[RPG] Overall mechanical effects of 16 point buy in 5e

dnd-5ehouse-rulesoptimization

Our DM allows a point buy of ability 16, with a cost of 12. The total cost is still at 27.

I feel this is harmful for balance, because a +1 on your main ability allows reaching a stat of 20 by level 4. It is so good that it practically forces anyone interested in mechanics to either use a +2 main-ability race or take variant human with a +1-main ability feat.

When I mentioned concern about the balance, he said "Don't worry, I will adapt the monsters…". This leads to a red queen effect that punishes those who do not adapt to a max-16 point buy.

I feel that this has a negative effect on the game, because it limits the amount of sensible racial options. I have a strong incentive to take the race with the +2 on the main ability instead of the one whose flair and storytelling possibilities interests me most.

What are the mechanical effects of allowing a point buy max of 16?

A good answer should contain a mathematical / mechanical analysis of how bounded accuracy interacts with this change, under special consideration of the fact that it seems the monsters are buffed to adapt to the higher stat max.

Best Answer

This doesn't actually affect the balance of the game that much, certainly not enough to require that enemy monsters be modified to match.

What this does affect, however, is how you distribute your stats. If you can have a 16 in your main attack stat, you will, almost guaranteed, no matter your class. There's just no really good reason not to do so, if it will give you an advantage. In many cases, classes also have a very important secondary ability score, or at the very least constitution, which they may also want to raise up to 16.

This leaves very few points afterwards to spend on other abilities, leaving character that are extremely good at one or two things, and terrible at everything else. While this might be worth it mechanically, it can negatively affect the game by making each player very specialized in what they do compared to normally.

By restricting ability scores to 15, you encourage a lot more diversity in how your players build their characters. First, as you noted, +2 bonuses to a stat aren't nearly as valuable, since you only need +1 to go from 15 to 16, so +2 just means you can save a few points by starting at 14 instead, and using the 15 for the secondary stat that you have +1 in.

This relieves the pressure to min-max your character, and often leaves you with a few extra point to put into less critical stats, where you're more free to customize your character by, for example, choosing whether your Fighter is an intelligent fighter that uses tactics and knowledge to get and edge, or a wise fighter with an iron will and a natural empathy, or a charismatic fighter that inspires those who follow him.