1. Draw Challenge cards

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Mob rule: Many enemies vs. the adventurers

In general, the players are going to take more actions than the GM. By contrast, the GM brings their characters to bear en masse.

If you are taking an action for a group, the entire group takes the same action: Moves to a new zone, makes an Attack, etc. Each member of the group can use this action differently: for example, if a pack of five unwolves attacks the guild, each unwolf can Attack a different adventurer.

When a group gangs up on a single adventurer, they gain the following advantages:

If 2+ enemies are fighting the same adventurer, they gain favor on their actions.
If 4+ enemies are fighting the same adventurer, they gain favor on their actions and their Attacks deal Piercing damage. Piercing damage cannot be absorbed by armor (Piercing and Critical damage).
If 8+ enemies are fighting the same adventurer, they gain favor on their actions and their Attacks deal Critical damage. Critical damage causes you to mark Injured (Piercing and Critical damage).

During step 1, draw 3 Challenge cards from the major arcana deck, and add:

+1 card for each type of enemy
+1 card if the enemies outnumber the adventurers
+1 card if there are twice as many enemies as adventurers
+1 card for each enemy that’s physically larger than a human
+2 cards if there is an elite enemy
+3 cards if there is a dungeon lord

(Elite enemies and dungeon lords are defined in Appendix C: Dungeon Denizens, see Dungeon Lord.)

Each of these additional cards is cumulative. Check to see which are applicable at the start of each round. Therefore, if the number of enemies decreases, you will draw fewer major arcana cards.

For example, if there are twelve imps facing four adventurers, the GM draws 6 cards from the major arcana deck. That includes: 3 cards to start, +1 for the one type of enemy (imps), +1 for having more enemies than adventurers, +1 for having twice as many enemies than adventurers.

If, over the course of the Challenge, the adventurers reduce the number of imps to seven, the GM will draw 5 cards at the beginning of the next round: 3 + 1 for having one enemy type (imps) and +1 for having more enemies than adventurers.