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. Aside from choosing an Arcane school and possibly some expensive magic items, 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).