Circle Magic, a new way for groups of magic users to modify spells, is the most unhinged thing to happen to Dungeons and Dragons in years. The group spellcasting mechanic totally transforms how we think about magic, as it offers crucial ways to solve a spell's problems - or turn its power levels up to 1,000. There are so many ways for this to potentially break the balance of D&D, but rather than worried, I feel excited by the prospect.
Sure, the martial DnD classes are going to smart at how much more powerful their spellcasting buddies just got. But for parties with multiple spellcasters, things just got a lot more interesting. The execution of Circle Magic could get wobbly, but I'm utterly won over by how fun it sounds.
For anyone else who's eager to take Circle Magic for a test drive, I've combed through the hundreds of qualifying spells to find the strongest, silliest, and most intriguing options.
What is Circle Magic?
You can find the complete rules for Circle Magic in the new book, Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerûn, but here's a quick summary.
Any spell that requires an action or longer to cast is eligible to be cast with Circle Magic. This means that a primary caster is joined by one or more secondary casters, each of whom spends an additional action (and sometimes an extra spell slot) to make the original spell more powerful. When casting a Circle Spell, you can choose one modification:
- Augment - A spell with a range of at least 5 feet has that range increased by 1,000 feet per secondary caster, up to one mile.
- Distribute - All casters involved maintain concentration on the spell, with concentration only broken when the last spellcaster loses it.
- Expand - Increase one dimension of the spell (e.g. radius or line) by 10 feet per secondary caster.
- Prolong - Increase the duration of a spell to one hour, eight hours, or 24 hours.
- Safeguard - Protect a specific area inside the spell from its harmful effects.
- Supplant - Reduce the cost of a specific material component by 50 GP per secondary caster.
Spirit Guardians
Spirit Guardians is already one of the most effective area-of-effect spells in D&D, but it gets better with Circle Magic. Greedy damage dealers will naturally gravitate towards the 'Expand' option in the rules, as the idea of a 45-foot Spirit Guardians is enough to fill a Cleric with glee.
However, there's a value trade-off to consider here. Every secondary caster must spend one of their own actions to help cast the spell, so that 45-foot emanation will actually cost four actions instead of one. For a 10-minute spell, that's a lot of actions to spend - especially if you're already in combat.
Instead, I'd recommend modifying your Spirit Guardians with the 'Prolong' rules. It only takes two spellcasters to change that duration from 10 minutes to one hour, and four spellcasters can ramp it up to eight hours. That's a Spirit Guardians that, if you can maintain concentration on it, lasts for an entire dungeon crawl. Cast the spell before you open the first door to the dungeon, and you're set.
Aura of Vitality
My favorite healing spell in the game is now even more overpowered. Like Spirit Guardians, it's an area-of-effect spell that becomes far more potent when you extend its range or its duration. On-call healing for an entire dungeon crawl sounds tasty.
Alternatively, if you have a Dungeon Master who likes to snipe concentrating spellcasters, you can use the 'Distribute' option to give all your secondary spellcasters responsibility for maintaining concentration on the spell. I'd probably not bother with this unless your party is absolutely desperate for some healing mid-fight, however.
Haste
Ah, Haste. Another great candidate for Prolong or Distribute. This one might even be worth two casters co-operating on at the start of combat, given how much more action-efficient it can make your best attackers.
Greater Invisibility
"A creature you touch has the Invisible condition until the spell ends." Can you imagine what a Rogue could achieve if they're invisible for 24 hours? Scouting is now child's play. Sneak Attack is basically guaranteed.
Otiluke's Resilient Sphere
This definitely isn't the most overpowered option in the list, but it is the funniest. Otiluke's Resilient Sphere lets you trap a creature in a bubble if they fail a Dexterity saving throw. Nothing can pass in and out of the bubble. If you can trap a powerful spellcaster inside, the only action they can take inside is to roll the bubble around like a giant hamster ball.
The original spell only lasts one minute with concentration. But, thanks to Circle Magic, we can make the bubble last for an entire day. That spellcaster better hope they have some minions that can break your concentration - otherwise, they're screwed.
Simulacrum
Simulacrum, a spell that lets you make a copy of one of your adventuring party, was already overpowered as hell. What's more powerful than one Wizard? Two.
The way that Circle Magic makes this spell better is through the Supplant option. A party of spellcasters can reduce the value of the costly material component you need to cast the spell by, perhaps, 200 GP, making Simulacrum that bit more doable.
Plus, with your DM's blessing, NPCs can help you cast Circle Spells. That means your Simulacrum Wizard can help you cast other Circle Spells.
Detect Evil and Good
This is an excellent utility spell that just got more useful. Once again, I'm suggesting you extend the duration of this spell to make it last for an entire dungeon crawl. A long-lasting censor that goes off when almost any non-humanoid creature gets within 30 feet of you? Handy - especially if the bastards are trying to hide.
Fireball
Let's be honest, when we all saw Circle Magic for the first time, we were all thinking about Fireball. Imagine a Fireball that you can fire from a mile away. Imagine a Fireball with a 50-foot radius. You could decimate armies.
It's not the cleverest, most sexy way to use Circle Magic. But it's guaranteed to feel good.
Polymorph
Polymorph a party member into a Pegasus for 24 hours, and have them fly you to your next adventure like they're your personal private jet. Polymorph another party member into a T-Rex before a big boss fight and make it extremely hard to break your concentration. There are so many ways to get creative with this one.
Beacon of Hope
Feeling unsafe? Extend the duration of Beacon of Hope, and you've got advantage on Wisdom saves and death saves all day. Every healing spell gives you the maximum possible HP. All day. Or, if you have enough time to prepare, just sure up that crucial concentration right before a big fight.
Mirror Image
This is arguably one of the best options for the Prolong option, as it offers great rewards for no concentration. Eight hours of protection from attack rolls is very appealing when you don't know when your next combat encounter will be.
Compulsion
Extend the range on this spell, and you can charm an entire battlefield (provided they all fail their Wisdom saving throws). Heck, even if a few of them do pass their Wisdom saves, you've dramatically reduced the number of hostiles in that approaching horde.
Are there any clear Circle Magic candidates I've missed? Let me know in the Wargamer Discord. Or, if you've had a chance to test these new rules for yourself, I'd love to hear your battle reports.