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

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