A classic crew for a heist can famously include up to about a dozen roles, from the Brute to the Distraction to the Scout. No one character can fill all these roles. So when you're creating your character for a heist, you'll need to decide on what your specialties will be. Do you envision your character charming their way past guards or crawling past them through the vents? Do you want to create distractions with illusory magic or by smashing face?

To help you out, we've collected over a dozen of our favorite subclasses to take on a heist, and listed the roles we think each of them could fill. Click below to check them out:

1. Aberrant Mind Sorcerer
2. Assassin Rogue
3. College of Eloquence Bard
4. Fey Wanderer Ranger
5. Gloom Stalker Ranger
6. Mastermind Rogue
7. School of Enchantment Wizard
8. School of Illusion Wizard
9. The Archfey Warlock
10. The Genie Warlock
11. The Great Old One Warlock
12. Thief Rogue
13. Trickery Domain Cleric
14. Way of Shadow Monk

Your Mission, If You Choose to Accept It...

Keys from the Golden Vault contains 13 adventures that will take you on heists throughout the multiverse. Rob a casino in the Nine Hells, break into a high-security prison in Icewind Dale, and more. These adventures can be played as one-shots or woven together for a campaign that takes characters from 1st to 11th level.

Are you a collector of valuable goods? Put in your order for the physical + digital bundle to get a physicial copy of the book as well as a digital D&D Beyond version!

1. Aberrant Mind Sorcerer

Your role: The Grifter, the Distraction, the Burglar

Charm an enemy, fake an injury, or just telepathically eavesdrop on your target with the Aberrant Mind sorcerer.

The role of Grifter comes naturally to those who choose this subclass, as you can use Psionic Sorcery to cast spells like detect thoughts or charm person without appearing to cast anything at all. This feature could also allow you to subtly cast wildly distracting spells like hunger of Hadar or Evard’s black tentacles while your pals sneak into a restricted area.

Powerful mind-bending abilities also grant you the option to play the role of Burglar. Where the Thief rogue might sneak past guards and the Assassin might kill them, the Aberrant Mind sorcerer can use Psionic Sorcery to cast dominate person so they let you pass. The Aberrant Mind is a quintessential telepath—does yours use this power to become affable and worthy of attention, or to convince guards that you and your thief friend are not cause for alarm?

2. Assassin Rogue

Your role: The Burglar, the Brute, the Scout

What, a killer can’t branch out? When murder gets stale, spice it up with a little thievery! Though heists aren’t the primary specialty of the Assassin rogue, a character with this subclass is a master infiltrator, imposter, and sneak.

The Assassin is proficient with the disguise kit and poisoner’s kit (I recommend adding the forgery kit to that repertoire). Though they can play a nonviolent burglar, the Assassin features Assassinate and Infiltration Expertise depict a rogue that uses deception to facilitate a distinctly aggressive brand of infiltration. The Assassin can adopt a false identity to be an insider when the heist kicks off. And when things go awry, they can quickly get rid of any low-level enemies that may otherwise alert others to danger.

3. College of Eloquence Bard

Your role: The Grifter, the Distraction

Throw on your designer cloak, strap on your best kicks, and get ready to talk your way to some treasure! The College of Eloquence bard could sell water to a well, using their silver tongue to convince NPCs of practically anything.

When the Eloquence bard makes a Charisma (Persuasion) or Charisma (Deception) check, you can treat a d20 roll of 9 or lower as a 10. At just 3rd level, with a Charisma modifier of +3, a proficiency bonus of +2, and Expertise in the relevant skill, that’s a minimum roll of 17!) And if you need to charm a creature, you can preface the spell with your Unsettling Words, making them more vulnerable to your magic.

Don't overlook Universal Speech, either. It allows creatures of your choice to magically understand you, whether they speak your language or not. That's a handy trick when you're pulling off heists across the multiverse.

4. Fey Wanderer Ranger

Your role: The Grifter, the Distraction

The Fey Wanderer ranger gets their power from the Feywild, where little distinction is made between diplomat and spy. A ranger of this kind is often forced to trick noble eladrin and hags or suffer dire consequences; fooling a mortal with more money than sense should be no trouble for the likes of you.

The Fey Wanderer is resistant to being charmed, and gains additional spells to charm and mislead NPCs. Most impressively, they can use their Otherworldly Glamour to add their Wisdom modifier to Charisma checks. That helps make it easier for them to draw attention to themselves—at least when it best suits them.

5. Gloom Stalker Ranger

Your role: The Burglar, the Brute

There’s "difficult to see" and there’s "cannot be seen," and the Gloom Stalker ranger will teach you the difference. In darkness, this ranger could stroll right past drow sentries or openly crawl up the side of a guarded building—if they’re quiet enough.

While in darkness, the Gloom Stalker is invisible to any creature that relies on darkvision. You’ll still need to succeed on a Stealth check to avoid making noise or leaving tracks, but as a ranger you may have access to the optional class feature Canny to become an expert in stealth. If you want to play the role of Pickpocket, you can also select the Skill Expert feat and use your Umbral Sight to help you steal from those who can’t see you.

With their illusion magic and skills as an ambusher, the Gloom Stalker is a versatile blend of muscle and infiltrator.

6. Mastermind Rogue

Your role: The Leader, the Grifter, or the Scout

"Who are we targeting, boss? An old friend, an old enemy? A legendary painting every thief dreams of nabbing?" If you want your party to look to you for direction and support, the Mastermind rogue may be the perfect fit. With their keen observational skills and knack for disguises, they can easily slip into an area to survey it ahead of time and get a feel for the monsters that await.

The Mastermind knows their way around a disguise kit and forgery kit and they know multiple languages and can mimic other speech patterns and accents. All these perks make this subclass an ideal pick for a heist.

7. School of Enchantment Wizard

Your role: The Grifter, the Distraction, the Burglar

Walk up to your target and immediately become their best friend, or stride past some guards and inform them that you are not to be remembered. The School of Enchantment wizard can grab or redirect enemy attention at will, a critical skillset for a successful heist.

Several of the subclasses on this list can charm strangers, hypnotize guards, and wipe the memories of commoners, but it can be argued that the School of Enchantment wizard has perfected the art. Where other psychics are blunt instruments, you are a scalpel.

Enchantment wizards can innately charm an NPC with their Hypnotic Gaze, allowing an ally to walk right behind them and knock them unconscious with poison. As they hone their craft, these wizards learn to split single-target enchantment spells into dual-target spells. So, go ahead, suggest to a couple guards that they run into a crowded room and ransack it for an hour. It'll make for a pretty potent distraction.

8. School of Illusion Wizard

Your role: The Distraction, the Fixer

Creating a distraction can require a lot of creativity, and the School of Illusion wizard allows your imagination to run wild. Imagine a major image that adjusts its nature on a whim. An illusory guard rounds a corner and shouts, “There’s a monster in the hallway!” before running back out of sight. Additional guards hear screams as they rush in to find an illusory beholder licking its bloody lips. The beholder flees in your preferred direction, leading the enemy on a fruitless chase.

You can also use these illusions to great effect if the party is traveling together. Many spellcasters can throw seeming on the party, but how many can alter the illusions with an action each time the party turns a corner?

9. The Archfey Warlock

Your role: The Grifter, the Distraction

If your enemy has powerful enchantment magic at their disposal, send in the Archfey warlock.

At lower levels, the Archfey warlock relies on their Charisma score and their Deception or Persuasion skills to get what they need, and uses their magic primarily to escape danger if their cover is blown. They can put opponents to sleep, calm their emotions, or use phantasmal force to convince them that they have bigger problems.

At higher levels, this warlock’s patron grants them immunity to the charmed condition and gives them more powerful magic such dominate person and seeming.

10. The Genie Warlock

Your role: The Safe-Cracker, the Fixer, the Brute

You wish for a successful heist! What—it isn’t that simple?

Genie warlocks are often elementalists, blasting their opponents with the primordial powers of their patron. While they are well-suited to that role and can use their Genie’s Wrath and expanded spell list to play the Brute if needed, they also boast features that allow them to perform other crucial roles in a heist.

These warlocks carry a Genie Vessel, a Tiny object of some kind such as, say, a ring. As an action, these warlocks can magically vanish into that vessel for several hours, and at 10th level they can bring up to five willing creatures with them. While most of your party enters the Genie’s Vessel, your party face can arrange for the Vessel to be stored inside your target vault.

11. The Great Old One Warlock

Your role: The Grifter, the Distraction

A Great Old One warlock is an expert at swindling or sneaking past telepaths. The Great Old Ones themselves are enormous eldritch entities, foreign to the fabric of our reality. Their impact on the humanoid mind is potent and permanent, granting powers strange and inexplicable.

Great Old One warlocks can speak telepathically to other creatures, enthrall them, prevent intrusive mental attacks, and learn powerful psychic magic. Their psychic defenses prime them for social roles like the Grifter (because their ulterior motives could not be discerned) or Distraction if you need to swindle or divert the attention of a telepath. But if your warlock is a bit creepier than charming, they can apply their eldritch powers to other roles. Casting illusion spells like phantasmal force on the right person could cause a clamorous distraction or encourage a guard to leave an area.

12. Thief Rogue

Your role: The Burglar, the Pickpocket, the Safe-Cracker

“Huh? No, I didn’t hear anything.”

“Must’ve been the wind.”

Neither guard sees your Thief rogue silently climb the wall, pick a lock with one hand, and slink through a window. They don’t hear you expertly jimmy the safe’s lock, snag its contents, and tiptoe out the way you came.

The Thief is a master infiltrator, each subclass feature tailored toward sneaking into a fortress and emptying its chests. They can climb walls, jump long distances, make Dexterity (Stealth) checks with advantage, and use a bonus action to disarm a trap or pick a lock.

13. Trickery Domain Cleric

Your role: The Grifter, the Distraction, the Burglar

Well, it’s right there in the name, isn’t it? The Trickery Domain cleric excels at pulling one over on NPCs, and its skill set is quite versatile. They have access to features like Blessing of the Trickster and Cloak of Shadows, as well as spells like pass without trace and dimension door, which are well suited for those sneaking about. Meanwhile, Invoke Duplicity conjures an illusion that could aid in distractions, and you get enchantment spells to help you deal with witnesses. Get you a trickster god who can do it all.

14. Way of Shadow Monk

Your role: The Burglar, the Brute

What wears a black turtleneck, sleek black slippers, and a black mask? I don’t know, I can never catch sight of them.

The Way of Shadow monk is ideally suited for stealth, blending the mystical and the skillful to remain unnoticed. A Way of Shadow monk can use their ki points to cast spells such as darkness, pass without trace, and silence. As they level up, they can teleport from one shadow to another and use their action to turn temporarily invisible while in dim light or darkness. When they do come across foes, they’re capable of quickly dispatching them by sneaking up and using a stunning strike.

Ready for a Heist?

Keys from the Golden Vault is now available, so it's time to start brainstorming characters you'd want to take on a heist! There are plenty of roles beyond what could be covered here, so think about how you might want to contribute to a heist and build whatever sounds the most enjoyable. When you’re ready, D&D Beyond’s character builder is ready for you!

Damen Cook (@damen_joseph) is a lifelong fantasy reader, writer, and gamer. If he woke up tomorrow in Faerun, he would bolt through the nearest fey crossing and drink from every stream and eat fruit from every tree in the Feywild until he found that sweet, sweet wild magic.