The Day My Player Decided to Taste-Test the Plot /u/Rovokan2 DnD: Roll for Initiative!

As a DM, I sometimes enjoy describing something completely ordinary and unremarkable to my players, just to watch them overthink it – until they finally realize it’s exactly what it seems. One time, this approach led to one of the funniest scenes I’ve ever had at the table.

So, after multiple days my players had just made it out of a big swamp and found themselves in the desert. As I was describing the changing scene, I casually mentioned a giant eagle with a wingspan of several meters flying high above their heads.

Later, I set up a small social encounter on the road: a prisoner transport guarded by about 30 battleworn soldiers, with a prisoner locked in a cage. It was a quick 5-8 minute interaction, and in the end, everyone went their separate ways – nothing out of the ordinary.

After that, I described them finding a large, white-grayish puddle on the road, roughly 2 meters in diameter, with pieces of something solid mixed in. The group investigated it, but their first check didn’t reveal what it was.

Then one of my players asked, “Can I taste it to try another skill check?” Normally, I don’t allow repeat checks, but I couldn’t resist this time.

Natural 20. Of course, a nat 20.

Since even the players had no idea what it was at the time, it came as a huge surprise when I revealed that the bitter taste was, in fact, bird poop. And with the nat 20, he could even identify that taste as giant eagle bird poop.

We’ve had such a good laugh after that. It’s hands down one of my favorite DnD moments of all time.

As a DM, I sometimes enjoy describing something completely ordinary and unremarkable to my players, just to watch them overthink it – until they finally realize it’s exactly what it seems. One time, this approach led to one of the funniest scenes I’ve ever had at the table.

So, after multiple days my players had just made it out of a big swamp and found themselves in the desert. As I was describing the changing scene, I casually mentioned a giant eagle with a wingspan of several meters flying high above their heads.

Later, I set up a small social encounter on the road: a prisoner transport guarded by about 30 battleworn soldiers, with a prisoner locked in a cage. It was a quick 5-8 minute interaction, and in the end, everyone went their separate ways – nothing out of the ordinary.

After that, I described them finding a large, white-grayish puddle on the road, roughly 2 meters in diameter, with pieces of something solid mixed in. The group investigated it, but their first check didn’t reveal what it was.

Then one of my players asked, “Can I taste it to try another skill check?” Normally, I don’t allow repeat checks, but I couldn’t resist this time.

Natural 20. Of course, a nat 20.

Since even the players had no idea what it was at the time, it came as a huge surprise when I revealed that the bitter taste was, in fact, bird poop. And with the nat 20, he could even identify that taste as giant eagle bird poop.

We’ve had such a good laugh after that. It’s hands down one of my favorite DnD moments of all time.