The 24-year-old serves as referee and storyteller for her part in the globally popular fantasy tabletop roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons (DnD).
Her role in the game is maintaining the setting in which the adventures occur plus controlling the game play.
Ms Cameron, a former Rangiora High School student, was bitten by the DnD bug about six years ago when friends started inviting her to play.
‘‘I love playing it and now I set up games for others to enjoy.’’
Dungeons & Dragons was first published in 1974 and is now one of the most well-known and played roleplaying games in the world, played by millions in both real and online environments.
Each player creates their own character to play as they embark upon adventures within a fantasy setting.
Together the players solve problems, engage in battles, explore, and gather treasure and knowledge, and that’s where Lydia says the game has so much to offer to young people trying to find focus in their lives.
‘‘It’s a great way to socialise, for everyone the experience is different but for many it’s a way to overcome their struggles to find their place in the world.’’
She says it gives players somewhere to express themselves as they learn to solve problems together, work as a team and surprisingly help themselves learn maths.
‘‘I’ve found many are struggling with maths, DnD is a great way for them to learn maths as it teaches them to think logically.’’
Following on from one of life’s bumps in the road when Ms Cameron recently lost her job when the afterschool care facility she was working at, closed their doors in January in Rangiora.
“It gave me the push to set out on my own and with the help of her mother Debbie Cameron, she has leased a classroom after hours at Ashgrove School on Seddon Street, to run afterschool DnD games for children she cared for previously.
‘‘When they closed all the kids said they wanted to keep playing DnD and so I set up DnD Rangiora.’’
She says eight to 10 children come once a week to play and she keeps the story going and writes the character roles and gameplay.
‘‘I find it very rewarding seeing the kid playing and learning, it’s super awesome watching them problem solve and grow.’’
Her Facebook site ‘Dungeons and Dragons Rangiora’ has all the info needed for joining including pricing.
