Research

Research uses the same set of rules as downtime professions, with the “cost” representing the depth of knowledge and difficulty needed to answer the question. Once a gp value equal to the cost of the research problem has been reached, the research is finished, any excess gold is lost and cannot be converted to other projects.

Cost: 10 gp × [monster hit dice]; skill: Knowledge (X), where X is based on monster type.
If you wish to find Dragonhide to craft armor, consult the SRD entry on Dragonhide to determine how large the dragon you need to kill is.

Cost: 15 gp × [monster hit dice]; skill: Knowledge (X), where X is based on monster type

Cost: 10 gp × [AEL of map region]; skill: Knowledge (Geography)

Cost: 10 gp × [AEL of map region]; skill: Knowledge (History), Knowledge (Architecture & Engineering) or Knowledge (Nobility)

Cost equal to 1/20th ritual cost; skill: Knowledge (Arcana) or Knowledge (Religion) as appropriate

Cost equal to 1/20th of the “nonlegacy game statistics” price; skill Knowledge (History), or other as appropriate to the item

Cost equal to 1/20th price of magic item, must be added to dungeon/site/wonder research of an appropriate ECL for the item, skill: same as related site research
Example: Player wants to find a specific scroll of a level 2 spell (cost: 150gp), so the player researches a dungeon of AEL 1 (this is allowed since an AEL 1 dungeon encounter could drop a level 2 scroll as loot) with cost 1 * 15 gp = 15 gp. The total cost is 15gp + 1/20 (150gp) = 22.5 gp. The skill used may be Knowledge (History), or the DM may rule for example that Knowledge (Nature) may be used because the scroll relates to nature.

Cost equal to 1/20th the value of the material.

The ECL of the expedition will always match the PC who is recovering the material, and will contain additional rewards at the discretion of the DM who is running the expedition. The party will usually recover more of the particular material, with the amount depending on the ECL of the expedition. The party will never recover less of the material than they set out to find, so long as they successfully complete the expedition. Note that a crafter only needs 1/3rd of the value of the finished product in raw materials to craft an item made using those materials. For example, a crafter would need 1,005 gp worth of Adamantine to craft an Adamantine Longsword, since an Adamantine Longsword is worth 3,015 gp. Also note that excess material is a trade good and would thus be sold at base price (though player characters may wish to buy it for higher than base price due to the scarcity).

Certain actions using Gather Information in Barrow's Maw may also be taken:

Cost: 10 gp × [Obscurity]²

Cost equal to one quarter the cost of the research check in question

¾ of gp progress made on a find rumor check may be added to research progression once per research question