drow charisma vs. intelligence

[messy]

why do dark elves get +2 to charisma rather than intelligence? all of their plotting, scheming, and double-crossing seems to indicate a highly intelligent race, whereas few drow have a winning personality.

their wikipedia page describes them as "highly intelligent... extraordinarily dexterous and intelligent... their personalities are described as grating at best" but also "extremely intelligent, charismatic and dexterous."

ok, maybe they have strong personalities. but still, high intelligence seems to be a far more prominent trait than high charisma. so what's the deal?

[Chemlak]

3.XE drow had +2 Dex, -2 Con, +2 Int, +2 Cha, which will probably be why the wikipedia article on the Dungeons & Dragons drow has that comment.

The +2 Int was removed for normal drow in Pathfinder, probably to make them a little bit less insanely powerful.

Of course, Pathfinder then introduced noble drow, with +4 Dex, -2 Con, +2 Int, +2 Wis, +2 Cha, which makes up for it.

[Kazaan]

Charisma doesn't describe the quality of personality. It measures the quantity; amount, force, strength, or whatever other metric you want to use. High Charisma doesn't mean you have a winning personality any more than it means you are a beautiful person. But, if the character has a winning personality, higher Charisma makes it more of a winning personality. By the same token, if the person has a sadistic personality, higher Charisma makes it more of a sadistic personality. Charisma fits them because their culture is defined by social competition based on bluffs/deception and intimidation far more than intellectual pursuits.