>>96240635
>brawl
>not life or death, +4
Read the rules, instead of speculating:
Your unmodified skill level is
called your base skill. It measures your
odds of success at an “average” task
under adventuring conditions – in
other words, in a stressful situation
where the consequences of failure are
significant. Some examples:

• Battles and chase scenes.
• Races against the clock.
• Situations where your health,
freedom, finances, or equipment is at
risk.

Read the rules next time.

>>96240646
Same goes to you. Read the rules. Combat is not a normal circumstance. If this were the case, a cop who's been working for 10+ years would have a +1 to every battle roll on the job. Most people wouldnt "undertake combat" of any kind "without hesitation". You can get hurt in that shit. Chances are small, of course, but they happen, it's not like you're super relaxed doing it. It's also not in the spirit of the game at all, a test of skills between two people is not the same as overcoming a passive obstacle. Nobody would give you +3 on your chess skill to impress the maiden so you can bed her for the night for a +1 on her father's reaction roll, even if you played chess every day of your life (this would be reflected in your skill level).