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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Alzrius" data-source="post: 8297052" data-attributes="member: 8461">If I might nitpick, the text of Unearthed Arcana stated (p. 8):Now, that could get your dark elf character to 14th level as a magic-user if they had an 18th Intelligence, but that still brought up the problem of increasing that ability score in order to reach higher levels.That particular chestnut was much harder to crack...mostly because it was unclear just how strict the racial ability score maximums were. They obviously applied to modifiers applied at character generation (including for NPCs, <a href="https://www.acaeum.com/library/errata_phb.html" target="_blank">according to the PHB errata</a>, since NPC stat modifiers were sometimes different from PCs; notice how NPC elves received a +1 Intelligence, +1 Dexterity, instead of the -1 Constitution, +1 Dexterity that PC elves got; DMG p. 237), and they also applied to aging modifiers, as was explicitly stated on page 13 of the DMG.Beyond those, though, there wasn't a clear indicator of whether or not those limits applied to other things that raised your stats, of which there were many. While we're all familiar with the note about how wish and alter reality spells only raise a score by 1/10 value if the ability score in question is 16 or higher (DMG p. 11), but there are also various options such as a tome of clear thought (DMG p. 155), gem of insight (UA p. 100), egg of reason (UA p. 100), a scarlet and blue ioun stone (DMG p. 147), magical pools (DMG p. 172), and similar options.And, of course, <a href="https://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=199962#p199962" target="_blank">Gary himself</a> had ability score increases be "generally gained by adventure in which deities give such a boost to a single stat as a reward for outstanding performance, an artifact is gaines, [sic] or a wish used."Presuming your DM didn't have the racial maximums be utterly impermeable limits, it wasn't unthinkable that a (male) dark elf (single-classed) magic-user could get his Intelligence up to 22, which would enable him to reach 20th level!(Of course, it might just be like you said, and the note about them being "strong magic-users" is relative to other demihumans in general and/or elves in particular.)</blockquote>

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