Mana Crystals and Their Relationship to the Mana Pool

Overview

Mana Crystals are essential to both the story and gameplay mechanics. These versatile energy sources interact directly with magical abilities, offering strategic choices for combat, exploration, and resource management. However, their true power lies in their ability to be purified, charged, and tuned for use in combat or specialized machines.

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Types of Mana Crystals

1. Corrupted Mana Crystals:
2. Found naturally on the planet, corrupted crystals are saturated with dark energy tied to the portal to hell.
3. Glow with a purplish hue and emit faint purple smoke visible to certain individuals.
4. Recharge passively in corrupted mana environments but are unstable and lose power off-world.
5. Purified Mana Crystals:
6. Created through the purification process by Magical Girls.
7. Glow white and can hold mana without degradation, even off-world.
8. Are versatile energy sources that can accept mana from any source, but re-corruption is possible if exposed to dark energies.
9. Tuned Crystals:
10. Fully charged purified crystals can be tuned to a specific Magical Girl's power, enhancing her abilities.
11. Once tuned, these crystals cannot be charged or discharged and are only usable for casting advanced spells through a wand or for use in spell machines.

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The Purification Process

1. Draining the Crystal:
2. Magical Girls must push their own mana into the corrupted crystal to expel its corrupted mana.
3. The speed of purification depends on the crystal's surface area, making larger crystals exponentially more time-consuming.
4. Charging the Crystal:
5. After the crystal is drained, it must be recharged with purified mana.
6. A fully drained purified crystal cannot accept corrupted mana again, making it a clean, reusable energy source.
7. Crystal Size Limitations:
8. Minimum Size: 1 cm wide x 7 cm long. Crystals smaller than this size shatter during purification.
9. Maximum Size: 7.5 cm wide x 30 cm long for a single Magical Girl. Larger crystals do not shatter but require multiple Magical Girls working in unison to purify them.

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Uses of Mana Crystals

1. Purified Crystals as Batteries:
2. Fully charged purified crystals can be used to recharge a Magical Girl’s mana pool, providing an immediate boost in combat or exploration.
3. Tuned Crystals:
4. When tuned to a Magical Girl’s power, these crystals become powerful tools for casting specialized spells.
5. Tuned crystals can only be slotted into a wand or a spell machine and cannot provide mana. Their sole purpose is to enable advanced abilities.
6. Unturned Purified Crystals in Combat:
7. Unturned crystals can be slotted into a wand as temporary mana batteries, allowing the Magical Girl to use their energy for higher-level spells.
8. Using an unturned crystal for mana sacrifices one of the three available slots for skills, making it a tactical choice.

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Machine Integration

1. Purification Machines:
2. These devices create purified mana zones by consuming the energy from purified crystals.
3. Larger crystals purify a larger area, and the duration depends on the crystal’s charge.
4. Spell Machines:
5. Powered by tuned crystals, these machines can cast area-of-effect spells or provide strategic buffs/debuffs.
6. The Magical Girl pays only an activation cost (1/50th of the spell’s normal mana cost), conserving her energy.
7. Cooperative Purification:
8. Multiple Magical Girls can pool their efforts to purify oversized crystals, enabling larger machines or long-term purification zones.

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Tactical Applications

1. Combat Preparation:
2. Use purification and spell machines to prepare battlefields, set traps, or create safe zones.
3. Field Strategy:
4. Slotting a purified crystal into a wand can keep a Magical Girl fighting longer by providing extra mana but reduces available skill slots.
5. Crystal Theft and Defense:
6. Purified crystals are highly sought after. Corporations, gangs, and rival factions will actively try to steal them, leading to defensive missions or retrieval operations.

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Gameplay Hooks

1. Purification Challenges:
2. Players must balance time spent purifying crystals with other priorities, such as combat, exploration, and story progression.
3. Strategic Slot Use:
4. Deciding whether to use a slot for an unturned crystal (to extend mana use) or a tuned crystal (to unlock advanced skills) adds layers of strategy.
5. Unlocking Machines:
6. Discovering and deploying machines creates a new dynamic for controlling the battlefield and providing buffs or debuffs in critical areas.
7. Crystal Corruption:
8. Corrupted areas or demon encounters may undo purification, forcing players to adapt and safeguard their crystals.

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Plot Implications

The discovery and use of purified crystals shape the story's progression:

• Corporations: The practical and economic benefits of purified crystals drive corporations to hunt for Magical Girls.
• Demonic Threats: Demons seek to reclaim corrupted crystals, creating additional conflict.
• Magical Girl Alliance: The need to purify larger crystals fosters alliances between Magical Girls, emphasizing teamwork and shared goals.