Playing a roleplaying game is weird. It’s a social situation most people do not automatically adjust to – it takes effort. You have to get over your embarrassment, you have to lower your guard in a major way, and you have to be curious about other people. You’re pretending a cast of characters is real, and they go on adventures together, and you all share in that pretend. When you do, magic happens, and the group playing together forms what we call a magic circle. It’s a social construct (contract, really) that is rarely talked about or in any definite way put in place, but it is crucial to the way roleplaying games work.
All roleplaying games have a magic circle – there can’t be a game without. But not all magic circles are created equal. You can be intentional about setting up your magic circle, and in doing so, make it significantly more impactful.
The magic protects and empowers. Thanks to the circle being in place, everyone inside is safe, and able to do things they otherwise couldn’t.
How is the circle formed?
The required components are two people willing to play together. They make a social contract to put their energy into the game, thus powering the game, conjuring it into being.
This is no small feat. Starting to play with new people, I am always hit by how profoundly strange it is to initiate a roleplaying game session. We decide to start believing in these characters, this imaginary world, and leave our waking world, for lack of a better term, behind.
I don’t think it’s fair to call our circumstances outside the magic circle the “real” world. Everything that happens in a roleplaying game is real, it has value and weight, even if we experience it only with our shared imagination. The emotional weight is real, and you carry it with you after the game.
Magic circles are strengthened by ritual. Some games make this explicit. DIE is the archetype, where setting up the magic circle is part of starting the game, complete with a beginning and ending ritual where you deal out special dice to the players, and retrieve them at the end of the game. You also address the players in a specific, ritualistic way, while doing so. This is powerful stuff! It puts the spell in place in a way that leaves little up to chance. I wish more games incorporated the magic circle into their design.
The magic circle can only be as strong as the level of trust between the players in it. At the same time, a strong magic circle – powered by ritual and by being explicit about it, setting boundaries and expectations for everyone – can overcome lack of familiarity between the players. While the magic circle can’t manufacture trust, it can set up the circumstances so that trust can emerge in a very rapid manner. This can be very effective in a convention setting, for instance, with little opportunity for the players to get to know each other.
Permission to play
While you don’t have to incorporate a specific recitation to start and end your game, I do recommend having a set way of doing so in each of your games. At the very least, have clear moments when the game starts and ends, and also be explicit about when you’re taking a break. “The game begins now.” “We are taking a break now.” “We continue.” “The game is over. Thank you.”
This allows your players to confidently step into game mode without having to wonder if the other players are stepping along with them. When you know everyone is “in the game”, it’s easier to get over your embarrassment and start playing in character. You are given a permission to play.
Music and silence can be powerful ritualistic components. I often incorporate beginning, ending, and break theme songs that repeat in each session. When I start the game, I typically tell the players that we are now starting, and then I sit in silence for a moment, allowing everyone to come into the circle.
An important detail for me is to connect with each player. I make sure I make eye contact with everyone at the starting and ending moments.
You should end your session in a way that allows everyone to come down and step outside of the circle. After we’re done with the game, I always follow up with stars and wishes. This gives everyone an opportunity to recall and talk about the game from the safety of the waking world.
The gamemaster as magician
Some feel the authority that comes with the gamemaster position isn’t healthy, and that we should seek to level the playing field more. The responsibility for setting up the magic circle can lie with the whole group, but the intent has to be there or the magic won’t work. I believe this is the most important duty of the GM role, and if there is no GM to be responsible for it, the group should discuss the magic circle (social contract), and share the responsibility explicitly. Your games can work without it, but I guarantee they will be substantially better if care is taken on preparing the magic.
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