D&D 5E How does your group determine ability scores?

[Mannahnin]

Current 5E group is point-buy.

In my OD&D and OSE groups it's 3d6 down the line, DM may allow a re-roll for a really sad set.

In the 5TD campaign I am running I had the players use the book rules (humans 3d6 down the line but may swap any two, demi-humans get special methods) but required re-rolling if the total modifiers came out to a negative number. One downside is that I didn't love how it sometimes required multiple re-rolls. No one's had to make a new character for a while, so I haven't revised it. I may substitute the next option, the next time someone makes a human.

The latest version I quite like for old school is 3d6 down the line but you may "flip/mirror" the set, subtracting all values (in order) from 21. This gives you two options while only rolling once, and eliminates "hopeless" characters, as any terrible set can be an above average set.

 

[payn]

The theory is fair, the results aren't. Because Chaos is inherently unfair. That's the point of gambling.

Standard Array all day.

Right, I prefer the gambling to start once the character is created and the game has begun.

 

[Ath-kethin]

In 5e, we use the default array but then I give each player 3 points to put wherever they want. This method REPLACES racial ability score modifiers, which we do not use.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I chose standard array, but we do sometimes do custom arrays. We stopped rolling about 15 years ago

 

[delericho]

We've gone backwards and forwards over the years, with loads of different options tried and discarded. We never did find a method that works for us all.

The past three campaigns have used arrays - two used the standard array, while a third gave a choice of half a dozen for players to pick from. For our next campaign, we'll generate an array - each player will roll 4d6-drop-lowest once, moving round the table until a total of 6 scores are generated, and then everyone uses those. (We'll reroll if the stats are crazy good or crazy bad.)

 

[UngeheuerLich]

27 point buy of course. That and Std array are the only fair ways.

But those are also the most "boring" ways.

We use 3d6 drop lowest +4.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

In 5e, we use the default array but then I give each player 3 points to put wherever they want. This method REPLACES racial ability score modifiers, which we do not use.

Which is exactly how races going forward work.

 

[LadyElect]

Primarily point buy, offering the standard array for those that don’t care about doing or changing the math.

 

[ART!]

Mix of all three.

Per my group: we trust each other to be honest about our ability score generation, to the point that I honestly don't know how everyone does theirs. I will point-buy if I'm trying to engineer a character just-so, or roll if I want some wild results - or even roll the ability scores in order and just work with what I get.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Mix of all three. We trust people to be honest about their ability scores, whether they've gone with the basic array, rolled, or point-bought them. I tend to do the latter, myself - although sometimes I'll first roll a set of "4d6 and drop the lowest" to see if I get an especially good spread.

now this is why we stopped rolling. people would reroll and reroll and take the best... or in your case roll then if it isn't 'good enough' take the stats...