More About Magical Item Research

Magical item research is discussed in detail on pages 84-88 of the Dungeon Master's Guide and needs little elaboration here. However, a few points are worth mentioning:

Laboratories: The laboratory requirements for researching magical items are different than those for researching spells. Spell research requires shelving, easels, writing tools, files, and similar supplies, while item research requires test tubes, beakers, burners, chemicals, and other equipment.

Consequently, a wizard who invested in a spell research laboratory will still need to buy equipment to research an item. For example, assume that a wizard just spent 5,000 gp on a laboratory for spell research, and now wants to research a new potion. The basic cost for an alchemical laboratory is 2,000 gp (see page 87 of the DMG). Since the 5,000 gp laboratory is useless for potion research, the wizard must spend 2,000 gp for alchemical equipment.

Libraries: Just as a wizard's spell research lab is relatively useless for item research, so is his spell research library. However, a sizeable library of magical tomes probably contains short-cuts, hints, and formulas that will help the wizard in his item research. At the DM's discretion, access to a sizeable library (say, with a value of at least 74,000 gp) can increase a wizard's chance of success by as much as 10 percent. Access to a library doesn't change the amount of time it takes to research and create an item, nor does it change the amount of money that must be spent.

Specialist Bonus: If a specialist is researching an item that duplicates an effect of a spell from his school, his chance of success can be increased by as much as 10 percent. If the DM uses this rule, he should also deny a specialist the chance to research an item that duplicates a spell effect from any of the specialist's oppositional schools. The researcher's school has no effect on the amount of research time required, nor does it affect the amount of money that must be spent.

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