WARNING: This feat has the potential to be extremely fun, but requires a lot of work with the DM and is targeted to the nerdiest of nerds and could lead to near unlimited power or destruction by the gods themselves! Lots of math and other complex stuff. This is by no means a complete set of rules for this concept, just some groundwork to build off of.
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Gaining this feat is only possible through finding or being taught about the creation process of magical circles.
This feat will allow the user to spend time carefully crafting magical circles in ways that will allow modifications to spells, such as making a fireball more or less powerful, or increasing or decreasing it's range.
The construction of every magical circle follows a set of rules, if they aren't followed properly, it is most likely the result will not be favorable for whoever attempts to use it.
The basics: There are six essential components to every magic circle. In order of construction they go, the circles themselves, the mana logic circuit, the mana lines, the augment circles, the guiding runes, and finally the trigger glyph.
Step 1: The circles. - The number of circles or rings inside a magical circle determines the level of the circle. For example, a level three circle will consist of three rings. The maximum size of the circle cannot exceed double the level of the circle in feet, and cannot be smaller than half the level in feet. For example, a level three circle cannot exceed a radius of six feet, nor can it be have a radius smaller than one and a half feet. Smaller circles require more complex and compact sets of all other parts of the circle, but will finish activating much faster than a larger one.
Step 2: The mana logic circuit. - This is the centermost part of a magic circle and it's heart. This part of a circle requires a buffer rune and gated line per spell level and will not except more than it can hold. For example, if you have a level six magic circle, it requires six buffer runes, additionally if you try to use a seventh level spell slot to fill the buffers, it will not except it as that is too much mana, or if you have used a second level spell slot to fill two buffers, you cannot use a sixth level spell slot to fill the remaining amount. You must use an accumulated six levels worth of spell slots to fill it. These buffers are in place so that the circle has just the right amount of mana in it and additionally, once the buffers are full and it begins releasing the mana into the rest of the circle, it ensures a stable and smooth flow. If you forgo the addition of these buffer runes and gated lines, there is a chance the circle will go awry, and is guaranteed if you use to many spell slots. Additionally if the buffer runes and gated lines are skipped and you try to use more than one lower level spell slot to activate it, it will immediately activate upon receiving the first bit of mana, and is guaranteed to fizzle out and render the circle unusable.
Step 3: The mana lines. - These are the lines that connect all parts of the circle together and are the simplest part. Refer to end of description for the math for the mana lines. These start from the mana logic circuit and direct the mana into the augment circles and guiding runes, and are only intercepted by the augment circles infusion gate right before the guiding runes.
Step 4: The augment circles. - The augment circles are built in proportion to the size of the circle they are in. The further out from the center circle, the larger and greater the cost or rarity they need. These circles are where the material components of a circle are placed and infused with mana. The mana in the mana lines are cut off from reaching the guiding runes by an infusion gate. When mana reaches this gate, it cannot pass until mana has run through the augment circle, which either consumes or simply channels the mana (based on if the component is consumed from the spell or not) through it. The result is an unstable material infused mana that runes into the corresponding infusion gate. The material mana is then infused with the pure mana and can flow through into the guiding runes.
Step 5: The guiding runes. - The guiding runes tell the mana what to do, and are inversely proportionate to the circle they are in. The further out they are from the center circle, the small and more complex they must be. Each guiding rune has two small filters on them, one for pure mana, and one for the material mana. The pure mana flows into the runes creating a shell where the material mana is then filtered into so that it is then contained stably. These runes describe what the mana is to do. Due to the runes telling the mana what to do, you do not need to concentrate on this. A player can choose what level of spell to put into the circle, but it requires an action to do so. Once the guiding rules have been filled, the circles last rune before activation, is the trigger glyph.
Step 6: The trigger glyph. - The trigger glyph is in the last circle and is the same size as all other guiding runes in that circle. The creator of the circle determines what triggers the glyph. It can be anything from a random word they chose, to someone just stepping across it, to change in the environment within double the circles radius. Once this condition is met, the circle completes activation and the spell is cast.
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Math: get creative with your DM. This is only really meant for someone who likes math and really complex things, and requires a lot of work with the DM for each spell circle. I may come back to this and add some more base modifications to this feat, but this is mostly just to set some groundwork for players to build upon.
Through this method, once enough research is done by a player, they can exceed the maximum level of spell and work with the DM on creating higher level spells. These circles will be much much more complex and require lots of math and sketching. The new cap would be fifteenth level(would require an accumulated fifteen levels worth of spell slots), being a spell that could greatly injure a god. Thought, exceeding the cap on level nine will catch the eye of the goddess of magic who set the limit on mortal mages, so beware with what you tamper.
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