So you've played Jewel of Yavin and gone "**** that was fun" and want to run your players through some more jobs. But coming up with heists is hard! Well, how about a heist inspiration thread!
So, being a huge movie fan, here's a couple of heist flicks I've seen, the breakdown if the movie is any good and how much a GM can shamelessly steal from it for a game. So go rent some flicks and have at it!
The Movie:
The Italian Job (1969 version) starring Michael Caine
The Elevator Pitch:
Charlie Croker is let out of prison and gathers a gang of bank robbers to rob a four million dollar gold shipment convoy out from under the nose of the Italian Mafia with a Soccer Match and a traffic jam.
How is it:
Not bad. Plots a bit simplistic and the supporting characters aren't very developed, but the Mini Cooper car chase is rock solid and entertaining. Plus Quincy Jones does the soundtrack - that's worth an extra star right there!
Game suitability: 100%
The heist is simple enough that you can take the premise and let the players come up with their own creative ways of how to actually pull off the job.
Edited by Desslok
The Movie:
Ocean's 11 (1960 version) starring The Rat Pack
The Elevator Pitch:
Danny Ocean brings together his old squadron of World War II 82nd Airborne rangers to simultaneously knock over five Vegas Casinos at midnight on New Year's Eve. The plan - knock out the city electricity towers, and rewire the casinos' automatic backup generators so that they will open instead of close the safes.
How is it:
Not bad. The set up is pretty fun and you have to admit that Deno and his pals have loads of chemistry together.
Game suitability: 75%
The idea of knocking over five casinos at once might be a bit ambitious for the average table to take on, but paired down to just one facility, the plot might be manageable.
Kelly's Heroes
Nice EoE/AoR crossover bank job.
Yeah, Kelly's Heroes is on my short list to watch. Shockingly I've never seen it - I know, I am full of shame over that one.
The Movie:
The Castle of Cagliostro
The Elevator Pitch:
Master thief Lupin the 3rd and his gunman sidekick Jigen pull off a successful casino heist and flee in their car, up to their necks in cash - until Lupin realizes that every bill is counterfeit, inspiring the duo to pay a visit to the tiny European nation of Cagliostro, long rumored to be the bills' source.
Once Lupin and Jigen cross the border, they find themselves trying to rescue a girl in a wedding dress from a group of armed mooks trying to capture her, the daughter of Cagliostro's late ruling Grand Duke, current betrothed to the regent and Count of Cagliostro who oversees and perpetuates the nation's dirty business. When the two families are reunited, a legend says they will unlock the secret of Cagliostro's lost treasure, which the Count desperately wants. . . .
How is it:
Goddamned brilliant! It's Hayao Miyazaki in his pre-Ghibli days, so you know it's quality. It's rumored to be one of Speilberg's favorite flicks, animated or otherwise.
Game suitability: 25%
It's a little too goofy to steal straight as a game, the basic idea is strong enough to get some nuggets from. Plus Ninja and sword fights in a clock tower and having to save a princess? That's pretty Star Wars!
Yeah, Kelly's Heroes is on my short list to watch. Shockingly I've never seen it - I know, I am full of shame over that one.
You'll love it. It really makes for an awesome session also, a ton of social checks with combat sort of in the background.
The Movie:
Ocean's 12 (Starring Batman Clooney)
The Elevator Pitch:
The target of the heist from Ocean's 11 tracks down the Danny and his pals and demands recompense in full, plus interest. Seeing as almost none of the eleven were frugal with their money, they have to find some other heist that will pay off an equal amount. Traveling to Europe, they receive an offer from a legendary retired Con Man in which they steal a very famous MacGuffin Meanwhile they are hounded from one side by a cocky acrobat-thief who wants the same loot, and a Fair Cop Interpol agent from the other.
How is it:
Not quite as good as the 2001 remake (which was shockingly quite good), but a fun heist adventure.
Game suitability: 90%
While Ocean's 11 and 13 are great heist flicks, I mention Ocean's 12 first because of it's suitability as a direct follow up to JoY. The characters forced into another caper because of Arend Shen, annoyed that the players cut him out/double crossed him/left him holding the bag/as appreciable, who exacts revenge on the group and demands compensation (and then some). Add in a second thief, annoyed that he was upstaged as he was about to steal the Jewel of Yavin himself, and you've got an adventure that just about writes itself!
The Movie:
The Italian Job (2003 Remake) starring Marky Mark
The Elevator Pitch:
A team of thieves get payback on a former associate who double crossed them by stealing a shiton of his gold.
How is it:
While it has nothing to do with the original 1969 version, its still a solid homage and a fun movie in it's own right. Plus Mini Cooper chase!
Game suitability: 70%
The movie shows how important hackers and reconnaissance can be to a job. Also it has a lovely sudden change of plans in the middle, requiring the players to think on their feet and improvise with the tools they already have in place.
This is fantastic. I'm sure to try these!
Its not a movie, but I definitely recommend Star Wars: Scoundrels by Timothy Zahn as heist material . The audio book format narrated by Mark Thompson is amazing. Its more of an audio drama really. Accurate voices, sound effects and music. Good Stuff.
Interesting real life idea, would convert pretty easily I think.
https://medium.com/war-is-boring/how-the-cia-stole-a-soviet-satellite-61cb49cdab66
Instead of only robbing from legitimate businessmen with no scruples, try tailoring this method used for the Firefly RPG. All credit to the geniuses at Exploring Infinity.
http://exploring-infinity.com/2011/12/23/leveragin-the-black-situation-generator/
Okay, here's a couple more:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUloT3Dh3-E
The Movie:
* Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
* Snatch
* RocknRolla
The Elevator Pitch:
The criminal element in London double cross and triple cross each other in a round of Xanatos Speed Chess , eventually exploding into a massive (and entertaining) plotline pileup .
How is it:
All three are pretty **** good, although Rocknrolla isn't as good as the first two.
Game suitability: 10%
Unfortunately the structure of the movies are so twisted and dependent on random happenstance that using them as a game is pretty useless. Players would never behave in the precise way for the games to unfold like these movies. However, you can steal great scenes and characters from the flicks, file off their serial numbers and use them against your players. Bricktop from Snatch, for example, would make a great mob-boss to work for. Colorful, ruthless and memorable.
(continued above, since 3 videos in a message breaks the forums)
. . . for example:
(Warning, very VERY salty language)
(Warning, more salty language)
Edited by DesslokMy most recent blog post details a heist during a sabacc tournament; the post has links to a layout for the casino and stats for the personnel there, too.
http://talesfromtheedgeoftheempire.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-tournament.html
-Nate
If you looking for idea's Thre Train Job episode from Firefly would be a great opener
The Movie:
The Elevator Pitch:
The Doctor suddenly finds himself without his memory and without his TARDIS, in the middle of the heist of the biggest, most secure back in the galaxy. . . .
How is it:
As far as a Doctor Who episode, not bad. The whole season has been pretty strong, and this episode falls more or less in the middle of the road.
Game suitability: 20%
Okay, this one is going to take a little bit of rewriting if you want to use it straight since it gets a little Wibbly-Wobbly, Timey-Wimey at the very end. However, there's a couple of good ideas that could be lifted for a more traditional Star Wars game
Edited by DesslokInstead of only robbing from legitimate businessmen with no scruples, try tailoring this method used for the Firefly RPG. All credit to the geniuses at Exploring Infinity.
http://exploring-infinity.com/2011/12/23/leveragin-the-black-situation-generator/
Okay, that gets a bookmark. Thanks!
Now, we've already covered Oceans Eleven here, but this was just too perfect not to add:
Heists? And no mention of
Heat
? For shame!
Anyone thought to mention Leverage?
Was it five seasons with an occasional recurring baddie whether played by Wil Wheaton or not is up to you!
Actually a great resource to develop jobs from is the "Jobs" card decks in the Firefly board game.
Salcor