The latest anthology of adventures for Dungeons & Dragons, Keys From The Golden Vault, focuses on players putting together a crew before planning and executing exciting heists. While it may be tempting to have a team of rogues, there are a lot the other classes can bring to a heist crew. From spells only available to certain classes to specific stats to focus on for heists, including characters other than rogues is a good idea.

The heists in DnD’s Keys From The Golden Vault cover a variety of situations, from collecting information from a target to breaking into a high-security location to steal a MacGuffin. Because of this, players should consider all options when creating their party, and working together as a team even before the adventures is important. While combat could play a role in any adventure, other skills are more likely to come to the forefront, and a versatile party is crucial for heists where anything could happen.

Related: D&D: Every Heist In Keys From The Golden Vault

What To Focus On For D&D Heist Characters

A group arrives by boat at a luxurious location, greeted by a tiefling with a drinks tray.

For heists like those in Keys From The Golden Vault, the main ability scores to focus on are Dexterity and Charisma, as many of the skill checks needed will be covered by these two, such as Stealth or Persuasion. While it’s a good idea to gravitate toward classes that primarily use these scores, like bards or rangers, players should not discount others, in particular spellcasters who can use spells in DnD heists, to give the party an advantage. While Keys From The Golden Vault contains some suggestions on creating a heist crew, here are some more tips to help any capers go as smoothly as possible.

What D&D Classes Are Best For Heists (& Which To Avoid)

A half orc rogue sneaks upstairs past a sleeping couple in bed.

Given the nature of heists, rogues are an excellent and obvious choice, with the Thief or Inquisitive subclasses lending themselves perfectly to this type of adventure. However, there are other Dungeons & Dragons classes and subclasses that can really shine during a heist. Bards are a great place to start, as this class often finds itself as the face of the party with many key skills based in Charisma.

Players can have fun creating unique DnD backstories for their bards, and in terms of a subclass, the College of Eloquence is fantastic for a heist crew, having features that will come in handy as well as making sense thematically. The College of Eloquence third-level ability Silver Tongue will make passing Persuasion or Deception check much easier, while Unsettling Words can be used against a target's saving throws. On top of that, inspiration will come in handy for any party where ability skills checks are going to be frequent.

Monks would also make a great addition to any heist crew with their speed, multiple attacks, and of course, Stunning Strike. With the monk's primary ability score being Dexterity and their lack of armor, monks should have little issue with any pesky Stealth checks. There are a few subclasses that would work well for a heist, like Way of Mercy, Way of the Drunken Master, Critical Role's unique homebrew DnD subclass, the Way of the Cobalt Soul, and most obviously, Way of Shadow. Each lends itself either to Stealth or extracting information out of targets.

Related: D&D: Powerful & Essential Items Every Monk Needs

The final suggestions for a heist crew would be a druid and warlock. These might not seem like the most obvious choices, but each brings something crucial to the table which will aid in missions. For druids, Wild Shape will let the player scout ahead as tiny inconspicuous creatures such as spiders or mice, and most importantly, druids are one of only three classes who can cast Pass Without Trace, which gives +10 to Stealth checks. Warlocks are also a great choice for a heist crew spellcaster, with their fascinating choices for warlock patrons in DnD and their primary ability score being Charisma. They also have access to many great social spells like Charm Person, Enthrall, and Suggestion.

There are, however, certain Dungeons & Dragons classes that should be avoided wherever possible when creating a heist crew. This could be either because of their mechanics not lending themselves well to the situation or because, thematically, it wouldn’t make sense. Although players can always choose to play as whoever they wish, tanks in general, with barbarians and paladins in particular, might be good to avoid.

Paladins are especially hard to work into a heist crew as, unlike the Trickery domain cleric, there isn’t really a good option that works well with the concept. Although the Golden Vault is a new DnD faction that supports doing the right thing, a paladin character would still struggle with the idea of breaking into places and stealing. However, even if a player were able to come up with a creative backstory that allowed them to play as a paladin, the main issue of their less-than-stealthy heavy armor would still cause problems.

Group Backstories For D&D Heist Crews

A DnD party surrounded by enemies near a rocky escarpment.

Keys From The Golden Vault advises that the player’s group should feel tight-knit from the start. This is because a heist crew needs to feel like a well-oiled machine and needs to be a group of people who already trust each other and work well as a team. Although it is possible to play with a DnD party where no one trusts each other for a first play-through of these adventures, an established crew is the best choice.

Related: D&D: Best Items And Spells To Boost Stealth

Backstories for the DnD group could be that they are a well-known team who have a reputation for completing the jobs no one else can. They may be an elite team who are often called in where all others have failed. If someone needs a job, then the player’s group are the ones they call, sort of like The A-Team.

Another backstory for mid-level parties could be that they have never done anything remotely like this before. They are, however, an already established team that the Golden Vault has heard of. They could be well known for a number of reasons beyond the classic Dungeons & Dragons adventuring party, such as a group of investigators famed for solving mysteries or even a band.

A backstory for low-level DnD adventuring parties could be that they are all childhood friends or even relations. The heist crew could be made up of members of a massive extended family; this could be great to roleplay, especially if players all pick different races. Another fun twist on this is if the player characters haven’t seen each other in years, and this is a reunion.

In order to pull off the heists in Keys From The Golden Vault, players will have to know what each member of the team is capable of. Whatever class or backstory is chosen, communication is important at every step when preparing and executing a heist. Players need to work together at every stage, from character creation to the adventure itself, as Dungeons & Dragons heists are all about the team rather than the individual.

More: Surprising D&D Character Class Combinations You Need To Try Next

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