For OGL d20 System Games: The Pool of All

There are those among us who are virtual Immortals. They age slowly, and when they die--no matter what the circumstances--they are nearly instantly recreated in a new body. This post reveals where these men and women come from.

The text in this post is released under the Open Game License, and it may be reproduced in accordance with its terms. Copyright Steve Miller 2015.

THE POOL OF ALL
Located deep within the Halls of the Immortals--at a point that its Guardians claim is the exact center of Reality--this perfectly circular, 10-foot radius pool is filled with a swirling liquid that glows brightly with everchanging and bright colors. It is surrounded by a marble lip, with three steps leading up on the outside, and steps leading down and vanishing beneath the surface on the other.

Individuals deemed worthy, or those who fight their way here against the wishes of the Guardians, can submerge themselves in the pool. If they survive entering the strange and turbulent waters, they emerged, reborn and recreated, as one of the Immortals.

The Mechanics of the Pool of All
As the person enters the Pool of All, his or her body begins to tingle and a strange sense of dread forms in the back of his or her mind--a sense that continuing on will result in certain death. A Will save (DC15) is required to continue--and a failed save means the character leaps from the pool in panic and may not attempt to enter it again before he or she has gained a level.

Once the individual is fully submerged, all is quiet for a round. Then, a blinding burst of white light shoots upward from the pool. Moments later, a form bobs to the surface--the person who entered the pool, now recreated and reborn as one of the Immortals.

The character who entered the pool has gained the Immortal Template and has been recreated. Whatever gear or clothes he or she was wearing are gone forever, and he or she is a different person than before. Rolls should be made on the Recreation Tables to see how different the character is in this first of his or her many new lives. (See this post for details.)

Immortals and the Pool of All
Characters who already have the Immortal template and enter the Pool of All must roll a Fort save (DC22) in addition to the Will save mentioned above. If the Fort save is successful, they go through the transformation process and gain 2d6+1 lives. If the Fort save fails, the character emerges from the pool hideously scarred and crippled. Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution scores are all reduced by half their values before the character entered the pool (round down). The character is reduced to a single life, no matter how many he or she had before entering the pool.

The only way to undo this horrible fate is for the character to either gain more lives through the It's Never Over feat, and then die and be recreated, or to test their luck with the Pool of All again.  If any of the character's attributes are reduced to Zero, he or she is absorbed by the poor, dying a final and eternal death. No even a wish spell or the power of a god can restore the character to life.

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The content of this post has been revised and combined with additional material in Secrets of the Immortals. If you enjoyed the material here, consider buying a copy, as it will encourage us to create more.