the monk and barbarian have at level 20 two stats scores increase by 4, to a maximum of 25. I don't understand why the maximum is 25 if both 24 & 25 give a +7. Does it stack with something that increases the max score with +1 to make it max 26?
I think it's mostly because of the Epic Boon feats you can get at level 19, which can raise an ability score up to 21. This meant the level 20 features that provide +4 needed to have their own maximums raised from 24 to 25 so that none of that +4 is wasted if you already had a 21.
While an ability score of 25 does have the same modifier as a 24, having a 25 in Strength can provide some benefit over a 24 in a couple of ways:
A character's jump distance is calculated based on their Strength score, so having a 25 in Strength means you can jump farther than if you had a 24.
For Barbarians specifically, there's a class feature at level 18 called Indomitable Might that allows using your Strength score as the minimum value for a Strength check or saving throw, so having a 25 Strength has some benefit over a 24 there too.
I am not sure there's much benefit in having a 25 over a 24 in any other ability score, but there may be something out there that uses the raw score instead of the modifier that I'm not aware of.
You can also get more epic boons if you continue past level 20.
This is exactly why. As you gain more epic boons, you can increase your ability scores to a maximum of 30, so the 25 means you only need one more epic boon to hit that next ability modifier increase.
the monk and barbarian have at level 20 two stats scores increase by 4, to a maximum of 25. I don't understand why the maximum is 25 if both 24 & 25 give a +7. Does it stack with something that increases the max score with +1 to make it max 26?
Additionally, tiebreakers go to higher scores… tiebreaker between 24 and 25 goes to the 25 on a same dice roll.
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the monk and barbarian have at level 20 two stats scores increase by 4, to a maximum of 25.
I don't understand why the maximum is 25 if both 24 & 25 give a +7.
Does it stack with something that increases the max score with +1 to make it max 26?
I think it's mostly because of the Epic Boon feats you can get at level 19, which can raise an ability score up to 21. This meant the level 20 features that provide +4 needed to have their own maximums raised from 24 to 25 so that none of that +4 is wasted if you already had a 21.
While an ability score of 25 does have the same modifier as a 24, having a 25 in Strength can provide some benefit over a 24 in a couple of ways:
I am not sure there's much benefit in having a 25 over a 24 in any other ability score, but there may be something out there that uses the raw score instead of the modifier that I'm not aware of.
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You can also get more epic boons if you continue past level 20.
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This is exactly why. As you gain more epic boons, you can increase your ability scores to a maximum of 30, so the 25 means you only need one more epic boon to hit that next ability modifier increase.
Additionally, tiebreakers go to higher scores… tiebreaker between 24 and 25 goes to the 25 on a same dice roll.