A Dungeons and Dragons party used a metal bucket to derail a DM's campaign.
The Dungeon Master, who goes by Firelite67 on Reddit, described the episode in detail on the DnD subreddit. Firelite67 was running a Tomb of Annihilation campaign, which drops the players in a land ravaged by a mysterious wasting disease that affects those raised from the dead. While guiding the party through a boat ride to the mainland, Firelite67 unwittingly provided them with the tool they would later utilize to derail the DM's game plans.
D&D Party Defeats a Triceratops With a Bucket
When the party arrived in Port Nyanzaru, Firelite67 facilitated the meeting of an important NPC called Xandala by having the players attempt to rescue her from a vicious triceratops blinded by an Acid Splash spell. As this creature was too strong to defeat, Firelite67 planned to have the party member that knew Animal Friendship lure the rampaging beast into a nearby fountain. This move would not only wash off the acid, but allow the DM to segue into a side quest and some lore about the town.
Instead of utilizing the fountain strategy, one of the players used the tin bucket that had been provided to a seasick player on the aforementioned boat ride. After the players reached port, they were allowed to keep the bucket, as the DM figured that ships normally had plenty to spare. However, they had not factored the possibility of the party using it into his campaign plans. The bucket allowed the party to clear the acid from the triceratops' eyes while leaving the fountain intact, preventing the DM from setting the party on the planned course. Firelite67 acknowledged the comical nature of the situation. "I just find it funny that something as silly as a bucket changed the direction of the game so vastly."
D&D Parties Often Derail DM's Plans
The mechanics of Dungeons and Dragons often allow for creative scenarios that don't factor into a DM's plans. One Dungeon Master, who goes by Oliver Darkshire on Twitter, described how they had to wrap up a D&D campaign 40 weeks early due to their party crashing a spaceship into a villain's lair. While this drastically reduced the campaign's length, Darkshire openly praised the "creative and unexpected" nature of the team's strategy. They also listed it among their "Top 5 Creative Campaign Solutions."
Another Dungeon Master, who goes by Sorceryy on Reddit, described how their campaign prematurely ended due to a notoriously powerful first-level spell called Silvery Barbs. Using this spell, the party easily took out a Bandit leader that was intended to be a major obstacle. Sorceryy tried to negate the efficacy of Silvery Barbs by creating enemies that require "Saving Throws" instead of "rolling for attacks outright." However, this ultimately led to a situation in session eight that resulted in a Total Party Kill, or TPK.
Source: Reddit