D&D Beyond’s preview of the new Circle Magic mechanics from the upcoming Forgotten Realms Player’s Guide puts the magic in MLM.
Call it multi-level magic-ing, call it a pyramid scheme where the power actually works, or simply call it the power of friendship; either way, Circle Magic proves that it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. And also, it is a little bit what you know because you have to know the magic that you are going to cast in order to cast it.
But yeah, the new mechanics give you options for empowering your spell in ways that solo Wizards can only dream about. The power of friendship might not be the strongest magic in the Realms – we all know that’s chronomancy – but friendship is up there, as the mechanics of Circle Magic show. Let’s take a look, courtesy of a Circle Magic preview on D&D Beyond.
Circle Magic Preview – The Power Of Networking, I Guess
First things first, what actually even is Circle magic? In a nutshell, it’s magical cheat codes. You get to break the normal limits for magic by merging your power with other spellcasters. This lets you create magic “of staggering potency that no single caster could control alone.”
In game terms, this means a group of spellcasters can amplify their spells, as long as the spell has a casting time of at least one Action, if not one minute (or longer). That amplification can take on many different forms:
- Augment: Stretch your spell’s range by thousands of feet.
- Distribute: Let your allies share the burden of Concentration, keeping the spell’s effects steady.
- Expand: Widen the spell’s influence, increasing its area of effect.
- Prolong: Sustain the spell’s effect for hours beyond its typical duration.
- Safeguard: Shape the Weave to spare your allies from the storm you unleash.
- Supplant: Replace costly Material components with the collective strength of your circle.
And some spells have other effects entirely whenever you cast them as a Circle spell. These spells are likely going to be new ones featured in the Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerun. But in the Circle Magic preview, we got a look at two of them.
The first is a spell called Doomtide, and it lets you unleash dread upon your enemies. You conjure up a roiling cloud of “psychological torment” – so the year 2025 emodied – and unleash it upon your enemies. You create a 20-foot radius Sphere of inky darkness (there’s a lot of that these days) that deals 5d6 psychic damage, and those who fail their saving throw subtract 1d6 from all saving throws until the end of their next turn. Not bad. But when you cast it as a Circle spell, you extend the spell’s range to 1 mile and can sustain the spell until it’s dispelled without needing to Concentrate.
The second spell is Spellfire Storm. And this spell conjures down a 20′ x 20′ pillar of spellfire that deals radiant damage to creatures caught within it. It’s not bad, but if you cast it as a circle spell, you can extend the spell’s range to 1 mile and can sustain it so that it doesn’t need Concentration.
Now, I don’t kow if this means you can cast this one spell out to 1 mile distant, or if you can use it to cast a 1 mile wide pillar. Though I’m guessing the former. In both cases, the circle casting needs a rare material, like black pearls from Pandemonium or a 25,000 gp blue star sapphire. And secondary casters have to spend a spell slot – but I’m curious to see what the magic adds for parties.
In the meantime, get ready for Circle Magic and more in Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerun!
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