Heartbeat Thieves

by Nicholas Fletcher

It's the night of the big job. Your crew is in place and the plan is ready to go.
As long as everyone keeps their nerve, it should be easy. To play Heartbeat
Thieves, you will need the following:
-- 2-4 players and 1 gamemaster (hereafter the GM).
-- 1 twenty-sided die.
-- 20 heartbeat counters per player, including the gamemaster.
-- 1 character sheet per player.
Character creation is done during gameplay, so no work is needed from the players
prior to the game.

At the start of each session, give each player 6 heartbeat counters; the GM starts
with no counters. Place the remaining counters in a supply in the middle of the
table.

The number of heartbeat counters a player has measures the amount of stress their
character is currently under; higher stress makes taking actions harder. The number
of heartbeat counters the GM has measures the heat: the amount of attention the
characters are drawing and the time they have spent.

Whenever a character tries something difficult, roll 1d20; if they have an

appropriate skill marked, they add +3 to the roll. If the roll is at least the
number of heartbeat counters their player has, the character succeeds; if not, they
fails.

After every such action, the player gains another heartbeat counter, success or
failure. If the character had an appropriate skill, they gain no counters when
succeeding, but gain two counters if they failed. Whenever the die rolls a 20, they
lose 1 heartbeat counter, to a minimum of 6 (instead of the normal result).

If an action is critical to the success of the mission but the character failed the
action, the players can force the action to succeed, but whenever they do so, the
GM gains 2 heartbeat counters. Any combat actions must be forced to succeed if they
fail.

Each session of Heartbeat Thieves covers one mission, from start to finish. In each
session, each player can reveal a new skill their character has learned, marking
any one skill from your character sheet. Marked skills persist from session to
session.

At any time, any player can take time to cool down, moving one heartbeat counter
from them to the GM. If there is more than one character in the same place, they
can all cool down at once; each loses a counter, but only one goes to the GM.

If a player has more than 20 heartbeat counters, their character panics and takes
no further part in the current mission. If the GM has more than 20 heartbeat
counters, the heat gets too hot, everything falls apart and the mission fails.

Character Sheet:
Name: _____________

Skills:
-O- Stealth (moving without being seen)
-O- Observation (noticing hidden things)
-O- Deception (lying convincingly)
-O- Lockpicking (opening locks without keys)
-O- Pickpocket (stealing from peoples pockets)
-O- Combat (attacking without being attacked)
-O- Acrobatics (running, jumping and climbing)
-O- Slight of Hand (
-O- Strength (using brute force)
-O-