Mana Swamps

**MANA**

Mana is the lifeforce of the world and as such mana is in everything. Whenever a creature is slain, it's killer absorbs some mana from it, and creatures tend to absorb mana from everyday activities. Most creatures don't know how to utilize their mana, however others have learned to harness it's power or even just expend it to earn more powers. Demons and angels first learned to utilize their mana in gaining new abilities and strengthening themselves, and from there they began to harness the power in daily magic and combat which eventually spread to witches and other spellcasters who frequented the devil worlds. While Mana is a powerful substance that is sought after by many creatures, it can also be extremely dangerous.

In some locations where magical leylines run through the world, magic is more powerful, and sometimes that magic gets backed up when traveling through the earth and begins to flow from the ground as a bubbling green broth, creating mana pools. Mana pools are sometimes also created when an extremely powerful demon or god is slain and their arcane blood is allowed to leak into the world. These mana pools are areas of great arcane power and possess quite a few side effects.

**MANA POOLS**

Mana Pools come in various sizes, and have various effects. They are also known as Mana Glands, which are veins of mana that run through a world spreading magic through it.

**MANA POOL**

**Size**

Mana Pools come in various sizes. The smaller the mana Pool the more condensed and deadly the mana pool is.

**Mana Poisoning, Air Poisoning, and Onset**

Creatures effected by the mana contract a disease known as mana poisoning. Creatures cannot become immune to mana poisoning. Creatures immune to poison, curses, and diseases are still effected by Mana. Undead and creatures with no con are still effected by mana taking damage to their Charisma instead. Mana poisoning doesn't always happen immediately, like a normal disease it takes time for it to effect you.

*Air Poisoning:* This shows how thick the air is with mana and how dangerous it is to breathe it in. This is how long you can remain in the general area of a mana pool without having to make a saving throw against the mana poisoning. This time is cumulative and your body can only take so much, but it can be purged of the mana over time. If you stay away from a mana pool for at least twice the time you spent around it, your duration will reset when you next visit a mana pool.

Creatures who live near mana pools can become strange and twisted creatures over time, and some learn to evolve to become resistant to the mana or gain weird magical powers.

If the mana pool is located indoors or in an enclosed space, increase the save DC for these by +4 as the mana is more condensed in the air.

In addition there are other effects that mana pools can cause from being in the air around them.

·         Sickness: Creatures that enter an area with a mana pool must make a fortitude saving throw or be sickened for the duration of their time in the mana thick area and for 1d6 minutes afterward. A successful saving throw staves off the effects of the sickness for the duration of your travel through the area, however if you come across another pool of mana with a different save DC, the save must be made again. Similarly if you come and go  from one area, you must make the save again. Creatures with Scent are at a -8 penalty to their saving throw to this effect. Creatures with scent who spend more than 24 hours in an area with this lose their scent ability permanently. It can be restored with a remove curse spell. Creatures that critically fail their saving throw vs. this effect are nauseated for 1d6+2 minutes. A Gasmask or other similar device grants a +4 bonus to this saving throw.

·         Insanity: Creatures that spend at least 24 hours within the proximity of one of these pools must make a will saving throw or be effected by a lesser confusion spell. This happens once every 24 hours. If you fail your saving throw, it becomes once every 12 hours. And the time cuts in half every time you fail your save. If it drops down to 3 hours, it then becomes every minute. If you fail again you are effected by an insanity spell. A Gasmask or other similar device grants a +4 bonus to this saving throw.

·         Nausea: Creatures that enter an area with a mana pool with this ability are automatically sickened. If they're already sickened they must make a fortitude save or be nauseated for 1d6 rounds. A successful saving throw staves off the effects of the nausea for the duration of your travel through the area, however if you come across another pool of mana with a different save DC, the save must be made again. Similarly if you come and go  from one area, you must make the save again. Creatures with Scent are at a -8 penalty to their saving throw to this effect. Creatures with scent who spend more than 12 hours in an area with this lose their scent ability permanently. It can be restored with a remove curse spell. Creatures that critically fail their saving throw vs. this effect fall unconscious. A Gasmask or other similar device grants a +4 bonus to this saving throw.

·         Suffocation: Creatures that enter an area with a mana pool that has this ability must make a fortitude saving throw or begin suffocating as per the suffocate spell. A Gasmask or other similar device grants a +4 bonus to this saving throw.

*Mana Poisoning Onset:* This shows the onset of how long after being in contact or for how long after you're in contact with the mana you will have to make your first saving throw. Saving throws vs. Mana cannot be re-rolled if you entered willingly.

**Submerge**

When a creature submerges or enters the mana pool, they take the amount of damage listed in the submerge damage section. Half of the damage dealt by the pool is acid and half is fire. Creatures with resistance to the energy type cannot retain their resistance to it, and creatures with immunity to the types take 1/2 damage. If a creature would heal from these effects, it heals only the first time it is submerged and if it re-submerges it's self later. Creatures who enter the pool and meet the hit die requirements listed must make the fortitude save listed or die immediately, their gear and bodies dissolved into mana goo. Creatures who are of a high enough level that are submerged within the mana must make a fortitude saving throw as well though it isn't against instant death but more against the effects of mana poisoning and other issues. Creatures submerged also gain the mana listed on the table.

*Submerge:* When you submerge in the mana pool, you must make a fortitude saving throw immediately. The time listed here shows how soon you will start to show signs of mana poisoning if it effects you. Just because you make your save however, doesn't mean you're safe. You must make this saving throw every round, with it's save DC increasing by +2 every round that you remain in the pool.

*Drink:* When you Drink from the mana pool, you must make a fortitude saving throw immediately. The time listed here shows how soon you will start to show signs of mana poisoning if it effects you. Drinking from a mana pool maximizes the amount of mana you gain from it, however you also take the damage from the mana pool again. This time energy resistance or immunity doesn't apply and the damage just effects you. Regardless of your saving throw, you take 1 damage per damage dice to your ability scores based on how large the pool is.

·         Mana Drinker/Mana Eater: A creature with the Mana Drinker or Mana Eater feat who drinks the mana gains +1 mana per dice. In addition, if they use their mana drinker ability while submerged in a mana pool, they maximize the mana gained from that and gain a +2 bonus to the fortitude save they must make. This can be very dangerous for a spellcaster drinking mana from a source like this due to the sheer amount. When doing this, if they are at a medium or smaller sized mana pool, they gain an additional +1 mana per dice, however there is a 50% chance that the amount of mana gained is increased to the next length duration and could kill them. For example Katyusha the witch is attempting to use the mana drinker feat to spend 1 hour absorbing mana from a small mana pool. This means she needs to make a fortitude save DC: 84 to absorb it all. She is a very powerful witch so she is confident in her ability to make that save. However the 50% chance says she gets bumped up to the next step, making the save DC: 168 which she cannot make at all without a critical roll. She fails and loses 168 mana, is nauseated for 1 hour, and has her movement cut by 20 feet for 24 hours because of her greed.

**Side Effects**

These are the side effects you suffer when submerging or drinking from a mana pool. The saving throw for most of these effects is the same one as the one you make for being submerged.

*Sickness:* If you fail your saving throw, you become sickened for 1d6 days.

*Nausea:* If you fail your saving throw, you become nauseated for 1d6 hours. If you critically fail this save you die.

*Death:* This applies to the creatures with the designated number of hit dice listed on the table.

*Insanity:* You must make a will save or be confused for 1d6 rounds if submerged or 1d6+6 rounds if ingested. If you critically fail this save it is permanent.

*Hexensyndrome:* You must make a fortitude saving throw. This save cannot be re-rolled. On a failed save you become stage 0 in the Hexensyndrome Corruption.

**MANA GAINED**

When you submerge yourself in a mana pool or drink from the pool, you only gain the mana from the first time you do it in a day. (Though you can do both of them in a day).

*Mana Bath:* You can prepare a special mana bath in a mana pool. This takes 1 hour to perform. After a mana bath, your magical capabilities are heightened. You only need to make the save against the mana once. When it's completed, for 24 hours you are treated as if you were 2 levels higher for the purpose of determining spell effects. In addition all spells you cast have +2 to the save DC. You can only do this once per week or be at risk of harming yourself. Every time you do this ritual there is a cumulative 10% chance that the bath will never work again in this location and this mana will become too diluted and become a normal pool of swamp water.

**HEXENSYNDROME**

Creatures suffering from Hexensyndrome whom are only at Stage 0 are immediately awakened and pushed to stage 1 if they submerge themselves in a medium or smaller pool.

**MANA SWAMPS**

Mana swamps are full of hazards and the bigger they are, the more deadly the hazard.

Mana Swamps are full of arcane energy, and therefore all spellcasters within the swamp gain a +1 bonus to their caster level while in the swamp.

Below is a table to generate a random swamp and the strange magical effects that can trigger from the mana pools. Otherwise it uses the normal rules for swamp terrain.

When using the table, roll first to see if there's a magical effect, then to see the area of effect, and then roll on the table depending on the swamp size to determine what effect it is.

The caster level of the swamp determines how strong the magic effects in it are and how long they last when they appear.

You can roll every few rounds or few minutes on this chart, whichever you feel is best.

**MAGIC EVENTS**

Strange magic events can take place within mana swamps as mana glands can cause incredible things to happen.

*Corrupted Creature:* Creatures living around mana glands could become corrupted by magic and become strange or legendary things. Normal animals could become anthropomorphic or awakened or dire animals, or other creatures roaming around the swamp could inherit a magical template of some kind. The possibilities are near limitless, but think of mana as a magical form of radiation in that it can change and mutate things in strange or unforeseen ways.

*Lazarus:* A Dead body that lands in a mana pool may animate as an undead. This could work like animate dead, create greater undead, or maybe even just bring the creature back to life as if it were affected by true resurrection. Regardless the creature is usually murderous and full of rage when it returns from the dead.

*Mana Parasite Swarm:* Mana parasites, also known as magic parasites, tend to live in mana swamps and on some occasions creatures may get swarmed by the little beasts trying to consume their mana.

*Pinocchio:* A Construct within the mana swamp could become sentient and awaken due to the magic in the area. It's personality could be kind, or vicious.

*Coven:* Witches and other arcane casters could be forming groups out in the mana swamps feeding on the magic. Some may be hags, others young spellcasters honing their skills. Some friendly, some not.

*Strange plants:* Odd plants may be growing within the mana fields. These plants could be living, moving creatures, exaggerated brambles or vines, or trees giving strange magic fruit the size of your head.

**CRYSTAL GROVE**

Some areas have mana that ends up hardening and crystallizing into shards of gemstone like glass. These areas tend to not have as much of an issue with the air poisoning, however the mana there is just as deadly and cutting yourself on the jutting spears of mana can inflict the same sort of damage as being submerged. In areas like this one may find a dominion crystal.

**MANATHREE**

Manathree is unnaturally powerful mana. Mana from the dawn of creation, or mana that has existed outside of a time loop and has been fermenting through the rise and fall of worlds through their reincarnation cycle. Manathree is the fresh blood of a god that lies dying in an arcane seal. Manathree is incredibly powerful and incredibly rare. It possesses the same qualities as mana save for the following.

  | Submerge: Instantaneous

*Submerge:* When you submerge in the manathree, you must make a fortitude saving throw immediately. The time listed here shows how soon you will start to show signs of mana poisoning if it effects you. Just because you make your save however, doesn't mean you're safe. You must make this saving throw every round, with it's save DC increasing by +2 every round that you remain in the pool.

When you submerge yourself in a manathree pool or drink from the pool, you only gain the mana from the first time you do it in a day. (Though you can do both of them in a day).

*Manathree Bath:* You can prepare a special mana bath in a mana pool. This takes 1 hour to perform. After a mana bath, your magical capabilities are heightened. You only need to make the save against the mana once. When it's completed, for 24 hours you are treated as if you were 2 levels higher for the purpose of determining spell effects. In addition all spells you cast have +2 to the save DC. In addition you gain 1 use of mythic power for casting a spell for 24 hours. Every time you do this ritual there is a cumulative 10% chance that the bath will never work again in this location and this manathree will become too diluted and become a normal mana pool.

*Drink:* When you Drink from the manathree, you must make a fortitude saving throw immediately. The time listed here shows how soon you will start to show signs of mana poisoning if it effects you. Drinking from the manathree pool maximizes the amount of mana you gain from it, however you also take the damage from the mana pool again. This time energy resistance or immunity doesn't apply and the damage just effects you. Regardless of your saving throw, you take 1 damage per damage dice to your ability scores.

·         Mana Drinker/Mana Eater: A creature with the Mana Drinker or Mana Eater feat who drinks the manathree gains +2 mana per dice. In addition, if they use their mana drinker ability while submerged in a mana pool, they maximize the mana gained from that and gain a +2 bonus to the fortitude save they must make. This can be very dangerous for a spellcaster drinking mana from a source like this due to the sheer amount. When doing this, if they are at a medium or smaller sized mana pool, they gain an additional +1 mana per dice, however there is a 50% chance that the amount of mana gained is increased to the next length duration and could kill them.

Usually because of manathree's rarity and limited quantity, a creature can perform very limited options with absorbing it or using it's power.