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Message: <blockquote data-quote="wingsandsword" data-source="post: 5810755" data-attributes="member: 14159">18 is still the maximum for a starting human.  That's the upper limit of raw human potential.  Anything above that is augmented by one means or another.Without becoming Epic Level (which really bends realism so much that modern-day, real world people should NOT be Epic) or magical (or technological) assistance, the highest a human can reach is 23, by starting with an 18 and adding to it every 4th level.  24+ is inherently impossible for a human being without some kind of external assistance through magic or technology.18 is still the top of "normal" progression, with anything higher being due to magical augmentation, technological augmentation, extensive practice and development (i.e. level based ability raises) or superhuman potential (non-human race ability score bonuses).  All 3e did was make the scale linear above 18, instead of arbitrary, so if you saw the stats for a Hill Giant, a Stone Giant, an Iron Golem, or a Titan you could look at their strength stat and know just how strong they were and it would be easier math than having to reference a chart in the back of the PHB.</blockquote>