I’m looking for some ideas for a heist.
The crew is a cult that has just learnt that an artifact has just arrived on an abandoned leviathan ship.
The artifact is being constantly moved round the city by the inspectors as the object keeps attracting spirits to it. The Grey Cloaks are involved and somehow the cults connect a spirit trafficker is involved.
I could go with something basic like the cults connected spirit trafficker has informed the group that the object is being moved around the city by the inspectors and while the group makes their move the Grey Cloaks turn up, but I was looking for something a little different and more involved.
Any heist ideas or complications greatly appreciated. Many thanks.
It is being moved off canals to stay away from the Gondoliers until they can work out a deal to store it in a Leviathan ship or an army Zeppelin.
The premise for this is already fascinating!
I like using the idea of the constantly moving target as a complication of the heist. Maybe there’s a timing game of getting to the right place at the right time, or maybe they need to stake out multiple possible move points and coordinate arriving at the right one?
Maybe they can craft/get hold of a “PKE meter” to run down the artifact on the move.
Maybe a scoundrel can try Attuning to a place where they know it was, and sniff around the city like a bloodhound.
For sure another cult can get wind of the artifact, or maybe the artifact whispers to a preferred owner, so now it’s a race to the storage site.
Maybe the whole thing was a readiness drill for the Spirit Wardens and the artifact is just a paperweight with a beacon ward on it. The whole thing’s a cruel joke, sure, but if they do manage to steal it, the pranking and misdirection uses are endless! (Provided they can work out how to turn it off. )
May as well have some fun with it.
A high-level Hive operative is the last scion of a noble house, and his heartbeat and blood pattern serve as the spirit key that open the door to this pocket realm in the Ghost Field. He must be alive to open the way. He has the Hive’s best protection on him and he is in constant movement among the gondolas of Silkshore.
The closed doorway to the spirit realm is an urn with his ancestor’s ashes. That urn is buried in concrete in a noble’s mansion in one of the basements, only two Spirit Wardens know where exactly. Finding it and digging it out is going to be noisy, and it is protected by illegal means since it’s in such an isolated space.
When they need it, the operatives can have the scion open the ghost door even though it’s buried in concrete. The only reason to dig it up is to bring it to where he is. If you can take him to it, much easier.
What makes a better story for me is when the start comes from of the players intentions/actions. This to avoid the classical “you all sit in a tavern and are informed by a spirit traffiker” situation. Maybe they are out in town to do something and they spot the conspicous group of inspectors (group? Aren’t they normally working alone? Seems to be an action unknown to the bluecoats, so no official city thing? plus cool ideas by Rebecca W)
Attrackting spirits as well it is maybe a good lead to push them in this direction.
If you do that, you have the risk of players don’t investigate because they don’t find it intresting enough. I would go with the players then and keep this awesome ideas for the next group. Or just play step 1 off screen and offer the idea to the players on step 2: Another cult got the obeject now, they snatched it from the inspectors and are planning to use it (for what?) Gondoliers are pissed because of what Judd Karlman said, Hive is in it too (see Andrew Shields) and Bluecoats want to have a piece of the profit. Short for: A big BIG mess. Maybe a good opportunity to server our deity and make some profit?