Dice, Quills, and Revolutions

Learning Goals & Products

Learning Goals

Students will be able to analyze Renaissance, Enlightenment, and Scientific Revolution ideas and events to create historically grounded characters, settings, and conflicts for a tabletop RPG.

Students will be able to write believable character backstories for printer’s apprentices, natural philosophers, artists, or political thinkers using historical knowledge and personal perspective-taking.

Students will be able to structure encounter scenes and branching choices to build tension, surprise, and consequence in a playable story.

Students will be able to prototype and revise rules, maps, cards, and role-play materials to improve clarity, balance, and replayability.

Students will be able to collaborate with peers to playtest, gather feedback, and justify design decisions using evidence from users and historical research.

Students will be able to transform historical research into a cohesive game kit that communicates setting, rules, and narrative purpose for public players.

Products

individual

Historical Character Dossier and One-Scene RPG Prototype

Each student creates a research-based dossier for one playable character and a single-scene paper prototype that shows how that character would act, speak, and make choices in the selected era. The prototype must demonstrate how individual research informs the team’s final game design.

team

Playable Timekeepers’ Tabletop Game Kit with Designer Guide

Each team produces a polished, playable tabletop RPG kit with a shared historical problem statement, revised rules, maps, cards, character sheets, and a short designer guide for festival players. The final kit must show how individual research and prototypes were combined into a collaborative, testable game experience.

Rubric

Mastery-Based Rubric Standards-first rubric

Category	Standard	Beginning (1)	Developing (2)	Proficient (3)	Exceeding (4)
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3)	D4.3.9-12 - Present adaptations of arguments and explanations that feature evocative ideas and perspectives on issues and topics to reach a range of audiences and venues outside the classroom using print and oral technologies (e.g., posters, essays, letters, debates, speeches, reports, and maps) and digital technologies (e.g., Internet, social media, and digital documentary).	I can share my historical design ideas using clear, grade-appropriate writing and speaking so people outside the classroom can understand my RPG concept and key perspectives.	I can present my adaptations of historical explanations using evocative details (characters, dilemmas, and settings) and organized print/oral materials, so audiences at different tables can follow my choices.	I can adapt and defend my Renaissance/Enlightenment/Scientific Revolution ideas for diverse audiences by using evidence from reliable sources, explaining why my story and mechanics match those ideas.	I can present and refine my RPG kit as a persuasive, audience-ready explanation—using clear oral delivery and well-designed print materials—so guests can understand, evaluate, and replay how historical ideas shape choices, conflicts, and consequences.
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3)	D4.7.9-12 - Assess options for individual and collective action to address local, regional, and global problems by engaging in self-reflection, strategy identification, and complex causal reasoning.	I can identify at least one Renaissance, Enlightenment, or Scientific Revolution idea and describe how it could shape a character’s choices in a simple scenario, using basic cause-and-effect language.	I can compare multiple options for how characters could respond to a public problem and explain (with some evidence from course sources) the likely consequences of each option in a clear, step-by-step causal chain.	I can assess trade-offs among individual and collective actions to address a problem by using complex causal reasoning and self-reflection to justify which in-game strategies are most effective.	I can design and revise gameplay choices (rules, dilemmas, and outcomes) that model complex causal reasoning about individual vs collective action, and I can clearly explain how my strategy selection is grounded in reliable evidence and iterative playtest reflection.
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3)	D4.8.9-12 - Apply a range of deliberative and democratic strategies and procedures to make decisions and take action in their classrooms, schools, and out-of-school civic contexts.	I can use simple democratic steps (listen, share an idea, and vote with my team) to make one clear decision about our RPG design, and I can explain why it matters using basic historical details.	I can apply a deliberative process with my team by considering options, asking questions, and using feedback from playtesting to make decisions about story, rules, or balance, while citing relevant Renaissance/Enlightenment/Scientific Revolution ideas.	I can lead or contribute to a structured decision-making cycle (identify the problem, weigh multiple options, choose, and revise) using evidence from research and playtests, and I can justify how our choices improve player experience and historical grounding.	I can consistently apply democratic strategies (facilitating discussion, building consensus or majority decisions, and reflecting on different perspectives) to make complex, evidence-based decisions that improve clarity, fairness, and replayability, while clearly connecting our game mechanics and dilemmas to historical causes, consequences, and viewpoints for an audience beyond our classroom.
Common Core	CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.1 - Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9—10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.	I can join collaborative discussions and share one clear idea about my Renaissance/Enlightenment/Scientific Revolution topic using evidence from our notes or text I can listen to others’ ideas and respond briefly (e.g., agree, ask a question, or build on a peer’s suggestion).	I can initiate and participate in group discussion by sharing my ideas clearly and persuasively about how historical ideas shape characters’ beliefs and conflicts I can build on others’ contributions by using follow-up questions and responding with at least one reason or piece of evidence from research.	I can lead parts of a collaborative discussion by presenting my claim and supporting it with relevant, reliable evidence about historical accuracy and consequences in our scenario I can productively challenge or refine ideas with my group, summarize points before revising, and use others’ feedback to make decisions about characters, rules, or dilemmas.	I can drive high-quality discussion by consistently expressing ideas persuasively, evaluating competing perspectives, and connecting historical reasoning to our game mechanics and player experience I can guide democratic deliberation (e.g., propose options, explain trade-offs, and reach decisions) while actively incorporating diverse partners’ viewpoints and citing evidence to justify revisions.
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3)	D2.Civ.9.9-12 - Use appropriate deliberative processes in multiple settings.	I can participate in group deliberation by sharing an initial idea, listening to others, and helping the team choose among options using a simple process (e.g., take turns, vote, or agree on next steps).	I can use deliberative strategies to evaluate options for my game design by giving reasons, asking clarifying questions, and incorporating at least one peer suggestion into a draft plan.	I can apply a deliberative process across multiple settings (class workshops and playtests) by comparing evidence from historical research and player feedback, proposing a decision, and explaining why the team’s choice fits the goal of clear, fair gameplay.	I can lead or strengthen democratic decision-making in our project by facilitating respectful discussions, weighing trade-offs with evidence, and revising our rules or scenarios based on sustained reasoning about consequences for players and historical accuracy.