How to Determine Starting Stats in D&D?

Starting a new campaign in D&D usually involves creating a new character and that means having their stats figured out. Character creation is something that usually means you get to express yourself creatively, but a standard rule of thumb is to have at least some level of interaction with your DM before going buck wild.

A huge part of this conversation is the starting stats. Your DM might have some other guidelines for you or specific restrictions, but stats aren’t usually something that they can influence.

What Are the Starting Stats in D&D?

Let’s get this sorted out first. Starting stats are numbers that you assign to your character’s attributes, and these numbers determine the modifiers for most dice rolls. In Dungeons and Dragons, attributes directly correlate to skill modifiers and, along with Proficiency, determine the number you add or detract from your dice roll.

A simple example is that if your Dexterity attribute is 15, your modifier would be +3, and if your Dungeon Master asked you to roll a Stealth check (a skill you are not proficient in) you would add 3 to whatever you rolled with a d20 die.

The most important thing to remember when picking your starting stats is that they are something that can be improved, especially if you’re starting from level one. However, it’s also fair to say that it’s hard to see major improvements, even if you are part of a “level one to level twenty” campaign, so choose your starting stats wisely. This means that if you use Intelligence as your dump stat at the start, you’re unlikely to ever even seem smart.

Another key aspect of figuring out your stats is to remember that there are bonuses that can be applied before starting, usually relating to the race of your character.

Since this specific post regards only Dungeons and Dragons, we won’t be discussing other role-playing games and their methods of using attributes in gameplay.

How to Determine the Stats When Creating a Character?

There are a few well-known and often-used methods of making sure character stats are balanced when starting a game. Sure, there’s a section of players that would love to start a game with the highest number for every attribute, but where’s the fun in that?

Most importantly, there has to be a balance when starting a game in order to give everyone at the table a fair chance of solving problems and having fun.

Usually, it is the DM’s job to make sure everyone applies the same way of distributing stats when creating their characters, but the way those stats are distributed is something that either DM decides or discusses with the group beforehand.

Let’s go over some standard ways of determining the starting stats when creating a character in D&D.

Standard Array

The name itself suggests this is something that’s often used and there is a good reason for it. The standard array consists of numbers 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, and 8. You use these numbers to decide your starting attributes and as things go, you usually assign them according to your character’s class and the way you want to play them.

When choosing a Rogue, it makes sense to use 15 for your Dexterity or 14 for your Charisma, but if you’re heavy into role-playing, you might want to make a clumsy rogue with a Dexterity score of 8. 

Likewise, a good Fighter would need Strength and Dexterity but can disregard Wisdom or Intelligence. Hey, their job is to fight, not think.

One of the best reasons to use a standard array in D&D 5e is because they are well balanced. You will find this method of distributing starting stats in the Player’s Handbook for a good reason – it’s something that’s been tried and tested for as long as D&D has been played.

Rolling for Stats in D&D 5e?

In previous versions of Dungeons and Dragons (like 2e or Pathfinder), rolling the dice has been a lot more often used way of determining starting stats. In fact, the 5th Edition Player’s Handbook does first present the idea of rolling for stats, but because it can seem complicated to a newbie, lots of people decide to go with a different method.

Allowing your entire game to be essentially dictated by a dice roll was off-putting for some players but added an extra level of fun through uncertainty. You never knew what kind of a spin you were going to get, and that made for a fun experience each time you rolled a new character. Of course, it’s not entirely rolling blind and dealing with what you have, but you sometimes might not end with a lot of wiggle room.

The most usual way stats are rolled in D&D 5e (and other editions, for that matter) is by rolling four six-sided dices and discarding the lowest one. Then, you add the numbers on the other three dice and write that number down. You do this six more times, and then you assign the numbers to your ability scores.

Let me give you an example.

I grabbed four d6s and rolled a 2, 4, 5, and 1. I will discard the lowest one (1) and will add the remaining ones – this gives me 11. Not good, not great, but not bad either. I will repeat this process five more times, and let’s say I get 5, 7, 14, and 15. Although these are pretty bad rolls, I could still make a worthy character, but it’s quite possible that other people at the table will have better starting stats and that just won’t be that fair, would it?

General fairness is also one of the key reasons why people go for the standard array but there’s also another option that some people like to use as well.

Before getting there, let’s mention a variant of rolling for stats. You can roll three six-sided dices and just add up those results, but that can put you in a really bad position. Imagine rolling three ones!

Given that playing Dungeons & Dragons online via tools like roll20.com or Discord has become somewhat common, it’s important to note that allowing your players to roll for stats can give room to some rotten eggs who consider D&D a game to be won and who might cheat to get better scores. Luckily, there are additional ways to keep your players in check with the aforementioned tools, but that can be time-consuming and boring for the other players.

Point Buy

This method of determining starting stats likens the D&D 5e to video games the most. Of course, point buy was a thing before 5e as well, and some other games use exclusively this method as a way to remain fair but also give players the most amounts of freedom.

The Player’s Handbook suggests using a total of 27 points to buy six different starting stats. The table below is from that book and shows the cost of each ability score point.

Some other sources will have the cost of points above 15 listed as follows: 16 costs 10, 17 costs 13, and 18 costs 18. However, I don’t like adding those options because they can easily be exploited, but you don’t have to be bound by the presumption of your players’ maliciousness.

The “point buy” system can also lead to some odd min-maxing, like having 3 sets of attributes at 8 and the other 3 at 15, but that’s a topic for another time.

Although the Player’s Handbook says to give your players 27 points, you can adjust that number depending on your players’ skill level, experience with the game, and your demands and wishes for the campaign.

Conclusion

The standard array is the simplest way to determine your starting stats while also remaining at roughly the same power level as the rest of the party. It’s in the best interest of everyone at the table that the party members remain at least somewhat balanced, and it is the duty of the Dungeon Master to make the way starting stats are determined crystal clear in session zero.