I was asked to read someone’s write up about their rules for AD&D spell research.

Personally, I’ve never had this come up in my campaign. I’ve thought about doing it as a player, but there is always so much going on, there is no time to stop.

The character who does spell research takes themselves out of the XP pipeline, plus has to spend a lot of time and wealth to have a chance at figuring out a new spell.

The older I get the more simplicity I want in RPGs, both as a player and as a GM. Long, complex rules, with multiple variables to add or subtract to get a chance of success.

I think I’ve got a short and simple way to do this.

Bare Bones Version:

Use the percentage to know spell from Intelligence Table II for the target roll required. For clerics and druids, use Intelligence Table II, but use the Wisdom score to get the target number to roll.

Make the cost 1,000 gp per level of the spell per week.

Roll a d6 plus spell level for number of weeks of research required. This gives each level of spell a variable amount of time to crack the secrets of magic.

On success, maybe even on failure, I’d give them XP for the learning experience this was. It might not make up for the amount of treasure and XP they would have gotten on that adventure they missed, but they are not “frozen in time” for XP purposes.

“Complex” Version:

Similar to the above, but require a research library of 1,000 to 2,000 gp per spell level. If your players are rolling in wealth, make it 2,000 gp or more per spell level.

Modify the weekly cost. I’d have the weekly cost be 500 gp per spell level per week with the addition of a research library. Or if players rolling in wealth, make it 1,000 to 2,000 gp per week.

For really powerful spells, especially for combat or some sort of invulnerability, I’d make them have to quest for information that is rare, like only one known book in a lost library. Of course, it would have to fit the campaign and the interest of the players.

What’s The Goal?

My goal is rules simple enough to keep track in my head, plus simple enough to give the players an explanation so they know all they need to know without the GM doing side calculations on variables the player’s don’t know about.

It sucks enough to miss a roll to learn a spell. I really wouldn’t want to be a player sacrificing XP, treasure, and time only to fail. Thus I’d give XP for the coin spent on both success and failure. This might encourage the player to try again.

Of course, characters with higher ability scores, intelligence for magic-users and illusionists and wisdom for clerics and druids, will have a greater chance of success, just as with learning new spells.

If they succeed, they get to name the spell. Perhaps in a future campaign several decades or a few centuries from now, new PCs will come across a scroll or a spell book with some strange new spell. The Players will just eat that up.