Hobby Skill
Defaults: DX-4 or IQ-4, depending on the controlling attribute.
Many fields of study have little to do with adventuring or making a living – but people study them nonetheless. Each of these is a separate Hobby Skill. Those that require agility or a delicate touch (e.g., juggling, kite flying, needlepoint, and origami) are DX/Easy skills that default to DX-4, while those that focus on knowledge and trivia (e.g., comic books, rock music, science fiction, and tropical fish) are IQ/Easy skills that default to IQ-4.
A few points in a Hobby Skill can make roleplaying more fun – and possibly come in handy once in a while. You do not need a teacher to learn or improve a Hobby Skill. However, you cannot learn skills defined elsewhere in this chapter as Hobby Skills.
Martial Arts
The following skill is DX/Easy and often learned by martial artists in settings where they moonlight as fakirs and strongmen:
Feats of Strength: You collect tricks that show off your physical grit. Base the skill roll on the score that suits the feat (see Using Skills With Other Attributes): ST to tear a phone book in half or lift in a showy way (e.g., using teeth or a body piercing), DX to "punch out" a candle flame, Will to walk on hot coals or rest on a bed of nails, and so on. A -4 for lack of familiarity applies to tricks you haven't practiced. This skill doesn't improve your capabilities. You can only lift what your ST allows – and while a roll might mean you don't flinch when punched, you're still hurt. Also, while you know the secrets of hot coals and beds of nails, you suffer injury if you fail.
In a cinematic game, Body Control, Power Blow, etc., replace this skill and do add new capabilities.