I normally die to numbers. I get novice in reader and swimmer, adequate dodger, skilled armour user, and pump the rest equally into the sword and hammer skills, then duel-wield an iron sword with either an iron pick or war hammer. I set one accurate bash/pick stab to the head, then a fast slash at whatever is the easiest hit. If the stab/bash doesn't kill, then I'll just slowly rip apart my enemy. If I'm fighting multiple opponents, I'll attack whoever's about to attack me, and whoever's targeting an ally, if no one's doing that, whoever just attacked me. I generally keep bronze and iron knives and spears in my bag for throwing before close combat. If there's space and time available, I'll jump back and put a 1X3 wall of campfires between me and the enemy, throwing anything I can until they're in striking distance. If an ally is down, I'll use a jump to get to them and kill whoever's attacking them, then kind of stay near them to defend them. Since I'm normally reliant on disabling an enemy fast, and using my companions as a shield, high numbers of enemies, like a giant dingo pack, are normally what end me. An eight year old dragon did me in one time when I had no shield.