>Is this a bug or by design?

It's by design.

>Poultice does not take mana if you fail to place it. A 40 mana
>hit when a skill fails is brutal on a defender, especially a
>low int, not high mana, defender. If this is by design,
>perhaps make it half mana cost like lost concentration on
>spells, because right now, defenders spend hours upon hours
>sleeping. I have spent 120 mana for three failed bandages in a
>row and I'm screwed for 8 hours. Please make the defender have
>more awake time and less continually sleeping.

Poultice has been fixed to take the mana on failure now as well.