How can I showcase characters that aren't stealthy in a stealth-based mission?

Question

I will soon be running the one-shots from Keys from the Golden Vault in order as a "campaign".

These missions are all set up like heists and, while they obviously favor stealth, I don't want to pigeonhole my players into all making stealth builds. The players have made their lvl 1 characters already and one isn't all that stealthy (they are playing an Artificer), but I don't want to run the game in such a way that would constantly punish them for it.

I realize that they won't have the right skill set for every situation, so what can I do to showcase their role without giving them "plot stealth"?

Answer 1

Not everyone needs to be stealthy

I alluded to this in this other answer. Just because you're not the one sneaking into steal something, doesn't mean you're not helping advance the plan.

Think Mission: Impossible

A party only really needs one person to sneak in, steal a thing, and get out. Any more is good for back up but also is another point of failure. Despite what all the memes say, sometimes it's okay to split the party.

So other than the infiltrator(s), what about the rest of the party?

Distractions

There are two guards standing watch over a door. Do you really need every party member to get past them? Of course not! Instead, have one or two party members create a commotion that draws the guards attention away from the door giving everyone else an easy pass.

• Start a fight (or some other commotion)
• Ask annoying questions
• Perform a petty crime nearby
• Put on an impromptu play or display of talent to interest people

And the distraction does not have to be next to the door. It could be across town but needs "all hands on deck" meaning fewer guards to deal with on the mission. Which leads into the next topic...

Removing obstacles

Guards are going to be a major obstacle, but so are normal NPC witnesses, traps, physical barriers, and so on. Anything that a PC can do to remove obstacles can help the overall party's goals. This includes:

• Bribery
• Creating keys for locks
• Casting spells to shape wood, stone, metal
• Animal Handling guard beasts
• Food poisoning the guards so they are either not available or not at their best.

Subterfuge

Spell casters will excel here but anyone can help in this factor.

• Disguise self repeatedly to confuse witnesses
• Silent/Major Image spells to cover areas so people can sneak under cover
  • Fog cloud and darkness can also work in some situations
• Kidnapping and dressing up as key personnel to let party members enter restricted areas
• Creating false documents

Research

This should primarily happen before the caper, but since people can't plan for everything, you'll need someone to do quick research to bypass a problem.

• Decipher a sigil that might be a clue
• Have answers to questions if someone is confronted
• Get blueprints to a building
• Learn who has items that are needed (keys, information, tools, passwords, etc)

Coordination / Communication

Now that the party is ready to pull off the heist, one of the most important characters are going to be the person that coordinates everything. No matter how well planned, the dice rolls will fail you at least once. When that happens, you'll need at least one person that can quickly communicate changes and new information to everyone.

That can be spells like message and Rary's telepathic bond, features like race or class based telepathy, communicating through familiars or pets. It could be any combination too.

The sorcerer casts message to tell the Great Old One warlock who uses the Awakened Mind to tell the wizard to communicate with their familiar which gives a signal to the Totem Barbarian that has speak with animals who then walks over to the cleric to tell them to ring the church bell so the fighter can pick a fight with the guards which is the signal for the rogue to sneak in the window.

In the end

Everyone can contribute to the caper. There may not even be any stealth required depending on the plan.

Answer 2

Use group checks for common stealth issues

For common sneaking where there isn't a major goal, use group checks. This allows the bad check of the artificer to be masked by other characters with superior stealth. While you may use stealth checks for individually tricky tasks, make sure the artificer can go wherever the party goes. If the stealthy characters go off from experience it disrupts the game a fair bit as you have to run two adventures then.

The main flaw of the heists is the lack of support for planning, which lets you include the artificer.

The book has decent mechanics for suspicion, and for managing some stealthy scenarios, but doesn't support planning well, despite it being essential. As such, it is common for less proactive players to get a bit lost on what to do.

Artificers have spells like disguise self and other powers which are quite effective at solving stealthy problems. There are a wide variety of heists, and some are basically dungeons where they can act normally, but even for stealthy missions they can contribute. Make sure you're aware of their abilities so you can help suggest ways they could contribute to making a plan.

Answer 3

Notify the player

If you have concerns you should tell the player. You are right not force them or anything but you should make sure they won't be disappointed. So tell them what the game is about and check if they know what they get into. If they have second thoughts after getting the relevant information let them change the character.

No adventure is just Stealth / different challenges for different players

It is quite normal that not every character is good at every situation. It is even good that way so different players get their chance to shine in different situations. Stealth is certainly one important part of what you want to run but there are other things to do during heists. I haven't run the adventures from the book myself but from what I've read so far (skimming the book and reading reviews) it seems that it rewards creativity. What particularly caught my eye was the suggestion to hand out maps to the player up front to let them plan their moves. Your players just have to account for one party member not being that good at stealth.

TL;DR: Warn your player up front and let them change their mind if they want. If they want to stick with their choice, let your player work out plans to account for the available skill sets.

Answer 4

Pass without Trace

If any character can cast Pass without Trace, the whole party can go stealth

At the end of the day, it's up to the party on how to solve a problem, not the DM

There are lots of ways to steal stuff. Stealth, ram raiding, honey trap, ransom, embezzle, charm, mind control, disguise or just plain old magic. Sneaking is just one solution.

Answer 5

Don't railroad your characters. If they want to use stealth to achieve their goals, let them. If not, they should have other options.

I played The Stygian Gambit, and I was the only Rogue in the party. Our party had at least 2 wizards. Honestly, my character felt very unneeded in the party.

One of the wizards used his familiar to steal the key to the vault. Another party member won the Three Dragon Ante tournament, allowing us to gain the trophy that we needed.

Answer 6

Use large stealth bonuses for distance.

Stealth now becomes about how close you can get, rather than if you can hide.

If you are in the darkness at 200' away moving at half speed, even a plate armored robot can be quiet. Meanwhile, the stealthy PCs are able to sneak up to within 10' of an alert guard.

In such a system, you'd send scouts ahead to find out a safe path (possibly eliminating or distracting a key guard), then have the less stealthy use that safe path.