Germany, we basically went thru all major "game theory" examples after elementary, then went on to roleplaying more complicated scenarios like "the wave" or more complicated UN/WTO-based diplomatic sessions.

The teacher that I did know and friends/acquaintances who're actually teaching right now don't use any systems that are rooted in the original wargaming tradition, not for PG matters, but because they think that teaching tactical/strategic thinking isn´t actually helpful in the educational process. Fate seems to go well, custom modified versions of Lady Blackbird, too, as seems to be Itras By.

[Cap'n Gravelock]

It mainly depends on what you actually want to be teaching and whether that should happen as part of class or as an extracurricular activity.

As a youth growing up in cold war/divided Germany, we basically went thru all major "game theory" examples after elementary, then went on to roleplaying more complicated scenarios like "the wave" or more complicated UN/WTO-based diplomatic sessions.

The teacher that I did know and friends/acquaintances who're actually teaching right now don't use any systems that are rooted in the original wargaming tradition, not for PG matters, but because they think that teaching tactical/strategic thinking isn´t actually helpful in the educational process. Fate seems to go well, custom modified versions of Lady Blackbird, too, as seems to be Itras By.

It's a classroom activity and I teach both English and Science.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

I think one of your main concerns should be how to make the rules playable in the setting. I'm assuming you want to explain the game for 5-10 minutes and then have them play in groups of 6 or so while you come by every now and then. So at least one person in every group needs to get what this is and how it works, and many of them have never played an RPG. Alternatively maybe your thinking of playing with the whole class. That means you need rules that are quick enough to make everyone feel like they were playing and they contributed, also a challenge.

Aside from that you need to get your lesson material in there. What is the point of the game? Is it to teach creative storytelling? Or are you trying to teach them rocket equations? What kind and level of class is this anyway? If they get English and science as a combined class I'm guessing the students are around 13-14 years old?

You're the teacher, if you think this has value to offer for your lessons, go for it, absolutely. I just don't know enough about your classes and your curriculum to see the immediate obvious value.

Then again, the value in watching movies other than documentaries in history class escapes me as well, and schools show plenty of movies. Usually only the first part due to the length of movies and the length of classes.

[Florian]

It's a classroom activity and I teach both English and Science.

The question was more about what exactly it is you want to teach using TTRPG as a tool (Rhetoric skills? Debating skills? Scientific knowledge? So on...), followed by class size and time available.

[LibraryOgre]

Mermaid Adventures (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/217101/Mermaid-Adventures-Revised?affiliate_id=315505) might be an interesting option for a science class. There's also Harvesters (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/81918/Harvesters?affiliate_id=315505) from Troll Lord games

That said? How big is your class? It can be REALLY hard to run a game for a decent sized class, so you might consider games more designed around group play and interaction; many moons ago, I played in an RPG that set us up in groups, as semi-competing colonies in the New World, and another based on Oregon Trail, where our GROUP had to figure out what we were going to bring, how to respond to events that befell us, and so on. It was not "I am Hrothgar, a viking in the New World", but "We are the people of this settlement, and what are we going to do?"

[avalkauskas]

Vanagard is a game that was specifically made for young kids. It's a collaborative story-telling game that will involve everyone at the table. It teaches exploration, imagination, teamwork, problem solving, basic math and social skills. It's really zero prep, and ideal for classrooms and home.

[Bohandas]

I would reiterate that Toon, while not particularly educational, is very kid friendly

[LibraryOgre]

The Mod Wonder: You can learn things from the dead, but they should not be brought back.