Bumps are *intended* to be big-time contest winners. An early rule of thumb was that a full mastery advantage produced a equal fight when the odds were 5-1 against the guy with the mastery. In a 1-1 fight, the mastery will nearly always win. It requires some really hot/cold dice rolling to defeat a mastery head-to-head without augmenting, changing tactics, etc.
>contest with most of the APs of the opponent. Which means that in the case
of the Heros going through the henchmen to get to the main villian the Heros
will not gain so many APs that they nuke the major NPC!
As purely Narrator advice, Low-level henchmen shouldn't be used to "soak off" the heroes, since as you noted all they do is act as a storage battery of AP for the hero. Instead, make them followers and give all their AP to the Villain, and don't worry about trying to get those Multiple Opponent penalties. Descriptively, it's all the same - "The villain's numerous henchmen harry you, rushing in to strike or feint, then running back out of range..." Also, it reduces the number of die rolls you need :-). Read the "Dealing with Hordes" section (page 186) for some ideas of how to use and abuse followers. The SWAT team example is really a Player Party attempt to make a "Horde of One" - all individual efforts are subsumed into one hero's rolls.
RR
It is by my order and for the good of the state that the bearer of this has
done what he has done.
- Richelieu
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