Custom point buy: your budget, your cap, your curve
A house rule usually starts as one number — "we use 32 points" — and its real effects show up three sessions later. This page makes the three knobs adjustable at once so the consequences are visible before session zero rather than after it.
Set the rules
Change any of the three and the cost table underneath redraws from the curve you picked. Nothing here is hardcoded to the published numbers, which is also why the defaults are set to reproduce them exactly: the page opens on 27 points, a floor of 8 and a cap of 15.
Custom point buy calculator
27 of 27 points unspent
| Ability | Decrease | Score | Increase | Modifier | Point cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STR | 8 | -1 | 0 | ||
| DEX | 8 | -1 | 0 | ||
| CON | 8 | -1 | 0 | ||
| INT | 8 | -1 | 0 | ||
| WIS | 8 | -1 | 0 | ||
| CHA | 8 | -1 | 0 | ||
| Points spent | 0 | ||||
| Score | Cost | Modifier | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 0 | -1 | Published |
| 9 | 1 | -1 | Published |
| 10 | 2 | +0 | Published |
| 11 | 3 | +0 | Published |
| 12 | 4 | +1 | Published |
| 13 | 5 | +1 | Published |
| 14 | 7 | +2 | Published |
| 15 | 9 | +2 | Published |
What a bigger pool actually buys
Raising the pool alone is the mildest of the three changes. With the cap still at 15 the extra points have nowhere dramatic to go, so they fill in the low scores rather than raising the high ones — the character gets rounder, not sharper.
| Pool | Scores at 15 it affords | Highest single score |
|---|---|---|
| 27 | 3 of 6 | 15 |
| 30 | 3 of 6 | 15 |
| 32 | 3 of 6 | 15 |
| 36 | 4 of 6 | 15 |
| 40 | 4 of 6 | 15 |
What a raised cap actually buys
Raising the maximum is the change that alters play. A cap of 18 lets a single ability reach +4 at first level instead of +2, which moves attack rolls, save DCs and skill checks all at once, and it does so for 15 of the 27 points rather than needing a bigger pool at all.
| Cap | Modifier | Cost of one | Points left for the other five |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | +2 | 9 | 18 |
| 16 | +3 | 11 | 16 |
| 17 | +3 | 13 | 14 |
| 18 | +4 | 15 | 12 |
What the curve decides
The curve decides whether a raised cap produces a specialist or an all-rounder. A linear curve makes the top scores comparatively cheap and rewards piling everything into one ability; a steeper one keeps the published discouragement and spends the extra budget on breadth.
House rule questions
What is a good custom point buy total?
Most tables that raise the standard 27 stop somewhere between 30 and 34. Above that, with the cap still at 15, the points stop buying anything interesting: the six abilities simply approach their maximum and the choices disappear.
What happens if you raise the point buy maximum above 15?
A single ability can reach a higher modifier at level 1. On the published curve an 18 costs 15 points, so even the standard 27-point pool can afford one while leaving 12 points for the rest — the cap matters far more than the budget does.
Should you allow scores below 8 in point buy?
Allowing a floor of 6 or 7 hands back points for a weakness, which is how Pathfinder 1e works. It rewards dumping heavily, so tables that allow it usually pair it with a cap on how many abilities can be sold down.
Does a bigger point buy budget break the game?
Not by itself. Ability scores contribute less to 5e power than spell selection and class features do, and a few extra points mostly remove the weak scores rather than creating a strong one. The cap is the setting that changes outcomes.
Where to go next
- Pathfinder 1e point buy — A published system that already does two of the things this page lets you switch on: a variable budget and scores sold below the base.
- Back to the published rules — The 27-point, 8-to-15 defaults, with the class arrays and species bonuses attached.