Con jobs and confidence scams [Archive] - Giant in the Playground Forums

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TheThan

2010-09-30, 03:42 PM

OMG PONIES

2010-09-30, 03:50 PM

In the category of "more easily said than done," simply have your conpeople tell the truth. This doesn't mean they have to reveal their plans, but if they choose their words carefully so as not to set off any "lie radars," or if they lie by omission, they can string the characters along.

A good way to do this is to ask a lot of questions, and try to turn the PCs' questions back to them. If you're not providing any answers, it's harder to catch you in a lie. Of course, to do this while building up their trust in you is tricky. To paraphrase from Ocean's Eleven, you have to be likeable but forgettable. Saying "I've got this idea you should do" will inherently rouse the players' suspicions more than providing a few key pieces of information and allowing them to think of your plan all by themselves.

Mechanically speaking, changelings have some interesting ways to foil divination. If I'm not mistaken, there's a feat they can take that allows them to control what they send out when someone detects their thoughts. I can't quite recall.

Also, give ShneekeyTheLost's Joker Bard (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5496158) a good read. Diabolical.

BRC

2010-09-30, 03:54 PM

I made a couple of these a while back and found the file.

The Fallen Comrade

Requirements: A masterwork Weapon, Ability to cast Magic Weapon. The ability to cast Greater Magic Weapon or use extend Spell helps a lot.
The Goal: Convince the Mark to buy a nonmagical weapon thinking it’s magical.
The Mark: Adventurers, preferably a martial character on his own. While this con could work on an arcane caster, it’s more dangerous. If you trust your bluff checks and don’t register as Evil under a detect evil spell, a Paladin or Cleric of a good-aligned god works best. The safest mark would be a fighter or barbarian.
The Plan: As late as possible cast Magic Weapon on the masterwork weapon, making it, effectively, a +1 weapon. The Con Man approaches the Mark with the Tale. The Con Man in question should appear tired, perhaps wounded, and bedraggled. He approaches the Mark and tells the tale
The Tale: The Con Man is an adventurer who recently fell afoul of some bad luck. His party was fighting Ogres and though they won, one of his fellow adventurers died, and they didn’t have enough cash on them for a raise dead, they are 1800 gold short, and their friend died several days ago, so the time during which he can be raised is rapidly running out. In order to make the cash quickly, the Con Man is willing to sell his +1 Weapon for only 1800 gold. If the Mark would be so kind as to pay quickly, they need to get to the temple as soon as possible. The Mark tests out the weapon, finds it shows the features of a +1 weapon, and pays up, thinking that they did a good deed and got the deal of the century at the same time. The Con Man runs off as quickly as possible (To buy the Diamonds in question). By the time the Mark realizes he was tricked, it’s too late.
This con can be done at higher levels with Greater Magic Weapon, or with Magic vestment. Only an Identify spell can reveal the weapon to be what it is, so be careful.

The Vargathia

Requirements: a heavy-bound tome filled with gibberish. It should have some sort of distinctive feature
The Mark: Wizards, preferably confident, ambitious, low-level ones. Lawful Evil wizards work great for this con.
The Goal: Convince the Wizard that the book in question is the spellbook of a powerful archmage, with the spells written in code.
The Plan: This is a three man job. First, the Mark is approached by Man 1, who should look like a well-dressed wizard. He approaches the Mark and asks if he’s seen a spellbook around, he describes the spellbook, paying extra attention to the distinctive feature. When the Mark asks about it, Man 1 states that the spellbook in question belonged to an Archmage named Vargathia, and contains many powerful, perhaps unique, spells. Vargathia wrote his spells in a Code however and recently died taking the code with him. However somebody of considerable intellect should be able to decipher it. The Book was last seen in the possession of Vargathia’s drunken gambler of a Brother (Man 2). Man 1 Says he’s willing to pay good money for the Spellbook, and even more if somebody is capable of decoding it. Man 1 leaves the Mark a way to contact him, and wanders off Later, the Mark should notice Man 2 carrying the Book. Man 2 should look like an idiot and an imbecile, somebody who doesn’t deserve to be anywhere near the spellbook of an Archmage. Man 2 is being hassled by the burly, thuggish Man 3, who punches him in the face, says something about him having until the next day to pay up, and wanders off. If the Mark doesn’t approach Man 2, wait a bit, then have Man 2 approach the Mark, offering to sell him the Spellbook for a fraction of what Man 1 offered. The Mark agrees and runs off to try to decode the Book. The Mark may never know the book is total gibberish, and not encoded at all, or if he does figure it out, the team will be long gone with his money.

The Scarlabrax

Requirements: A good bluff, any appropriate decorations. Tailor depending on your Mark.
The Mark: Somebody with a secure location you wish to infiltrate or attack. Said location is preferably owned by the occupants, and not part of some larger organization.
Goal: Convince the Mark to show you around their fortress/dungeon.
The Plan: You approach the Mark’s fortress in disguise and state that you work for a “Mister Scarlabrax”. Mister Scarlabrax could be anything, but he’s somebody powerful , capable of rewarding the Mark. Also, his nature should explain why people haven’t heard of him before. Or claim it’s a Pseudonym he works under for illicit deeds. What/whoever Mister Scarlabrax is, he has a very important item, and he’s looking for a secure place to store it. The Mark’s facility came up as an option, and Mister Scarlabrax will, of course, greatly reward the Mark if his facility is used. However, first, Mister Scarlabrax’s subordinate (The Con Artist) needs to inspect the Facility to make sure it is secure enough. Mister Scarlabrax isn’t going to entrust his property to somebody who cannot keep it safe. As such, the Subordinate needs to see the defenses the Mark has, and the personnel he has guarding his compound. If the Mark buys it, the Con should allow himself to be shown around the complex. Provided the Mark actually bought it, this should provide the Con with the layout and defenses, allowing him to plan an attack or infiltration.
After the tour, the Con looks pleased, says “Excellent, I shall recommend you to Mister Scarlabrax, expect to hear from us shortly” and leaves.

Ravens_cry

2010-09-30, 03:58 PM

Hide alignment, an excellent bluff check, and a bluff that actually has a chance of working on the players, not just their characters. As well, play up on their expectations and genre expectations. That half orc in a hide loincloth and a big axe? The Paladin handing out the quest. He was hand picked by the goddess of righteous battle to further her aims. That guy in shining white robes and vestments , a big honking holy symbol and a perpetual glow? An assassin with an item of light cast on his clothes. Why? The assassin you don't see as an assassin is the best assassin.

Shhalahr Windrider

2010-09-30, 04:06 PM

Workarounds:

Discern Lies, Detect thoughts, Detect alignment: Wear a ring of mind shielding

Detect magic: magic aura defeats this.

Identify: Takes 8 hours to cast, and the caster must have the item in its possesion. Just don’t run any long-term cons that give the caster an opportunity to use that spell.

Analyze Dweomer: Counter with magic aura. Preferably Heightened, since the mark will get a Will save to get through that. Also, keep the object attended as long as you can so you can defend against this with a Will save of your own.

True seeing: Good question here.

Scying: nondetection, false vision, and/or sequester

Restoration: Not sure how this is supposed to help.

Locate object, Locate creature: nondetection, sequester, or an amulet of proof against detection and location.

A properly employed antimagic field or dispel magic can help against the magic items.

Candle of truth: Characters are aware of the zone of truth used by this. Careful choice of words can help. Also, the conman can act offended at such a display of distrust and demand that the character using the candle snuff it. Can have a shill get offended on your behalf to help keep the mark from calling the whole thing off.

Gem of true sight: Not sure

Elixir of truth: Don’t drink anything you didn’t prepare yourself.

Helm of telepathy, Medallion of thoughts: ring of mind shielding

Ring of mind shielding: Extremely high Sense Motive (do things the old fashioned way)

TheThan

2010-09-30, 04:37 PM

Well since I might run this campaign here in the PBP section, I don’t want to reveal too much. But they have a tendency to “go big” with their scams, simple con work like tricking someone into buying a fake map works at early levels. But as the game progresses (I plan on them being reoccurring characters) they need some good longer-term plans that can net them a lot of wealth.

Here’s a few that I’ve already come up with.

Treasure map
The con artist, posses a treasure map or dungeon map that will lead the pcs to a vast sum of money. The map is forged and completely fake. The pcs buy the map for a sum of money and when they try to use the map. They find that it is fake.
This scam has two alternatives, either the con man talks the price of the map up to a decent sum of money, or he sells the map “at a loss”. In this case the map leads the pcs to an ambush where they are jumped by thugs in an attempt to take the rest of their money.

Shell game:
The classic shell game. Involves a slight of hand check and spot checks to see the ball being palmed by the host of the game. Due to the host palming the ball, each of the shells are empty. This works best with two people in on the scam; one person is the host, the other a gambler. When the pcs approach, the gambler steps up and picks the right shell, winning some money. This should help convince the pcs that the game is on the up and up and may entice them to give it a try.

Killgore’s ghost
The champion or fan favorite of the local gladiatorial arena has been solicited to take a fall in the ring in order for the con man to earn a vast sum of money betting against him. The con man tells the gladiator that he has a cleric that will resurrect him after the battle and that he can collect this share of the winnings afterwards. The con man has no intention of resurrecting the dead gladiator and instead simply leaves him dead and makes off with the money. Can lead to the gladiator arena being haunted by the ghost of the fallen gladiator.

This can work well if the party is interested in participating in the fights, but the plan gets slightly more complicated. Instead of simply leaving the gladiator dead, the con-man needs to flee the scene (with the winnings) before the party cleric can resurrect the fallen gladiator. The con-man could also convince the pcs to front the money for the venture, as he may be down on his luck. This should work very well if the pcs manage to win several fights beforehand and start to garner a reputation.

Anyway I’ve already figured out a lot of ways around magic and items. most of which have already been listed. Though I’m sure there are more ways to foil a good con than the ones I’ve listed (seriously just started listing off the top of my head).

TheEmerged

2010-09-30, 04:41 PM

The heart of the best con jobs doesn't change just because magic is available.

Simply put, you need to convince the mark (victim) that they are the con (the one cheating).

snoopy13a

2010-09-30, 05:55 PM

I’m working on a pair of NPCs for an upcoming (dnd 3.5) campaign. As the title suggests they’re con artists and thieves. Now I’m really enjoying writing out these two, I know I’m going to have fun running them, and I hope at least the pcs are going to have fun dealing with them.

But I’ve run across a rather large problem. How does one run a confidence scam when there are so many easy ways to thwart a con artist? Just a few simple spells and fairly cheap magic items can shut down most ways of getting people to trust you when they ought not to.

Here’s a short list:

Spells
Discern Lies
Detect thoughts
Detect magic
Identify
Detect alignment
Analyze Dweomer
True seeing
Scying
Restoration
Locate object
Locate creature

Items:
Candle of truth
Gem of true sight
Elixir of truth
Helm of telepathy
Medallion of thoughs
Ring of mind shielding

Now those are just a few of the myriad of magic spells and magical items out there that can ruin a good con. So what I need from the playground is some good ideas for cons and confidence scams, as well as workarounds for dealing with the above (and more) spells and gears.

Most con scams in real life occur because the victims don't take simple steps to ensure that the business idea is legitmate. Prudent people are rarely scammed.

Sure, these methods would prevent a scam artist but those victimized by a con artist are not going to use these methods. First of all, most people in the DnD world are not spellcasters, so the spell remedies are not readily available.

Additionally, magical items do cost money. A person is not going to buy a 500 gold potion to ensure that someone is telling the truth involving a 100 gold transaction.

Thus, con artists are likely to target non-spellcasters with lucative but not outrageous scams. If someone was to make a 1,000,000 gold piece deal then the other person would employ a wizard to ensure honesty. However, if it is a 500 gold piece deal, it is unlikely that one of the parties will employ magic to ensure honestly. Instead, the person would use mudane methods such as background checks to ensure a solid deal.

As long as the scams are such that using magic isn't cost-efficient, you don't have to worry about the effect of magic on cons.

Endarire

2010-09-30, 10:20 PM

In all cases, the con must sound reasonable.

At low levels, silent image is a favorite. Turn copper into platinum. Make it seem like the spirits of the land are angry and demand their stuff back. (Remember, silent image can make lettering appear.)

Also, magic counters to magical cons get more common at higher levels. Mundane means, such as Disguise, are less likely to be noticed.

Speaking of which, who takes Forgery? Forgers, that's who. What skill do you need to detect forgery? Forgery!

Salbazier

2010-09-30, 10:27 PM

Workarounds:

True seeing: Good question here.

There is a spell in one of the eberron books that make magical disguise impenetrable by true seeing. Forget what and where though

Benly

2010-09-30, 10:30 PM

The workaround for True Seeing is to not use illusions in your con at all. Use mundane disguises and forgeries. True Seeing is powerless against them and people are so used to thinking of True Seeing as a magic bullet that they'll often fail to take other basic precautions once they've applied it.

OMG PONIES

2010-10-01, 10:50 AM