Originally Posted by
prabe
I've seen too much variation in initial starting competency to be entirely happy with any random method, but the point buy system in the PHB is ... boring. So, I worked out a different method for the campaigns I run: Pick your ability scores, any number 3-18; half of them must be odd, the other half must be even; you may not pick any number more than twice. Now, apply racial bonuses; you may not adjust an ability past 18 at level 1.
EDIT: The total modifiers cannot be greater than +9. The bonus could be anything; I picked +9 because I explicitly wanted competent starting characters.