I'm gonna bullet point and treat "heist" as being shorthand for any kind of criminal type skullduggery, heist is just one example of a Score, honestly. I'll start out by saying that in 5e D&D, things that are related to skullduggery and theft are mostly left to the Rogue class, with a little carry over to some other classes, and also through use of the Criminal Background. But unless a party is specifically specced out for stealth and deception, there will be weak spots.
- Less niche protection- Blades PCs are all reasonably capable at any and all actions; yes they have areas they are strong at and areas they are not, but at worst, they're still capable- they are also flexible, your playbook choice only determines 3 of your starting 7 stat points and your XP triggers; you can then assign 4 points however you wish among your other stats and you are also free to take abilities from other playbooks freely when you get a new one, you're not limited to your playbook nor do you have to multiclass or anything like that- PCs are more broadly competent and flexible than in D&D
- Stress- every PC has Stress to deploy in order to improve their chances at actions- they can more easily shore up those shortcomings they do have, which again are not as bad as 5E- they can spend stress to increase their dice pool or to increase the effect of their action, giving them tools beyond a simple skill check that will allow them to perform
- Resistance Rolls- these allow the PC to shrug off consequences from any action that imposes a consequence- so if a failed Prowl roll results in a guard being alerted, he has the ability to Resist that consequence
- Group moves and Assists- these allow the entire crew to contribute to an action that would normally be one or two characters' specialty in D&D- so group Prowl moves when the whole crew needs to infiltrate or a group Skirmish move when the crew gets into a brawl, etc. Assists are a simpler way for some teamwork, and can help quite a bit- teamwork is promoted with assists because the cost to assist another PC is 1 Stress but the cost to push your own roll is 2 Stress
- Load and Gear- allowing Gear to be chosen as needed gives that "the right tool for the job" feeling; it makes the character seem like a competent criminal who knows what they'll likely need- I know a lot of people would disagree with this, but no- in D&D, the player is choosing gear, not the character, and the player's information is incomplete and imperfect because it is being relayed through another- who would better plan for a crime, a criminal or a roleplayer? The criminal. This mechanic portrays that.
- Flashbacks- another way to make the character a criminal in a city that they know and are familiar with and were they have contacts and means of finding out information. Flashbacks help the players by allowing the characters to prepare for the challenges they face, again shifting play in a different direction that still takes some skill, but which doesn't rely on the player somehow being as competent a criminal as the character.
- Position and Effect- this promotes a uniform process of play which is open and player facing, and negotiable- this means that players will always know a sense of the odds they have at any given action- that player awareness bleeds over to character awareness, again portraying the scoundrels as competent
- XP For Desperate Actions- this is a great one, and it epitomizes what some of the others also do- it encourages bold and daring play- scoundrels of the type in Blades are meant to be bold and daring, taking on threats that they shouldn't be, and somehow scraping by- giving XP for putting themselves in danger is quite the opposite of what many D&D games are, which is about mitigating risk
- Success With Consequences- this is another important one as it's what allows a Gm to turn just about any Action taken by a player into a dynamic situation that mounts as you play- D&D really lacks in this area- I know that this is a suggestion in the DMG, but I don't think many GMs use it to great effect, and the way the D&D fanbase shot down the Skill Challenges of 4E, I'm surprised to see such support for it in this conversation- It's much more uniformly, fundamentally, and smoothly deployed in Blades
- Action Rolls- they all work the same; want to stab the guard? Want to sneak past him? Want to trick him into letting you past? All these things function in the same way- all can become dynamic and interesting situations that potentially include all the other rules of the game- this makes non-combat actions as viable as fighting- I'm sure we've all seen the slow but inevitable resort to combat in D&D and it's because the skill system is too simple on its own- it's not robust enough to actually support a mechanically engaging encounter and so players decide okay let's get to the fun stuff
There are likely more, but those are the kind of bare bones ones that I think are significant. Didn't even get into playbook abilities and the like; I wanted to stick to elements common to all characters or just fundamental to the game.
The text actively encourages that, yes. Get to the action. Harper makes a specific point to say it's not always necessary, but that it's a general principle to keep in mind. If you do, you'll generally be able to keep the action moving without getting bogged down in lots of discussion.
But there are at least a few basic prep actions in the form of Gathering Information and then the Engagement Roll. You have to pick a Detail, which is a crucial element of the plan (so if you're assaulting a place, the Detail might be "we're rappelling in through the windows" or something similar). So there's always at least a little prep.
But the general idea is to get to the action.
Perhaps. But not every character will have access to those abilities, and even those who do may not select those abilities. They'll likely need to consider it against other needs.
The truth of the matter is that the biggest pressure on the PCs in D&D is Hit Point Attrition. That's pretty much it. And Hit Points, as much as they can be described to be any one thing, are a Pacing Mechanic. They are D&D's ticking clock for the PCs.
And there are very few ways for PCs to lose HP. Combat, the occasional trap, and.....um....more combat!
The game doesn't have any way to really put pressure on the PCs except with HP, and with more narrative goals or penalties. But the narrative goals and penalties are true of every game. So HP are what D&D has to work with. A party with full HP, casting Invisibility and spamming Guidance and similar spells may get in an out to perform a heist or similar job.....and the encounter would suck.
D&D is geared for combat in so many fundamental ways that when there is no combat, the game is almost absent.
