Excruciatingly Normal
I was running a 5e one-shot wherein the players were officers under an airship captain. During one engagement, the druid shifted into a small animal and hid in the captain’s bag, as circumstances limited the amount of people they could obviously bring with them to an encounter. They got into a fight, the druid shape-shifted without leaving the bag first, and the poor captain was then down one bag.
The airship was currently parked in an impoverished fishing village, so the druid didn’t have a lot of options.
Druid: I search the town for someone who can make me a new bag for the captain.
DM (me): Alright, roll investigation. (He rolls moderately well). You find an old woman sitting on a rocking chair, spinning yarn. She appears to be somewhat of a craftswoman.
Druid: I approach and say, “Hello, Hag! I require a bag”.
DM (me): Uh… do you say exactly that.
Druid: Yes.
DM (me): *Rolls an insight check for the woman to see how much she’s insulted, rolls low* Ok, she takes it as a light-hearted greeting and answers “Alright deary, I’ll have it ready in three days.”
Druid: “But I didn’t tell you…”
DM (me): “I’ll have it ready, don’t you worry.”
Party Cleric: That bag’s going to be soooo cursed.
Three days later
Druid: I go back in the morning for the bag
DM (me): Alright, you walk to her house and find her on her porch, knitting a sweater
Druid: “Hag! I have returned for the bag”
The rest of the party is between laughter and trepidation at what she gives him.
DM (me): The old woman goes back into her house, and returns with a normal leather bag. She holds it out to you.
Druid: Arcana check?
He rolls well
DM (me): Inspecting the bag, you find out that it’s completely normal. Glaringly normal. Almost excruciatingly normal, this leather bag.
The party then spends the next ten minutes freaking out over a completely mundane bag, before giving it to the captain. He wonders why they look so nervous after he takes it, but doesn’t bother to ask.