Mana Burn

Mana Burn (Sp)

Beginning at 3rd level, you can push structured portions of your aura into the casting of a spell, burning up one or more additional spells as part of the casting action of the spell being cast. These additional spells cannot be cantrips (or orisons, or powerful cantrips), but can be any other spell you have memorized, or spell slot you have available. Burned spells are used up for the day, exactly as though they had been cast. For each additional spell you burn in the casting, you increase the spell circle of the spell by one step, increasing the spell's damage scaling.

A spell's Spell Circle is a measure of how much damage it does, relative to the caster's character level. If a spell has a spell circle listed, it will be highlighted in orange in the spell's description. The only way to increase a spell's circle is by mana burning one or more additional spells at the same time that the spell is being cast (as part of the same action). For each extra spell burned, the spell's circle moves up one step on the damage scale.

There is also a maximum spell circle you can raise a given spell, based on your character level. This maximum is: (total character level + 1) ÷ 2, round down. Note that this is NOT based on the character's caster level or class level, but their total character level, making this a highly attractive option for multi-classed, dual-classed, and demi-caster characters (such as paladins, bards, and rangers).

Spell Circle	Min Char Lvl	Damage Per Character Level	Caps At:
1st	1	1d4 per character level	5d4 (at char lvl 5)
2nd	3	1d6 per character level	6d6 (at char lvl 6)
3rd	5	1d6 per character level	10d6 (at char lvl 10)
4th	7	1d6+1 per character level	12d6+12 (at char lvl 12)
5th	9	1d6+1 per character level	15d6+15 (at char lvl 15)
6th	11	1d6+2 per character level	16d6+32 (at char lvl 16)
7th	13	1d6+2 per character level	20d6+40 (at char lvl 20)
8th	15	1d6+3 per character level	21d6+63 (at char lvl 21)
9th	17	1d6+3 per character level	25d6+75 (at char lvl 25)
10th	19	1d6+4 per character level	25d6+100 (at char lvl 25)
11th	21	1d6+5 per character level	25d6+125 (at char lvl 25)
12th	23	1d6+6 per character level	27d6+162 (at char lvl 27)
13th	25	1d6+7 per character level	27d6+189 (at char lvl 27)
14th	27	1d6+8 per character level	29d6+232 (at char lvl 29)
15th	29	1d6+9 per character level	29d6+261 (at char lvl 29)
16th	31	1d6+10 per character level	30d6+300 (at char lvl 30)
17th	33	1d6+11 per character level	30d6+330 (at char lvl 30)
18th	35	1d6+12 per character level	30d6+360 (at char lvl 30)

A few notes about mana burning:

• If a spell does not have a damage circle listed, it cannot be mana burned. In such cases, the only way to increase its damage is increasing your caster level, applying one or more metamagic feats, or by using methods described in the spell itself.
• A spell's damage circle can be different than the spell's spell level. Mana burning doesn't affect spell level — only spell circle.
• Memorizing a spell in a higher level slot (or using a higher level spell slot) than the minimum required does not raise the spell's circle. This means that adding metamagic feats to a spell when memorizing it has no effect on the spells base Circle damage.

• Metamagic feats stack normally when used at the same time as mana burning, and only escalate the 'base' spell slot. All benefits of the metamagic feat apply to the effects of the spell's circle after all mana burning has been done.

For example, you can memorize or cast a Perfected Fireball (using a ninth level spell slot), but it only deals circle 3 damage, which is then maximized and doubled (because of Perfected). If you also burn 14 additional spells of any spell level to increase the Perfected Fireball's Circle 3 damage to Circle 17 damage (assuming you are high enough level to throw around Circle 17 damage), it deals maximized Circle 17 damage, doubled. Expensive, yes, but that fireball will cast shadows on the Sun....

• If a spell has more than one damage circle listed (such as a spell that deals damage and also has a synergy), then mana burning during the casting raises all damage circles equally based on the number of additional spells mana burned.

For example, if a spell deals Circle 2 damage when cast, and also have a synergy that deals Circle 4 damage when triggered, if you mana burn 3 additional spells when casting this spell, it instead deals Circle 5 damage when cast, and Circle 7 damage when the synergy is triggered.

• Some spells may have a custom damage profile for their base circle. Such spells may be mana burned as normal if they have a Circle listed, and the first 'step up' moves them to the standard damage model listed in the table above.