I'm glad I have you something to think about!
I'm still not sure how to finish the manor if the mana doesn't recharge every day. I'm only on the first level and already lost so much mana. If the cards also multiply by the floor level, I'm not sure how to survive monsters that can destroy me in one or two turns. How often have you had to abandon a manor when you were play testing?
You can take the mana forge cantrip and generate mana from gold. Also there are cantrips to help your odds and you can also come up with advantages or disadvantages on the environment to reroll in your favor or the monster favor during combat.
For the items remember to roll 1d6 starting mana for each, that will get your mana pool a bit more stocked. But I will look into modifying the card rule so in case you get a high card and loose a roll it's not instant defeat at level 1. The idea of replenishing the items, personal and familiar mana at each days sounds plausible and more reliable, I think I'll add that in.
As for my gameplay, I think I've been lucky so far and haven't had these scenarios happen the several times I played
Ya, I wasn't super lucky with my starting rolls I think, I only got 18 starting mana. I even gave myself an extra magic item in game but it only went up to 20. Then I got a mana card, but the monster made me lose all of the card amount in one roll.
It's just a bit stressful when it's like. I want to just draw a little bit and have fun. I don't want to lose right away and re-do a character after just one floor. It's a bit different than if I lose at the fourth floor or something.
Thanks for the discussion, it helps a lot!
