[philosophyguy]

I'm trying to understand how to build powers that require a success roll, and I have a few questions. For this example, let's say that I'm building a nature druid (source = nature) whose powers center around animal life (focus = animals). I'll use the -20% power modifier suggested in Powers p. 28 from mundane insulators and countermeasures.

Let's give the druid two abilities: shapeshifting into a mundane wolf and speaking with animals. Our druid is trying to economize on points, so he will require a success roll for each.

As I'm reading Powers, it looks like the limitations apply on a per-ability basis, not a per-power basis. So, the two abilities would be something like:

Shapeshifting (Alternate Form: Wolf) (Nature power modifier, -20%; Requires IQ roll, -10%) [11]
Speak with Animals (Nature power modifier, -20%; Requires IQ roll, -10%) [18]

Is this correct so far?

Now, let's say the GM and player believe that there should be a specific skill for Speak with Animals, rather than a generic IQ roll. According to Powers p. 162, any power-ability skill would be it's own Hard skill. So, Speak with Animals would be an IQ/Hard skill.

Is there a discount for requiring the skill roll, as opposed to just a flat IQ roll? With a hard skill, rolling at default is a -6 (as opposed to no penalty for the flat IQ roll version). To buy the skill up to flat attribute level would be 4 points, so it seems like the Requires Speak with Animals roll version should have a discount above and beyond the -10% for requires IQ roll.