Character creation is one of the best bits of Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition. There’s a reason so much of Artificial Twenty is devoted to it, it’s a delight. However, it can also be a daunting one, a lengthy process with many steps.

Most steps of the D&D 5e character creation process are fixed. You choose a race, a class, a subclass (depending on level), proficiencies, equipment, etc. with all the available options on the table. Outside of unique campaign or house rules, there’s no randomness.

There’s one bit of the game this isn’t true for:

D&D 5e stats, the fundamental building blocks of the character, are a Wild West. The base method the game recommends has plenty of randomness built in, and every table alive swears their preferred method is the best. It can be a lot to take in, particularly if you’re a new player or DM.

The Dungeon Master has the final say at most tables in how D&D character creation goes. However, it’s not an easy decision even for them. As a result, we’re going to discuss five of the best ways to roll up new characters in D&D 5e, complete with pros and cons.

Roll 4d6, Drop the Lowest, Assign At-Will

How Does Rolling 4d6 Work?

The classic. The reliable. The default way of creating D&D 5e stats.

This is the method Big Player’s Handbook wants you to use, and with good reason. The method is (fairly) simple. You roll 4d6, drop the lowest, and add the remaining three together.

For example, if you roll a 6, 4, 2, and 1, you get 12 (6+4+2, ignore the 1). That’s a D&D 5e ability score. Repeat this process five more times, and you’ve got six. Now, assign them to your character in whichever order you want.

Which ability scores to put where goes beyond this D&D 5e character creation guide. Luckily, the Player’s Handbook has some suggestions (e.g., Strength and Constitution for Barbarians, Dexterity for Rogues, Charisma for Sorcerers, etc.). If in doubt, revisit your character idea or ask your DM for help.

If you, as a D&D 5e DM, want to take it easy on your players, you can puff this method up slightly. One popular way is to roll 5d6 and drop two dice per ability score. Another is to roll seven stats and drop the lowest. You will need to adjust your campaign to match, however.

Other DMs, including Critical Role‘s Matthew Mercer, include minimum floors. If the total stats are below 70, or no one ability score is above a 13, it’s common to reroll.

Pros of Rolling 4d6 for D&D 5e Character Creation

• This way is random, but has safeguards. Players don’t know what they’ll have ahead of time and might have to make tough decisions, but they’re not totally at the mercy of poor rolls.
• It’s relatively straightforward and a fun way to ease new players into rolling D&D 5e dice.
• It’s a time-honoured classic. Very few players are going to mind.

Cons of Rolling 4d6 for D&D 5e Character Creation

• You are going to introduce variance in character power levels. Considering a D&D campaign often lasts years, this can be un-fun for the player who rolls sub-par stats.
• By sheer luck, your party as a whole might end up less or much more powerful than you expect, warping the campaign.
• Unfortunately, this is the character creation method most open to cheating. This can largely be avoided with good D&D 5e table etiquette However, someone can always fudge what they rolled – and monitoring every roll takes time.

Roll 4d6 Straight Down the Line

How Does Rolling Down the Line in D&D Work?

This is probably the most uncommon D&D 5e character creator method on this list. I’d be surprised if many tables use it at all, but it has potential (especially for a one-shot).

You create your character’s stats in the same way as rolling 4d6 above. However, you don’t assign them freely. Instead, you assign them to your character in the order you roll them. Strength, then Dexterity, then Constitution, etc.

The result is a character the player has to work with, rather than one they sculpt from scratch. It’s a bit more lifelike, in that we don’t get to choose every facet of our own existence either. This can be fun for your players, or it can be a total drag.

I’d definitely trial this way of generating D&D 5e stats in a one-shot first.

Even with the relative rarity of this method of character creation, there are a few variants. One is to let players swap two ability scores, but only those two. Another is to roll two or three sets of D&D stats like this per player and let them choose one.

Pros of 4d6 Down the Line for D&D Character Creation

• You’ll see unique and unusual statlines that more choice-driven methods discourage
• Players get to flex their creativity by trying to make their statblock work
• It gives an old-school feel without being as crushingly brutal as the memetic ‘roll 3d6 down the line’ of ancient horror stories

Cons of 4d6 Down the Line for D&D Character Creation

• Players who come to the game with a character in mind will almost certainly not get to play it – which may disappoint them
• Rolling poor Constitution is horrible for any class. No build really justifies having -1 (or worse) Constitution, and few trade-offs that make it worthwhile.
• If a player has to make a character they’re not very excited about, the campaign might drag. Alternatively, they’ll explore creative ways to die quickly.

Point Buy

How Does Point Buy Work in D&D?

The D&D 4d6 character creation method is as old as time (assuming time started in the 1970s). However, Point Buy is equally popular, particularly among players who want to leave things down to skill, not luck.

In D&D 5e point buy, all of your ability scores start at 8 (giving -1). You have 27 points to increase these values. Put them wherever you want. However, it’s increasingly expensive to push a score higher. Raising a D&D 5e stat to 10 costs 2 of your 27 points. Raising it to 15 costs 9.

You can’t raise an ability score higher than 15 with Point Buy in D&D 5e. Neither can you reduce it below the starting 8. However, your bonuses come after point buy. You add your +2, +1; +2, +1, +1; six +1s, or whatever else afterwards – allowing you to push your character’s ability scores up to 17.

Pros of D&D 5e Point Buy Character Creation

• It really is balanced. Nobody gets any more or fewer points than anyone else. Whether players go for an all-around build or focus on a few stats, they have the same options available.
• Many video games, particularly RPGs, use point buy. As a result, new players might well be familiar with the concept.
• Point Buy is flexible. Almost any D&D 5e character idea possible can be built, and balanced, using Point Buy.
• You can find a D&D 5e Point Buy calculator or guide online to help

Cons of D&D 5e Point Buy Character Creation

• It’s the most complex option. It adds time to a reasonably lengthy process. It can also put off new players who have to do additional D&D maths.
• There are few surprises with Point Buy. Players rarely get to play with an unexpected high or low ability score, only exactly what they ordered.
• Point Buy encourages min-maxing. This might well not be a problem at your table, but not everyone enjoys it.

Standard Array

How Does Standard Array Work in D&D?

Standard Array is actually a variant of Point Buy. Instead of players choosing their own ability scores, they get six pre-chosen stats that Point Buy can theoretically generate.

There’s very little to explain with the D&D 5e Standard Array. You have six ability scores (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8). Put them wherever you like.

The six ability scores then get racial bonuses (pre-Tasha’s and pre-Player’s Handbook 2024), or their base bonuses from character creation on top of this. Once again, the maximum (usually) is 17.

That’s all there is to it.

The main Standard Array variants in D&D 5e just alter the array – you can find some online or in the Dungeon Master’s Guide.

Pros of Standard Array Character Creation

• It’s the easiest way to generate stats in D&D 5e. It can take less than a minute if you know your prospective character well.
• It’s completely fair. Neither luck nor decision-making can put much of a gulf between characters. Everyone has a level playing field

Cons of Standard Array

• It risks cookie-cutter characters. One Cleric made with Standard Array will have similar stats to the next.
• It indirectly punishes classes that have to juggle multiple stats, while working better for classes that only need one or two
• Honestly, Standard Array can get a little boring. Especially true if you’re experienced at the game.

A Group-Rolled Array

How Does a Group-Rolled D&D 5e Stat Array Work?

This is definitely one of the more experimental methods of D&D character generation here. It’s also the one I like to use in my campaigns,

It splits the difference between Standard Array and 4d6, drop the lowest. All players take the same ability scores and assign them where they like. However, the difference comes from how you create this array.

Rather than a fixed number, your players roll. Rather than generating six ability scores, however, they only roll once. You need to get six, so you might have all of your players roll twice, have some of them roll twice, or make up the shortfall yourself.

Each player rolls 4d6 and drops the lowest, creating one stat of this D&D 5e character creation array. When you have six, those are the ability scores everyone uses. Add bonuses as normal.

Keep a note of this array. If you want to keep things fair, new characters later in the campaign should use it.

Pros of a Group-Rolled D&D 5e Array

• It’s fair. Everyone works with the same numbers. Nobody is going to outstrip anyone else through sheer luck
• You still use a D&D 5e roll to determine stats. As a result, it’s far less predictable than most other methods, resulting in unlikely statlines.
• Players typically want to roll their ability scores, but don’t enjoy being imbalanced. This splits the difference nicely.
• Unscrupulous DMs who roll one or more of the stats can fudge it to boost, weaken, or moderate the statline. I won’t comment on the DMing ethics of this.

Cons of a Group-Rolled D&D 5e Array

• Things are still at the whim of the dice, but now quirks affect the entire party. Everyone will get an impressively high or disastrously low roll, not one character.
• Collective responsibility can lead to bad blood or embarrassment for players who roll very low. Hopefully, this won’t last long.
• Some players (if they go through multiple characters) might get bored reusing the array. This has happened in my game.

These have been five D&D 5e character generator methods, all of which I have used or want to use. I can’t say which is the best for your campaign – I’m not your boss or your priest. You’ll have to weigh up the pros and cons and decide yourself.

How do you make stats for your D&D campaign? Let me know! And please share this article around and check out other Artificial Twenty content (like the suggestions below). It really does mean a lot.

If you have the stats but are still stuck, read ‘How to Come Up with DnD Character Ideas‘ and break your writer’s block.

Alternatively, check out ‘How Every DnD 5e Class Does A Support Build‘ for some old-fashioned mechanical advice.