September 2006
This page provides revised rules for spell memorization. If I recall correctly, I based this upon an article inDragon Magazine.
Spell Memorization
By the book, spells require 15 minutes per spell level to memorize, following a rest period. This is for all classes and sounds reasonable, as it typically takes a 1st level a mere 15 minutes to memorize their one spell.
However, as the character rises in level, the time required grows at an ever increasing rate. A 9th level cleric takes 8.5 hours to re-memorize all spells. In game terms, this adds a full day to between when a party may leave a dungeon to recuperate and when they may re-enter the dungeon. Personally, that bogs the adventure down, especially in higher level campaigns, as teh following table demonstrates.
Table #A5 – Cleric Memorization Times
| Level | Hours |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.25 |
| 5 | 3.00 |
| 9 | 8.50 |
| 13 | 18.50 |
An alternate is to enable high intelligence/wisdom to reduce the time required. The time per level decreases with increasing intelligence/wisdom to a minimum of 5 minutes per spell level for those with an intelligence/wisdom of 19 or higher. Spell casters cannot have an intelligence/wisdom less than 9 so 15 minutes is the maximum time required.
Table A6 lists the times by Intelligence/Wisdom.
Table #A6 — Spell Memorization Time
| Intelligence or Wisdom | Time (minutes) |
|---|---|
| 9 | 15 |
| 10 | 14 |
| 11 | 13 |
| 12 | 12 |
| 13 | 11 |
| 14 | 10 |
| 15 | 9 |
| 16 | 8 |
| 17 | 7 |
| 18 | 6 |
| 19 | 5 |
A cleric with a wisdom of 18 has greatly reduce memorization times.
Table #A7 – Revised Cleric Memorization Times
| Level | Hours |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.10 |
| 5 | 1.20 |
| 9 | 3.40 |
| 13 | 7.40 |