In the Errata it says "a skill’s maximum modified rating equals its
base rating x 1.5."

So does this mean the max Imp ability points would be 3?

Negotiation 6 + 3 for Imp ability
Negotiation 4 +2 for Imp ability

Or does it mean, the max skill is 6 x 1.5 = 9

So if I have a magic rating of 6 and a negotiation of 3 I could get 6 points of imp ability?

3 Points is the maximum.

That's not true. If you have a skill rating of 4, for example, you could get Improved Ability 5 in that skill to have a modified rating of 9. However, if you later spent Karma to increase the skill's rating from 4 to 5, the modified rating will still be 9, since 9 is the modified maximum.

Jyster, I think you are correct with your guess.

I read "base rating" to be the rating of the skill you're modifying, not the maximum level of the skill. So if you have Firearms 4 and want to improve it with Improved Ability, you can only take 2 levels to start with. (4 * 1.5 = 6 total) Once you raise your skill to 5, you can take your third level (5 * 1.5 round up = 8 total), and moving to 6 lets you max out the skill.

Hmm, now that you mention it, I think you're right.

Sma, I take it back.

Jhaiisiin is reading the rules correctly as far as I can tell. However we tend to just ignore it, and let people buy 3 ranks of Improved Ability as long as they have at least a skill rating of 1.