Hey Ho I've got a question how you guy's did the time management of your group and the adventure especially during the theft of the gem because I have no clue how to count the time for the security droids or the cleaning droids and there are simply no rules for that. Sorry btw for my spelling I'm german 😅

Probably the best way to handle this is to assign how long each task should take in large hour chunks. Researching a competitor? 4 hours, which includes finding where they are. Finding blueprints/visiting of the museum? 6 hours, assuming travel time or due dillegence. Establishing your own bank account Or researching the wealthiest auctioneer? Or tracking down security team off hours? 8 hours. Very rough, but the best way to ensure that the party feels the pressure is by having each task take a very tangible slice of time that they may/may not know ahead of time.

It’s been a while since I run in it, but structuring it as content that takes a fixed block means that engaging in an activity consumes time. Doesn’t matter how many PCs You assign to a task, it will take that long and it is physically impossible to accomplish everything if the party travels everywhere together. But if they spilt the party, they can carry out many more tasks within the same timeframe. This allows individual members to really take ownership and improvise, something they might not do if together.

Hi,

I would add to LordBritish's comment, that it is a great way to reward players that invested in non-combat skills.

=> Are you looking for a NPC who could help you break into the museum (streetwise)? Base could be 2 hours, any advantage is -30min, any threat is +30min. You want to repair that podracer (Mechanic)? Base is 4 hours +/- 30mins.

You can also force them to properly schedule everything: My players needed a suit/dress to enter the "Auction" : 2 hours to order it, and they had to come back two days later, in the morning.

Same during the theft part: One of my player was on the security team. So one of his job was to find out how much time the security droids and the other team would spend in each room. How long the npc would sleep after drinking the drug. How long does it take to shutdown that kind of force field, etc.

Even if there was no fight, and it was not a structured time gameplay (no rounds), when it came to execute the plan, every roll increased the tension, and every success was so rewarding! And as a GM, I had almost nothing to do because the players already knew the consequences of every success/failure. I basically rolled for the NPC and watched the movie.

I would approach it slightly differently, I think, breaking each task into equal time chunks. Perhaps each one is four hours during the preparation phase. If something would take longer, break it into smaller tasks. Be sure to allocate time for sleep.

I would try to create enough tasks that setting up a perfect heist would be nearly impossible, but getting close should be achievable. And the group should need to split up to finish multiple tasks at the same time. Maybe the pilot and mechanic work together to secure a cloud car for the big race, the slicer hacks in to the police comms, and someone else spends time observing the security shifts. Failure costs time and possibly introduces complications. They can try again, but for most things they might need to come up with a new way to do it. If they succeed and you're not sure what that success really gains them, add a token or several (like a poker chip) to a pool. These tokens can be used later to help things go smoothly. They might add boost dice, or they might allow rerolls if you want to be extra generous.

During the actual heist, you could use a very similar setup, but the time blocks will be smaller, and most of the characters will probably be working together. Make a little timetable on paper, and plot out how long things should take if everything goes smoothly. During play, spend threat and failed rolls to make things take longer. You want them to be cutting it close.

I'm actually glad you asked this, because I've been wanting to run this adventure, and brainstorming like this really helps lay it out.

Viel Glück!