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Message: <blockquote data-quote="howandwhy99" data-source="post: 5665789" data-attributes="member: 3192">There are a number of different theories on racial level limits. I think many of them may even be more or less right too. I like how extra racial abilities are balanced over the length of the campaign by limited class abilities. It's sort of how aging via spells works too.  Most balancing of this sort is predicated on each PC being equivalent in ability, but I don't think that is how early D&D is balanced except rather loosely. It isn't quite Palladium, but each race and class changes the difficulty of the game (not to mention the ability scores rolled).Here's my take: D&D is based upon human as the metric of everything else in the world. D&D classes are human social roles, so demi (or semi-)humans performing them are at a disadvantage. Other races may have their own classes, but these are all for NPCs.  Each PC class racial level limit is set according to the capabilities of the race attempting to perform it.  These are all human classes, so humans have unlimited advancement possibilities. For other races think of a halfling engaged in a sword fight with a human. The average halfling is at a disadvantage against the average human because the former are smaller and weaker in combat.Because of racial disadvantages upon performing human/PC classes other race's level advancements are based upon meeting thresholds on a bell curve of human ability. This is like limits on their ability scores too in some games.  Each particular race's ability is also mapped out by bell curve and level limits are checked for by laying it over the human norm. Halfling STR and therefore F-M limits could be in blue below:<img src="http://www.shodor.org/media/N/G/E/wMDUwNGE3MmM5N2RjMzlhMTM3ODNlNzkzYzIzYTE.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />So a powerful halfing would top out at 6th level as a fighter. He's in his races top sector, 18, for the prime requisite, but he could still go further. It will simply cost the halfling more. Think of it like exceptional strength, but for any ability. Advancement to a 7th level fighter would require a 16 strength (perhaps a halfling's18:50). The XP required is more as well to cover the training and experience required for the race, which are considerably more for a halfling just to meet the human level threshold of 7. The progression may go on like STR 17 for 8th level, and 18 for 9th, but eventually it becomes too much of a burden to play. Typically this is because the XP requirement is more than double compared to human PCs in the same class or training time is beyond the racial lifespan played. Humans have outdistanced the other race. Sure, that 9th level fighter halfling is demographically beyond most any in history and far more of an outlier than any class level equivalent human F-M. But they still aren't making it to 10th level.</blockquote>

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