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.
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.