Jeremy Hess is not only a high school science teacher, but is part of a Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathways program in Oldham County, Kentucky. When Mr. Hess reached out to tell me that he had created a tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) for his class, I was very curious to hear more, given that the intersection of science, CTE, and TTRPGs was a unique story to highlight on my Kentucky Educators for Role Playing Games website. Mr. Hess graciously agreed to be interviewed and to share his gaming materials!
Jeremy, welcome to Edtech Elixirs! Please share your educational journey.
When I first entered college, I had no plans to pursue a career in education. I earned my bachelor’s degree in biology, with a concentration in ecology, from the University of Louisville and initially hoped to work in zoology or field research. After several years of submitting applications without finding the right opportunity, I decided to reconsider my career goals and give teaching a try. I have never looked back. Four years later, I cannot imagine doing anything else. I currently teach in the biomedical science program at the Arvin Education Center, a career and technical education center serving students across the Oldham County School District.
What is your personal experience with playing tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs)?
I grew up playing video games and a variety of trading card games, including Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Magic: The Gathering, which helped spark my interest in role-playing and strategy games. During college, I discovered Dungeons & Dragons and quickly became a fan. Although I do not get to play as often as I once did, my friend group is preparing to begin a Harry Potter-themed campaign that I am very excited about. My latest obsession has been Magic: The Gathering, and Through the Decades is an excellent local store with an impressive selection of trading card games and everything players need for tabletop role-playing games.
Last summer, you attended a “Dungeons and Desks” full day PD facilitated by Kalli Colley and myself. Had you used anything about TTRPGs in your instruction before that PD? What were some of your big takeaways about “Polyhedral Pedagogy”?
Before attending the Dungeons and Desks professional development event, I had not incorporated any true tabletop role-playing game elements into my classroom. The session gave me countless ideas, but I began with a simple dice-rolling reward system. Each day, classes earned or lost etiquette points based on their behavior, participation, and ability to follow directions. Before each test, the class rolled a d20 and added its accumulated points to the result, which determined test-day benefit. I would also roll the dice, and if their total was higher than mine they would receive whatever the agreed advantage on the test would be. Some examples of rewards included using notes or skipping one question of their choice. The system was highly effective: it encouraged students to remain engaged and on task while also easing test anxiety by giving each assessment day a fun and positive start. [Editor's note: this is a great example of an Elemental Infusion, a part of my "Depth of Infusion" framework I explain in my book.]
Which brings us to the TTRPG you created, Hospitals and Humans. Tell us about the game!
Hospitals and Humans is a cooperative tabletop role-playing game I created to introduce students to biomedical careers while building teamwork, decision-making, and problem-solving skills. It is inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, but instead of fighting monsters, students play healthcare and biomedical professionals working together to complete a mission.
I first divided the class into teams and passed out the character cards. Each card includes a biomedical profession, career description, background story, role-playing quirk, strengths, weaknesses, and skill modifiers. Students introduced their characters and considered how their professions could help the team. I encouraged them to role-play and awarded Inspiration tokens for creative or thoughtful participation. These tokens allow students to reroll one die.
Next, I introduced the mission and gave each group a mission tracker. In the first mission, students explore an unfamiliar planet, collect research, and attempt to return safely. Teams track resources such as Ship Integrity, Medical Kits, Research Data, and character conditions.
Each event presents a problem and three possible responses. Students discuss the choices, select an approach, and choose a character to lead. Professions that closely match the task receive advantage. The lead student rolls two six-sided dice, adds the appropriate modifier, and uses an outcome table to determine what happens. Higher rolls produce better results, while lower rolls may cause complications, injuries, or lost resources.
The event pages and outcome tables act as an “Auto-GM” [editor's note: this is one of the Degrees of Facilitation, another framework I discuss in my book], allowing groups to progress independently. I serve as the classroom GM by circulating, answering questions, monitoring decisions, awarding Inspiration, and occasionally introducing extra events.
After the mission, students complete a reflection about the event they led, whether they succeeded, why their profession fit the situation, how their team worked together, and what they would improve.
I printed, hand-cut, and laminated the character cards, event cards, Inspiration tokens, and other frequently used materials. This took way more time than I anticipated, however my hope is that this would last several years, and certain parts from the game can be reused for multiple missions. I also created a players manual that explains the rules of the game and how it works, and had each student read over it before we attempted the first mission.
[A Google folder which contains copies of all of Jeremy’s materials is here.]
That sounds really fun! Let’s take a step back and talk about the design of the game. You mentioned using ChatGPT to help. If you can pardon the pun, how was AI a game-changer? How was it a challenge? What might you do differently with AI next time?
AI was a huge help in creating this game. I had been thinking about the idea for several years but never had enough time to fully design it. One night, inspiration struck, so I gave ChatGPT the basic concept to see what it could produce. I was so impressed by the initial response that I ended up working on the game until 3:00 in the morning!
It still took considerable time and many revisions to guide the AI toward the product I envisioned, and the game remains a work in progress. However, AI helped me complete in a few days what could have taken several months on my own. I am pleased with the current results and would be happy to share more about the process with anyone interested in creating something similar.
How did students react to the game? How do you know it positively impacted their learning?
Students responded very positively to the game and were highly engaged in the mission, especially when discussing choices, rolling dice, and role-playing their biomedical characters. However, I wanted evidence that they were learning, not simply having fun, so I had every student complete a post-mission recap and provide honest feedback.
The responses were amazing. Students explained which event they led, why their profession was well suited for that situation, how their decisions affected the team, and what they learned about biomedical careers. Their answers demonstrated that they understood the connection between each profession’s responsibilities and the skills needed during the mission.
The reflection and class debrief were important because they required students to think about their decisions, explain their reasoning, and connect the fictional scenario to real healthcare careers. Their feedback also helped me identify which parts of the game were effective and what could be improved in future missions.
How might you revise Hospitals and Humans for next time?
I have only had the opportunity to play through the first Hospitals and Humans mission with my students, but the experience has already revealed several areas for improvement. Most importantly, the mission was too easy. Every group completed it with the highest possible rating, which was not my original intention. I wanted failure to remain a genuine possibility because students can often learn just as much, if not more, from analyzing setbacks than from immediate success.
Before playing the mission again or future missions, I plan to adjust the difficulty by increasing the challenge of certain event checks, adding more meaningful consequences, or possibly testing a d20-based system instead of the current 2d6 system. These revisions should make students’ choices feel more significant while keeping the game challenging, fair, and engaging.
What ideas for TTRPGs in the classroom might you do in the future?
I have incorporated other TTRPG-inspired elements into my classes as well. In chemistry, students created superheroes or villains based on elements from the periodic table. They then competed in a tournament modeled after the card game Superfight, using their elements’ properties to explain why their characters would win each matchup. Students had a great time, and the activity sparked scientific discussions between students that I never expected to hear. [Editor's note: for another educator's approach to a periodic table TTRPG, check out Ben Little's interview.]
I also created a review game inspired by the television show The Pitt. Each student was assigned an emergency-room role—such as doctor, nurse, discharge nurse, or administrator—with specific responsibilities. Students worked together to manage a busy ER and keep their “patients,” represented by review problems, stable until the next shift arrived. To encourage role-playing, students dressed for their assigned positions, and I played ambulance sounds whenever a new patient entered the ER. The activity transformed what could have been an ordinary review day into a memorable, collaborative learning experience.
I am not sure what my next idea will be, but based on the enthusiasm and success I have seen from my students, I know these will not be the last TTRPG-inspired learning experiences I bring into my classroom.
Jeremy, it’s wonderful to see a teacher like you use TTRPGs in a rigorous high school science classroom! I usually end these KyEdRPG Spotlight interviews with a variant of the same question: What advice would you give to a teacher who wants to start using TTRPGs to teach science in their own classroom?
Roll some dice and have some fun! It doesn’t have to be as complex as Hospitals and Humans. Start small, and I can guarantee you will still see some amazing results. Education should be fun, and any time you can get the students engaged in a game while also learning is always a win.
I want to again thank Jeremy Hess for taking the time to share his thoughts and materials!
