There are six ability scores in D&D 5e—Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma—that express characters’ physical and mental assets and weaknesses and each has a numerical score attached to it that defines the magnitude of that ability. Every creature in D&D has a score in each ability between 1 and 30—although most player characters can’t go higher than 20—and these scores represent a combination of inborn prowess and talent, but also experience, training, and acquired competence in actions directly related to a given ability score.
Mechanically, characters with higher ability scores add bigger numbers to their rolls when making d20 Tests—Ability Checks, Attack Rolls, and Saving Throws—while narratively, ability scores speak to the way your character thinks and acts as well as what they can or can’t do. Characters with high Strength scores are brawny and physically tough, high Dexterity characters are nimble and coordinated, characters with good Constitution scores can endure greater amounts of punishment, high Intelligence characters are better at recalling useful information or solving challenging puzzles, characters with high Wisdom scores are more perceptive and insightful, and high Charisma characters are better at using the force of their personality to bend others to their will.
A score of 10 to 11 in a given ability score is considered to be roughly the “normal human average", but many monsters and most successful adventurers routinely exceed the capabilities of “normal humans”. It is not uncommon for focused adventurers and heroes to have scores of 16 or 18, or even as high as 20. Monsters and divine beings, meanwhile, can have scores as high as 30.
Each ability also has a modifier, derived from the score. These range from -5 (for an ability score of 1) to +10 (for a score of 30), although those are extreme examples. Most adventurers will have an ability score modifier of between -1 and +4 in each ability. The Ability Scores and Modifiers table notes the ability modifiers for the range of possible ability scores, from 1 to 30.
| Ability Scores and Modifiers Table | |
| Score | Modifier |
| 1 | -5 |
| 2-3 | -4 |
| 4-5 | -3 |
| 6-7 | -2 |
| 8-9 | -1 |
| 10-11 | +0 |
| 12-13 | +1 |
| 14-15 | +2 |
| 16-17 | +3 |
| 18-19 | +4 |
| 20-21 | +5 |
| 22-23 | +6 |
| 24-25 | +7 |
| 26-27 | +8 |
| 28-29 | +9 |
| 30 | +10 |
If you need to calculate a creature’s ability score modifier without consulting this table, the Player’s Handbook suggests you subtract 10 from the ability score and then divide the total by 2 (round down).
Artifacts of an Older Age
You might have noticed that there isn't actually very much to do with your ability scores aside from using them to gauge your character's ability and figuring out your character's ability modifiers. This is because they're actually a holdover from earlier editions of Dungeons and Dragons, when ability checks were made by trying to roll under your ability score on a d20. Even then, though, you mostly used your Intelligence score to determine how many languages you spoke, and your Charisma score to determine NPC reaction adjustments and how many retainers you could hire.
Whenever you're called upon to make a d20 Test in the course of the game, you're going to be applying some sort of bonus or penalty to the result of your d20 roll as you try to meet or exceed the Difficulty Class of the roll you're making. This where your ability score modifiers come in, as these are the numbers that you're going to be regularly applying to your Ability Checks, Attack Rolls, and Saving Throws. The process for making a d20 Test is described in more detail here.
Figuring out which ability-score modifier to apply to a given d20 Test, as well as the other mechanical concepts like Skills, Hit Points, or Encumbrance that particular ability scores determine is an important part of creating and playing your character, so let’s take a closer look at each one in turn: