Point buy is Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition's fairest way to set ability scores: every player gets the same 27 points, every ability starts at 8, and scores run to 15 before racial bonuses, on a cost curve that makes high scores expensive. No dice, no luck, no character who rolled three 18s while another rolled three 8s. This guide works the cost table, builds three legal arrays that play nothing alike, explains what ability modifiers actually do, and covers the variants — including Cyberpunk Red's different take on bought stats — so a table can start characters that are balanced before the first die is rolled.

How point buy works

Point buy starts every ability — Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma — at 8, free. The player then spends 27 points raising scores, up to a maximum of 15 before racial bonuses, at the costs in the table below. A score of 8 costs 0, 9 costs 1, 10 costs 2, 11 costs 3, 12 costs 4, 13 costs 5, 14 costs 7, and 15 costs 9. The total spent must not exceed 27, and unspent points are simply lost; there is no banking them for later.

D&D 5e point buy costs. The jump from 13 to 14 costs 2 points; from 14 to 15 costs 2 more.

Three arrays, three characters

Fifteen, fifteen, fifteen, eight, eight, eight spends 9 points three times: a specialist with three peaks and three holes, brilliant at its job and helpless outside it. Fourteen, fourteen, fourteen, twelve, ten, eight spends 7 three times plus 4 and 2: a generalist with no peaks, no holes, and no roll it cannot attempt. Fifteen, fourteen, thirteen, twelve, ten, eight spends 9, 7, 5, 4, and 2: a gradient with one peak, one strength, and a slope down to a single weakness — the array most tables actually play, because it wins its main contest without forfeiting the rest.

The choice is a party question as much as a character question. A party of specialists covers everything between them and nothing individually; a party of generalists covers everything weakly. The gradient party, with peaks in different abilities, is usually the strongest table, because each character’s peak covers another’s slope.

Modifiers: what scores mean

Scores matter through modifiers: modifier equals (score minus 10) divided by 2, rounded down. A 15 gives +2, a 14 gives +2, a 12 gives +1, a 10 gives +0, an 8 gives -1. Note the pairing: 14 and 15 share a modifier, as do 12 and 13, which means the last point of a 15 buys no modifier at all — it buys a head start toward the next ability score improvement, and nothing else, until level 4.

That pairing is why the cost curve bites. Paying 9 points for a 15 buys +2, while paying 5 points for a 13 buys +1 and leaves 4 points for elsewhere. The 15 is worth it when the character’s main contest depends on it and the party covers the weakness; it is wasteful when the character could have had two +1s instead of one +2.

Bonuses live in Advanced options

Racial bonuses, now often called species bonuses or lineage bonuses depending on the table’s books, apply after point buy, not during it. A character with a 15 in Dexterity and a +2 racial bonus starts play with 17, modifier +3. The point-buy cap of 15 applies before bonuses, so bonuses are the only route past 15 at character creation, and the calculator on this page keeps them in Advanced options so the array itself stays clean and auditable.

Ability score improvements at levels 4, 8, 12, 16, and 19 then raise scores further, by 2 points in one ability or 1 point in two, up to the usual cap of 20. A 15 bought at creation plus a racial +2 plus one improvement reaches 19, which is why the 15’s wasted modifier point is not truly wasted: it is a down payment on the first improvement.

Party balance: comparing builds

Compare builds on modifiers, not on scores. Two characters with arrays 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8 and 14, 14, 14, 12, 10, 8 have modifiers +2, +2, +1, +1, +0, -1 and +2, +2, +2, +1, +0, -1: the second is better in one ability and equal everywhere else, for the same 27 points, because it avoided the 15’s expensive last point. The calculator’s comparison view makes such trade-offs visible, and the habit of comparing modifiers rather than scores is the fastest route to better arrays.

Variants: Cyberpunk Red and other systems

Cyberpunk Red uses a different bought-stats system: stats are bought from a pool with their own costs and caps, and the roles and skills that hang off them differ from D&D’s classes and modifiers. The principle transfers — a fixed pool, a rising cost curve, a cap that prevents superhuman starts — but the numbers do not, and a D&D array should never be ported into another system by copying scores. Port the idea, rebuild the array in the target system’s costs, and check the result against that system’s cap.

Other D&D-adjacent systems vary the pool — some tables play 25 or 30 points, some cap at 14 — and the calculator handles custom pools. The fairness property survives any pool size: everyone spends the same points on the same curve, and the characters are balanced by construction, whatever the numbers.

Frequently asked questions

How many points do I get in D&D 5e point buy?

27 points, with every ability starting at 8 for free. Scores run from 8 to 15 before racial bonuses, on a curve where 14 costs 7 points and 15 costs 9.

What is the point buy cost table?

8 costs 0, 9 costs 1, 10 costs 2, 11 costs 3, 12 costs 4, 13 costs 5, 14 costs 7, and 15 costs 9. The curve rises steeply at the top to make a single 15 expensive.

How do I calculate an ability modifier?

(Score – 10) / 2, rounded down. A 15 gives +2, a 12 gives +1, a 10 gives +0, and an 8 gives -1. Scores 14 and 15 share the +2 modifier.

Can point buy give a score above 15?

Not before racial bonuses. The array caps at 15; species or lineage bonuses apply afterwards and can take a score higher, up to the usual cap of 20 with improvements.

What is a good point buy array?

15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8 is the most-played gradient: one peak, one strength, and a gentle slope. Three 15s with three 8s is a specialist; a flat spread is a generalist. The party's coverage should decide.

Does point buy work for Cyberpunk Red?

Cyberpunk Red has its own bought-stats system with different costs and caps. The principle transfers — fixed pool, rising curve, cap — but the numbers must be rebuilt in that system's costs, not copied from D&D.