D&D5e Downtime

Magical Research

You engage in extensive research, experimenting with any number of magical principles and theories in an attempt to expand your understanding of the Art. You must choose what you are seeking to research, whether a new spell or the formula of a new magic item. The level of the item being researched imposes a modifier to this roll. In order to research a formula, a researcher must be of the level needed to either learn the spell or create the magic item. Each research roll also costs a base amount to even make the roll at all, though this cost can be modified by the result gained. The researcher adds his total Arcana, Nature, or Religion bonus to these rolls, depending on the item or spell in question.

• Spells:
  • Cantrip (+15 to roll, 1gp and 1 day per roll)
  • 1st Level (+10 to roll, 10gp and 1 week per roll)
  • 2nd or 3rd Level (+0 to roll, 25gp and 1 week per roll)
  • 4th or 5th Level (-10 to roll, 50gp and 2 weeks per roll)
  • 6th or 7th Level (-20 to roll, 100gp and 1 month per roll)
  • 8th or 9th Level (-30 to roll, 500gp and 1 season per roll)
• Magic Items:
  • Common (+10 to roll, 10gp and 1 week per roll)
  • Uncommon (+0 to roll, 25gp and 1 week per roll)
  • Rare (-10 to roll, 50gp and 2 weeks per roll)
  • Very Rare (-20 to roll, 100gp and 1 month per roll)
  • Legendary (-30 to roll, 500gp and 1 season per roll)

d100	Result
01 or lower	Magical Disaster. Your experiments have gone terribly awry, and you have accidentally laid a curse of other lingering malignant effect on yourself or something you treasure. Research expenses are doubled for this Research roll.
02-10	Failed Research. Your research takes you down meandering paths and wrong turns. You suffer a -10 to your next Magical Research roll, and the cost of this Research roll is half-again as expensive.
11-20	No Progress. Your research takes you nowhere useful.
21-45	Simple Progress. You're getting somewhere and quickly. Gain a +10 to the next Research roll.
31-55	Solid Progress. Your research is fruitful. Gain a +15 to your next Research roll.
41-80	Marked Progress. If you are researching a Cantrip or 1st Level spell, or a Common or Uncommon magic item, you succeed at finding the formula. If your goal is higher than that, reduce the cost of this Research roll by 10%, and gain a +15 to your next roll.
66-95	Tremendous Progress. If you are researching a spell of 4th Level or lower, or a magic item of Rare quality or lower, you succeed at finding the formula. If your goal is higher than that, reduce the cost of this Research roll by 10%, and gain +25 to your next roll.
81-99	Breakthrough Progress. If you are researching a spell of 6th Level or lower, or a magic item of Very Rare quality or lower, you succeed at finding the formula. If your goal is higher than that, reduce the cost of this Research roll by 25%, and gain +25 to your next roll.
100-125	Masterful Progress. If you are researching a spell of 8th Level or lower, or a magic item of Very Rare quality or lower, you succeed at finding the formula. If your goal is higher than that, reduce the cost of this Research roll by 25%, and gain +35 to your next roll.
126+	Legendary Progress. You succeed at finding the formula you seek, no matter its complexity. Reduce the cost of this Research roll by 50%

Unique Spells

The above mechanics assume that the spells being researched are common spells.

• Personal/Rare Spells: If creating a spell that is unique to a character or organization, or simply rarely discovered or heard of, research rolls gain a -20 penalty to the research roll, reducing the penalty by 5 for every spell level the target spell is below the highest the researcher can cast.
• New Spells: Creating a spell entirely from nothing, based entirely on the researcher's own innovation, is a -30 penalty, reduced by 5 for every spell level the target spell is below the highest the researcher can cast. Additionally, move the time each research roll takes up one step.