10 Heist Hooks to Steal the Spotlight in Zoo Mafia

April 19, 2025

In Zoo Mafia, every big job is more than just a payday—it’s a play for power, a test of loyalty, and a chance to make your mark on the city’s criminal food chain. Whether you’re running a one-shot or building toward a climactic finale, a great heist is the engine that keeps the story moving.

To help you spark inspiration, here are ten juicy heist hooks ready to be dropped into your campaign. Each one is built for drama, tension, and a little chaos—just the way your crew likes it.

1. The Peanut Train Job

Hook: A heavily guarded supply train rolls through Furton City once a week, hauling processed peanuts to Otto’s refinery. It’s never been hit—yet.

Complication: The train is moving. The loot is in a locked vault car. And someone else is already on board with the same idea.

Twist: Turns out, it’s not just peanuts inside. There’s a “live cargo” section—a kidnapped mob boss’ cousin.

2. The Gilded Gala Snatch-and-Grab

Hook: Owl Capone’s hosting a black-tie fundraiser at The Aviary, showing off a priceless golden egg as a centerpiece.

Complication: The whole event is crawling with guards, gangsters, and double-dealing dignitaries.

Twist: The egg is a fake—someone already pulled the job. Your crew’s just walked into a frame-up.

3. The Vault Under the Velvet Burrow

Hook: Rumor has it Bunny Malone’s speakeasy hides an off-the-books vault for the other bosses. The score? Dirt on everyone.

Complication: You’ll need codes, blueprints, and to get inside the most exclusive bar in the zoo.

Twist: The vault is voice-locked… and the voice belongs to a recently assassinated raccoon.

4. The Smuggler’s Swap

Hook: A peanut-for-pearls exchange is set to go down on a foggy dock between Owl’s smugglers and some unknown outsiders.

Complication: The players are hired to intercept the goods—but by who? Three factions claim responsibility.

Twist: The goods are cursed. Anyone who touches them starts speaking in riddles or animal tongues.

5. The Museum of Misplaced Marvels

Hook: The Natural History Museum is unveiling “The Claw of the First Predator,” an artifact said to be magical. The bosses want it.

Complication: It’s on rotating display with laser tripwires (yes, a 1930s laser—don’t ask) and two competing crews are already casing the joint.

Twist: The artifact awakens something. A sleeping beast? A spell? A secret truth?

6. The Syndicate Census

Hook: A central ledger—recording debts, favors, and blackmail across all of Furton—is being moved by a mole.

Complication: The transport is a decoy. The real ledger is hidden in plain sight, disguised as a school workbook.

Twist: The player crew is in the ledger—with notes on their past and potential betrayal points.

7. The Underground Peanut Lottery

Hook: A secret peanut-laundering gambling ring pays out once a month in untraceable currency. The vault? A moving truck during a rigged race.

Complication: You’ve got to rig the race and intercept the payout without tipping off three mob bosses with skin in the game.

Twist: One of the racing animals is a deep-cover agent—and knows your crew by name.

8. The Choir of Snitches

Hook: Someone’s selling info to the Zoo Guard—and it’s coming from inside Bunny’s territory. Your job? Steal the blackmail files before they go public.

Complication: The files are locked inside a church-run orphanage… that doubles as a safehouse for ex-mobsters.

Twist: One of the orphans recognizes a player character—and has a score to settle.

9. The Big Freeze

Kermit the Frog with a hat, sun glasses, and a machine gun.

Someone is about to croak!

Hook: A stash of cryogenically frozen peanut oil (a delicacy) is buried in an old zoo enclosure, sealed off since “the incident.”

Complication: The only way in is through an underground tunnel network patrolled by mutant moles.

Twist: The oil is sentient. And it doesn’t want to be moved.

10. The Final Favor

Hook: An aging mob boss wants one last job pulled before she retires—break into the Zoo Guard’s evidence locker and steal a personal item.

Complication: The locker is in a secure wing of the precinct, and the item? A painting of her and a long-dead lover.

Twist: It’s a setup to test the crew. If they survive… they might become bosses themselves.

Running These Hooks

Every hook in Zoo Mafia should come with more than just risk—it should tug at the players’ morals, loyalties, and egos. Don’t just ask if they’ll succeed. Ask what they’re willing to do for a win.

Want to turn any of these hooks into a full session plan? I’m happy to help you build out maps, complications, rival crews, and aftermath options. Just say the word.

If you are a fan of Zoo Mafia and want to be notified when we go live on Kickstarter make sure you head over to the follow page to get notified. If you want to be on the newsletter to get all the details as we release them you can sign up here.

What’s your favorite kind of heist? Did your players blow up the train, charm the gala, or get hexed by haunted peanuts? Let me know in the comments—or better yet, tell me how your table made it all worse in the best way possible.

Until next time, keep your noses clean and your tails shady.

Thanks for Reading. Until Next Time, Stay Nerdy!!