KEEP IN MIND
- Assign each person a starting location.
- Read each task list from the first instruction downward.
- Give Collect gold an explicit place in the plan.
- Check weapon and horse limits.
- Change one planning decision before comparing runs.
Check every person before the start
A heist plan includes people, equipment, starting locations and tasks. The action stage does not provide direct steering; the manual limits you to pausing or resetting. Inspect every member during preparation and make their intended behavior explicit. If you expect someone to collect gold, assign that task rather than relying on the character to infer your objective.
Read the list from top to bottom
The party chooses the first currently possible task. The manual illustrates the problem with RUN AWAY above SHOOT: the person runs whenever that action is available, preventing the later shooting instruction. To diagnose an unexpected action, locate the earliest executable task. Moving an instruction is a meaningful change, so test that change before rewriting the entire plan.
Match tasks to the starting location
The manual distinguishes walk-through buildings from roofs. Buildings can have doors and windows, while a roof is an isolated location that cannot be left. A rooftop position may offer range and protection from close attacks, but it also constrains later movement. Check the required position for each task before assigning an escape behavior that the starting location cannot support.
Read equipment limits alongside orders
The General Store has limited stock. A person can carry multiple items, but the manual limits weapons and horses to one of each. Read the actual equipment assigned to the person whose task you are debugging. A plan that assumes a missing weapon or mount has a preparation problem that rearranging task priority alone will not fix.
Trace the gold sequence without inventing actions
The manual says the train can be slowed by shooting its locomotive, and gold becomes accessible after a wagon is damaged and disconnected. Guards then appear. Check that the party’s tasks cover the objective and the changed situation. This is a reading method for the documented rules, not a tested winning composition or a promise that one order list will complete every heist.
Read the originals.
Source documents checked . This records a documentation check, not the version deployed by an external game host.
