Permanent Summoning Circles?

[Doomed Hero]

The Magic Circle Against Evil spell notes that -

Quote:

If the circle of powdered silver laid down in the process of spellcasting is broken, the effect immediately ends.

and that -

Quote:

You can add a special diagram (a two-dimensional bounded figure with no gaps along its circumference, augmented with various magical sigils) to make the magic circle more secure. Drawing the diagram by hand takes 10 minutes and requires a DC 20 Spellcraft check.

Are there any rules for permanent Summoning/Binding circles?

Could a caster carve a "special diagram" out in a stone floor and pour molten silver into it to make a permanent and (fairly) unbreakable circle?

Could a hoola hoop of silver be carried around as a portable ready-made summoning circle (maybe with Shrink Item to make it portable)?

[Tyinyk]

I believe it very specifically needs to be powdered silver for the magic to work. You could put it in a room with no doors that you need to teleport into to make it undisturbable (Aside from earthquakes.) Just make sure you have something of an airlock to teleport into, or the sudden air disturbance will unleash that pit fiend you caught.

[Doomed Hero]

The "summoning circle carved in the floor" is a staple dungeon room. Pretty much every wizards tower ever depicted has one. It would be pretty silly if that was all just for show and the evil wizard had to pour powdered silver on the ground every time it wanted to summon something.

The purpose of my question is to find out if there are any rules anywhere for not having to use powdered silver.

[Doomed Hero]

Assuming that all summoning circles must be made of powdered silver, can the powder be protected without disrupting the circle?

Could the carved floor have powdered silver poured into it, and then covered by glass? Or a Wall of Force? (A vertical summoning circle set into a wall would be pretty neat).

Could you put the powdered silver into some kind of tube?

[Fuzzy-Wuzzy]

Doomed Hero wrote:

Assuming that all summoning circles must be made of powdered silver, can the powder be protected without disrupting the circle?

Could the carved floor have powdered silver poured into it, and then covered by glass? Or a Wall of Force? (A vertical summoning circle set into a wall would be pretty neat).

Could you put the powdered silver into some kind of tube?

This is all GM territory, the rules don't cover it.

[johnlocke90]

Doomed Hero wrote:

Assuming that all summoning circles must be made of powdered silver, can the powder be protected without disrupting the circle?

Could the carved floor have powdered silver poured into it, and then covered by glass? Or a Wall of Force? (A vertical summoning circle set into a wall would be pretty neat).

Could you put the powdered silver into some kind of tube?

The glass could work if you poke holes in it so you don't block line of effect.

you could also glue the silver powder to the floor.

[Tyinyk]

Pouring silver into a pre-carved circle would minimize the possibility of messing up, which would certainly be a reason to have one carved on the floor.

[Drahliana Moonrunner]

Permanent or not.. if so much as a single straw lands on the circle, the abjuration is broken.

[Doomed Hero]

I can think of at least two adventure paths with summoning circles set into the floors of dungeons.

Are there really no rules for this?

[The Steel Refrain]

johnlocke90 wrote:

Doomed Hero wrote:

Assuming that all summoning circles must be made of powdered silver, can the powder be protected without disrupting the circle?

Could the carved floor have powdered silver poured into it, and then covered by glass? Or a Wall of Force? (A vertical summoning circle set into a wall would be pretty neat).

Could you put the powdered silver into some kind of tube?

The glass could work if you poke holes in it so you don't block line of effect.

you could also glue the silver powder to the floor.

So perhaps carve the circle into the floor, pour Sovereign Glue into the resulting crevice, and then pour silver powder over the glue to create a nigh-unbreakable bond...?

You'd need to be super careful not to mess it up, but a wizard with high INT and a dedication to detail should have no problem.

I definitely think the notion of having a permanent summoning circle is both iconic and cool. It doesn't remove the risks associated with summoning, but would be a very practical endeavour for a home-based wizard who does a lot of this stuff.

[Plausible Pseudonym]

I feel like I've seen a Paizo published product that had a wondrous item that was a portable permanent summoning circle. Like a cloth that you laid flat and it worked for summoning. But maybe I dreamed it.

[quibblemuch]

"Can I borrow your glitter and a glue stick?"

"Arts and crafts?"

"Nope. Summoning demons."

"Huh."

[Generic Villain]

It's right there in the description of magic circle spells (as you noted):

"You can add a special diagram (a two-dimensional bounded figure with no gaps along its circumference, augmented with various magical sigils) to make the magic circle more secure. Drawing the diagram by hand takes 10 minutes and requires a DC 20 Spellcraft check."

An engraved magic circle isn't just pouring out some dust. It's set in stone, as it were. It could very well be molten silver, but that's almost irrelevant. What matters is that it's much sturdier than the standard model. The issue is that an engraved, inward facing magic circle still has a duration of 24 hours/level. For a PC, the primary option is to just use permanency - such a circle would be incredibly secure.

If that doesn't work, there are numerous examples of unique summoning circles appearing throughout Pathfinder adventures that have extra effects. Off the top of my head, there's:

Curse of the Lady's Light, pg. 35, room K21
The Choking Tower, pg. 46, room G3
Into the Nightmare Rift, pg. 46, room E7

[Generic Villain]

Plausible Pseudonym wrote:

I feel like I've seen a Paizo published product that had a wondrous item that was a portable permanent summoning circle. Like a cloth that you laid flat and it worked for summoning. But maybe I dreamed it.

If it was a dream, I had it too. I looked through some of the obvious sources for it, but no dice. Maybe it appeared as one of the new items in a Module or Adventure Path?

[Doomed Hero]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who remembers seeing something like that. Anyone know exactly what the item is? I can't find it.

So far, I'm really liking the Sovergn Glue idea. That's clever.

[treyhoro]

Doomed Hero wrote:

I'm glad I'm not the only one who remembers seeing something like that. Anyone know exactly what the item is? I can't find it.

So far, I'm really liking the Sovergn Glue idea. That's clever.

I believe the book you are looking for is from Campain settings Occult Mysteries. In there you will find an spellbook titled "The Inward-Facing Circle" which does mention methods of creating permanent Circles.