Teacher's Master Scroll
Debrief Guide for "Bound to the Land"
1. The Turning Point (Health vs. Favor)
Target Scenario: "The Men's Labor" (Plowing)
The Game Logic: In the Plowing scenario, choosing "Safe" (Pushing the plow until hands bleed) gives Favor +10 but Health -15.
Discussion Point: Explain that the feudal economy was powered by human bodies. To be a "good" serf (High Favor) literally required the physical destruction of the worker (Low Health). If a student has high Favor but low Health, they played their role "perfectly."
Discussion Point: Explain that the feudal economy was powered by human bodies. To be a "good" serf (High Favor) literally required the physical destruction of the worker (Low Health). If a student has high Favor but low Health, they played their role "perfectly."
2. The Fairness Factor (No Good Choice)
Target Scenario: "The Deadly Plague" (Year 1347)
The Game Logic:
• Option A (Stay): Gain Faith, but lose -20 Health (High risk of death).
• Option B (Flee): Save Health, but lose -100 Favor (Become an outlaw).
Discussion Point: The social contract broke down during the plague. Serfs realized the system could not protect them. This moment led to the eventual end of serfdom—when the "unfairness" became too obvious to ignore.
• Option A (Stay): Gain Faith, but lose -20 Health (High risk of death).
• Option B (Flee): Save Health, but lose -100 Favor (Become an outlaw).
Discussion Point: The social contract broke down during the plague. Serfs realized the system could not protect them. This moment led to the eventual end of serfdom—when the "unfairness" became too obvious to ignore.
3. The End (Was it a "Good" Life?)
The Trap: Equating "Survival" with "Victory"
Discussion Point: Challenge the students who finished with 5 or 10 Health.
"You are alive, but you are physically broken, likely in chronic pain, and you own nothing. Is that a good life?"
Contrast this with the "Risky" players who may have died or been outlawed, but lived with agency. Is safety worth the cost of freedom?
"You are alive, but you are physically broken, likely in chronic pain, and you own nothing. Is that a good life?"
Contrast this with the "Risky" players who may have died or been outlawed, but lived with agency. Is safety worth the cost of freedom?