Tinker, Tailor, Fighter, Rogue: Running Magical Spy Thrillers in D&D

Tags author-davyd-atkins Arcana Unleashed

A tyrannical lich is one ritual away from destroying an entire nation and threatening the realms beyond. How would you stop him if the entire political landscape is full of sympathizers and "allies" that will use any means to gain power of their own?

Arcana Unleashed: Deadfall is a high-level D&D adventure for characters level 11-20, one that tests your players with their most difficult mission yet: A clandestine operation into the heart of Thay.

But this isn't your average spy thriller. When allies, enemies, and observers of all affiliations have access to high-powered magical abilities, how can you bring tense drama and paranoid suspense to your game? Read on to find out.

Arcana Unleashed: Deadfall

Put your magic to the ultimate test. This epic adventure plunges characters into the fractured magocracy of Thay, where Szass Tam is on the verge of seizing the nation.

  • A covert campaign that takes characters from level 11 - level 20
  • A complete gazetteer of Thay, dominion of the Red Wizards
  • New magic items and monsters, including a CR 23 Szass Tam stat block

Why These Characters?

XAVIER LEROUX A heist crew studies magical schematics

Like the missions in Deadfall, any high-level magical operation is sure to have plenty of risks, so whoever is running it doesn't recruit at random.

In your session zero, work with each player to answer the question: "Why have you been recruited?" Maybe their character has a grudge against the target, a reputation for discretion, magical talents suited for the job, or a stacked resume of successful stealth missions. Recruitment with a reason gives every character a personal stake from the get-go, even if it's just to maintain their reputation.

This is your party's chance to create a well-rounded squad, one that can overcome the many, fast-paced challenges of a covert operation. Here are some examples:

Specialty What They Bring
The Infiltrator Getting in and out without a trace: Bypassing locks, disarming alarms, traversing rooftops, memorizing guard rotations
The Face Disguises, fast-talking, and persuasion
The Counter-Mage A proclivity for dealing with enemy spellcasters by dispelling magic, breaking Concentration, and countering spell effects
The Illusionist Creative distractions, forgery, and a penchant for making guards look the other way
The Eyes Scouting and surveillance expert, whether through stealth, familiars, or observation
The Muscle When subtlety fails, someone has to help the party make their exit and remove any obstacles in their way
The Lucky One Harness divination magic or raw luck to always be in the right place at the right time
The Preparer Craft the right gear for the right mission, and always have a backup

Operation Briefing

EILENE CHERIE A mysterious handler briefs a party of adventurers

As with all good spy thrillers, once the crew is assembled, they are briefed on the mission's stakes. It's important to set the "Code of Conduct," as it were, so the party knows the rules of the situation they are going into.

Give Them a Patron

The party's patron functions as a conduit for you, the Dungeon Master, to give them the puzzle pieces they need to assemble. The patron accomplishes a number of things:

  • Provides exposition and information. What does success actually look like? Why is the mission of utmost importance? What's the extraction plan if a mission falls apart?
  • Acts as a sounding board. A safe NPC can help the party test their plans before betting their lives on them.
  • Covers the consequences. As the one with potentially the most at stake, your party's patron can stress the importance of secrecy and outline the most crucial aspects of their plan.

"Why Don't You Do It?"

When providing a patron to sponsor a party's mission, it's important to have a reason this powerful or influential individual can't help the party directly. This could be because of political pressure, the need for plausible deniability, or an arch-enemy who would notice their involvement the moment they acted openly.

Rewards and Resources

When your party keeps a low profile, accomplishes all of the objectives, and predicts their enemies' next move, rewarding them with additional resources can help incentivize "playing by the rules."

  • Bastion upgrades. A Bastion makes a perfect headquarters for the party to customize, prepare for their next mission, and upgrade with facilities that will improve their chances.
  • Faction favors. If the party goes out of their way to complete the goals of a powerful faction (for example, the Ninth Quill in Arcana Unleashed), they could be provided with forgeries, the ability to delegate a task, or their pick of certain magical items.
  • Additional NPCs. Maybe the party manages to rescue an imprisoned Alchemist Artificer from a dungeon. Now the party gets a potion each before they head out on missions.

Similarly, failing to accomplish their objectives in a clandestine manner can result in consequences, such as a reduction in the information they receive from their patron or the capture of friendly NPCs—it could even result in them being kicked off the job, requiring them to finish the mission without outside resources (why, yes, I have been watching Slow Horses).

Counterspells and Counter Agents

BUBBLE CAT STUDIO A council of Red Wizards observe a divination crystal ball

A Spy's Spellbook

In Which Spells Should You Take on a Heist? we cover most of your standard options for a covert magical mission. But Arcana Unleashed adds a whole new page to a spy's spellbook. Here are some standout new and revised options, organized by the same categories:

Mission Need New Options From Arcana Unleashed
Avoiding Detection Moment of Prescience turns a failed Dexterity (Stealth) check into a natural 20, and Zone of Amicability can keep suspicious guards friendly for the time being.
Causing Distractions Illusory Dragon and Summon Dinosaur can function as potent distractions, if not particularly subtle ones.
Detecting Threats Hindsight is a spymaster's dream: Watch visions of everything that happened at a location over the past 10 years. All you need is a level 9 spell slot!
Removing Roadblocks A successful Inflict Doubt leaves a witness with Disadvantage on D20 Tests, making them easy to sneak past, convince, or silently take out.
Infiltrating and Escaping Aura of Evasion helps the whole crew shrug off traps and Fireballs being chucked by enemy Wizards. Likewise, Uncertain Footing or Distorted Distance can slow pursuers with illusory obstacles.
Working Together Reweave Fate rescues an ally's failed D20 Test with the opportunity to reroll with Advantage and fortify with Temporary Hit Points.

Countering Enemy Arcana

The thing about magic-heavy missions is, for every trick the party has up their sleeve, the enemy has one up theirs—and in Thay, the enemy includes Red Wizard specialists of every school of magic.

A lot of the useful spells for spycraft will be in play on both sides, so how can the party counter them?

Enemy Spell Counterplay
Zone of Truth The best strategy is understanding its limitations. It doesn't force the target to speak and relies on what the target believes to be true.
Detect Thoughts Enemy spies might scan the thoughts of passersby for signs of intruders or subterfuge.
Scrying / Locate Creature Nondetection cloaks a single agent from divination magic for 8 hours. It's perfect for a mission window and can be a good spell for the party's patron to provide. But it does come with a ticking clock.
Command / Suggestion / Dominate Person Mental magic can be extremely tricky to navigate, especially if your party is being interrogated. It might be important to compartmentalize information, or prepare contingencies for mind-controlling spells.
Counterspell Enemy mages can't counter what they don't notice. Consider casting spells from hiding or out of line of sight, and options that hide the act of casting itself—like the Sorcerer's Subtle Spell or the new Spell Subterfuge feat from Arcana Unleashed.
Invisibility / Greater Invisibility Detect Thoughts, See Invisibility, Mordenkainen's Faithful Hound, or special senses like Tremorsense and Blindsight are imperative when protecting against arcane infiltrators

New Tools of the Trade

Arcana Unleashed also stocks the quartermaster's shelves with a fresh set of options, several of which may be exactly what your party needs to pull off their mission:

Magic Item Uses
Ensorcelled Missive Send orders that read as unintelligible gibberish to anyone who opens them without the passphrase.
Homeward Compass Point the needle at your safe house so an agent can always find their way back, even lost or pursued.
Orb of Divination Detection Glows green the moment a Divination spell targets you.
Spell-Slinger's Puppet Speak (and cast spells with Verbal components) through the lips of a hovering doll up to 30 feet away, so nobody knows you're the one who cast the spell.
Arcane Chatelaine Six spectral keys that each cast Arcane Lock.
Secret Keeper's Circlet Set a trigger that erases your memory of a deed so there's nothing left for Detect Thoughts or other mental magic to find.
Mage Breaker When hit with this dagger, a concentrating spellcaster has Disadvantage on their Constitution save to maintain their spell.
Namer's Needle Unmask a disguised agent with this dagger, which compels a target to say its own name aloud when struck.
Universal Pantograph Duplicate any nonmagical item so its owner doesn't know you pocketed a copy of their key, royal signet, or important documents.

This Article Will Self-Destruct in 5 Seconds…

With Arcana Unleashed: Deadfall, you'll take your players deep into the heart of Thay on the covert Operation Deadfall, a tense magical spy thriller campaign for characters level 11 - 20.

So brush up on your ciphers, dust off those fake IDs and codenames, and get ready to spy hard in this tense new Dungeons & Dragons adventure.

Welcome to Thay: A Traveler's Guide to the Red Wizards' Dangerous Homeland
by Riley Silverman
Who is Szass Tam, and Why Must He Be Stopped?
by Riley Silverman
Harness Magical Might with these 8 Arcana Unleashed Subclasses
by Damen Cook

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