I'm currently running a heist mini adventure where the final goal is to steal a magical item out of a vault.
There are plenty of obstacles and story elements to work through before they reach the vault, there are obstacles inside the vault and I'm planning a skill challenge for the daring escape. What I'm asking for help with is ideas for the main vault door itself.
There are obviously a huge amount of door puzzles out there, my problem is, in this setting, it doesn't make sense for there to be an intended puzzle.
This is not some lost tomb, ancient temple or abandoned wizard's tower, this is a currently inhabited and newly built noble family's mansion. It makes no sense for them to have designed the vault in a way that anybody can open it if they're relatively clever, it is there to keep people out.
I can make it a key or an intricate clockwork system where they have to unlock several locks in the right order or something like that, and leave hints and keys for them to find. The problem with that however is that I've designed this heist in a very sandbox way and they may very well reach the vault without having found any of the relevant keys or hints.
So I need a vault that is relatively tricky to figure out, perhaps made easier if they've discovered hints or keys but not impossible if they haven't, and it needs to make sense in this context.
I would very much appreciate any advice, ideas or inspiration, thank you!
Could you get your players into a situation where they can hear someone talking about the vault? Perhaps a servant or family member accidentally says how to open the vault or part of a keyword. Another option is for the players to find a lost letter about the vault.
Yeah, I could definitely find creative ways to give them hints. I like the idea of overhearing someone! especially since the night of the heist is also the night of a party in the mansion.
That still leaves the questions of what it is they're overhearing, how is the vault opened?
Well, the true sandbox option is to just let the PCs fail -- if they reach the door without finding a means of opening the door, they can't open the door. As for how to open the door, the most straightforward option is that the door has both arcane lock and a mundane lock; the PCs need to dispel or find the password to the arcane lock, then open the regular lock. Since the PCs probably have access to dispel magic, you can either have a large number of locks (meaning brute forcing with dispel is an option, but an expensive one) or have dispelling the lock also dispel some other effect that is inconvenient to have dispelled (that probably requires a custom spell).
1) Brute force - just smash through it (or use magic like Knock to force it open). This one is hard and will certainly alert everyone in the house but it should be possible. Things like Alchemist's fire and Acid could make this more viable.
2) Some combination of keys / passwords. They should know that most vaults require keys/passwords - remind them that their characters would know this if the players aren't thinking about it. So they should be looking for them during the heist.
3) Picking - a good enough thieve's tool check should be able to get it open, but it should be hard for them to do so.
If he players aren't thinking about how to open the vault during their heist planning then they deserve to fail. That's part of sandbox games. However failing once doesn't mean that entire quest line is soft-locked. They can always retreat and come up with a new plan and try again.
The door is a portal to Sigil, and the family built their house around it. It’s actually quite easy to open it up, but the treasure is hidden within a second compound somewhere in the city.
Personally, if I want to make it difficult to open and (fairly) adventurer proof I'll usually make the door a multiple-key lock. It's the typical film bank vault that needs two keys to unlock turned at the same time.
The important bit I've found is that the keys must be turned at the same time in order to open the door. Both adventurers have to make slight of hand checks to successfully pick the locks, but I also then get the characters to roll a d4 and they need to roll the same number in order to succeed in picking at the same time. Of course I do allow guidance, and other such spells to help improve the odds.
There is also the option of trying to steal, or duplicate actual copies of the keys. And the option to just try and blast through the door is possible too.
It may not work for you, but my vault design was inspired by the TV adaptation of The Magicians.
The Vault - a 20ft, by 20ft, by 20ft cube room. There are stone shelves which line three of the walls. These shelves are lead lined, as are the storage boxes which sit within them. In the centre of the ceiling is a barely noticeable (Perception DC25) tile which emits an Antimagic field throughout the entire vault as long as the door is closed. If the door opens, the tile is deactivated. There is a filament that connects the door to the concealed mechanism in the ceiling (obvious weakpoint, but the filament can't be cut from the outside).
The same mechanism that deactivates the Antimagic Field, also activates pressure trap tiles...I generally have these be somewhat random the click from the mechanism is audibly heard by all creatures with a passive Perception score of 20 or above. The traps that the pressure plates trigger are a variation of the Locking Pit from the DMG. The AC of the stone plate is 20 (stone, reinforced with steel and lead). It's HP is 32. A strength check of DC 25 can force the cover open. These pressure plates can be disabled with Thieves Tools and a Slight of Hand check of DC 25. The pits are 15ft deep, and the same lead-lined stone as the vault above a creature falling into the pit takes 1d6 bludgeoning fall damage.
The Door - The door is made of several layers - Adamantine exterior, Mithral core, Lead interior. It's AC is 30, immune to bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing damage, with HP of 75. The hinges are concealed inside of the vault, but the door opens into the anti-chamber. The locking mechanism of this door is several adamantine bolts which extend out from within the door frame, into recesses in the door itself. There is also a lip on the outside of the door which overhangs the wall (so that there isn't a visible gap through which the bolts can easily be seen). On the surface of the door is a ward, this ward can be seen by creatures with a Passive Perception of 25, or with an active Arcana check of DC 20. This ward, if touched triggers a magical trap that blasts a 10ft radius from the door which requires a DC 20 WIS saving throw and deals 10d10 psychic damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful save.
The Lock - The lock requires two keys to be turned in unison. The first keyhole is obscured behind a fake stone detail (Perception DC12), to the left hand side of the vault door. The second keyhole is obscured behind a similar fake stone detail (perception DC15), above the vault door. The locks are 10ft apart. If the real (or duplicate) keys are used the door opens.
The anti-chamber - This is the area immediately in front of the vault door. It is 15ft cube, stone and lead construction once again. There is a door opposite the vault door that leads to the rest of the building in which the vault is. This door is a steel and lead core, with adamantine exterior and interior. The hinges are on the inside of the anti-chamber, and open into the anti-chamber. There are three locking steel bars outside of the door which lock it. The entire anti-chamber is under the effect of the [Tooltip Not Found]. It is triggered when a creature enters the anti-chamber without authority (and without first speaking the passphrase). When triggered, the door into the anti-chamber, and vault are magically locked. The Alarm spell meanwhile alerts a high level Archmage, who spends their time on duty in a concealed room. The door to this room opens when the mage is alerted by the alarm spell trap. If they do not recognise the intruder, the will aim to subdue or kill them.
Staff/Owner Access - Those authorised to access the vault do so as a group of three in the following way:
Unlock the door into the anti-chamber.
Speak the passphrase which deactivates the Alarm and Guards and Wards traps for 5 minutes. (The passphrase changes daily)
The two keyholders close the anti-chamber door, and take positions at each of the keyholes and turn their keys.
The third person enters the vault - they will know which tiles are trapped and will navigate the room in safety.
Once the item(s) required are deposited or retrieved, the entire process is reversed.
Ways to break into the vault - Much like real security systems, the big weak points are the people.
Stealing the key(s) from the two keyholders, perhaps duplicating the keys. There are only two keys. They never leave the building or facility, so stealthily acquiring the keys will need some planning and/or work.
Using magic, intimidation, or financial persuasion to get the day's passphrase. I like them to be relatively loyal so make intimidation or financial bribery (persuasion) to be set at 100gp and a DC of 20.
Dimension Door and similar spells fail due to the Antimagic Field within the vault. Similarly, Druid Wild Shape and Gaseous Form are defeated by the antimagic. However, Passwall and Stone Shape both provide a way through the stone walls, but the lead lining will still need to be broken through. I set it to AC of 15, HP of 10.
The Archmages (there are three of them working shifts) can't be bribed with coin (at all), however, they are bound in service to the owner of the vault. If their contract is found and delivered to them, they can be persuaded to dispel the magic in the anti-chamber...and even ignore the intruders.
Brute Force is of course possible, but it's going to get bloody.
I usually have the vault be underground, carved into bedrock, but a tunnelling project might be possible with the correct tools and workers.
Dispel magic can be in heavy rotation here, but will require some higher level slots or lucky rolls.
I'm currently running a heist mini adventure where the final goal is to steal a magical item out of a vault.
There are plenty of obstacles and story elements to work through before they reach the vault, there are obstacles inside the vault and I'm planning a skill challenge for the daring escape. What I'm asking for help with is ideas for the main vault door itself.
There are obviously a huge amount of door puzzles out there, my problem is, in this setting, it doesn't make sense for there to be an intended puzzle.
This is not some lost tomb, ancient temple or abandoned wizard's tower, this is a currently inhabited and newly built noble family's mansion. It makes no sense for them to have designed the vault in a way that anybody can open it if they're relatively clever, it is there to keep people out.
I can make it a key or an intricate clockwork system where they have to unlock several locks in the right order or something like that, and leave hints and keys for them to find. The problem with that however is that I've designed this heist in a very sandbox way and they may very well reach the vault without having found any of the relevant keys or hints.
So I need a vault that is relatively tricky to figure out, perhaps made easier if they've discovered hints or keys but not impossible if they haven't, and it needs to make sense in this context.
I would very much appreciate any advice, ideas or inspiration, thank you!
I agree with you that puzzling out a lock system contemporary to your setting may not be possible. As you mentioned, keys and/or combination hints are a must in order for a thief or thieves to gain access to a mission critical item or piece of information.
If this is a sandbox situation, I agree with others who say that they simply can't access this vault until they find the key and/or the information they need.
Here's an extremely difficult, trapped vault named "Spoilsport". It was first conceived as flavoring for a story in a Sci-Fi novel of mine, and it belongs to a contemporary wealthy family. It has since become part of an adventure module based on the story world setting. For gaming purposes, there is a great deal of wealth and a plot hook inside but nothing mission critical.
One must locate the only key, elaborate and unusually long, hidden in plain sight somewhere on the compound. One must also find the combination written down somewhere (not possible in my world), or perhaps overhear one of the family, who knows the combination, recite it.
Example: Say a young member of the family was recently taught the combination. One may overhear them practicing it aloud, while doing something unrelated.
From the story: "Push the key in until it stops, then turn to noon counter the clocks. Push one-two-three, short walk to three. In three more clicks, long walk to six. Pull out seven, then pause and wait. For five or more, short walk to eight. In two clicks, short walk to four. Turn the handle and open the door." There is a bit of a puzzle here.
If the door is forced open, the trap triggers. In this case, a massive thermite charge ignites. All paperwork is destroyed as the resulting molten iron rains down. The vault's precious metals partially melt, and it and any gems are encased in the resulting lava-like mass. That mass could later be mined and smelted to recover much of the mineral wealth, but the average adventuring party will not have the means to accomplish this.
Add magic, like knock spells, and maybe opening it becomes easier. That's up to the GM.
[Edit] For you math wizards out there. Not counting the added complexity of the need for a specific key, how many possible combinations are there? 8 "dials", 12 positions per dial, the order of dial selection, and the direction of dial rotation, is critical.
I always like a heist with complications that come up. What if there's another group trying to break into the vault as well? That other group could potentially have the way to get past the door, but are unwilling to share that with the party. Cue espionage betrayal, action, romance, etc.
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I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
The biggest security hole for most systems is what sort of security the legitimate users are willing to tolerate, because if it's too annoying, people will just put a brick in the door or something. This does mean opportunities for the PCs, because the way to get in probably won't be that inconvenient, unless it's something very rarely accessed.
In terms of worldbuilding, the major obvious candidates for security are
Mundane lock. This is likely at the outer layer -- presumably anyone who goes through a locked door should be subjected to security procedures.
Guards. Their job isn't to stop PCs, it's to raise an alarm. Ideally something with truesight, such as a modron. Alternately, a lantern of revealing.
alarm, with legitimate users excluded from the alarm.
arcane lock, with a password or list of designated users.
glyph of warding -- this is likely rare, because lethal traps tend to kill people you don't want to kill, though you can just trigger something that slows or restrains intruders, such a wall spell.
private sanctum -- this or a spell with similar functions (hallow, forbiddance) is pretty much essential for dealing with tier 2+ intruders.
There are also other security options that are somewhat orthogonal, such as just putting the item in a secret chest.
Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to offer your thoughts and advice! I have a lot to think about and will certainly build this vault from a combination of all your excellent ideas that suit the specific context of this adventure.
There are so many ways to make a cool puzzle to unlock a door. Specifically in this setting though it could have a sort of key pad. with 9 characters on it. Somewhere in there you could find a note or interrogate some information out of someone that would require the party to use puzzle solving skills to open it up. And for added fun, you could have for every incorrect a attempt have an electric zolt that does a bunch of damage. You could make a cryptic phrase that refers to numbers, or place picture like characters on the key pad and have a phrase that refers to those figures. Also maybe the information needed to unlock the vault is in a different area that they haven't explored. Anyways, there are tons of ways to make a cool puzzle even with this very specific scenario.
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"Uh, I have Illusory Script. I think I can read that."
The only comment I would make is that the characters would have some or all of this information before they even go in. Heists are successful due to planning and research. Of course the plan will always change but saying "I want to rob that rich family's vault" and all they know is that it is in the basement is a complete recipe for failure. They could easily find themselves standing in front of the vault with no idea how to open it. This is something that the characters would KNOW (in my opinion ... unless they are all int 6 or less or wisdom 6 or less :) ). As such, this is something that the DM should make sure that the PLAYERS know and have them plan accordingly.
Overhearing servants talking, perhaps talking to the craftsmen who built the vault ... maybe one of these was murdered by the family to take their secrets to the grave ... a speak with dead spell and the angry spirit of the artisan might allow the party to learn quite a bit about the vault via a trip to the graveyard rather than trying to figure it out on a limited time frame the evening they want to actually succeed. There are so many options. However, if I was running this and the party was just planning to go into the mansion and wing it, I would clearly indicate to the party that their plan has some major flaws that some or all of the characters in the party can see quite clearly.
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I'm currently running a heist mini adventure where the final goal is to steal a magical item out of a vault.
There are plenty of obstacles and story elements to work through before they reach the vault, there are obstacles inside the vault and I'm planning a skill challenge for the daring escape.
What I'm asking for help with is ideas for the main vault door itself.
There are obviously a huge amount of door puzzles out there, my problem is, in this setting, it doesn't make sense for there to be an intended puzzle.
This is not some lost tomb, ancient temple or abandoned wizard's tower, this is a currently inhabited and newly built noble family's mansion. It makes no sense for them to have designed the vault in a way that anybody can open it if they're relatively clever, it is there to keep people out.
I can make it a key or an intricate clockwork system where they have to unlock several locks in the right order or something like that, and leave hints and keys for them to find. The problem with that however is that I've designed this heist in a very sandbox way and they may very well reach the vault without having found any of the relevant keys or hints.
So I need a vault that is relatively tricky to figure out, perhaps made easier if they've discovered hints or keys but not impossible if they haven't, and it needs to make sense in this context.
I would very much appreciate any advice, ideas or inspiration, thank you!
Could you get your players into a situation where they can hear someone talking about the vault? Perhaps a servant or family member accidentally says how to open the vault or part of a keyword. Another option is for the players to find a lost letter about the vault.
Yeah, I could definitely find creative ways to give them hints.
I like the idea of overhearing someone! especially since the night of the heist is also the night of a party in the mansion.
That still leaves the questions of what it is they're overhearing, how is the vault opened?
Thank you for the reply!
Creative ways to hint yes, but basically I would simply make it a high DC to “pick” with each clue/key/etc they get acting to lower the DC.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
Well, the true sandbox option is to just let the PCs fail -- if they reach the door without finding a means of opening the door, they can't open the door. As for how to open the door, the most straightforward option is that the door has both arcane lock and a mundane lock; the PCs need to dispel or find the password to the arcane lock, then open the regular lock. Since the PCs probably have access to dispel magic, you can either have a large number of locks (meaning brute forcing with dispel is an option, but an expensive one) or have dispelling the lock also dispel some other effect that is inconvenient to have dispelled (that probably requires a custom spell).
A normal vault has many ways to open it:
1) Brute force - just smash through it (or use magic like Knock to force it open). This one is hard and will certainly alert everyone in the house but it should be possible. Things like Alchemist's fire and Acid could make this more viable.
2) Some combination of keys / passwords. They should know that most vaults require keys/passwords - remind them that their characters would know this if the players aren't thinking about it. So they should be looking for them during the heist.
3) Picking - a good enough thieve's tool check should be able to get it open, but it should be hard for them to do so.
If he players aren't thinking about how to open the vault during their heist planning then they deserve to fail. That's part of sandbox games. However failing once doesn't mean that entire quest line is soft-locked. They can always retreat and come up with a new plan and try again.
Just to go a bit outside the box.
The door is a portal to Sigil, and the family built their house around it. It’s actually quite easy to open it up, but the treasure is hidden within a second compound somewhere in the city.
Personally, if I want to make it difficult to open and (fairly) adventurer proof I'll usually make the door a multiple-key lock. It's the typical film bank vault that needs two keys to unlock turned at the same time.
The important bit I've found is that the keys must be turned at the same time in order to open the door. Both adventurers have to make slight of hand checks to successfully pick the locks, but I also then get the characters to roll a d4 and they need to roll the same number in order to succeed in picking at the same time. Of course I do allow guidance, and other such spells to help improve the odds.
There is also the option of trying to steal, or duplicate actual copies of the keys. And the option to just try and blast through the door is possible too.
It may not work for you, but my vault design was inspired by the TV adaptation of The Magicians.
The Vault - a 20ft, by 20ft, by 20ft cube room. There are stone shelves which line three of the walls. These shelves are lead lined, as are the storage boxes which sit within them. In the centre of the ceiling is a barely noticeable (Perception DC25) tile which emits an Antimagic field throughout the entire vault as long as the door is closed. If the door opens, the tile is deactivated. There is a filament that connects the door to the concealed mechanism in the ceiling (obvious weakpoint, but the filament can't be cut from the outside).
The same mechanism that deactivates the Antimagic Field, also activates pressure trap tiles...I generally have these be somewhat random the click from the mechanism is audibly heard by all creatures with a passive Perception score of 20 or above. The traps that the pressure plates trigger are a variation of the Locking Pit from the DMG. The AC of the stone plate is 20 (stone, reinforced with steel and lead). It's HP is 32. A strength check of DC 25 can force the cover open. These pressure plates can be disabled with Thieves Tools and a Slight of Hand check of DC 25. The pits are 15ft deep, and the same lead-lined stone as the vault above a creature falling into the pit takes 1d6 bludgeoning fall damage.
The Door - The door is made of several layers - Adamantine exterior, Mithral core, Lead interior. It's AC is 30, immune to bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing damage, with HP of 75. The hinges are concealed inside of the vault, but the door opens into the anti-chamber. The locking mechanism of this door is several adamantine bolts which extend out from within the door frame, into recesses in the door itself. There is also a lip on the outside of the door which overhangs the wall (so that there isn't a visible gap through which the bolts can easily be seen). On the surface of the door is a ward, this ward can be seen by creatures with a Passive Perception of 25, or with an active Arcana check of DC 20. This ward, if touched triggers a magical trap that blasts a 10ft radius from the door which requires a DC 20 WIS saving throw and deals 10d10 psychic damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful save.
The Lock - The lock requires two keys to be turned in unison. The first keyhole is obscured behind a fake stone detail (Perception DC12), to the left hand side of the vault door. The second keyhole is obscured behind a similar fake stone detail (perception DC15), above the vault door. The locks are 10ft apart. If the real (or duplicate) keys are used the door opens.
The anti-chamber - This is the area immediately in front of the vault door. It is 15ft cube, stone and lead construction once again. There is a door opposite the vault door that leads to the rest of the building in which the vault is. This door is a steel and lead core, with adamantine exterior and interior. The hinges are on the inside of the anti-chamber, and open into the anti-chamber. There are three locking steel bars outside of the door which lock it. The entire anti-chamber is under the effect of the [Tooltip Not Found]. It is triggered when a creature enters the anti-chamber without authority (and without first speaking the passphrase). When triggered, the door into the anti-chamber, and vault are magically locked. The Alarm spell meanwhile alerts a high level Archmage, who spends their time on duty in a concealed room. The door to this room opens when the mage is alerted by the alarm spell trap. If they do not recognise the intruder, the will aim to subdue or kill them.
Staff/Owner Access - Those authorised to access the vault do so as a group of three in the following way:
Ways to break into the vault - Much like real security systems, the big weak points are the people.
DM session planning template - My version of maps for 'Lost Mine of Phandelver' - Send your party to The Circus - Other DM Resources - Maps, Tokens, Quests - 'Better' Player Character Injury Tables?
Actor, Writer, Director & Teacher by day - GM/DM in my off hours.
I agree with you that puzzling out a lock system contemporary to your setting may not be possible. As you mentioned, keys and/or combination hints are a must in order for a thief or thieves to gain access to a mission critical item or piece of information.
If this is a sandbox situation, I agree with others who say that they simply can't access this vault until they find the key and/or the information they need.
Here's an extremely difficult, trapped vault named "Spoilsport". It was first conceived as flavoring for a story in a Sci-Fi novel of mine, and it belongs to a contemporary wealthy family. It has since become part of an adventure module based on the story world setting. For gaming purposes, there is a great deal of wealth and a plot hook inside but nothing mission critical.
One must locate the only key, elaborate and unusually long, hidden in plain sight somewhere on the compound. One must also find the combination written down somewhere (not possible in my world), or perhaps overhear one of the family, who knows the combination, recite it.
Example: Say a young member of the family was recently taught the combination. One may overhear them practicing it aloud, while doing something unrelated.
From the story: "Push the key in until it stops, then turn to noon counter the clocks. Push one-two-three, short walk to three. In three more clicks, long walk to six. Pull out seven, then pause and wait. For five or more, short walk to eight. In two clicks, short walk to four. Turn the handle and open the door." There is a bit of a puzzle here.
If the door is forced open, the trap triggers. In this case, a massive thermite charge ignites. All paperwork is destroyed as the resulting molten iron rains down. The vault's precious metals partially melt, and it and any gems are encased in the resulting lava-like mass. That mass could later be mined and smelted to recover much of the mineral wealth, but the average adventuring party will not have the means to accomplish this.
Add magic, like knock spells, and maybe opening it becomes easier. That's up to the GM.
[Edit] For you math wizards out there. Not counting the added complexity of the need for a specific key, how many possible combinations are there? 8 "dials", 12 positions per dial, the order of dial selection, and the direction of dial rotation, is critical.
I always like a heist with complications that come up. What if there's another group trying to break into the vault as well? That other group could potentially have the way to get past the door, but are unwilling to share that with the party. Cue espionage betrayal, action, romance, etc.
I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
The biggest security hole for most systems is what sort of security the legitimate users are willing to tolerate, because if it's too annoying, people will just put a brick in the door or something. This does mean opportunities for the PCs, because the way to get in probably won't be that inconvenient, unless it's something very rarely accessed.
In terms of worldbuilding, the major obvious candidates for security are
There are also other security options that are somewhat orthogonal, such as just putting the item in a secret chest.
Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to offer your thoughts and advice!
I have a lot to think about and will certainly build this vault from a combination of all your excellent ideas that suit the specific context of this adventure.
Thanks!
There are so many ways to make a cool puzzle to unlock a door. Specifically in this setting though it could have a sort of key pad. with 9 characters on it. Somewhere in there you could find a note or interrogate some information out of someone that would require the party to use puzzle solving skills to open it up. And for added fun, you could have for every incorrect a attempt have an electric zolt that does a bunch of damage. You could make a cryptic phrase that refers to numbers, or place picture like characters on the key pad and have a phrase that refers to those figures. Also maybe the information needed to unlock the vault is in a different area that they haven't explored. Anyways, there are tons of ways to make a cool puzzle even with this very specific scenario.
"Uh, I have Illusory Script. I think I can read that."
The only comment I would make is that the characters would have some or all of this information before they even go in. Heists are successful due to planning and research. Of course the plan will always change but saying "I want to rob that rich family's vault" and all they know is that it is in the basement is a complete recipe for failure. They could easily find themselves standing in front of the vault with no idea how to open it. This is something that the characters would KNOW (in my opinion ... unless they are all int 6 or less or wisdom 6 or less :) ). As such, this is something that the DM should make sure that the PLAYERS know and have them plan accordingly.
Overhearing servants talking, perhaps talking to the craftsmen who built the vault ... maybe one of these was murdered by the family to take their secrets to the grave ... a speak with dead spell and the angry spirit of the artisan might allow the party to learn quite a bit about the vault via a trip to the graveyard rather than trying to figure it out on a limited time frame the evening they want to actually succeed. There are so many options. However, if I was running this and the party was just planning to go into the mansion and wing it, I would clearly indicate to the party that their plan has some major flaws that some or all of the characters in the party can see quite clearly.