Rolling for Greatness: Different Ways to Generate Ability Scores in D&D 5e

One of the first decisions you'll make when creating a Dungeons & Dragons character is how to generate your ability scores. These six numbers—Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma—help define what your character is good at, what they're terrible at, and often lead to some of the most memorable moments in a campaign.

While D&D 5e provides some standard methods, there are plenty of alternatives. Some create heroic adventurers, some create hilariously flawed disasters, and some land somewhere in between. Here are a variety of methods you can try in your next campaign.

Method 1: The Classic 5e Method

Roll four six-sided dice (4d6) six times. For each roll, discard the lowest die and add together the remaining three. Record all six results and assign them to your abilities however you like.  This is the standard D&D 5e method and strikes a nice balance between randomness and player choice.

Method 1a: Heroic Mode: Use the same method, but roll eight or more scores and keep only the best six.  This tends to create stronger characters and gives players a better chance of getting at least one impressive stat.

Method 2: Old School Survival Mode

Roll three six-sided dice (3d6) and assign the total directly to Strength. Repeat for Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma—in that exact order.

This was common in early editions of D&D and can produce some wonderfully terrible characters. Most scores end up between 9 and 12, and you'll often find that your character concept is dictated by the dice rather than your imagination.

The upside? These characters are fast to create and surprisingly fun to play because they're usually far from perfect. They're also ideal for campaigns where character mortality is expected.

Method 2a: Old School, But Friendlier: Use the same 3d6 rolls, but allow players to assign the results wherever they want.  You still get the lower-powered feel of classic D&D while giving players more control over their class choice.

Method 3: Best of Two

Roll 3d6 twice for each ability score and keep whichever result you prefer. Repeat for all six abilities. This dramatically reduces the chance of truly awful stats while keeping the excitement of rolling dice. Most characters will end up fairly competent across the board.

Method 4: Pick the Best Six

Roll 3d6 twelve times and write down all twelve totals. Choose any six of them and assign them to your abilities. This method gives players lots of flexibility while still keeping the randomness that many groups enjoy.

Method 5: The Reliable Hero

Roll 2d6 and add 6 (2d6+6) six times. This creates scores ranging from 8 to 18, with most results clustering around the middle. Characters tend to be competent without becoming overpowered.

Method 6: Extra-Powerful Rolling

Roll five six-sided dice (5d6) six times. Discard the lowest two dice from each roll and add the remaining three together.

This is essentially a supercharged version of the standard 5e method and will produce very powerful characters. If your campaign is intended to feel heroic from the start, this can be a fun option.

Method 7: Point Buy

Point Buy removes randomness entirely. Start with the following scores: 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8. You then spend points to customize your character's abilities. Increasing lower scores is inexpensive, while raising higher scores costs more. Standard Point Buy in 5e uses 27 points and caps abilities at 15 before racial bonuses.  This method creates balanced characters and ensures everyone starts on roughly equal footing.

Method 7a - Expanded Point Buy: Allow scores above 15, charging 2 or 3 points per additional increase. This gives players more flexibility and lets them create true specialists.

Method 8: Standard Array

The simplest option of all. Assign the following numbers however you wish: 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8.  No rolling, no math, no surprises.  This is often the best method for new players because everyone starts with a solid character and can jump straight into the game.

Method 8a - Custom Arrays:  The Dungeon Master creates their own fixed array.  One example: 17, 15, 13, 10, 9, 7.  This allows the DM to control the overall power level of the campaign while still keeping things simple.

Method 8b - Total Score Allocation: The standard array totals 72 points. Instead of using fixed numbers, players may assign any values they like as long as all six ability scores add up to 72. This can create some wonderfully bizarre characters. Want to play someone with incredible physical abilities but absolutely no common sense? 18, 18, 18, 6, 6, 6? Go for it.  This method isn't particularly balanced, but it can be a lot of fun.

Optional House Rules

A simple tweak that can make almost any rolling method feel more generous:  Whenever you roll a 1, reroll it.  This slightly boosts average scores and helps reduce those heartbreaking moments when a promising character concept starts with a string of terrible rolls.  Another option is when using any of the rolling methods above, then give each player a small pool of bonus points to distribute among their ability scores. Anywhere between 2 and 5 bonus points works well for many groups and helps ensure every character has at least one standout ability.

Which Method Is Best?

There isn't really a "best" method—only the one that best suits your group.

* Want balanced characters? Use Point Buy or Standard Array.

* Want classic old-school adventurers? Try 3d6 in order.

* Want powerful heroes? Use 4d6 and keep the best six, or even 5d6 drop the lowest two.

* Want hilarious chaos? Try the total-score allocation method and watch someone build an adventurer with three 18s and the survival instincts of a turnip.

The most important thing is that everyone at the table agrees on the method and has fun with the results.  After all, some of the most memorable D&D characters aren't the strongest ones—they're the deeply flawed heroes who somehow survive despite every statistical reason suggesting otherwise.

A Couple of Fun Character Generators Worth Checking Out

If you'd rather jump straight into a character or need inspiration for NPCs, these tools are worth a look.  These are not as splashy as D&D Beyond or maybe a couple of other sites, but they are a bit different:

Tetra Cube Character Generator

https://tetra-cube.com/dnd/dnd-char-gen.html

This generator focuses on creating fun random character details and backstory elements. It doesn't generate ability scores, but it does provide personality traits, life events, and even a character image. Great for campaign inspiration when you're stuck for ideas.

Fast Character

https://www.fastcharacter.com

A fantastic tool for quickly generating complete characters. It can create ability scores, names, classes, backgrounds, traits, and even export everything as a character sheet. You can customize as much—or as little—as you like. It's also excellent for creating NPCs on the fly.