The thievery portion of most Shadowrun scenarios is usually of the, "bust in, shoot people, grab McGuffin, get out," variety. Heist scenarios, by contrast, usually try to operate so that nobody gets killed.
Running an actual heist?
The thievery portion of most Shadowrun scenarios is usually of the, "bust in, shoot people, grab McGuffin, get out," variety. Heist scenarios, by contrast, usually try to operate so that nobody gets killed.
Sure, but whose plan are they executing? The DMs??!!
There's a reason RPGs are different from books and movies after all!
Meanwhile I see that this interesting item has been uploaded to DMs Guild:
Here's To Crime: A Guide to Capers and Heists
Here's To Crime: A Guide to Capers and Heists
If we built a heist in Waterdeep what would it look like ? I could see the enterence being a palace party with all the antagonists in attendance. (Secret door in center of dance floor?) Then onto a trap filled dungeon that requires specific equipping. ( map given before heist ) ending with construct guarded vault door with a timer?? The last room could be run as written as far I see...?? Most of the villains make contact with the stone and likely the word is out on its location. If it’s only accessible during a small window of time the location would be crawling with interested parties to create chaos and opportunity.
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collin
Explorer
Actually, I had planned for my last group's final adventure a heist based on the Donald Westlake/Richard Stark Parker novel, "The Score", set in Eberron wherein the characters have been forced into a life of crime and were engaged to rob an entire copper mining village in northern Aundair. Alas, the group eventually dissolved and we did not reach that final adventure.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/618794.The_Score
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/618794.The_Score
HawaiiSteveO
Blistering Barnacles!
As a side note, the upcoming Al season for Eberron indicates some heist type adventures. Can't wait to see if they can pull it off better than DH!
I've never used AL adventures for my home group, but these sound great!
DDAL-ELW03 The Cannith Code
Level Range: 1-4 (optimized for 3rd level)
Adventure Designer: Cindy Moore
Adventure Description: To crack a secret code, the characters trace the gnome who formulated the cipher. When they learn he’s been imprisoned in a high-security compound, they launch the jailbreak of the century to bust him out.
Adventure Length: 2 to 4 hours
DMsGuild Release: Friday, October 12 2018
DDAL-ELW07 Blades of Terror
Level Range: 5-10 (optimized for 7th level)
Adventure Designer: Lysa Chen
Adventure Description: What secret cargo is House Cannith hiding in an airship bound for Aundair? A simple heist at 30,000 feet turns deadly when a new threat rises out of the Mournland!
Adventure Length: 2 to 4 hours
DMsGuild Release: Friday, November 9 2018
DDAL-ELW08 The Kundarak Job
Level Range: 5-10 (optimized for 8th level)
Adventure Designer: Shawn Merwin
Adventure Description: One of Sharn’s most influential figures is hiding something… inside a House Kundarak vault. To acquire the answers they need, the characters must break into one of Sharn’s most secure locations AND get out alive.
Adventure Length: 2 to 4 hours
DMsGuild Release: Friday, November 16 2018
I've never used AL adventures for my home group, but these sound great!
DDAL-ELW03 The Cannith Code
Level Range: 1-4 (optimized for 3rd level)
Adventure Designer: Cindy Moore
Adventure Description: To crack a secret code, the characters trace the gnome who formulated the cipher. When they learn he’s been imprisoned in a high-security compound, they launch the jailbreak of the century to bust him out.
Adventure Length: 2 to 4 hours
DMsGuild Release: Friday, October 12 2018
DDAL-ELW07 Blades of Terror
Level Range: 5-10 (optimized for 7th level)
Adventure Designer: Lysa Chen
Adventure Description: What secret cargo is House Cannith hiding in an airship bound for Aundair? A simple heist at 30,000 feet turns deadly when a new threat rises out of the Mournland!
Adventure Length: 2 to 4 hours
DMsGuild Release: Friday, November 9 2018
DDAL-ELW08 The Kundarak Job
Level Range: 5-10 (optimized for 8th level)
Adventure Designer: Shawn Merwin
Adventure Description: One of Sharn’s most influential figures is hiding something… inside a House Kundarak vault. To acquire the answers they need, the characters must break into one of Sharn’s most secure locations AND get out alive.
Adventure Length: 2 to 4 hours
DMsGuild Release: Friday, November 16 2018
Depends on the group. SR offers enough tools, be it actual equipment, skills and rules like with contacts etc. to go full non-violent if your groups samurai is not bored by it.
GlassJaw
Hero
When I played Shadowrun, if you started shooting up the place, something went very, very wrong.
CapnZapp
Legend
The problem every would-be enthusiastic heist scenario writer (or just proponent of the genre) needs to face is:
The heist genre isn't built for free will.
Everything that makes heists in movies etc so great is because the improbable happens while the probable don't.
The fundamental building block of any good heist is not rolling the dice. It's the exact opposite of a regular rpg scenario, and it is spectacularly unsuited to something like D&D.
On the other hand, it can be much more compatible with a storytelling game. (If each player has a hand of cards describing various elements of heists, then the variability is only which archetypal sequence happens first.)
The difference is that while D&D is (rightly) described as cooperative, it's still "us vs the world". What you need for a heist is instead a "we're describing the world" game.
A heist has much more in common with world-building, than the subsequent step where you have adventures in that world. The excitement isn't derived from "will you or won't you lift the neclace off of Lady Shaggenbimple's neck in time" because of course you will. The enjoyment of a good heist is instead its components, how well they fit together, and what end-game twists there are.
In that perspective, WotC's only fault was to call their adventure something something heist in the first place.
The heist genre isn't built for free will.
Everything that makes heists in movies etc so great is because the improbable happens while the probable don't.
The fundamental building block of any good heist is not rolling the dice. It's the exact opposite of a regular rpg scenario, and it is spectacularly unsuited to something like D&D.
On the other hand, it can be much more compatible with a storytelling game. (If each player has a hand of cards describing various elements of heists, then the variability is only which archetypal sequence happens first.)
The difference is that while D&D is (rightly) described as cooperative, it's still "us vs the world". What you need for a heist is instead a "we're describing the world" game.
A heist has much more in common with world-building, than the subsequent step where you have adventures in that world. The excitement isn't derived from "will you or won't you lift the neclace off of Lady Shaggenbimple's neck in time" because of course you will. The enjoyment of a good heist is instead its components, how well they fit together, and what end-game twists there are.
In that perspective, WotC's only fault was to call their adventure something something heist in the first place.
Sure, but whose plan are they executing? The DMs??!!
In Ocean's 11, it is Danny Ocean's plan. He spent his time in jail coming up with most of the plan. The movie research is on some details surrounding the execution of that plan. So, the film elides over much of the research and planning step. There are ways to handle this that are not "execute the DM's plan" but D&D, specifically, does not have any purpose-designed mechanics in place to help produce the plan. And, your players are not Danny Ocean with significant time in jail to think about the problem.
