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Message: <blockquote data-quote="tetrasodium" data-source="post: 9130777" data-attributes="member: 93670">WRT that "they are always going to provide options for stat generation" I'm not sure 5e actually meets that bar of providing options or providing them to the GM. In the PHB it says [spoiler="this"]You generate your character's six ability scores  randomly. Roll four 6-sided dice and record the total ofthe highest three dice on a piece of scratch paper. Do this five more times, so that you have six numbers. If you want to save time or don’t like the idea of randomly determining ability scores, you can use the following scores instead: 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8.[/spoiler]It almost presents the roll stats as a curiosity that should be avoided then presents the "variant customizing" pointbuy showing how the default array is generated. In 4e you had pretty much the same three clearly differentiated as method 1 2 & 3, but there still aren't really options or variants that are going to meaningfully change the game or table dynamics all that much.The last time the GM had options more meaningful than choosing between 1+2=3 1+1+1=3 & 1.5*2=3   was in 3.5 where the PHB said[spoiler="this"]ability gives you a disadvantage on other die rolls. When creatingyour character, you roll your scores randomly, assign them to theabilities as you like, and raise and lower them according to thecharacter’s race. Later, you can increase them as your characteradvances in experience. ABILITY SCORESTo create an ability score for your character, roll four six-sided dice (4d6). Disregard the lowest die roll and total the three highest ones.  The result is a number between 3 (horrible) and 18 (tremendous).  The average ability score for the typical commoner is 10 or 11, but  your character is not typical. T<a href="https://anydice.com/program/e5e" target="_blank">he most common ability scores for player characters (PCs) are 12 and 13. (That’s right, the average player character is above average.)</a>Make this roll six times, recording each result on a piece of paper. Once you have six scores, assign each score to one of the six abilities. At this step, you need to know what kind of person your character is going to be, including his or her race and class, in order to know[/spoiler]Added the anydice link showing the math is basically true on paper if not in practice but the DMG provided.  By the PHB presenting the player with only an option that is likely to generate a lot of abilities in the 12-13 range it allowed the GM to present almost any of the other attribute generation options they want to allow from the DMG as a thing with at least some benefit a player can have warm fuzzies over when it's presented.[spoiler="these actual options"]ABILITY SCORESIn addition to the standard method for generating ability scores presented in the Player’s Handbook (roll 4d6, discard the lowest die, and arrange as desired), here are eight options you might want to consider using in your campaign.1. Standard Point Buy: All ability scores start at 8. Take 25 points to spread out among all abilities. For ability scores of 14 or lower, you buy additional points on a 1-for-1 basis. For ability scores higher than 14, it costs a little more (see the table below). This method allows for maximum customization, but you should expect each PC to have at least one really good score.Ability Score Point CostsAbility Point Ability PointScore Cost Score Cost9 1 14 610 2 15 811 3 16 1012 4 17 1313 5 18 162. Nonstandard Point Buy: Use the standard point buy method, except that the player has fewer or more points for buying scores, as shown on the table below.Type of Campaign Points AllowedLow-powered campaign 15 pointsChallenging campaign 22 pointsTougher campaign 28 pointsHigh-powered campaign 32 points3. Elite Array: Use the following scores, arranged as desired: 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, and 8. These numbers (assuming they’re assigned to abilities in an appropriate way) produce characters with at least a decent score in every ability that’s important to the character’s class. This method is faster than the standard point buy method and is good for creating characters quickly. In fact, it’s the method we used to generate ability scores for the sample NPCs in Chapter 4 of this book.4. The Floating Reroll: Roll 4d6 six times, discarding the lowest die each time. Once during this process, the player can reroll the lowest die instead. Arrange scores as desired. This method results in slightly better characters than the standard Player’s Handbook method does, allowing players to either improve a particularly bad score or try to get a very good score. For example, if the player rolled 4d6 and got resultsof 1, 2, 6, and 6 for a score of 14, she might choose toreroll the 1 to see if she could improve the score(and possibly even get an 18 if the reroll came up 6).5. Organic Characters: Roll 4d6 six times, discarding the lowest die each time. Place in order (Str, Dex,Con, Int, Wis, Cha) as rolled. Reroll any one abilityscore of your choice, taking the new roll if it’shigher. Then switch any two ability scores. This method allows some choice but doesn’t let a player have all her ability scores exactly where she wants them. A character might have to learn to cope with unwanted clumsiness (just as in real life), or she may have a personal talent that isn’t usual for a member of her class (such as a high Strength score for a sorcerer).6. Customized Average Characters: Roll 3d6 six times and arrange scores as desired. This method produces characters more like average people but still allows customization. The player may reroll all scores if his ability modifiers total –3 or lower, or if he doesn’t have any score of 12 or higher.7. Random Average Characters: Roll 3d6 six times and place in order (Str, Dex, Con, Int, Wis, Cha). This is the strictest method. It frequently generates virtually unplayable characters, but it makes high scores very special. The player may reroll all scores if her ability modifiers total –3 or lower, or if she doesn’t have any score of 12 or higher.8. High-Powered Characters: Roll 5d6 six times, discarding the two lowest dice each time. Arrange as desired. This is just right for a high-powered game where the characters need to be really good just to survive. The player may reroll all scores if his ability modifiers don’t total at least +2 or if he doesn’t have at least one score of 15 or higher.[/spoiler]Those various options had a meaningful impact on how playing the game felt & how much room the GM was provided to provide bonuses (ie magic items) without needing to rebalance to the desired feel they were going for. I'm not sure if 4e had actual options somewhere but the 4ephb & 4edmg seem to match 5e here where almost any change from the GM is almost certain to either break the game somehow from overly strong PCs or be an obvious nerf that faces strong resistance.I think that is a good example because it's so foundational and purely mechanical that it avoids getting bogged down in details of play that complicate other examples like the rest variants in the dmg where the gm had a high hurdle and players are given every reason to resist.</blockquote>

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