Enchanted Pools!

Greetings!

I have always loved magic pools, ever since back in the day with 1E, and the DMG random dungeon tables where Gary Gygax wrote them into the tables as an encountered feature. Just great stuff! Do you like magic pools? How have you used them in your campaigns? Have you created any particular kinds of magic pools?

Here are some of the Enchanted Pool tables in my campaigns.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Mystical Pools

01-20% Mystical Pool--Healing: The mystical pool provides a Healing effect on the characters.

21-40% Mystical Pool--Ferocious: The mystical pool provides a Greater Heroism effect that lasts the following duration;
Duration
01-50%: 1 Hour
51-60%: 3 Hours
61-70%: 6 Hours
71-80%: 12 Hours
81-90%: 24 Hours
91-100%: 3 Days

41-60% Mystical Pool--Talking: The mystical pool is intelligent, and has the powers of speech. The Talking Pool may also be able to use Telepathy within 100' ft. range. The Talking Pool can speak all languages. The Talking Pool is ancient and wise, and has the knowledge lore of a Lvl 20 Bard. The Talking Pool may have any alignment, and have whatever particular personality the DM determines. The Talking Pool may negotiate with the players for knowledge, or it may send them on a quest, or the Talking Pool may be friendly and helpful, indifferent and reserved, or obnoxious and hostile. Some Talking Pools may also be sick, or insane.

61-65% Mystical Pool--Gateway: The mystical pool transports the character or characters into another location in the dungeon, some other location in the current world; a different world entirely, one that is strange and mysterious; a different mystical plane; some bizarre otherworldly dimension; or transported to a different age in time on the current or different world, either in the present age, the distant future, or some ancient, bygone age of the past; as the DM sees fit. This particular feature may be fixed and unchanging, or random, as the DM feels appropriate.

66-100% Mystical Pool--Enchanted: Roll on the appropriate tables below to determine the appearance, rate of change, and nature of the enchanted pool.

Enchanted Pools
Characters drinking from, or submerging/swimming/bathing/entering the enchanted pool may experience any of the following effects, as determined by rolling and checking the table. A particular pool may only affect a specific character only once.


Enchanted Pool Appearance Table I
01-50%: Waters appear entirely normal
51-100%: Waters have some kind of unusual appearance and motif effect reflecting the nature of the enchanted pool.

Enchanted Pool Rate of Change Table II
01-30%: The specific type of enchanted pool is fixed and unchanging.
31-60%: The specific type of enchanted pool has different effects and changes type for each individual character. The Enchanted Pool Effect is randomly determined for each individual character.
61-65%: The specific type of enchanted pool changes in appearance and type every hour.
66-70%: The specific type of enchanted pool changes in appearance and type every four hours.
71-72%: The specific type of enchanted pool changes in appearance and type every 12 hours.
73-74%: The specific type of enchanted pool changes in appearance and type every 24 hours, at a specific time. (E.g. Changes at dawn, sunset, noon, or midnight)
75-76%: The specific type of enchanted pool changes in appearance and type every 3 Days, at a specific time. (E.g. Changes at dawn, sunset, noon, or midnight)
77-78%: The specific type of enchanted pool changes in appearance and type every 10 Days, at a specific time. (E.g. Changes at dawn, sunset, noon, or midnight)
79-80%: The specific type of enchanted pool changes in appearance and type every 30 Days, at a specific time. (E.g. Changes at dawn, sunset, noon, or midnight)
81-100%: The specific type of enchanted pool changes in appearance and type every year, at a specific day and time. (E.g. Changes at the Winter Solstice, or the Spring Solstice, etc.)


Type of Enchanted Pool Table III
01-02%: Pool of the Exalted
03-04%: Pool of the Damned
05-06%: Pool of Teeth
07-08%: Pool of Transformation
09-10%: Pool of Savagery
11-15%: Pool of Aging
16-20%: Pool of Seasons
21-30%: Pool of Madness
31-40%: Pool of Transmutation
41-50%: Pool of Visions
51-60%: Pool of Animal Sentience
61-70%: Pool of Happy Fortune
71-80%: Pool of Dread Misfortune
81-85%: Pool of Chaos
86-90%: Pool of Youth
91-92%: Pool of the Strange Beast
93-94%: Pool of Mystery
95-96%: Pool of Rainbows
97-98%: Pool of Hunger
99-100%: Pool of Wishes

Enchanted Pool Effects Table IV

01-02: Pool of the Exalted: The character gains the Fortune Blessed Template.

03-04: Pool of the Damned: The character gains the Fortune Spurned Template.

05-06: Pool of Teeth: The pool shifts suddenly, as numerous beast heads emerge, and bite the character. The character gains some form of Lycanthropy, and gains a Lycanthropy Template.

07-08: Pool of Transformation: In mere moments, the character mysteriously changes into the opposite gender. The transformation is permanent, and can only be changed by some kind of magical means.

09-10: Pool of Savagery: The character gains the Primitive Template.

11-15: Pool of Aging: The character Retains their present memories, knowledge, skills, etc, but changes in outward appearance, and in comprehensive physical and mental condition, subject to any specific ability modifiers of the particular age. The character ages in years, and their current age is increased by 1d3 Age Categories. (Venerable, Old, Middle Age, Adulthood); The character's age is set within 1d6 years of the minimum required for the age category.

16-20: Pool of Seasons: The character gains the Seasonal Template.

21-30: Pool of Madness: The character gains 1d3 Insanities.

31-40: Pool of Transmutation: The character gains the knowledge of Transmutation; knowing that a quantity of a specific metal placed within the pool will transmutate it into some other form of metal, that is a permanent transformation. The character intuitively gains the knowledge that this property of transmutation will only last for an hour, before such ability will be lost. The character has an hour of time to place any amount of the particular base metal to be transmuted.
01-25: Copper into Silver
26-50: Silver into Gold
51-75: Gold into Platinum
76-100: Platinum into Mithril

41-50: Pool of Visions: The character gains the knowledge of, and temporary use of the spell Vision, usable 3/day, but must be used within 24 hours.

51-60: Pool of Animal Sentience: The character gains the knowledge and temporary use of the spell *Awaken* and may cast it on any animal desired, that is also in the magical pool. The character has 1 hour to use the *Awaken* spell on a selected animal.

61-70: Pool of Happy Fortune: Ability gain; the character is blessed by the hand of fate! The character gains 2 points in a randomly determined ability; roll a d6 to determine which ability gains the benefit. This occurs immediately, and is a permanent effect.

71-80: Pool of Dread Misfortune: Ability drain; the character is blasted by the cruel hand of fate! The character loses 2 points from a randomly determined ability; roll a d6 to determine which ability suffers the loss. This occurs immediately, and is permanent effect.

81-85: Pool of Chaos: The character gains 1d3 Chaos Mutations.

86-90: Pool of Youth: The character Retains their present memories, knowledge, skills, etc, but changes in outward appearance, and in comprehensive physical and mental condition, subject to any specific ability modifiers of the particular age. The character gains youthfulness, and their current age is reduced by 1d3 Age Categories. (Venerable, Old, Middle Age, Adulthood); The character's age is set within 1d6 years of the minimum required for the age category.

91-92: Pool of the Strange Beast: The character gains the Quadruped Template.

93-94: Pool of Mystery:
The character gains some kind of Mystical Blessing;
01-25: Holy Blessing: In a flash of bright, holy light and shimmering, radiant flames, the character is blessed by Righteous and Holy Gods with the Holy Template.
26-50: Elemental Blessing: The character is engulfed by a strange, swirling column of elemental power--either earth, water, fog and mist, or fire, and blessed by the Great Elemental Powers with the Elemental-Infusion Template.
51-75: Psychic Empowerment: The character is enshrouded in dense, swirling, blue, silver and white fog and blessed by some strange twist of fate and fortune, and gains the Psychic Template.
76-100: Unholy Blessing: In a flash of terrible darkness, and shifting purple flames, the character is blessed by the Dark Gods with the Unholy Template.

95-96: Pool of Rainbows: The character gains the Prismatic Template.

97-98: Pool of Hunger: The character gains the Ravenous Creature Template. This template brings with it a gradual alignment shift over the next four weeks, as the character begins to embrace the new, savage desires to eat and devour members of their own race.

99-100: Pool of Wishes: The character is blessed by fate, and gains the use and granting of 3wishes, as the spell. These wishes must be used within 1 hour.