Making a game/adventure: "De waarde van de grote schat" or "The Value of the Great Treasure"

I'm working on an educational game to share along colleagues. This is gonna be in Dutch, but there's already been interest in an English translation, so I will work on that eventually. It's not going to be all that hard to talk about here, since I can just give the big idea in a lot less text in English because you guys already know how story-games and roleplaying games tend to work, and what is expected from everyone in these games. My target audience for this most likely does not so more words are needed. More on that later on.

The Basic Idea

The basic idea is that the kids ages ten to eleven think about and experience the concept of value through storytelling play using their characters and imagination. The teacher will throw their characters into situations that will either make them think about the value of things or makes them choose between things. These choices might be difficult. There might be emotions. This is good, and these can and should be talked about in a follow-up lesson.

The System

The system used is my go to for quick play: Roll for Shoes. This is a very easy system, which makes it easy to run quickly. The rules on the homepage of Roll for Shoes are very short and easy to understand ... if you're already familiar with roleplaying games. To explain these from people who have traditionally been scared away from roleplaying games takes a bit more effort, although I seem to have been able to keep it to one page. (though I think I'm gonna visualize it with icons and little illustrations, making it more of a graph with arrow indication the general procedure and other arrows pointing out of that to show consequences; like gaining XP, gaining skills, etc.) I also already have a Dutch translation of the system in the works for which I'm just making illustrations, but it's a bit longer and not specifically geared towards teachers. It has some extra whistles and bells that I thought up that are not needed here.

I'm also not entirely sure if Roll for Shoes is the way to go or if I need to try an approach like Fall of Magic, where there are no dice or GM-type storytellers. Not sure. I think it would quickly run too long, and I'm not sure wether the kids are adept enough storytellers to make it interesting enough with a system like that. I'd have to try and run Fall of Magic first though to see how that goes. I think it might also make the game take longer. So for now, we stick with Roll for Shoes, since I know it and my students know it.

The Adventure

The adventure is a linear path from location to location. This is clearly stated in the beginning of the game. There will be choices to be made in these locations, and even at the start. This will make things interesting, and might even, if the storyteller is comfortable with it, lead you off-route for a time. But basically the player characters are looking for a treasure. To get there, they need to get from their village to the treasure. To do this, they have to go through some locations.

Every location has some prompts written as suggestions for events to play through, but you can make up your own. These events have to somehow make us think about value or what it is the player characters value. The incredible time constraints on the game for using it in class makes it so that if you try to play it all in one lesson, you will need to skip some locations, or skip through them. If you are able to have two lessons back to back it's already a lot more doable to explore each location.

I have veered away from a traditional fantasy setting because of the trouble some evangelical and protestant teachers might have with using mythological, fairy-tale or fantasy elements.

Starting Location: The Village

Here the characters start. I let them choose wether they are searching the treasure for themselves or at someone else's request, helping them locate the treasure. This will come back to the end location as to what this treasure is. 

This is also a first choice to see what they'd think is most valuable: helping someone out, or gaining a thing for yourselves. In my runs of this game, both classes took the first option, looking for treasure for themselves.

Travel location 1: The Fields

Here pastoral scenes invite to choices of value. Here humans are still around. Simple folk. But there are also dangers on the open road. The scenes I provide are: 

1. An invitation to a feast by some farmers. Possible detour from their quest. Possible consequences from this deviations, both good or bad.
2. Cries for help and smoke in the distance. A farm is on fire. Will they help or ignore it? How much do they value their fellow man?
3. A wounded traveler on the ground. They cannot get up. Might make them think of the parable of the Good Samaritan, but more likely they'll have forgotten all about that lesson. Will they help him or is their quest more valuable?

Travel location 2: The Woods

Here you are no longer in civilized lands. People you meet here do not want civilization or have been expelled by it. Or you could meet creatures of the forest.

1. A strange hermit offers a trade. The players food for ... something (strange) that they either collected or made. A doll made from a pine-cone, a four leaf clover, a rope made from their own hair.
2. A fox is trapped in a dangerous trap. Will they save it? How valuable do they think saving a fox is?
3. Brigands jump from the bushes! "Your money or your life!" How valuable do they find their own stuff? Are they willing to give it up, or are they willing to fight for it (or, as in the first time I tried this, run for it)?

Travel location 3: The Cave

You enter a weird world here, where things are vastly different. There is no light, there is no vegetation. Cold stone and the promise of treasure.

1. Cavemen from the depths of the earth want to know if you have anything from the surface with you. The general unavailability of things from the surface makes these very valuable for them, making them offer up all the riches of the earth. A fist sized ruby for a dandelion, a sac of gems for a feather from a real bird, etc. How will the players react.
2. Moaning for help from a nearby cave. Someone is trapped in a gigantic spider's web. (TW for some players. You do not need to do this if it's too scary!) Will they risk getting caught themselves or getting the attention from the gigantic spider that made this? Will they just pass them by. What would they do different if this was in the way of their path to the treasure?
3. A very narrow way through. You'll have to leave something behind to get through. Are you willing to do that? What will you choose?

End location 1: The Guardian

Something is guarding the treasure. They will only let you pass if...

1. You win a game against them: (Uno, thumb wrestling, arm wrestling, rock-paper-scissors,... Play the actual game.)
2. You tell a story about an emotion. It has to have a lesson.
3. You do a dance in the dark. (if in a location that allows for this to happen safely, blindfold them and let them dance to a song)

End location 2: The Treasure

You gain access to the treasure. If you went out to find the treasure for yourself, describe it together. If you helped a person to find the treasure, there's a twist! It's not a thing, but a person!

So far I've only played it twice. I've also have some thoughts on how to improve it. Add a timer somehow, either a rival treasure hunting group or the person hiring them is in a big hurry, something like that. I wanna make some little illustrations for the locations, maybe have the locations on separate cards, or have it all on a big scroll. Not sure.

The Clubhouse chronicles #4: Fixing the stairs

 So, we return to the Clubhouse in my second grade classroom where, in the run up to learning about working together (for which the lesson plan wants us to use the story about the miraculous catch, for some reason*) I had the friends working together to fix that dang stairs to the clubhouse that had caused so many problems before.

All the friends were there and helped in whatever way they could. The Super-intelligent baby came up with plans, the easily distracted toymaker would craft materials and fix the stairs, helped by the cat who kept his attention to all the things. Waren, the pupil's character called the Mayor, who couldn't be there because he was too busy, to see if he could use his money to buy some parachutes, like 10 of them, so people could pull the parachutes if they fell down the stairs. And as such they met Amber, the Mayor's secretary, which has not Benn developed through play yet.

*I mean, yeah, they need to work together to catch all the fish and prevent the nets from rupturing, but it's kind of missing the point of the story really

Rulers of Pegolia 2023 - Conclusion

 While the game has so much story potential if I keep it running, it was running me into the ground. There was too much time being spent on resolving the actions of all the players, so with the upcoming vacation, and a major event that actually fits in my lessons, I called it quits for this school year.

But don't let me keep the happenings from you guys:

WEEK 4: Plans for Peace

The biggest event here is that Empress Chlor from Messias pulled all her spies back from everywhere and made a big announcement: "Sorry that I sent spies. I was afraid you guys wanted to hurt me. I'm organizing a party to apologize. Will you come?" She hopes this will calm down all of the unrest in her empire. 

The workers who are working on her wall are still upset that there are no more workers. They ask her if she cannot order all of those returned spies to come and help out.

And the spy from The Dark Woods escapes.

***

In other news, King Jayden from The North Sea on Land decided to ask tell Emperor Shibi Js from Bradj that he can help him recover his lost researchers. The researchers have not sent any more messages.

He took all of his remaining forces to look for his disappeared army troops, being able to track them down to the hill they disappeared on. They saw the footprints from the battle with the giant and saw that on the holy hill (they don't know it's a holy hill) the footprints just stop. No other sign of where they might be.

***

Emperor Alex of Signapour keeps building his walls, trades Vibranium for water with Sliefingtime and tries to set up a second trade agreement with the Empire of Israël.

***

Berticobella the Big Love-Haver always has a big lists of actions, and a lot to react to. She did a smart thing and automated some things, so that I'd know what to do in case she wouldn't be there. 

She would ALWAYS give water to Signapour and IF beavers would build a dam in her river, her soldiers would be dispatched to destroy the dam.

She found and rescued her workers that fell into the underground sea. They ask her what she wants to do? Keep working on the road? block off the sea? Investigate the sea? 

She received Vibranium which immediately got used by the craftsmen to make the fence. They worked it like they were born to and were able to make all parts from this one load of Vibranium. They now started the assembly process, which would take a while.

The search for the source of magical energy succeeded. They found the magical flower, brewed the tea from it and the researcher that drank it became an oracle of sorts, getting visions from time to time, including the right way to go. They found the source, a crystalline tree with what looked like a lightning bolt trapped inside of it. They asked how things should progress. Pull power lines to the tree? Take the tree to the city? Or take a seed so they can grow their own?

Her spies tell her of the big search in The North Sea on Land and some of her captured spies tried to escape. One didn't get an opportunity, another got caught but one managed to escape.

***

Prince Wildekind keeps setting traps around his domain while his mouse spy escapes from captivity and returns.

***

Empress Lauris tries to calm her people down by giving a speech. She discovered a talent for oration but fails to convince her people by words alone. She also leads a search for her missing troops but cannot find them.

***

Emperor Shibi Js does nothing. His dragon egg starts moving!

WEEK 5: The End

I had told the kids that this would be the last round, as I was spending up to four hours on this game by now in my precious free time.

King Jayden does nothing.

***

Empress Chlor finally succeeds in her efforts. Due to signing a peace accord (which was agreed to by all parties in real time in class) her people calm down and celebrate. She promises to put her spies on work duty only to then in the same action pull them back out to search for the escaped mouse spy. The workers are not happy with this.

***

Emperor Alex finishes the walls to protect him from a possible volcano eruption! His builders are also experts in building with Vibranium now.

***

Berticobella the little love-haver finally finishes the first part of her road. She investigates the underground lake/sea and discovers a netwerk that spreads underground for miles, possibly right under the other kingdoms as well. The shadows in here seem to have a life of their own though. A rough map is made for her by her expert scouts.

She orders her special tree to be brought to the kingdom, protected by her spies. They bump into the lost army of Empress Lauris though, and then the search party of Empress Lauris, looking for her lost army! A standoff!

She uses the intelligence gotten from the North Sea On Land to save the trapped researchers. They don't want to go back to King Jayden, but prefer to stay with her. She searches for the other lost army from the same kingdom but cannot find it. They seem to have disappeared, as by magic!

***

Prince Wildekind finished trapping his domain.

***

Empress Lauris' people also react relieved to the peace treaty signed. Her search party for her lost troops finds them, while being confronted by Sliefingtime's ninja's carrying a glass lighting tree? What?

***

Emperor Sjibi Js does nothing still and his dragon egg cracks, spilling fire that sets fire to his laboratory!

***

THE END