Cost of Research
Page 44 of the DMG gives a general range of costs for researching new spells (100-1,000 gp per spell level, plus 1,000-10,000 gp for a laboratory). Following is an alternate way to establish research costs. There are two categories of expenses required for research: the Basic Investment, and the Operational Cost. The Basic Investment is a one-time expenditure, representing the funds spent to buy the scrolls and books needed, as well as the funds necessary to assemble a suitable laboratory. The library costs for each spell level are summarized in Table 15. There are two ways a wizard can avoid the Basic Investment for a library.
- 1. The wizard already has a suitable library of his own (see the Wizard's Library section
below).
- 2. The wizard has access to a large library, such as those existing in major cities or in academies of magic. .
The Basic Investment for a laboratory is 1,000-6,000 (1d6 x 1000) gp. The DM determines the cost of the laboratory, either by rolling randomly or setting a specific price. As with the library, there are two ways a wizard can avoid paying the Basic Investment for a laboratory:
- 1. The wizard has purchased a laboratory previously. Once a wizard purchases a lab, it becomes a permanent part of his possessions. He never has to buy another one unless, of course, it blew up in a lab accident or is otherwise destroyed.
- 2. The wizard has access to a laboratory in a major city or at a magical academy. A city or academy that has a suitable library will usually have a suitable laboratory, but the decision
belongs to the DM. The DM might also require the wizard to pay a modest weekly rental fee--say, 20-120 (2d6 x 10) gp--for the use of the lab.
The Operational Cost is an ongoing expense necessary to sustain the research. The Operational Cost must be paid every week and mainly represents the price of additional books, supplies, and scrolls. The weekly Operational Cost is equal to 200-1,200 (2d6 x 100) gp. The DM determines the Operational Cost, either by rolling randomly or choosing a fixed price. There is no way for a wizard to avoid paying the weekly Operational Cost.
The Wizard's Library[]
Before a wizard can begin research on any spell, he must have a sizeable library of arcane books and scrolls. The size of the library is expressed in terms of its value. The value of the library necessary for each spell level is summarized in Table 15 GP Value Can Research
of Library Spells of This Level
2,000 1st
4,000 2nd 8,000 3rd 14,000 4th 22,000 5th 32,000 6th 44,000 7th 58,000 8th 74,000 9th
For instance, before a wizard can begin researching a 4th-level spell, he must have access to a library worth at least 14,000 gp. If he has no books at all in his library (perhaps because he has never researched a spell before), he must spend 14,000 gp on books before he can begin. If he has a library of lesser value (for instance, if his library is worth 4,000 gp), he must spend whatever money is necessary to increase the value of his library to the appropriate level. (If he has a 4,000 gp library, he must spend an additional 10,000 gp before he can research a 4thlevel spell.) For the most part, books that are suitable for research are hard to find. If a wizard is assembling his library prior to research, assume that it takes 5-10 (1d6 + 4) weeks of searching to locate 1,000 gp worth of books. Books can sometimes be purchased in the bookshops of any major city or from NPC book collectors. A fortunate wizard may stumble upon such books during his adventures and keep them as he would any other discovered treasure; these books, of course, don't cost him any money. The quest for a particular book can be the basis for an entire adventure. (The DM determines the value of any discovered books.) For the purposes of spell research, whether a library is of suitable size depends on its value, not its actual number of books. However, as a point of interest, assume that the cost of a single research book varies between 100-1,000 (1d10 x 100) gp. Therefore, a library suitable for researching 4th-level spells is valued at 14,000 gp and contains 14-140 books. Once a wizard has assembled a library of sufficient value, he can begin research, but he still must pay the weekly Operational Costs. The Operational Costs correspond to the purchase of additional books and supplies. Half these Operational Costs can be considered to be new tomes. Therefore, over the course of his research, the wizard's library will increase in value. For instance, assume that a wizard with a 14,000 gp library has a weekly Operational Cost of 400 gp to research a 4th-level spell. After he has researched for four weeks, he'll have spent a total of 1,600 gp in Operational Costs and his library will have increased in value 800 gp. (Buying books with Operational Cost funds is assumed to be part of the research process and requires no extra time.)
As his research progresses, a wizard can opt to spend more than the minimum amount of money required for his Operational Costs in order to buy additional books to increase his
chances of successfully researching his spell. The effects of these additional expenditures are explained in the Research Time and Chance of Success section below.
When a wizard spends money on library books, whether spent as part of the Basic
Investment or as Operational Costs, the books then become part of his permanent library. Therefore, once he has assembled a library valued at 14,000 gp, he will never need to make another Basic Investment in library books when he wants to research 4th-level spells. Once he has assembled a library valued at 74,000 gp, he can research spells of any level without ever making another Basic Investment in books. Clearly, a wizard's library is one of his most precious possessions. The prudent wizard will go to great lengths to keep his library safe and protected.
Initial Preparation After the Basic Investment is made (or avoided, if the wizard already owns or has access to
a suitable library), the wizard must spend preparation time before the actual research begins. This initial preparation involves basic reading and reviewing of notes; in addition, the wizard must prepare himself mentally and physically for the grueling task ahead. This initial preparation lasts a number of weeks equal to the level of the proposed spell, plus one. Therefore, a wizard attempting to research a 5th-level spell must spend six weeks in initial preparation
Research Time and Chance of Success[]
According to page 44 of the Dungeon Master's Guide, a wizard can check to see if he has successfully researched a spell after he has spent the minimum number of weeks required in research. The success check is the same as his chance for learning any new spell. Though this is a simple, straightforward method for checking success, it does not consider the researcher's experience level (a more experienced wizard would probably be more successful at researching spells than a less experienced wizard) or the level of the spell (a high-level spell would be more difficult to research than a lower-level spell). Nor does it consider any extra funds the wizard is willing to invest to increase his chances of success. Following is an alternate method of checking for research success. While more complicated, it produces results that the DM might find more realistic. The minimum amount of time needed to research a spell is two weeks per spell level; for instance, a minimum of eight weeks is required to research a 4th-level spell. During this time, the wizard is poring over old texts, cross-checking references, taking notes, and conducting experiments. It is essential that the wizard is free from interruption during his research. Since 10-12 hours per day of intensive study are required, a wizard engaged in research is precluded from participating in adventures or any other time-consuming activity. If a wizard's study is interrupted, the DM can rule that the research has suffered a set-back, requiring an additional amount of research time before success can be checked. While engaged in research, the wizard must pay the required Operational Cost every week. If he runs out of funds, he must interrupt his research to earn more money before he can resume. At the DM's discretion, this interruption might also require that the research time be lengthened If the wizard's research is interrupted for an extended period--say, a week or more--the DM might require the wizard to start his research all over again. When the minimum research period is over, the wizard can check to see if he has discovered his spell. If he fails to discover it, he can continue with his research and check again every week thereafter.
The following formula is used to check for a successful discovery:
Success chance = {10% (base chance) + researcher's Intelligence + researcher's experience level} -(level of spell being researched x 2)
As an example, assume that a 7th-level wizard with an Intelligence of 10 is researching a 3rd-level spell. His success chance is equal to 10 percent (base chance) + 10 (his Intelligence) + 7 (his experience level)-6 (the level of the spell, multiplied by 2). Therefore, his chance of success is 21 percent. If the DM rolls 21 or less on percentile dice, the wizard has learned the new spell and can add it to his spell books; the new spell is then treated like a normal spell for all purposes. If the wizard fails the check, he can continue his research and check for success again in another week. (Note that this chance of success is somewhat lower than it would be if the wizard were trying to learn an existing spell. But this is logical since the uncertain nature of a new spell makes learning more difficult.)
The wizard can increase his chance of success by spending more than the required amount of
money for his weekly Operational Costs. For every extra 2,000 gp he spends per week (this is in addition to his weekly Operational Costs), his base chance increases by 10 percent. The base chance of 10 percent can be increased to a maximum of 50 percent in this way (the wizard can spend as much as 8,000 extra gp per week). In our example above, if the wizard had spent an extra 8,000 gp, his chance of success would have been 61 percent (50 + 10 + 7-6). The extra expenditure applies to the current week only--if he wants to increase his chance again next week, he'll have to spend extra money again.
Researching Existing Spells[]
In addition to researching new spells, a wizard can research existing spells (those listed in the Player's Handbook and--if the DM allows them--the new spells from Chapter 8 of this book). Since it makes sense that information about existing spells is easier to find than information about spells that do not yet exist, it is easier for a wizard to research them. To account for this difference, make the following adjustments in the above procedures when a wizard is researching an existing spell: 1. The Operational Cost is reduced to 100-600 (1d6 x 100) gp per week. 2. The base chance of success is increased from 10 percent to 30 percent. The lab costs, library costs, preparation time, and minimum number of weeks for researching existing spells are the same as research of new spells. The cost of increasing the base chance is also the same (2,000 gp per 10 percent increase), as is the total amount that can be spent (8,000 gp). Notice, however, that spending the 8,000 gp maximum increases the base chance to 70 percent (20 points higher than the 50 percent limit when researching new spells.)
Limiting the Success Chance[]
Notice that a wizard's chance of successfully researching a spell could exceed 100 percent, particularly when a high-level wizard is researching an existing low-level spell. Although automatic success is certainly in the spirit of the game (according to Table 4 of the Player's Handbook, all wizards of 19th level and above have a 100 percent chance of learning new spells), some DMs might prefer to eliminate any chance of automatic success. If so, we suggest requiring that all wizards must roll for success, even if their calculated chance exceeds 100 percent; a roll of 95 or higher is treated as failure.
Magic Items[]
However, a few points are worth mentioning:
Laboratories: The laboratory requirements for researching magical items are different than those for researching spells. Spell research requires shelving, easels, writing tools, files, and similar supplies, while item research requires test tubes, beakers, burners, chemicals, and other equipment.
Consequently, a wizard who invested in a spell research laboratory will still need to buy
equipment to research an item. For example, assume that a wizard just spent 5,000 gp on a laboratory for spell research, and now wants to research a new potion. The basic cost for an alchemical laboratory is 2,000 gp (see page 87 of the DMG). Since the 5,000 gp laboratory is useless for potion research, the wizard must spend 2,000 gp for alchemical equipment.
Libraries: Just as a wizard's spell research lab is relatively useless for item research, so is his
spell research library. However, a sizeable library of magical tomes probably contains shortcuts, hints, and formulas that will help the wizard in his item research. At the DM's discretion, access to a sizeable library (say, with a value of at least 74,000 gp) can increase a wizard's chance of success by as much as 10 percent. Access to a library doesn't change the amount of time it takes to research and create an item, nor does it change the amount of money that must be spent.
Specialist Bonus: If a specialist is researching an item that duplicates an effect of a spell
from his school, his chance of success can be increased by as much as 10 percent. If the DM uses this rule, he should also deny a specialist the chance to research an item that duplicates a spell effect from any of the specialist's oppositional schools. The researcher's school has no effect on the amount of research time required, nor does it affect the amount of money that must be spent.