D&D 5e Houserule: Generating Ability Scores

d20 in order is so dumb. Any score under 3 is inhuman.

I know a lot of people have made their own methods of generating ability scores. This may shock you, but... I kind of... haven't. Not really. Basically, I use the method described in the 5e PHB with no restrictions. Every player can choose to roll, standard array, or point-buy. And that's about it! The only way I modified this, is I changed the standard array very slightly. I'll give you my standard array, and then I'll explain the reason for it.

18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6

I can already hear people groaning and shouting. Look at those numbers! Deprotagonizing DMs will be furious at the idea of giving the players an option to have a guaranteed 18. Optimizer players will be furious that their guaranteed 18 comes with 2 negative stats; one of them at -2. Why? Why would I want something with such a wide range?!

Generally, the core rules methods give higher option power methods less tangible power in the form of numbers, while less predictable methods, where the player has less control, have the potential to provide much more tangible power.

However, they goofed it in the standard array option.

Specifically, instead of providing higher tangible power than point-buy, they instead created an array which is within the capacity of the point buy system, but weighted on the high end of effectiveness. This adjustment provides the player with stats with mods ranging from +4 to -2, something unachievable with point-buy. It is more desirable than random stat generation, because it gives you actual control, but also forces you to have 3 "bad" attributes. It is more desirable than point buy, because you can get that +4 mod, guaranteed, right out the bat, but again you are forced to endure "bad" scores, which can be mitigated in point-buy. It gives real, meaningful, strategic build options for players.

Option 1: Take a gamble. 4d6k3 is weighted in your favor, but it isn't perfect. You could be unbelievably powerful, inconceivably weak, or anything in between.

Option 2: Take a set of guaranteed scores. It's a mixed bag of good and bad, but you know what you're going to get, and its highest and lowest scores are outside the range of the highest control option.

Option 3: Choose your scores, but you have a limited budget and a limited range. You can never have a score as high as the numbers the other 2 options can produce- but you also can't get scores as bad as the other 2 options.

Something I should note: If used in combination with my Body Types houserule, it is possible to generate a character with scores at 20 before score adjustments by race. That might seem crazy, but keep in mind: rolling dice has the potential to generate multiple 18s in the first place. The limit is still 20 regardless, and at the end of the day the numbers will never matter as much as the players think they do. It's all about the DCs the DM calls for, and when they make their calls.