We’ve reached the top of the guide, so it’s time to look again over all the pieces inside and make some broader observations. One of many issues that I wished to handle proper up entrance is that I seen lots of skepticism about this guide on-line. A lot of it was criticizing the idea with out really addressing the execution.
There are different devoted heist RPGs in the marketplace. They typically have their very own particular setting, and even when they don’t, they’ve their very own assumptions about how the universe works. In a lot of these video games, magic is a way more delicate pressure. Moreover, in a lot of these video games, whereas there could also be parts of the supernatural, and there might even be supernatural realms, these realms are very hardly ever visited by the protagonists of these tales.
For example, I’m a fan of the next RPGs (which aren’t all-inclusive of heist-related RPGs):
- Blades within the Darkish
- Nightfall Metropolis Outlaws
- Dishonored (Modiphius’ 2d20 RPG)
The issue is, eager to play a heist is barely a part of what somebody might want from a marketing campaign. None of these video games goes to allow you to play a Githyanki Soulblade attempting to attain it massive to make a house for her household of deserters from Tu’narath, or a kender bard that retains getting recruited for heists as a result of individuals assume they’re good with their palms, if what I imply. None of these goes to scratch that itch if a participant needs to play a Trickery area cleric that lights up a goal with Guiding Bolt, hoping that her crew will take out the guard earlier than it may alert the remainder of the patrols.
Fringe of the Empire has an journey known as The Jewel of Yavin, which is a heist story that takes place on Bespin. Whereas Fringe of the Empire is about individuals dwelling on the sting of the regulation within the Star Wars universe, it doesn’t have any particular mechanics for resolving heists. There aren’t any particular flashback mechanics or engagement rolls. However the journey tells people who find themselves followers of the system, and followers of Star Wars, tips on how to play that particular journey, presenting that particular heist.
My level is barely this: if somebody needs to play a D&D character and so they need to play a heist-based journey, then they’ll need to play D&D, even when the sport isn’t solely optimized for heist gameplay. Somebody that enjoys the mechanics of Blades within the Darkish might find yourself enjoying out a scene the place they’ve a straight-up gang struggle within the streets, or must destroy a monster endangering their dwelling, and enjoying out these simple fight scenes with a sport optimized for heists doesn’t invalidate the group’s option to pay Blades within the Darkish any greater than eager to play D&D and take part in heist based mostly adventures is by some means an irreconcilable mismatch.
Anthology Versus Sourcebook
I’ve seen just a few different feedback on-line which have proven disappointment over the scope of this product. I’ve seen those who wished D&D-specific guidelines for flashbacks or planning/engagement. I’ve seen individuals disenchanted that there weren’t new stealthy/criminal-themed subclasses. I’ve seen those who wished extra monsters, spells, or magic objects.
I like all of these issues. If you wish to give them to me in a product, I’ll take them. Nevertheless, a undertaking must have a spotlight and a scope, or it by no means will get finished, and it could not do what it was primarily deliberate to do. That is an journey anthology, so its main function is to ship a spread of adventures on a theme.
I’ve seen some comparisons to Journeys by means of the Radiant Citadel, which did have extra setting info in addition to just a few extra new creatures. I don’t suppose this can be a honest comparability, as a result of the main target of Journeys by means of the Radiant Citadel was to current a various group of creators and their adventures, in addition to showcasing cultures that haven’t been featured in D&D as typically as European influences, in addition to cultures that haven’t been envisioned and detailed by individuals of these cultures prior to now.
The first function of Keys from the Golden Vault is to be a themed anthology of heist adventures. The secondary function of Keys from the Golden Vault is to offer a marketing campaign framework for somebody to make use of in the event that they want to use the anthology as a marketing campaign. To check Keys from the Golden Vault to a extra applicable anthology, it’s doing one thing much like Candlekeep Mysteries. Candlekeep Mysteries had a theme of mysteries with a connection to Candlekeep, and did a bit extra setting constructing in presenting Candlekeep, however supplied much less of a cohesive construction for utilizing the entire adventures to ensure that a single marketing campaign. On steadiness, each anthologies are doing one thing related, with the dials adjusted a bit bit by some means.
Dungeon Grasp Consolation
One other space of concern I’ve seen revolves across the consolation stage of DMs working heist adventures. That is all the time difficult for me, as a result of not each product could be for entry-level DMs, and generally, particularly in an anthology, some entries shall be simpler to run than others.
That doesn’t imply I believe starting DMs needs to be left to fend for themselves, however simply that in some unspecified time in the future, a very good adventure-based product might require some familiarity and luxury with points of the sport that aren’t evident the primary time you sit right down to run a sport.
There are some adventures on this anthology that, whereas they revolve round stealing one thing, have a extra simple D&D journey construction. PCs might not need to go in making lots of noise and killing all the pieces in sight, however it’s simpler to plan for discreetly partaking opponents and challenges with out lots of planning apart from taking issues sluggish and simple.
The next adventures have a extra simple construction to a location-based journey or a dungeon crawl:
- The Murkmire Malevolence (1st stage)
- Attain for the Stars (third stage)
- Tockworth’s Clockworks (fifth stage)
- Shard of the Accursed (eighth)
- Coronary heart of Ashes (eighth)
- Hearth and Darkness (eleventh)
That doesn’t imply that every one of those shall be simple to run, however it does imply they in all probability received’t be any tougher to run than a normal journey for characters of that stage.
Affair on the Concordant Specific (ninth) isn’t a conventional D&D journey, however as a result of linearity of the places (actually the order the prepare vehicles are organized), lots of that journey will hinge on presenting the PCs with the state of affairs on that prepare automotive and seeing how effectively they improvise or how they react to what’s in entrance of them.
Massive Rating
Total, I actually loved this anthology. There are some extraordinarily well-crafted adventures that do some intelligent issues on the intersection of D&D and heists, and people are going to make some memorable tales. Whereas there are such a lot of sturdy entries on this quantity, Affair on the Concordant Specific might be the standout for being so on level with each the heist theme and use of D&D-isms, whereas presenting an journey persons are not going to overlook.
The Twist
I did need just a bit bit extra element on the Golden Vault, and I’d have liked to have seen STEAL get just a few paragraphs within the introduction as a substitute of solely being detailed in Affair on the Concordant Specific. It did get a bit repetitive having the Golden Vault pay out solely in magic objects. I do know magic objects could be actually worthwhile, however it looks like an elite crew of thieves, even ones which might be doing what they do to assist others, might need to dwell comfortably with ridiculous sums of gold and gems.
The tone and theme will get away from just a few of the adventures. Attain for the Stars, within the context of a heist-themed journey, nearly looks like a bait and change, as a result of it’s actually a “cease the cult from performing a ritual” mission. Actually, I believe the journey works tremendous for those who tweak it for a non-heist-themed marketing campaign, with the PCs simply being employed to research the home. Everybody has a special threshold for humor, however Axe from the Grave felt actually tonally inconsistent to me. You’re coping with an undead whose predominant menace is being disturbing in public and smelling unhealthy, you’re inundated with foolish small-town quirky tropes, and whoops, there’s a cultist of Graz’zt.
Really useful–If the product suits in your broad space of gaming pursuits, you’re more likely to be pleased with this buy.
There’s undoubtedly extra that works for me on this anthology than doesn’t work for me. The place it delivers on its theme, it delivers laborious, and it delivers typically. It’s helpful for a number of functions, as it really works as a marketing campaign on it’s personal, however together with the opposite anthologies launched for D&D 5e, it offers an amazing toolbox for both customized mixing and matching a marketing campaign, or filling in no matter gaps a DM might have in their very own marketing campaign’s plan.
A few of these adventures synergize effectively with different campaign-length adventures put out for the sport. For instance, Little Lockford might match into an Out of the Abyss marketing campaign, the added particulars on Revel’s Finish can contribute to Rime of the Frost Maiden and even Storm King’s Thunder, Shard of the Acrused suits proper in to a Radiant Citadel marketing campaign, Ghalasine may very well be labored into Ravenloft both as a part of an present area, or because it’s personal, and Affair on the Concordant Specific, with its deal with True Names, is likely to be a very good observe as much as Descent into Avernus.
