Mana

Anything, including an object or person, that is connected to the Grid produces mana, a type of renewable energy that powers all magical, sorcerous, and reality-warping effects.

Each time a creature casts a spell or uses an enchanted object to produce a magical effect, mana is the energy resource required to produce the effect that warps or bends reality. If a creature expends all of their mana, they can’t cast any more spells until their mana replenishes. As it pertains to D&D, mana shares the same essential qualities that the resource of spell slots do.

Mana Emanation

The entire planet of Kern is connected to the Grid, an invisible energy field that exists in all places throughout the universe. In wild areas that are fully- or mostly-untouched by sentient creatures, connection to the Grid is much stronger, and mana is emanated very powerfully from these areas. Any creatures being present causes mana to stop generating, but it does not expel it. Exceptionally strongly-entwined areas to the Grid are referred to as “conduits”, “hot spots”, “wells”, and more.

If fully-sentient creatures leave a place on Kern alone for long enough, it will begin generating natural mana again. There also exist different magical techniques to allow mana to continue generating while sentient creatures are present, and mana itself can be manufactured if the connection to the Grid is strong enough; this, however, is a true feat of sorcery, and it is very, very uncommon to find anything man-made that generates real mana.

In the wild, mana can be harvested via various methods, and harvesting it from the earth is one of the most effective ways to power magical effects, which makes it a natural target for Magicorp. Ethical methods for harvesting it exist that allow for the preservation of the earth’s generative properties, but unethical ways also exist that can harvest it very quickly at the cost of ruining the environment.

A sorcerer with a valid connection to the Grid can regenerate their own mana by resting and tapping into it, which would generally fall into the ethical category of harvestation. Conversely, mana can be extracted out of the air, plants, water, and earth using spells and magical devices that cruelly vampirize the natural environment.

Drilling

Mana emanation gets much more powerful the deeper down the earth gets. Consequently, Magicorp has established dozens of drilling sites all throughout the world to harvest mana from deep within the earth in order to power their machinery. Though this method can produce staggering amounts of mana quick enough to meet demand, it is known as a wildly unsustainable and dangerous practice by activists and residents of the wild areas of the world to be barbaric, unsustainable, and callous towards the environment due to the pollution and mayhem they cause.

The drilling sites themselves are gargantuan obelisks surrounded by adamantium-reinforced walls that protrude nearly 200 feet off the ground. Inside the walls, facilities are present to house different employees and guards, as well as shipping bays to deliver their payloads. The drills run 24/7, and they slowly suck the life force out of the surrounding area until no mana is left to be harvested, at which point, the facility is closed and a new one is built elsewhere. Though Magicorp is required by law to demolish inactive drilling sites, they rarely follow through on this due to the exorbitant costs of dismantling them.

Gôl, Kern's deity of nature, trees, natural beauty, plants, critters, agriculture, and harvest, holds Magicorp in the highest contempt imaginable. Their CEO, James "Jimmy" William Richardson III, has spent near his entire life avoiding assassination attempts plotted by Gôl and his warriors, the Oerlikon.