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The Half-Elf has a trait called Ability Score Increase which states:
Your Charisma score increases by 2, and two other ability scores of your choice increase by 1.
Do these "other ability scores" need to only be other than Charisma, or do they exclude each other as well? Can I increase, say, Dexterity as the first that is "other" than Charisma and then Dexterity as my second since it is still "other" than Charisma?
No, you can't choose the same ability score twice. Here's why:
The intention is usually in the wording - in this case, this,
and two other ability scores of your choice
to me this means you need to choose two ability scores other than Charisma.
The trait specifies two other ability scores of your choice. This phrasing means that you can't choose Charisma, of course, but it also means you can't pick one other ability twice.
You wouldn’t be able to increase the same score by +1 twice. So, if you chose Dex for one, the other +1 could only go to Str, Con, Int, or Wis.
It seems to be a reflection of human lineage (humans get +1 to all stats).
