FR Circle War Spell Rituals - How can it be improved?

[dm4hire]

So after reading over how Circle Magic works in the the FR book I am not impressed with it at all. In previous editions Circle spells created effects that were to be feared while providing protection for the wizards casting the spells. Circle spells now work as follows:

1. The power must be known by all involved which has not been a requirement before.
2. The casting time is one minute per caster involved.
3. Range increases by one per caster.
4. Area of effect increases by one per caster.
5. Damage increases by one die per caster.
6. Everyone uses up the spell.

They give the example of six casters War Spelling Fireball.

Casting time 6 minutes. Range 26 Area of effect 9 Damage 9d6+Primary Casters Int

Problems with this are as follows:

1. If you're in the middle of battle you don't have six minutes to cast a spell; okay, maybe once, but after that you won't.
2. Six wizards casting fireball in the middle of battle less than 200 feet from said battle. Everyone and their brother is now going after said group of wizards.
3. Everyone involved loses the spell. Granted NPCs tend to get recharge but the time it would take for all six to recharge could be several rounds if not minutes at which time said wizards are probably dead.

Overall it doesn't seem like a lot of thought went into duplicating the power of Circle Magic from previous editions. I think the damage and area effect is fine, but think the range needs fixed and the general use of everyone's powers. Also something not mentioned is the to hit; there is no bonus for multiple casters toward the to hit of the spell. War Spells should be deadly but reasonable versus PCs. How can we fix this effectively?

 

[Crashy75]

So after reading over how Circle Magic works in the the FR book I am not impressed with it at all. In previous editions Circle spells created effects that were to be feared while providing protection for the wizards casting the spells. Circle spells now work as follows:

1. The power must be known by all involved which has not been a requirement before.
2. The casting time is one minute per caster involved.
3. Range increases by one per caster.
4. Area of effect increases by one per caster.
5. Damage increases by one die per caster.
6. Everyone uses up the spell.

They give the example of six casters War Spelling Fireball.

Casting time 6 minutes. Range 26 Area of effect 9 Damage 9d6+Primary Casters Int

Problems with this are as follows:

1. If you're in the middle of battle you don't have six minutes to cast a spell; okay, maybe once, but after that you won't.
2. Six wizards casting fireball in the middle of battle less than 200 feet from said battle. Everyone and their brother is now going after said group of wizards.
3. Everyone involved loses the spell. Granted NPCs tend to get recharge but the time it would take for all six to recharge could be several rounds if not minutes at which time said wizards are probably dead.

Overall it doesn't seem like a lot of thought went into duplicating the power of Circle Magic from previous editions. I think the damage and area effect is fine, but think the range needs fixed and the general use of everyone's powers. Also something not mentioned is the to hit; there is no bonus for multiple casters toward the to hit of the spell. War Spells should be deadly but reasonable versus PCs. How can we fix this effectively?

Ok. I don't have the FR book and I don't really remember circle magic but I have a suggestion. Or a few.

1. Only require the primary caster know the power. I don't know how this ability is attained but you could treat it as a ritual. Basically, each caster would have to know the ritual and have to "master" a power though they don't have to know the power in question. One should be considered to have mastered all the powers they know that apply to circles.

2. There should be some sort of drawback but I'm not sure about this. That is a long time. Perhaps there could be some sort of preparation time again drawing from rituals (really a great mechanic). The casting time should still be longer as it is more powerful but perhaps with preparation (10 min or whatever) it would cost one round per caster. Also, perhaps the primary caster can release the spell earlier with a reduced effect (dependent on how long they were casting).

3. If you really don't like everybody using a spell, burn a healing surge or 3.

 

[Falling Icicle]

So after reading over how Circle Magic works in the the FR book I am not impressed with it at all. In previous editions Circle spells created effects that were to be feared while providing protection for the wizards casting the spells. Circle spells now work as follows:

1. The power must be known by all involved which has not been a requirement before.
2. The casting time is one minute per caster involved.
3. Range increases by one per caster.
4. Area of effect increases by one per caster.
5. Damage increases by one die per caster.
6. Everyone uses up the spell.

They give the example of six casters War Spelling Fireball.

Casting time 6 minutes. Range 26 Area of effect 9 Damage 9d6+Primary Casters Int

Problems with this are as follows:

1. If you're in the middle of battle you don't have six minutes to cast a spell; okay, maybe once, but after that you won't.
2. Six wizards casting fireball in the middle of battle less than 200 feet from said battle. Everyone and their brother is now going after said group of wizards.
3. Everyone involved loses the spell. Granted NPCs tend to get recharge but the time it would take for all six to recharge could be several rounds if not minutes at which time said wizards are probably dead.

Overall it doesn't seem like a lot of thought went into duplicating the power of Circle Magic from previous editions. I think the damage and area effect is fine, but think the range needs fixed and the general use of everyone's powers. Also something not mentioned is the to hit; there is no bonus for multiple casters toward the to hit of the spell. War Spells should be deadly but reasonable versus PCs. How can we fix this effectively?

Wow. You're right, those rules do suck. That circle of wizards would have produced greater results if they all just cast their own fireballs, and it would take far less time.

For one thing, the casting time should only be increased by a round or two, not by minutes. Instead of requiring all the casters to know the spell, I'd only require the lead caster to know it. I'd have each caster sacrifice an unused encounter or daily spell (the same type as the one the lead caster is using) to lend energy to the primary caster. That's just a few ideas off the top of my head.

 

[Nivenus]

Hmm... on a second look it's true that circle spells don't quite as cool anymore.

I like the idea of only the "lead" caster needing to know the spell and the others simply knowing a ritual. Here's a possible alternative.

Circle Spell
You and you fellow casters gather in a circle, chanting words of power and focusing your efforts into a united burst of energy

Level: 8 - Component Cost: Special
Category: Creation - Market Price: 680 gp
Time: Special - Key Skill: Arcana or Religion (no check)
Duration: Special

You and at least two other casters stand in a circle and cast a power known as a "circle spell" (this may use arcane or divine as its power source). This circle spell is a charged up and more powerful version of a regular power. The base power must be known by at least one of the casters and be a ranged or area effect power. Once used the casters who know the power lose that spell as if they had spent it normally and casters who do not know the power lose a healing surge.

The time needed to cast the spell is a number of minutes equal to the number of casters. The range is increased by a number of squares equal to the number of casters and the radius of the area of effect (if any) is increased by half the number of casters (rounded down).