Type:Special Power
Duration:Persistent
Target:Self Only
Range:Self
Costs END:No
Cost:1pt per 4 Mana

Mana Pools

Because of the stringent Mana and Long Term END requirements of magic, Mana Pools are valuable adjuncts to any wizard or priest. At base value they cost 1 character point per 4 points of Mana in the pool, and are restricted as follows:

  1. A Mana Pool must be external; in other words it must be (or have) a Focus. This is already taken into account in costing the Mana in the Pool, and therefore the Focus limitation may not be (re)applied.
  2. A Mana Pool must be an Obvious Focus — in other words, it must be obvious that it is powering a spell. The exact nature of the obviousness I leave to you.
  3. A Mana Pool will always be Independent (-2) and will always cost character points, even if obtained during the course of play. These points are assumed to be the cost of "attuning" the reserve to the individual's requirements.
  4. Unlike spells, the cost of a Mana Pool is NOT divided by three.

Recovery Rate

By default a Mana Pool has a REC of 1 every hour. This represents a reserve that gradually replenishes itself from ambient mana. This rate can be increased by paying for an Adder of 3 character points per additional point of Mana regained per recovery.

SLOW RECOVERY
Recovery IntervalLimitation
per 6 Hours-½
per Day-1
per Week-1½
per Month-2
per Season-2½
per Year-3
per 5 Years-3½
per 25 Years-4
per Century-4½

Slower Recovery

The time over which a Mana Pool recovers can be increased with the Slow Recovery limitation, as detailed in the table to the right.

Faster Recovery

The recovery time may also be decreased with the Fast Recovery advantage, as shown below. To take this option, the Mana Pool must also take the Limited Mana Recovery limitation (see also below)

FAST RECOVERY
Recovery IntervalAdvantage
per 40 Minutes+¼
per 20 Minutes+½
per 10 Minutes+¾
per 5 Minutes+1
per Minute+1½
per Turn+2
per Phase+2½
per Segment3
LIMITED MANA RECOVERY
Recovery method is:Limitation
embarrassing or inconvenient-½
somewhat difficult or dangerous-1
quite difficult or dangerous-1½
very difficult or dangerous)-2
extremely difficult or dangerous-2½
Parasitic - by Transfer from own Mana-1
Vampiric - by Transfer from another's Mana-1½

Example: Krandaal the Necrophage uses the rune-carved skull of a microcephalic baby as a Mana Pool. When he buries it in the earth of a freshly-dug and properly consecrated grave (-1), it recovers Mana at the rate of 1 per 10 minutes (+¾)

Parasitic or Vampiric Recovery

A Mana Pool can be defined to recover by means of a Parasitic or Vampiric Transfer from its owner or from another willing or unwilling subject. This ability must be defined when the Reserve is created, and cannot be changed thereafter. The return rate (for the victim) of Mana sucked away like this is the victim's own REC per hour (normal Mana REC), but unlike a normal Transfer the Mana does not also leach away from the reserve, but remains until drawn upon.

Each such Reserve must have a specific Transfer spell devoted to it; i.e. if a wizard has two different reserves, he or she will have to also pay for two separate spells to replenish both of them.

Note that such a Transfer may also take the Independent (-2) limitation, since if the Pool to which it applies is lost or destroyed, the spell becomes useless and the points thus spent are effectively lost.