A Valley Lost to Time

As a freshman in the Honors program and already on the hunt for a thesis topic, Washington Pearce was wisely told by one of his professors to take whatever he was really passionate about and go from there. Luckily, Washington is someone with plenty of passions - one in particular that he’s been nurturing for the past 14 years: “Dungeons & Dragons.”

As a young kid growing up in Oskaloosa, Iowa, Washington explains that he practically lived at the library, and particularly enjoyed science fiction and fantasy novels. It was unsurprising then, at 11 years old, he took an immediate liking to D&D when introduced to the game by his father. For years, Washington and his brothers ran games in his small town, and even ended up organizing a club of players during his high school years. “The first time we hosted the club, only two people showed up– one of which was my boss. By the time I left for my mission, there were dozens of players coming weekly.” Not too shabby!

Because not all of us have 14 years of background in Dungeons & Dragons, I asked Washington to give me a brief run-down of what the game actually is. “At heart, I would describe it as collaborative storytelling with rules. It’s like the games we played as kids, right? Maybe you’re superheroes, maybe you’re cops and robbers. Whatever it is, there’s the unwritten rules you adhere to, even as a kid. That’s what Dungeons & Dragons is: a codified, grown-up version of that.”

When he began thinking about his thesis, Washington knew he wanted to push the bounds of what a creative thesis usually looks like. “I feel like when writing a creative thesis, it often falls into writing an essay, a collection of poetry, or a short story of some sort. And while that’s new, it doesn’t push the bounds of what is acceptable.” An English major with a Digital Humanities minor, Washington first leaned toward more of a web-based project, but he quickly realized he wanted to create something physical that could be used by other players. Thus, his “Dungeon & Dragons” themed thesis was born.

Titled “A Valley Lost to Time,” Washington’s thesis begins with a critical introduction where he uses Reader Response Theory and Performance Theory as a framework for reading role-playing games as literature. Washington explained that he looks at D&D almost as a form of theater; the relationship between the audience and the performer is dissolved. “I looked at D&D as a performance art put on by a group of players. It’s constrained by rules, and those rules make it different from a theatrical play. There’s no fixed script, just a framework and interactions between players who are also really functioning as performers.”

The next part of this process was the creative part, and one which was no easy feat. Using the 5th Edition of D&D, Washington created a functional and playable module of his own creation, with the module resulting in almost 90 pages of text. He explained that the inspiration for this module came partially from a Christina Rosetti poem, titled “Goblin Market.” He said this poem largely inspired him to think more closely about Fey creatures and how they function. In “A Valley Lost to Time,” adventurers travel over the Drazlin mountain range, with a mission to discover the fate of a decades-lost failed colony. Eventually, the adventuring band passes through a veil into the lands of the Fair Folk, where the lost colony found greater success in a perilous land than any could have supposed. Players must navigate this journey using the unique framework Washington has laid out for them, and he knows it works! His favorite part of this entire process was running the game with a group of friends. Washington explained that as he and his friends played the module weekly, he would frequently write up new aspects of the story as they went. Many sections weren’t added until they were in play. Washington said that’s what he loves about D&D; it’s always changing.

Washington successfully defended his Honors thesis earlier this year, and is planning to graduate with University Honors this December. While the thesis process can admittedly be stressful, Washington has enjoyed his time creating it, as well as his time in the Honors’ program in general. His favorite part of being in the Honors program is constantly pushing the boundaries. “In Honors classes, you can talk about everything, any topic. Any discipline you can bring in is fair game; there’s no limits.”

When Washington isn’t playing Dungeons & Dragons or breaking literary boundaries, you’ll probably find him reading, writing, or cooking. Whatever the future holds for Washington, we know it’ll be as unique as it is incredible.