D&D 5E (2014) Is Point Buy Balanced?

[TwoSix]

If you care enough for an actual numerical evaluation of how many PB options conform to this setup, I can do so. Generating the total number of valid PB slates will be a slight pain, but not too difficult.

There are only 65 valid 27-point arrays, so it shouldn't be too difficult to determine which ones match those rules. I'll take a quick look.

Edit: Of the 65 valid arrays, only 20 meet these rules.
1) No odd stats after racial/floating/background stat adjustments. Practically, this means either one odd stat in the array (for +2/+1) or three odd stats (for +1/+1/+1).
2) Highest stat is 16+ after stat adjustments.
3) Second highest stat is 14+ after stat adjustments.

14, 14, 12, 12, 11, 10
14, 14, 12, 12, 12, 9
14, 14, 13, 12, 10, 10
14, 14, 13, 12, 12, 8
15, 12, 12, 12, 12, 10
15, 13, 12, 12, 11, 10
15, 13, 12, 12, 12, 9
15, 13, 13, 12, 10, 10
15, 13, 13, 12, 12, 8
15, 14, 14, 10, 10, 8
15, 14, 14, 10, 9, 9
15, 14, 14, 11, 9, 8
15, 14, 14, 12, 8, 8
15, 15, 11, 10, 10, 10
15, 15, 12, 10, 10, 9
15, 15, 12, 11, 10, 8
15, 15, 12, 12, 9, 8
15, 15, 13, 10, 10, 8
15, 15, 13, 12, 8, 8
15, 15, 15, 8, 8, 8

 

[Horwath]

There are only 65 valid 27-point arrays, so it shouldn't be too difficult to determine which ones match those rules. I'll take a quick look.

Edit: Of the 65 valid arrays, only 20 meet these rules.
1) No odd stats after racial/floating/background stat adjustments. Practically, this means either one odd stat in the array (for +2/+1) or three odd stats (for +1/+1/+1).
2) Highest stat is 16+ after stat adjustments.
3) Second highest stat is 14+ after stat adjustments.

14, 14, 13, 12, 10, 10
14, 14, 13, 12, 12, 8
15, 13, 13, 12, 10, 10
15, 13, 13, 12, 12, 8
15, 14, 14, 10, 10, 8
15, 14, 14, 12, 8, 8
15, 15, 13, 10, 10, 8
15, 15, 13, 12, 8, 8
15, 15, 15, 8, 8, 8

great, but you should eliminate all options that waste +1/+2 increase on a stat lower than 13. As an advice at least.

 

[TwoSix]

There are only 65 valid 27-point arrays, so it shouldn't be too difficult to determine which ones match those rules. I'll take a quick look.

Edit: Of the 65 valid arrays, only 20 meet these rules.
1) No odd stats after racial/floating/background stat adjustments. Practically, this means either one odd stat in the array (for +2/+1) or three odd stats (for +1/+1/+1).
2) Highest stat is 16+ after stat adjustments.
3) Second highest stat is 14+ after stat adjustments.

14, 14, 12, 12, 11, 10
14, 14, 12, 12, 12, 9
14, 14, 13, 12, 10, 10
14, 14, 13, 12, 12, 8
15, 12, 12, 12, 12, 10
15, 13, 12, 12, 11, 10
15, 13, 12, 12, 12, 9
15, 13, 13, 12, 10, 10
15, 13, 13, 12, 12, 8
15, 14, 14, 10, 10, 8
15, 14, 14, 10, 9, 9
15, 14, 14, 11, 9, 8
15, 14, 14, 12, 8, 8
15, 15, 11, 10, 10, 10
15, 15, 12, 10, 10, 9
15, 15, 12, 11, 10, 8
15, 15, 12, 12, 9, 8
15, 15, 13, 10, 10, 8
15, 15, 13, 12, 8, 8
15, 15, 15, 8, 8, 8

Ironically, my actual preferred arrays doesn't follow the rules above; I prefer starting with a main stat 17 at level 1 so I can take a half-feat (or 2024 level 4+ feat) at level 4 to get to 18.

15,15,14,10,8,8 is my point buy go-to.