Minimum seven (7) attribute limit, before or after race?

[BitOBear]

So I am new to pathfinder and pathfinder society.

There was a rule that a pathfinder character cannot have a ability score lower than 7. This rule is also implicit in the point-buy table not going to 6.

The question is, is this _really_ a limit intended to be applied before or after Race modifiers? For instance if I buy CHA down to 7 and then go Dwarf, I have a 5.

If the limit is after-race then the table should go down to five (5) with a asterisk (*) on the 6 and 5 rows that requires the race to be one with the pluses necessary to get the score up to seven.

This would, if someone were to want to play "a really dumb Elf" with an effective INT of 7, allow them to get four ability points to spend elsewhere for the buy-down to before-race-applied 5.

The post-race limiting with the extended chart would let a human character to effectively "spread out" his plus two to any attribute, by having something bought down to 5, applying his plus 2 there, and then getting four points to splash around (if the chart were symmetric around 10 etc).

(I ask because the rules lawyer in me wants to know, and because I am "poking around" with the idea of an automated character sheet for Android devices and such limits and questions come to mind as I look at the numbers etc.)

[No, I am not personally _this_ kind of min-max weasel, since I don't like low scores and prefer a "uniformly slightly above average", as opposed to a one-feature-wonder as an interesting character basis.]

[Skerek]

the lowest ability score you can have before racial modifiers is 7. So you can have a dwarf with 5 char, halfings/gnomes with 5 str and elves with 5 con(although i don't recommend that one)

[Grick]

Just to back up Skerek:

Generating a Character:
"Step 1—Determine Ability Scores: Start by generating your character's ability scores.
Step 2—Pick Your Race: Next, pick your character's race, noting any modifiers to your ability scores and any other racial traits (see Races)."

Generating Ability Scores: "Racial modifiers (adjustments made to your ability scores due to your character's race—see Races) are applied after the scores are generated."

and finally, from the Pathfinder Guide to Organized Play v4.0 page 5:

Step 1: Abilities
Pathfinder Society uses the "purchase" system for generating ability scores, as explained on pages 15–16 of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook. Pathfinder Society uses the “High Fantasy” choice of 20 points, allowing you to build a solid PC at 1st level. Please remember that no score can be reduced below 7 or raised above 18 using this method. Racial modifiers are applied after the points are spent, so it is possible to begin play with a low ability score of 5 and a high ability score of 20, depending on your race choice.