Hi friends! I recently came across an interesting topic in D&D that I wanted to share with you all: creative use of items. For example, a rope can become not only a tool, but also a trap or a weapon. In one of the games I played, a mage dissolved a grate with acid instead of attacking. Have you ever had any unexpected situations with items? I’d love to hear about them!
One recent example from a game that I ran is that my players caused a dust explosion using flour. I had to do some quick googling to figure out how big that might be to best gauge the damage (turns out it can be pretty big), but I awarded inspiration for the creativity (despite getting caught up in the blast themselves). This was also a bit of irony since the people they were attacking were assassins that ran a bakery as cover.
@[email protected] I just love RPGs for moments like this)
Along with a tent, bedroll, extra rope, chalk and a ten foot pole, flour is always among the first items I buy as a player. Mostly to make it easier to spot invisible creatures, but a dust explosion would be right up my alley!
I had players nearly end their campaign when they were about to use’fireball’ in an active sawmill that a death cult was hiding out in. Luckily one of them realized a moment before what the implications would be.
It didn’t actually end up working, because he didn’t roll quite high enough, but in our session last night, our cleric tried to use Shape Water to freeze water from a water skin into the shape of a missing gear that we needed for a puzzle
If you’re interested in fun ways to use items, definitely pick up a Block and Tackle the next time you’re at a general store. That’s how you make Scooby Doo traps
Not DND but one time in Mage (a game of modern day magic) my players were trying really hard to contact another group. The players were in NYC and the other group was who-knows-where, but they were heavily magically warded.
After two failed and resource intense attempts to magically contact the other group, I asked if they wanted a hint. They said sure. I said, “Why don’t you call them on the phone?”
I love White Wolf games for this reason. Many other reasons too but this is a fun one. Like playing VTM, it’s super easy to get caught up in all the pseudo-Victorian drama of the vampires and then suddenly panic when the vamp hunter eschews his wooden stakes and garlic and instead shows up with a flamethrower. It’s modern times out here baby. Like shit, I just spent two hours walking across town because I forgot our setting is set in fucking 1998 and I can just call a taxi.
Not an item, but our DM let a player dissolve a mundane door lock with the acid splash cantrip
Use and abuse prestidigitation. Annoying dog? here puppy, the best steak you ever tasted. need to ask the guards again? Change my clothes. plot exposition? minor cube of illusion. Between that and mending I have my GM debating firing my bard after only 3 sessions of curse of the crimson throne.
GM dependent, of course,
Prestidigitation RAR can’t change your clothes. That’s the level 1 spell disguise self. It could change the color, but it should still be fairly obvious that you’re the same person. Personally If I did allow it, I would require a very hard bluff check to convince them that you aren’t the same person. Not even a disguise check. If you used a disguise kit though, I would probably let it slide depending on how many people the guards have interacted with since.
Are you enjoying cotct? Ive ran it twice and it’s one of my favorite campaigns of all time.
True though the disguise kit would take more time. I am so far. part of my GMs annoyance is that a lot of the names of the NPCs are clear hints as to their purpose and if you speak German and some Latin it makes it VERY obvious what the next plot point will be so I have been banned from translating the names from now on.
Powdered chalk or ink or oil on an invisible creature. Throwing powdered chalk around a room to track foot steps of an invisible creature.
As an urchin background forest gnome, I tried to abuse the hell out of my pet mouse and speak with small beasts ability. Unfortunately, our sessions did not last long enough for me to come up with too much fun shenanigans.
Tavern chair as a weapon count?
My rogue jammed a few door locks by cramming ball bearings into the keyholes once.
This is amazing. Next time I need to permanently seal a door from the outside in a hurry, I’m doing this.
