Spell Research (CWH)

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If the DM is using the optional rules for spell components (page 44 of the Dungeon Master's Guide), the components for the proposed spell should be established before the research begins. If the spell is of a relatively low level, the components should be fairly simple, but higher-level spells might require unusually obscure components, such as the cloak of a spectre, the freshly-clipped toenail of a troll, or a handful of dust from the Abyss. (The quest for a needed component makes for an excellent adventure springboard.)  In any case, the wizard must have all necessary components in hand before he can begin his research
==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.
# The wizard already has a suitable library of his own (see the Wizard's Library section below).          
# The wizard has access to a large library, such as those existing in major cities or in academies of magic. (The DM decides if a library of acceptable size is available to the wizard).
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:
# 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.
# 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 
 Table 15: Library Values Necessary for Spell Research
GP Valueof Library	Can ResearchSpells of ThisLevel
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 4th-level 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
==Example of Research==
Following is a step-by-step example of spell research. In this example, an 8th-level wizard with an Intelligence of 12 is attempting to research a 3rd-level spell. This is his first attempt at researching a spell. He has no library or laboratory, but he has plenty of money. The DM has decided that no special components are necessary to research this spell.
# The wizard has no lab, so the DM determines that the wizard must spend 1,000 gp to establish a suitable lab.     
# The wizard has no library, so he spends 8,000 gp over the next eight weeks locating the appropriate books. (The wizard must have an 8,000 gp library to research a 3rd-level spell.)
# The DM establishes the Operating Costs to research this spell at 500 gp per week.
# The wizard spends four weeks of preparation time before beginning his research. (The preparation time is the number of weeks equal to the level of the spell plus 1.)
# The wizard begins his research. He spends six consecutive, uninterrupted weeks in research, the minimum number required to research a 3rd-level spell. During this period, he invests 3,000 gp in Operating Costs (500 gp for six weeks).  At the end of six weeks, he's ready to check whether his research has been successful. Note that the value of his library has grown to 9,500 gp during this period.
# The DM determines that the wizard's chance of success is equal to 10 (the base chance) + 12 (the wizard's Intelligence) + 8 (the wizard's level)-6 (the level of the spell, multiplied by 2), which is 24 percent. The DM rolls percentile dice, and the result is 66. The check fails. (If the wizard gives up at this point, he won't be able to learn the proposed spell unless he starts from scratch at some point in the future; in the meantime, he can console himself with the fact that he has acquired a nice library.)
# The wizard continues his research for another week. He spends the required 500 gp for his Operating Costs, but also spends an additional 4,000 gp to raise his success chance by 20 percent (the cost is 2,000 gp per 10 percent boost). The increased investment affects the percentage chance for this week only.
# At the end of the week, the DM checks again to see if the wizard has been successful. This time, the wizard's chance of success is 44 percent (the 20 percent increase represents the additional investment of 4,000 gp). The roll is 34, so the wizard is successful—he can add the new spell to his spell book.
If the check had failed again, the wizard could continue the research for as many weeks as he is willing, until either his patience or his money run out. He must pay the Operational Costs each week.