Spells & Dragons was established by two self-professed D&D crazy nerds who wanted to share their hobby with as many people as possible.
Coming from backgrounds in hospitality and support work; engaging with people and facilitating a fun, engaging environment came naturally.
Harris and Josh quickly fell in love with D&D and quickly came to understand the wider ranging benefits of the game; not just for fun, but for learning important prosocial skills and increasing emotional intelligence. They felt that D&D taught skills that everyone could benefit from, delivered in an exciting, fun and safe way.
It was from this understanding that they both realised that young people could benefit most from the game, teaching them prosocial skills, problem solving, creative thinking and confidence building.
And from that, Spells & Dragons was born. Bringing the adventure to as many kiwi kids as possible and helping them grow, learn and play in an adventure of their own making!
Meet the Game Masters
Harris Dowson (He/Him)
Harris has a degree in Psychology & Creative Writing and has spent the last half decade working as a Support Worker in addictions, mental health, youth support and emergency housing.
He works part time with Spells & Dragons as well as working alongside Support Services to develop community health initiatives with them in the Hawke’s Bay; where he lives with his wife and dog.
In his spare time Harris loves to create; spending his time playing D&D, writing stories for D&D, making music for D&D, developing a D&D podcast and thinking about D&D while he walks his dog.
With a professional history of working with a diverse range of peoples of all ages and cultures, Harris always enjoyed supporting them to grow and thrive. Harris always wanted to find a way to merge his two passions and to help people grow in the ways he had enjoyed while playing and being creative.
And eventually, with the creative support of Josh, Spells & Dragons was the outcome of that very idea.
Joshua Wilkinson (He/Him)
Josh (Ngā Puhi/Te Ātiawa) has spent eight years working and managing in hospitality roles in locations across Auckland. Whether it be restaurants, bars or hotels, Josh’s passion came from his responsibility to facilitate a safe environment for others to have fun.
That duty of care mixed with a genuine passion for table top games and game master experience is what Josh brought to the Spells & Dragons table (bad pun intended!).
Creativity has been Josh’s calling from a young age. Inspired by his father, a fan of arcade games and choose your own adventure novels, Josh has found joy in a mix of video games and old school pen and paper games since he was old enough to read.
Being the oldest cousin in a big whānau, Josh always loved being able to share his creative joys with the next generation and to see the connections these games could make between himself and his loved ones.
Josh’s passion for games and story means it’s a challenge to find a game in which Josh hasn’t played - and Josh draws on all these games to create something truly unique for his players.
Dungeons and Dragons will always be the jewel in the crown for Josh however, as he believes it allows for the most creative autonomy and most interesting stories to be told.
Josh lives in Auckland’s North Shore with his family, where he spends most of his time writing, producing a D&D podcast and supporting his family.
Testimonials From Our Players
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