Dungeons and Dragons is a game full of fantasy, excitement, and adventure, and what is more adventurous than a good heist? So, combining these two is, in my opinion, a literal stroke of genius. DnD heist modules are always exciting, filled with challenges, and include all the well-known (and loved) elements of heist movies like obtaining the required equipment, assembling the dream team, and hatching a plan of action. So, if you’re interested in an action-filled adventure and have always dreamed of “pulling a job” like the Ocean’s crew then stay tuned because I’m going to count down my picks for the top 10 DnD heist adventures!
10. The Heist at Nimressa
In the barony of Nimressa, there is a corrupt priest living in a fort filled with riches beyond anything imaginable. During their travels, your party will learn about a plan to get ahold of that treasure and share it among the not-so-fortunate. It will be the players’ job to make their plan, break into the fort and figure out how to get past all its defenses. If they’re successful, they are going to walk away with a nice chunk of gold and maybe even some rare magical artifacts. If they don’t succeed…well, let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that.
This is a 6-8 hour long high stakes heist module meant for 3rd and 4th level characters, that’s chock full of fun social interactions and presents a new way to handle them if you wish to switch things up a bit.
9. Diamond Heist
A noble djinn is looking for a crew who can return her lost diamond currently displayed in the Modern Artworks Museum. And she’s offering an incredible reward – a single wish – with the power to bring you anything you want. The problem is that the museum’s defenses are up and the staff are planning to rotate exhibits very soon, so it’s going to take a very skilled and creative crew to pull this job. Is your party up to the task?
This is a heist adventure for a party of 6-9th level characters and it’s going to take only one or two sessions to complete. It has an amazing backstory and offers up all the benefits of a classic heist, so be sure to give it a try!
8. The Runecarver Robbery
This adventure has a super cool twist – it gives players the chance to choose which side they’re going to be on – will they attempt to pull the heist or will they work with the authorities and try to stop the ones that do? It’s on them to realize what sounds cooler and which side of the law they want to be on.
The Runecarver Robbery is a heist one-shot module available on Roll20 created for a group of three to six 6th-level characters that’s full of clockwork elements. There’s an evil sorceress, a criminal organization of dragonborns, and a mysterious device hidden in a vault that is going to be moved soon. Will your crew try to secure the device, or will they hatch a perfect plan to get it out – it’s totally up to you!
7. Harpers Heist
Content warning: gore, violence, murder
This is a racy, gory, and violent action-based heist module that requires very little prep time. A missing Harper spy was transporting a very powerful but unknown artifact at the time of his disappearance and now people are worried it’s going to fall into the wrong hands. It’s on your party to find him and retrieve the artifact before it’s too late.
This heist module is pretty different than the rest on this list because it’s pretty dark and contains mature themes, so I suggest talking to your party about the content warnings before starting it and checking if everyone’s okay with them. You can also tone down the violence and gore, and the story’s still going to be amazing!
6. Heist of the High Temple
Picture this – your party finds themselves in a new city when they are approached by a very wealthy man who wants to hire them for a job. Although he’s an extremely successful businessman who runs the majority of the city’s business, he’s still shunned by the aristocrats because of his lack of family history. In order to break into politics he needs to prove his theory about his noble lineage and in order to do that he needs our players to break into a highly guarded Temple Vault and bring him proof.
This is a quick one-shot heist adventure that gives the players (and the DM) a lot of creative freedom. Sure, you’re given a target, but not much else, so how you go about getting to it is all on you. The players will need to source supplies, find contacts and plot their own way into this vault. It’s high risk, but also high reward and, if successful, will leave your players with a huge sense of satisfaction and, most likely, an inflated ego.
5. Cavern of the Sunken Queen
In order to talk about the next heist adventure on this list, I first have to introduce you to a nifty little anthology of heist modules called Handful of Heists. This book contains five heists that require basically no prep to run, so they are super convenient if you’re in a time pinch and want a “pick up and play” adventure for your dnd group. Every single story in this anthology is unique, they all have different themes and are entertaining in their own right. All this to say, it was hard to pick my favorite one but ultimately I decided on Cavern of the Sunken Queen (I do recommend you still give the rest a read too).
Cavern of the Sunken Queen centers around a greedy, extremely powerful Sea Goddess called Umberlee. She threatens to destroy everything around her if she is not paid tribute in copious amounts of gold by everyone passing through Waterdeep. So when your party finds out about the incredible amount of gold and other valuables in the caverns beneath the harbor, they set out to steal it. But nobody knows what evil waits around in the dark, haunting caverns – it’s on your party to find out if they have the courage to take the plunge into the unknown.
4. Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
This is a very well-known (and loved) adventure module intended for level 1 characters who will have the chance to get all the way to level 5. With over 200 pages of content, it will take your party approximately 40-45 hours to finish, so player beware – this is a chonker. Although, the exact time will depend on how much you customize the module and whether you skip a few optional missions. So, you might be asking yourself – is it worth the time? The short answer is yes, yes it is, and here’s why.
This is a treasure hunt adventure that will lead your party into a wild chase to get to a vault that contains half a million gold coins which is also, conveniently, protected by a dragon. In order to succeed they will need to find a mysterious magical artifact and evade being detected and captured by two rival criminal organizations and Xanathar the beholder. Waterdeep: Dragon Heist is a very compelling story with interesting NPCs and comes with a ton of additional material like artwork, maps, and tips and tricks for running the story. It’s definitely a must-try!
If you and your players enjoyed your time in Waterdeep, there are more higher-level adventures in this world that are waiting for you!
3. The Stygian Gambit
I don’t think this list could be complete without mentioning Keys From the Golden Vault – an adventure anthology that features 13 separate heist modules. This is a gold mine for players who enjoy stories filled with heart-pumping action and every single one of them is worth checking out and would be an amazing addition to this list. In order to showcase a whole lot of different modules, I decided to limit myself to only two here, but I strongly encourage you to check the rest out!
Once upon a time, a tiefling entrepreneur and a dwarf decided to work together and open their own casino, but then, Quentin the dwarf ran off with all the money. Now he owns the Afterlife Casino, and Verity (the tiefling) is ready to exact her revenge – she is going to break into the casino vault, steal back what is rightfully hers and make her former partner regret the day he double-crossed her. Also, she wants help from your party and is ready to pay.
This is an Ocean’s 11-style heist that will require your party to scope out and infiltrate the casino, and steal a statuette and money from the vault. The players will be able to roam the casino and all the other available locations, play games of chance, eat at a buffet, and converse with a ton of NPCs. Will the group be able to return Verity’s treasure, or will Quentin catch them in the act and put a stop to their plan?
2. Heart of Ashes
The king’s councilor, a dark and powerful spellcaster Charmayne Daymore, has torn out his heart and transformed him into a puppet under her control. But that wasn’t enough for her – when she realized she was never going to be loved and respected like the old king, she decided to use King Jhaeros’ heart to power the ritual that is ultimately going to destroy the city and all its inhabitants. Now our party must embark on a quest to infiltrate the old king’s castle, retrieve his heart and defeat the evil sorceress.
This heist module has originally been created for a party of 8th-level characters but can be adapted to suit other levels too. It’s action-packed and super high stakes and has beautiful artwork, highly detailed maps, and engaging NPCs. It’s truly one of the best one-shot modules there are, and I don’t say this lightly.
1. Kidnap the Archpriest
And, finally, we get to my favorite DnD heist adventure of all time – Kidnap the Archpriest. Why does this particular story deserve the number one spot on my list, well, it’s because your party isn’t plotting to steal an item but rather a person – and a priest no less!
How did this priest find himself in this unfortunate situation, you might ask? The answer is simple – he dared to reject a summons from a king. Now the king is mad and is offering immeasurable riches and his personal gratitude to the brave party who manages to bring the scoundrel to him in a discrete manner. Will your players be up to this challenge?
The players will only get 48 hours of in-game time to accomplish this task so being creative and efficient is going to be of the essence! Also, this module supplies a lot of info on the many NPCs that can help you or thwart your plans, a bunch of treasures to find, and detailed maps that will help with the planning and execution of the heist. This heist adventure is a bit prep-heavy for DMs, but it’s so worth it and will be made much easier by a bunch of tips and advice supplied in the module.
