# Forum > Gaming > Roleplaying Games > D&D 5e/Next >  Balancing Race Ability Caps

## TyGuy

It comes up in the threads discussing D&D races, race ability scores, and the past & new direction of races. 

Race ability score caps. They sound horrible to many (most? probably), but I like the concept. The more it comes up, the more I consider implementing them in a future game. 

So this thread is for those who are curious or interested in discussing the implementation and balancing of racial ASI caps.

To get the ball rolling. My first inclination is to start with a few obvious tweaks. Examples include goliath strength capped at 22 instead of 20. I already kept the penalties to kobold strength and orc intelligence, and I'm thinking they could be capped at 18. 
Not every race needs one or more 20-caps adjusted in my opinion. Not every race really needed a +2/+1 in the first place, but that was the standard baseline. Here's something I'm not so sure of. Going past 18-22 thresholds. How does that work with bounded accuracy? Is a 16 or 24 cap a bridge too far? My first impression is yes. 
Then there's +2 / 22-cap books. Should they be adjusted to increase a PC's cap by 2 so an 18 becomes 20 or a 22 becomes 24? Or keep it static and an 18-cap race gets more out of it and a 22-cap race gets less out of it?

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## False God

Personally, I dislike racial caps.

But for simplicity, I'd just make the cap the racial modifiers.  IE: Elves have a Dex cap of 22, instead of a +2 dex.

And yes, I'd still let late-game cap-breakers break those caps.  That's the point, you've gone beyond.  

As for where the game breaks down, it's around a score of 30 IME.

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## Pooky the Imp

If I was doing caps, I'd be tempted to make 18 the default cap. So Goliaths would have a cap of 20 strength, while races with average strength would have 18. Physically weak races like Kobolds would have a cap of 16 strength.

If an item/ability currently gives +2 strength and allows 22 strength, it will instead add 2 to a creature's existing strength cap, to a maximum of 22. 
So if given to a Goliath, it will effectively work the same.
If given to an average strength race, it would raise the strength cap to 20.
If given to a weak race (like the aforementioned Kobold), it would raise the cap to 18.

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## Xervous

The only satisfying iteration of racial ability score caps Ive developed has involved an overhaul of ASIs. With no other changes, having racial cap adjustments (or just no caps anywhere) greatly limits the range of appealing options for games where you have a Main Stat. 

10->12 dex is not worth the same as 20->22. We can tell that from point buy, we can tell that from rolling, but ASIs would treat them equally (assuming the 20->22 is a legal option). When the system instead asks you to choose between taking that 20->22 or something like amending a dump stat with 8->16 theres more decision points beyond Main Stat Go Up.

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## Guy Lombard-O

I really like racial caps.  I think they help to truly differentiate the races.  They add to, rather than subtract from, the distinct identity of the playable races.  They help to really express what each race is good at as a race, even if an individual PC wants to play against stereotype.  They add to that races strengths, while also delineating each race's deficiencies.  And I consider that a good thing, primarily from a worldbuilding perspective.

In order to preserve bounded accuracy and not mess up game balance too much, I'd lower the standard (human) maximums to 18s.  Then (more or less) follow the racial bonuses for guidance on which races should be allowed 20s or even higher (say, give elves 20 Dex cap, 16 Str caps, high elves 20 Int caps and wood elves 20 Wis caps).

I'd also get a bit draconian with Str caps for small races, probably at a 13 or maybe 14.  Because it's always seemed ridiculous to me that the 50 lbs. gnome or halfling or goblin, races that aren't presented as powerfully built physical specimens even after accounting for their diminutive size, can have a natural 20 Str just as easily as a goliath can (especially after Tasha's floating racial mods).  I'd also impose Int and Wis and Cha caps of 14 or 16, for those races that are meant to be monstrous brutes.

That said, I'd still allow the Tasha's floating racial mods.  Because, like the book says, your PC is an exceptional individual who may well cut against the grain for his/her racial norms.  So the player can choose to play against type.  But only within the normal limits of whatever race they chose, unless they find some extraordinary magic.

While racial caps will definitely prevent players from playing whatever race/class combo they can think up (if they care about stat-maxing mechanics in a longer campaign), I just can't help but view that as either a good thing from a game immersion viewpoint, or at worst a neutral thing.  Of course, this sort of thinking also goes along with limiting available racial choices, possibly divine pantheon choices, and even available classes and subclasses, in favor of setting flavor and campaign-specific worldbuilding.  If you're just playing a standard game of Forbidden Realms anything-goes 5e, then I don't think racial caps or limiting racial choices makes sense.

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