Silverdisc Hall Heist

[wonderandawe]

My players have interrogated and killed Garmen Ulreth and now want to rob his Silverdisc Hall. One of the character is going to cast illusion (exact name of the spell I can't remember) to look like him and talk her way into the backroom.

I already have some ideas on some difficulties the characters will encounter with this heist, but I need help with what to give the players if they succeed? I don't want to give them all the goods in the Silverdisc hall, but want to give them something for their initiative. Anyone got any ideas?

[QuidEst]

In a world where Disguise Self is a first-level spell, you probably need a little more than just looking like someone. If they loot the body, have a bunch of keys there. More secure areas will require passwords, or be guarded by traps that need disabling. (Speak With Dead might get them a little further, or give them a clue about where to stop.)

Long story short, though, "the back room" will be a series of back rooms. Common stuff needed regularly will be easy to get to, while rarer things will have additional security. Maybe a guard automaton that asks for a password, but doesn't do anything if they don't hit three failed tries or attempt to enter anyway.

[Sean_Powell]

Depends what effort you put into describing Silver-Disk hall when they visited earlier. I made mine a slot-machine casino where players could play in silver, gold or disks. There was also a nightly 'battle-bots' betting pool with a bot made by Garrit Burwaddle was the reigning champion. To keep the games 'fair' there was a 'witch' dressed all in white with a veil scouting for anyone using magic down below. (possibly Jhestine Imierin in disguise? The party never found out.) Slot machines dump their big winnings down a chute if someone pulls a panic switch.

Remember, you also have the ability to use tech for a defense and probably should. At a minimum a good gambling hall should have some for of detect magic and other magical defenses. Glyphs of warding are a personal favorite. You could introduce your players to grenades early if they lift up the chest a sphere with blinking lights rolls past their feet. Surprisingly Dogs are probably one of the best defense against disguise self spells as they will tune in on scent and command words. A couple of off-duty rope-fist thugs should be around at all times as well.

Either way the payout shouldn't be too great. If Garmin was sitting on a great fortune he wouldn't need to take jobs from scary purple-haired women. Also if he could afford better than a Master-work weapon he would have bought it. I personally wouldn't make the hall worth much more than Garmin has on himself and I'd probably select a guard (with dog), a mechanical/technological trap and a magical trap with a CR that is about equal to defeating Garmin a second time.