Ability Score Improvements have been a terrible addition to D&D

This is going to be one of them rants I fear. 

It relates to my previous meditation on the heft of levels across various editions and my recent contemplation on ability checks in B/X, specifically my desire have the unmodified numbers mean something in and of themselves, rather than something purely to derive other numbers from that do have mechanical relevance. In a way, this posts is like a concluding remark on the heft of levels in TSR vs WotC D&D.

To summarise, if the mechanical relevance of ability scores are almost always somewhere on a scale of -3/+5, why do we bother with rolling 3-18 instead of just using the derived numbers to begin with? Why has that never changed? And why do I have a firm impression that there'd be a great outcry if it were ever changed in a future edition?

And it occurred to me that ability scores do have a relevance in the unmodified form, one that has remained across all editions - They are the formative narrative components of the character sheet. In this way, I'd argue, they carry even greater relevance than any mechanical bonuses derived from them. 

They tell the player, and everyone else allowed to see those numbers, something about what that character is like, how they are most likely to solve problems and what kind of challenges they most likely struggle with compared to other characters. Only class and level comes close to defining what a character is like in comparison to those ability scores.

And this is where 3e+ messed all that up by introducing ability score improvements at various levels.

Three player characters that are just as much defined by their ability scores as their class and level.

From a game engine perspective, I can see the sense in it. Ability scores in WotC D&D give more mechanical benefits than in TSR D&D and are far more tied into your general likelihood of success in various tasks. So it makes sense that as you level up, you get a chance to raise those scores, especially the ones you really benefit from in your class. You need them increased to keep up with the game, basically.

The result however, is an entropic principle that is deplorable: As levels go up, all characters become the same. I don't need to look at the character sheets of 5e fighters to know that by 6th level, most of them will have STR or DEX maxed out and by 8th level, all of them will. And then CON, once their main ability score is maxed out. 

Their ability scores no longer tell you anything about that character other than they lived long enough to become high level. As you level up, characters inevitably end up becoming more and more similar. Introducing point buy for optimising 'builds' only amplifies this entropic tendency, ensuring that even 1st level characters end up looking alike and even numbers start showing up far more frequently since those are the even giving bonuses.

It's the reason, I discovered, why my eyes glaze over when I look at NPC stat sheet in WotC D&D. Everything there is basically just a function of class and level, the scores there only to service other numbers. It tells me only how to roll the dice, but little about the character itself.

In contrast, I enjoy studying an [N]PC stat sheet in TSR D&D. Their ability scores, in conjunction with class and level of course, tell me a lot about that character. If they have been successful against the odds, or if solve their problems in other ways than you might typically expect from that class. It makes them interesting, every character unique, in ways that are utterly diluted in WotC D&D due to point buy+ability score increases. 

Another thing, besides point-buy, that amplifies this is the increased mechanical relevance of ability scores in WotC, in terms of derived numbers for other mechanics. 

Before we proceed, I am aware that this may seem like an odd complaint in light of my recent post seeking more relevance for ability scores. To that I would say I sought that relevance for the score itself. Not to have more derived numbers tied into it affecting other sub-systems. Anyhoo....

There is something almost hallowed about that 3-18 number.
It conveys an intuitive impression that can be grokked by just about anyone. At a glance, a STR 15 character is clearly different to a STR 13 one, even though in B/X the mechanical benefits are the same.
It conveys something quite clearly in the fiction of the game. As a narrative modifier it has just the right level of granularity. The score means something in and of itself, even if it speaks more to the fiction than the rules.

The more mechanical benefits you tie into derived numbers based on this however, especially derived numbers, the less significant the original ability score become in and of itself.

I look at a STR 18 character in B/X and what I see is a rare specimen that would stand out in any crowd, someone strongly defined by their physical prowess, perhaps even singularly so. 

I look at a STR 18 character in 5e and what I see is a quite strong character, +4 to hit and dmg and Strength Saving Throws.

In TSR D&D, the score tells a story of the character that just does not happen in the same way in 3e+. There are other things in the foreground of what that score means.  

My advice: Don't use point buy. Avoid ability score increases. You might start to find your characters far more meaningful after that.