## Staff and Circle Caster *Though less efficient than normal spellcasting, your adherence to traditional spellcasting mores yields potent results.* **Prerequisite:** Caster level 1st **Benefit:** Staff and Circle casting is a more archaic form of spellcasting, from the pre-Olidaran Atani tradition of thaumaturgy. It revolves around tracing arcane patterns inside a magic circle drawn on the ground or in the air, using a staff, rod or wand. Casting spells in this manner requires the following: - A mundane or magical staff, rod, or wand worth at least 10 gp per level of the spell being cast. - One free hand - Verbal and somatic components (even when the spell being cast does not normally require them). The Perception DC to notice a spell being cast in this manner is -5. - Material components costing 1 gp per spell level, unless the spell being cast already has a component or focus with a higher GP value. - A swift action, in addition to whatever casting time the spell already has. Spells that can be normally be cast as swift actions can be cast using Staff and Circle magic as a standard action. For each verbal, somatic and material component used (that is not already present in the spell's listing), the caster level of the spell is increased by +1. For example, _blur_ normally only requires a verbal component, but casting it with Staff and Circle magic increases the caster level by 2 (for the added somatic and material components). Spells cast in this manner cannot be cast defensively or while grappled, and concentration checks to cast in other adverse conditions take a –5 penalty.