[color:"orange"]give starting mages a mana boost of several hundred[/color]
Not exactly what you are suggesting, but there is a mana charm that can be found after going through the portal on the maze level of act 1 which will give a 100 mana boost when placed in a charmable item.
Yes, but that's not nearly enough IMO, the spell damage is too low and 100 mana is 1 or 2 casts only. I think a spellcaster needs 10 times that much mana available, or a vastly higher refresh rate, to be played in the first act...actually from my experience you can't really play as a dedicated spellcaster until the third act.
