If the player characters surprise their foes they may place one extra card from their hand into their pool before the fight begins. If the villains would go first, skip their entire turn. This also ignores any effects for villains on the Conflict Line, the battle doesn’t start until the heroes act. If the player characters are the ones surprised, they cannot play cards into their pool for the first round. Likewise if they would act first according to the Drama card skip over their turn (and any effects) and start with the villains. After the first round, play proceeds normally. A side might gain surprise by sneaking up on their enemies with stealth, setting up an ambush, or with the aid of an appropriate distraction (GM’s call).