Aspect of a Circle of Power

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Per the ARB v1.1 Page 132 under the heading "The Circle of Power":

Circles of Power can be generated through
the use of the ninth-level battle magic spell
Circle of Power or through the use of a formal
ritual.
Ritual casting must be conducted within a
Circle of Power and will automatically fail if
attempted anywhere else. If a Circle of Power
is destroyed or otherwise ends during the ritual
casting, the ritual will automatically fail.
Once the ritual begins, no individual may
enter the Circle of Power (except through the
rituals Spirit Walk or Spirit Recall, or through
appearing as a spirit needing a resurrection) or
else the ritual will automatically fail. If more
than one ritual is cast inside a Circle of Power
simultaneously, the ritual that was commenced
later will automatically fail.
A battle-cast Circle of Power will last for
one hour, which is often more than enough time
for a wizard to cast several rituals before it expires.
Ritually cast Limited Circles of Power
and Greater Circles of Power can last anywhere
from days to years, or even be permanent.
Circles of Power always possess either an
earth or celestial aspect. When the Circle of
Power is fashioned, the caster determines the
aspect of the Circle of Power according to the
aspect of Formal Magic that the caster possesses.
A caster who possesses both earth and
celestial Formal Magic may choose the aspect
of the Circle of Power.
Only rituals possessing a general or celestial
aspect may be cast in a Circle of Power with
a celestial aspect. Only rituals possessing a general,
earth or necromantic Aspect may be cast
in a Circle of Power with an earth aspect. Rituals
of the wrong aspect will not begin in a Circle
of Power of the wrong aspect.

The bold and underlined section in the quote states that the aspect of a Circle of Power is determined by the Formal Magic that the caster possesses and that a caster with both Celestial and Earth Formal may choose the aspect. This effectively states that the school of magic used to cast the Circle of Power is irrelevant in determining the aspect of a Circle of Power; the only factor is what Formal Magic the caster possesses. The description of the Circle of Power spell on page 114 neither supports nor contradicts the above quoted passage.

My questions are:

1) What aspect would a Circle of Power have if cast from a Magic Item?

2) What aspect would a Circle of Power have if cast by a caster with no Formal skill?

 

[Polare]

This post is to inform you that your question is currently being discussed by the ARC and once some clarification has been made will be posted here. Depending on the level of clarification and discussion (and potential involvement of the Owners or other national staff, if needed) this may take time.

 

[Polare]

The paragraph in question is intended only to apply to Limited or Greater Circles of Power as per the sentence just before. To clarify this, the text here:

Circles of Power always possess either an earth or celestial aspect. When the Circle of Power is fashioned, the caster determines the aspect of the Circle of Power according to the aspect of Formal Magic that the caster possesses. A caster who possesses both earth and celestial Formal Magic may choose the aspect of the Circle of Power.

should be changed to:

Limited or Greater Circles of Power always possess either an earth or celestial aspect. When one of these Circles of Power is ritually cast, the caster determines the aspect of the resulting Circle of Power according to the aspect of Formal Magic that the caster possesses. A caster who possesses both earth and celestial Formal Magic may choose the aspect of such a Circle of Power.

Battle magic Circles of Power (from whatever source, whether activated or cast as a spell) will always be the aspect which matches the source from whence the effect originated.

-Bryan Gregory
ARC