In D&D 5E, there are multiple different ways to increase ones Ability Score permanently, for example, like the Ability Score Increase and Primal Champion (Barbarian Capstone) class features, or the various manuals/tomes magic items (e.g. Manual of Gainful Exercise). For the examples provided, all of these methods specify the maximum limit for which an Ability Score can reach:
- Ability Score Increase increases an Ability Score by 2 up to a limit of 20
- Primal Champion increases Strength/Constitution by 4 up to a limit of 24
- Manual of Gainful Exercise increases Strength by 2 and the limit by 2
For a hypothetical scenario, I'm playing a Barbarian with 18 Strength, and my character reads the Manual of Gainful Exercise which increases my Strength to 20. Am I able to increase my Strength beyond 20 from an Ability Score Increase due to the Manual of Gainful Exercise increasing my Ability Score limit by 2, or does the Ability Score Increase feature override this limit to be 20, thus not being able to increase my Strength in this matter?
