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5e Homebrew

Ability Scores

* Modified: *

Method

  • Choose either the Standard Array (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8) and arrange as desired, or choose to roll (RAW, PHB p.13).
  • If choosing to roll, roll 4d6, drop the lowest, total the remaining three dice. Do this six times, and arrange as desired (RAW, PHB p.13).
  • (House Rule) If choosing to roll, you have 10 points to spend to increase any of the Ability Scores by steps (same as in 5e RAW Point-Buy; point cost = ability score bonus).
    • each step up to 13 (up to +1 Ability Score bonus): 1 point per increase
    • from 13 to 14 (+2 Ability Score bonus): 2 points
    • from 14 to 15 (+2 Ability Score bonus): 2 points
    • from 15 to 16 (+3 Ability Score bonus): 3 points
    • from 16 to 17 (+3 Ability Score bonus): 3 points
    • from 17 to 18 (+4 Ability Score bonus): 4 points
    • Can trade all 10 points for choice of a Feat
  • No single Ability Score can be higher than 18 at Level 1, including all bonuses from Ancestry, Culture, and Feats.

Thoughts on Game Design

I’d like to bring in an element of choosing between the known and the unknown, risk vs. reward as much as possible to this game. This is a modification to 5e RAW that incentivizes rolling for stats by giving up the known for a bigger payoff and a guaranteed bonus, regardless of rolls. The point-buy aspect is intended to compliment replacing Race with Ancestry, Culture, and Cultural Setting. This encourages a player to choose Ability Score bonuses that might reflect those given by a particular Ancestry, Culture, and Cultural Setting, or replace a typical Racial Ability Score bonus with a Feat to the same effect. In general, this will produce characters with slightly higher Ability Scores than the Standard Array or standard Point-Buy when combined with the Ancestry, Culture, and Cultural Setting rules.