Ability Score Rolling Redux (5e Variant Rule)

Ability Score Rolling Redux

So the normal range for ability scores when you roll for them with the rules of the 5e PHB is 3-18. If you want a higher but still "fair" (insofar as random can ever be fair when compared to point buy) and random system for your players rolling ability scores for their characters, I've got you covered. Roll 7d4 and take the highest 5 for each score. This gives you a new random range of 5-20, leaving a small window to have a powerful character or a very weak one, but not quite as weak as a 3 ability score would give. The standard system for rolling gives an average stat of 12.245; this method provides 14.850. You can simply roll 4d6 keep the 3 highest and 2 for the same range if you want an average of 14.245.

DM Note: It's worth noting that a low level party usually doesn't get a 20 ability score without building the character specifically to do so, so it leaves room for more powerful characters (if slightly); and since 20's the highest natural maximum, it means that a character that starts with this score couldn't improve in that area, so keep this in mind. It may not be viable for long running games, but might be well suited to shorter ones where the opportunities to improve your characters are rarer or even non-existent (as is the case with one-offs).

Other Ways to Roll

For the table below, roll the listed number of rolled dice (of sides equal to the displayed number of sides), keep the highest dice of the listed quantity, and add the listed modifier for a range with the listed average, minimum, and maximum. The original way from the PHB is included in the table, for reference. All of these methods ensure the average roll never strays too far from the standard average, but gives you some control over minima and maxima, if you want to constrain them.

Average	Minimum	Maximum	Rolled Dice	Kept Dice	Sides	Added Modifier
12.245	3	18	4	3	6	0
12.150	6	15	2	1	10	5
12.158	4	16	6	4	4	0
12.230	5	17	5	4	4	1
12.344	5	15	4	2	6	3
12.479	4	15	3	1	12	3
12.486	5	16	2	1	12	4
12.5	5	20	5	5	4	0

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