ToME: the Tales of Maj'Eyal

According to the wiki, current <stat> is affected by talents and gear. This seems obvious enough.

What's not obvious is why my current Strength is 23 when my base is 25. I have tried stripping my character naked (no result) and as far as I can tell, I'm certainly not utilizing any talents (passive or active) which would lower my strength. For reference, I'm playing a Shalore Berserker.

Help?

It's because of your race. Shalore have reduced STR.

Yeah, I figured that out in the interim between posting the question and having it approved. Thank you, though.