Having recently talked about mysteries in games and fiction, I now expand on the related genre of spy missions, heists, capers, and con jobs. In Part 1, I briefly looked at some staples of the genre in books, television and movies, then I examined a handful of game systems that attempt to bring the heist structure to role-playing. In Part 2, I drew elements from these sources to discuss more generally what game masters can do to prepare this kind of adventure in any system and provided links to online resources for the genre.
In Part 3, I talk about running the adventure per se, and trouble-shooting typical problems.
Running the Game
As discussed in the first two parts of this series, stories in this genre typically unfold in three acts: Planning the Job, Executing the Mission, and Wrap-Up.
Planning Phase
The planning or preparation phase typically include getting the job or the mission, and meeting the client if there is one; investigating to get more information to work with; and planning the operation. Future complications may be foreshadowed.
The Reef 