Magical Items for a Heist One Shot

[nickl_2000]

So I'm writing up a One Shot Heist adventure for those off night when the long term DM is tired or someone is out (so the character will be new and own't exist outside the one-short). There will be 3 PCs at level 6 (I wanted to give enough levels that the PCs could develop and have some power, but not so much that I would be lost about their abilities since I'm not the best DM in the world).

The PCs are hired/tasked by the Harpers to infiltrate a Temple of the Cult of the Dragon and abscond with a powerful magical item and the Harpers would offer them equipment to assist them in their heist.


What types of magical equipment could you see them offering? I'm open to any homebrew or items from the DMG. As I said, this are single use character, so I'm not worried about long term character power creep.

Thanks!

[LeonBH]

Iron Bands of Bilarro will be useful to "take out" any guard with one roll.
Winged Boots will be useful to avoid the hassle of climbing up a rope.
Boots of Elvenkind will aid with stealth.
Sending Stones will give them a 1/day walkie talkie without needing to speak.

[malloc]

Any time I think of a heist, I think of making a corny over-the-top Mission: Impossible or Ocean's 11 themed game. As such, consider "magical" items that would mimic the effects of some mundane equipment used in such movies/situations. Set up some type of magical security cameras for the Temple, provide some Dragonborn in tuxedos for thugs, and give the players things like mirrors that could reflect the magical sight of the cameras, or some sort of 'invisibility cloak' that requires a check to keep over all of the members of the party (it's a little small for ALL of you, but if you squeeze...).

Think about how different members of the party might apply their class abilities or skill checks to solve situations instead of magical equipment. That will make the players feel more empowered. The Wizard might need to rely on some UMD. The Rogue is in charge of balancing the blanket. The Fighter is the only one strong enough to operate the vault drill. Have roles.

Think about when you want the heist to stop being a stealth game and start being a mad dash for the loot and escaping. Consider what you want the big scene to be like--a fight with the High Priest? A fight with a dragon?

I might lay it out like this:

Spoiler

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Scene 1: players meet the harpies and are given the quest. They are given at least 4 magical items to help with specific security threats in the 'temple' (which I'd style as a casino called the Dragon's Den). Threats could include "security eyes", the vault door, some information about obtaining a magical keycard off of a guard or the head of security, some type of magical rope for climbing, a flame retardant, some fool's gold for getting into the casino as a V.I.P., etc.

This could be written up in advance for the players when they make their characters. Allow each player to ask for one type of item in addition to their character's normal equipment, which lets the party customize their approach into the casino. Let them know some of the known security threats, but keep several hidden--you want there to be some problems and surprises, after all.

Scene 2: Entry into the casino. Let them decide if they're going to all go together or go from different spots. Encourage them to think of who might accomplish each task. Maybe one member is going in as a V.I.P. guest and trying to schmooze and pick pocket the Head(s) of Security (which, with a job title like that, would have to be a 2 headed ogre). Maybe another is sneaking in through the skylight, or equivalent place. Encourage creative and varied entry, and give the party 2-3 readily obtainable goals to plan towards.

Scene 3: Problem. The party encounters a new security threat they weren't prepared for. This will require them to use ingenuity, think on their feat, dig deep into those class skills, and plan on the fly. Maybe there's a magical guardbeast. Maybe they've upgraded the door security to require a code AND a key card, or even a hand scan. Maybe the dining carts no longer have space to fit the halfling, or the invisibility blanket isn't big enough.

Scene 4/5: The Vault (or Discovery). Players reach their goal. They're prepared to break through the door, but it will take time. One of the party members should be the expert in working whatever contraption the harpies have given the party to open the highest magic vault in all the land, and it should take some TIME. During this, the other party members will be in charge of keeping the heat off of that player. If they've been Discovered, that might be stalling or fighting the guards. If they haven't, it might be preventing the guards from patrolling there. Disabling security cameras or confusing magical constructs patrolling the hallways; flirting with the on-duty staff to prevent them from walking down that hallway. Don't think of answers for the players, think of problems. The players will come up with answers.

Scene 5/4: Discovery (or The Vault). At some point, something goes wrong. They fail to block a camera. A guard stumbles upon them in the act. The Face's bluff checks wear out. The jig is up, and the only thing left to do is a smash and grab! This can happen before, during, or after the vault is opened and the item is obtained. Maybe they forget to deactivate the alarm. Maybe a guard steps on the Face's dress and discovers that the woman he was flirting with is actually a man in disguise! At some point mistakes are bound to happen, and it's time to change tactics.

Scene 6: High Priest. The players have been discovered, and they've been cornered by the High Priest (or other primary villain). He won't let them leave without a fight. Cue fight; include thematic challenges and enemies. Mooks rush in, maybe the room is dragon-themed and players need to keep moving away from timed fire traps (disrupting their tactics). Get creative and don't let it be a "okay, you attack. You hit. There's damage. He attacks. He hits. There's damage" type of fight.

Scene 7: Escape! You have the goods. You've defeated or are temporarily evading the High Priest (not every fight needs to end in death). Now it's time to get out, but the way you came in won't likely work. Thankfully, there's those blueprints you have, and there's another two ways out, each with a different type of challenge (skill checks vs combat, maybe? Faster and more dangerous vs longer and safer?). Get to the chopper!

For timing, since I usually do ~4 hour sessions, I'd do 30-45 minutes on the Escape, 60-90 minutes on the Entry, 30-45 on the Problem, 15-20 on the Vault (or longer if roleplaying is involved). Discovery is like a 15+ minute speed bump, and the last ~60 minutes could fit the boss fight.

Keep in mind, this isn't me telling you to use this setup exactly; it's just an idea of how a different DM might run it to give you inspiration for how you want to set up your game.

[nickl_2000]

SNIP

Dang, thanks a lot for the advice. I will have to read it about 5 more times so that I can make sure to get it all in place to make the best story possible.

[Crgaston]

A rope of climbing and Heward's Handy Haversack, along with boots/cloaks of elvenkind spring to mind.

[Beechgnome]

Portable Hole! Portable Hole! EDIT: Ah, I just realised you are the DM? Probably don't want to allow that.

Eyes of Charming and Hat of Disguise are good, especially if you don't have a team face. (Though you really should.)

.

[nickl_2000]

Portable Hole! Portable Hole! EDIT: Ah, I just realised you are the DM? Probably don't want to allow that.

Eyes of Charming and Hat of Disguise are good, especially if you don't have a team face. (Though you really should.)

.

Yup, I am the DM. I'm setting it up to give lots of different options for solving problems that you could run into. For example I'm thinking about giving access to a Quaal’s Feather Token - Bird.

Could be a good escape tool, or it not that, summoning a Gigantic Bird in the middle of a temple is certainly a distraction technique.

[Beechgnome]

Yup, I am the DM. I'm setting it up to give lots of different options for solving problems that you could run into. For example I'm thinking about giving access to a Quaal’s Feather Token - Bird.

Could be a good escape tool, or it not that, summoning a Gigantic Bird in the middle of a temple is certainly a distraction technique.

In this thread below I posted a few homebrew magic items that my players used in a caper campaign: it is the second or third post.

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showt...rtain+surprise

Another one I gave them was called a Pocket Waywocket (it was like a pocket watch) As an action you could press a button to mark a location. From then on waywocket points to direction of that spot. Good for mazes.