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Creating a character is one of the most fundamental and fun parts of playingDungeons & Dragons, and that character’s ability points canbe gambled for or bought through the Point Buy system. There are three ways to determine your Ability Scores described in the officialPlayer Handbook, and it might be confusing if you are unsure which one to use. They also each havepros and cons, which will be discussed below.
Dungeons & Dragons 5eis the latest in a long-running RPG, in which you take on the role of fantasy characters to go on adventures, dive into dungeons, and fight any monsters you find along the way. There are now avast number of races and classes to choose from, and customization isnearly endless in terms of subclasses and backgrounds. With all that work, you maywant to guarantee your character gets the stats you wantin the places you want them.
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How To Build A 5e Character With Point Buy
Choosing The Best Stats
One of the ways you can do this is through the Point Buy system to get ability points. This system isusually more balanced than a dice roll will get you, but you still get to pick what stats you want to be higher. You also cannot get the low or high extremes that you can end up with by chance, so there is an advantage tonot having any extreme negative modifiers,as you cannot get lower than an 8 in any score. The disadvantage is that you cannot get higher than a 15 on the upper end.
The idea is that you have27 points by which to buy individual Ability Scores. That is not the total number of points you have but rather your currency by which to buy individual scores. This isbased on a cost that is determined in thePlayer Handbookand is listed in the table below:
8
0
9
1
10
2
11
3
12
4
13
5
14
7
15
With this system, you would use your points to buy each score. You can eitheraverage them out to have no negative modifiers or push them to extremes to have three very high and three very low. To have aRogue maximized for Sneak Attackswith high Charisma and Dexterity but low Wisdom and Strength, you could spend your points in the following manner:
This gives youhigh scores in theD&Dcore statsthat matter for your Classand average stats in the abilities that can matter since Constitution often ends up being how long your character survives. Rogues do not need much Strength as most of their weapons scale with Dexterity. Wisdom can be important to your Perception, but many times, there are other ways to bump this score, andIntelligence can determine Magic skills for Arcane Trickstersand help you solve puzzles inDungeons & Dragons.
If you do not plan on learning spells through Arcane Trickster, you can always switch Intelligence and Wisdom in this particular example.
Point Buy Vs. Standard Array
What Makes Them Different
The main advantage of the Point Buy system isbalance and having some agency in the matteras opposed to leaving it up to chance with dice rolls. However, there is also something called Standard Array that can provide many of the same benefits. It is also fairly balanced, but in that case,you cannot choose your Ability Scores.
The Standard Array is a fixed set of scores that cannot be changed. The scores are15, 14, 13, 12, 10, and 8, which in the Point Buy system would equal 27 points. So, there is no difference in power level, and players can choose to buy these scores instead. However, the flexibility of buying them yourselfoffers you the chance to boost extra skills if you do not mind letting others fall below 10.
With the Standard Array, you only have one 8, which is notableas it has a -1 modifier to all tests of this ability. You will have multiple negative modifiers if you buy your own and boost extra skills. It depends on how much you care about those stats, as you couldend up with three 15s and three 8swith the Point Buy system.
Either way, this is entirely your choice, but you will want to consider how yourRacial and Class perks will affect these scores. ThePlayer Handbookstates that you should select your Race and Class first, meaning you will know if you get extra bonuses in any skill.
If you know you may pick or that a particular skill will have a +1/+2, you can make the choice to give that score a 15 or 14 to increase the modifier, or leave it at8 knowing it will get to 10 and will not have a negative modifier.
It is alwaysbest to get Ability Scores to an even number if you can. This is because the modifier always gets higher on the even number.
To see the modifiers Ability Scores represent, look at the table below:
-5
2-3
-4
4-5
-3
6-7
-2
8-9
-1
10-11
12-13
+1
14-15
+2
16-17
+3
18-19
+4
20-21
+5
22-23
+6
24-25
+7
26-27
+8
28-29
+9
30
+10
Notably, Ability Scorescannot be leveled past 20 without a modification, trait, or rulethat allows it to be so. If you start with Point Buy or Standard Array, getting more than one score close to a 20 will be much more challenging simply by leveling up. Of course, if you want to be riskier, you can always roll for it.Rolling involves four d6 (six-sided dice) that you roll six times, keeping the total of the highest three dice each time.
This could mean starting with atotal as high as 18 but beginning with a 3if you roll poorly. This could work in your favor if you have many higher or even average rolls, as you may not end up with negative modifiers. However, you could also end up with many abysmal rolls, making yourD&D5e Class very hard to play.
Depending on your Dungeon Master (DM), you could gamble, and if it is particularly abysmal, you canchoose to use the Standard Array instead. Always check with your DM to see if they prefer which system you use. DM’s, such asWe Talk D&Don YouTube, believe the Point Buy system to be the best, particularly for newer players.
The pros and cons entirely depend on you. You could set your challenges and have a more balanced game with the Point Buy system or Standard Array, or youcould have powerful strengths and greater weaknesses for maximum character building. DM’s can also scale challenges to meet your needs at either extreme. It is entirely up to you as to how you use the Point Buy system inDungeons & Dragonsto get the Ability Scores you want.
