D&D5e Research Downtime

Lore Research

You seek through tomes of lore and folios of letters, collections of journals and the scribbled notes of sages and scholars for some piece of important lore. Each Topic has a given DC - the more obscure the lore, the higher the DC. This DC is what it takes to simply know that fact using a normal Skill check. If no one knows it, then research is necessary. Researchers should add their full Skill bonus to this roll, with additional researchers adding only their Intelligence bonuses.

• Everyday Lore (DC 10): +15% • 1gp • 1 hour. Lore that even those without any real training are likely to know.
• Common Lore (DC 15): +10% • 1 gp • 1 hour. Common lore among those who are trained in the discipline in question.
• Uncommon Lore (DC 20): +0% • 10 gp • 1 day. Lore known most commonly to those with great knowledge in the discipline.
• Rare (DC 25): -10% • 25 gp • 1 day. Lore considered rare even among the sages of this discipline.
• Very Rare (DC 30): -20% • 50 gp • 3 days. Lore likely to be known only to those at the pinnacle of learning in this discipline.
• Legendary (DC 35): -30% • 100 gp • 5 days. Lore unlikely to be known by even the finest of sages, usually requiring extensive libraries and weeks of research to uncover.

d100	Result
10 or lower	Failed Research. Your research takes you down meandering paths and wrong turns. You suffer a -10 to your next Lore Research roll on this Topic.
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 Lore Research roll on this Topic.
31-55	Solid Progress. Your research is fruitful. If you are researching a DC 10 Topic, you succeed at finding your answer. If your goal is higher than that, gain a +15% to your next Lore Research roll on this Topic.
41-80	Marked Progress. If you are researching DC 15 Topic, you succeed at finding the answer. If your goal is higher than that, gain a +20% to your next roll.
66-95	Tremendous Progress. If you are researching a DC 20 Topic, you succeed at finding the answer. If your goal is higher than that, gain +25% to your next roll.
81-99	Breakthrough Progress. If you are researching a DC 25 Topic, you succeed at finding the answer. If your goal is higher than that, gain +30% to your next roll.
100-125	Masterful Progress. If you are researching a DC 30 Topic, you succeed at finding the answer. If your goal is higher than that, gain +35% to your next roll.
126+	Legendary Progress. You succeed at finding the answer you seek, even if you are researching a DC 35 Topic.

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%

Rare and Unique Spells

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

• 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.
• Unique 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.

Magic Items

• If the researcher actually has in his or her possession an example of a given magic item, reduce the research time at each roll by one step (one week becomes five days).
• Success on this roll results in the creation of a schema, or "formula" for creation of that kind of magic item.
  • Schema take up a number of pages, just like spells do, based on their rarity. Common items take up 1d4+1 pages, Uncommon take up 1d4+3, Rare take up 1d4+5, Very Rare take up 1d4+8, and Legendary take up 1d4+9.