Crafting a Heist
Finding the perfect score
Like my "One Room Adventure" post, I'm going to spend some time looking at what makes a solid heist adventure. I do this with some level of experience, as I've written one heist, Savage Scions of the Sea, and will be covering that. But I'll also be looking at couple other DCC adventures: The Rats of Ilthmar and The Heist. Each of these adventures offers a different take on how to do it. But I'll also be covering a brief description of the core elements that you see in just about every heist. But if you want to do a deep dive into heist stories, there are some downright academic resources that can be found with an online search. I'm just focusing on the elements that are important within the context of a TTRPG.
The Basic Elements
The Target
What the PCs want to escape with. It's usually jewels or a magic items. But sometimes its a hostage or completing a frame job. The Target is often stationary if its something like a crown inside a vault, but it may be mobile if its worn by the BBEG.
The Team
The PCs. In TTRPGs, we don't do elaborate "gather the team" scenes, but maybe a one-shot could have a fun montage.
The Trouble
The defenses, usually the building and guards around the Target. There should be themes that characterize the adventure, like magic-sniffing guard dog or strange social norms that should be followed while the PCs disguise themselves.
The Timer
Always have a reason that the Heist can't wait. Maybe the Target only appears under the full moon, or will soon be transported out of the city.
The Twist
Something goes wrong and complicates things. Bad dice rolls can usually handle this, but add a little flair to it. Maybe the Target moves locations halfway through the adventure, or the PCs were only partially informed about the defenses.
Example Heist Adventures
The Heist
Contained in the DCC Day 2020 Adventure Pack, this is a great Lankhmar adventure. The PCs have a Target that will be on display for one night only. It can be found in a noble's manse where a masked party is being held. They can disguise themselves as servants or guards, or try to pass themselves off as guests. As written, the adventure advised that PCs take about 1 hour to prep their heist before spending another 3 hours pulling it off.
There's timeline for running the party and the events that will happen while the PCs search for their Target. And its nicely summarized on a single page so its easy for the judge to follow the approximate timeline. The PCs can explore the manor, but also the caves underneath. The events of the party will take guests through both, with the caves being home to a strange bit of theater before the party concludes. This adventure has the environment change around the PCs as time goes on, provides ample roleplay opportunities, has a small twist, and even moves the target around. It's an excellent example of how to structure a heist adventure.
Savage Scions of the Sea
This is a heist with a goal determined by the players. They may be here to free captives, to find the dwarven forgemaster, or to steal the potently powerful potion known as the jarl's draught. There's three ways in and out of the island fortress. The whole place is filled with mighty sea giants who are all stinking drunk and thus are easily tricked. The PCs are bound to get into fights, but its not too difficult to escape from drunks. Plus, there's three distinct places where the PCs could theoretically hide where no one will find them. The adventure has a couple points that could work as a combat worthy of a "finale sequence" but its lack of pre-determined endpoint means that its works differently every time.
Out of all the adventure from The Conquest of Chaos, this one has the most replayability. This is a great example of a heist that gives maximum agency to the PCs. Random encounters with wandering drunks keeps PCs on their toes and makes for an extra "trouble". Plus, each player-determined goal has its own "twist" that makes each one a little harder to attain than initially thought.
Rats of Ilthmar
Similar to Blades Against Death, this adventure is 1/2 heist and 1/2 dungeon crawl. You need to get into the temple, preferably quietly, and before getting down into a a level that is more "typical dungeon crawl" in its presentation. The heist portion is sneaking through an active religious temple. To be honest, the PCs don't interact much with this, beyond sneaking in and past the rat god worshippers. But the PCs also have to sneak their way out, and that can be a bit harder depending on how smoothly they entered the building.
The heist portion of this adventure isn't the focus, but this one can be a great example of how to include a heist within your adventure when the focus is really elsewhere.
Conclusion
A heist can be difficult to execute for both the creator of the heist and the players who run through it. But there's nothing else quite like it. For now, I'm out of words. Someone stole them.
What's your favorite heist adventure from any system?
What Else Is Going On?
This Ol’ Dungeon
Me and Luau Lou talk G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King! We discuss favorite areas and which areas that we'd change on This Ol' Dungeon.
The Conquest of Chaos Actual Play
Check it out on Youtube! A full campaign will be uploaded (as soon as I can finish editing the rest of the videos) and clips be added of our funniest moments.