Yeah, the "cost" the secondary casters have to expand is specified in the different Circle Casting options and varies per option. Some have no cost other than using the Magic Action, some need a spell slot and one needs a spell slot at the level of the spell or higher.

they do though

I'm gonna be honest, prolonging Spells like Bless or Haste doesn't feel that unbalanced to me. It costs at least another spell slot and requires permanent concentration from the main caster. If a party is willing to cover these costs up front, I don't see this as game breaking at all.

Bin großer Fan von "English Teacher". Außerdem hat "The Mighty Nein" gerade begonnen.

I mean the potential is definitely there, but I have yet to see an example that could actually happen at any sensible table (like the 50.000 damage fireball). This feels like the peasant railgun all over again but maybe I've just not seen the actual potential abuse cases.

No, they only need to have the Spellcasting or Pact Magic feature. Depending on the kind of Circle Spell they may need to expend a spell slot but otherwise they "only" need to use their turn to use the Magic action to contribute to the spell.

It's a variation of Spell Casting where you can change certain things about spells by having other casters support you in casting. For example, you can prolong the duration, increase the distance, reduce the material cost, or distribute concentration.

Spoilers cont.

For Alicia, this was the last chance she saw to save whatever little she had left. She trusted in her brother and he literally threw that chance away.

This is a major reason why both endings are equally valid to me and I hate when people call one the "good ending" over the other.

Spoilers cont.

I feel strongly that there could have been another outcome, had Verso not decided to throw the letter away. He forced the final decision on Maelle for his own selfish reasons (as he has done for the entire game). That's probably also why Alicia doesn't say goodbye to him in the end.

Spoilers cont.

...called "Une vie à rêver" (A Life to Dream) which is also what Alicia titled her letter to Maelle that she gave to Verso. Lune says to Verso at one point that his problem is that he thinks in false dichotomies, that other solutions are possible if he just talked to his friends.

There are still some gripes I have with the overall story, especially with regards to Melinoë and her lack of acknowledgement of all the ways her family is unnecessarily cruel towards mortals, but at least the main story ending doesn't make me want to throw the game out of the window anymore.

(also I feel like Christian Borle was wasted on Vox's songs but really most of the season 2 songs fell completely flat to me)