I came up with a method of rolling ability scores in games like D&D that strikes a balance between being random and being balanced.

The usual ability scores are STR, DEX, CON, INT, WIS, CHA, ranging from 3 to 18.

My new method has these properties:

• The sum of the scores always adds up to 63.
• STR, DEX, and CON (the “physical” scores) are independent of each other.
• INT, WIS, and CHA (the “mental” scores) are independent of each other.
• The physical scores and the mental scores are inversely correlated with each other.

I don’t consider the last property particularly desirable, but I think it is a fine price to pay for the first property.

Other games solve this differently—DCC uses funnels, Into the Odd gives weak characters better gear—but I wanted randomness and balance in the stats themselves.

The Method

Step 1: roll

Roll nine six-sided dice and arrange them into a square.

For example:

Step 2: sum the rows

Use the sums of the rows to assign values to STR, DEX, and CON.

Step 3: sum the backs of the columns

Use the sums of the back faces of the columns to assign values to INT, WIS, and CHA.

On a standard d6, opposite faces always sum to 7. To find the back faces, pick up each column of dice (pinched between index finger and thumb) and flip it toward you 180°.

Result

In this example, the ability scores are:

Notice that the sum of the six scores is 63.

A Modification (for more randomness)

We can add even more variety by not always pitting STR, DEX, and CON against INT, WIS, and CHA.

There are ten distinct ways to divide a set of six things in half. Since the method is symmetric (rows and columns could be swapped), we can assume STR is always in the first row.

Therefore you can roll a d10 on the following table to randomly pick one of the ways to divide the abilities in half. The rightmost column is optional flavor—a sign you can use or ignore.