Best game you ever played?

[IIzak]

I'd like to hear stories about people's favorite sessions, the ones that really stood out in your minds as awesome, either because your character did something amazing, or the DM came up with great ideas, or whatever reason, I just want to hear why that session that you played/ran was fun.

[Know(Nothing)]

Our DM gets better and better every session, so probably the best-run game we've had was a very recent 12-hour session in a multi-level kobold dungeon. We set off a trap that separated us early on, but there were so many other traps and enemies that we kept the initiative order going, even though out-of-game we were on 3 different boards in 3 different rooms. We weren't allowed to watch each other's turns and metagame how to find each other. It was great. Expertly-run dungeon.

[BowStreetRunner]

I was running a game for a party of 4 PCs. The plot reached a point where they needed to split up to accomplish four separate goals, with the plan being to regroup later for the final push to defeat the BBEG. I ran each of the four missions one after the other. During each mission the three players whose characters were absent were each assigned a specific NPC and given instructions on the NPCs goals, etc. The non-PC players were awarded XP based on how well they accomplished their NPCs' goals, and that XP would be applied to their PC after all four missions were finished.

Each of the players got to take center-stage during the mission when their PC was the focus, and they all appeared to enjoy the chance to have their character really stand out from being just a member of the party in this way. They also seemed to really enjoy running the NPCs, especially since I often gave them knowledge the NPCs possessed but the PCs did not and agendas that didn't necessarily sync up with the PCs.

By the time all four PCs were reunited the players all had a very different appreciation for both their own characters as well as the other PCs in the party. From that point on the four really started to fell larger-than-life, much like how some of the main characters in books and movies tend to stand out.

Some highlights:

One party was roped together like mountain-climbers while trying to navigate through the tomb of the kings, a place protected by magical darkness throughout. One of the NPCs 'panicked' during a battle and cut the ropes, dividing the party at a crucial moment. This was in line with the NPC's agenda, and created a real challenge that the PC was able to overcome with some creative use of blind-fighting and some other abilities which she otherwise rarely got to use.
Another party was led by a PC who never backed down from a fight. When they found themselves surrounded the NPCs all threw down their weapons and surrendered immediately, and when the PC tried to stand and fight anyway, the NPC aesthetic rogue used stunning fist on him to keep him from getting them all killed. Although the player threw a bit of a tantrum initially, he eventually admitted that the escape scene later on worked out pretty well and they gained information that they would never have received had they killed their captors first. (He finally got what Batman and James Bond always seemed to understand - that sometimes getting captured is the fastest way to learn your enemy's plans!)
The wizard PC got to run through a highly cerebral mission involving an arcane library and a laboratory that belonged to a mad genius. With none of the NPCs being physical types likely to be useless during such a scenario, they had a fun time working through a complex ritual and making something truly awesome in the process - a magical item that started as a plot device and grew into an integral part of the wizard's character later on.
The last mission involved a fall from grace and atonement for the party's divine caster. It was a spiritually-driven mission that involved some deeply private moments for the PC - moments that the other players were able to share due to their temporary NPC status, but to which the other PCs would never need to be made privy.

[Aegis013]

One of the best I've been a player in was a session in which we were playing in a modern world goes through apocalypse and turns into a D&D type world setting, and I had asked if I could get the benefits of an Otyugh Hole. So we ended up in an old-world/lost-technology prison/criminal reprogramming facility where some of the warforged were originally created in this setting.

Since the Otyugh Hole requires you to be in it for a week to acquire its benefits, the DM was having some trouble trapping my character. Every time something would come close to trapping my Shadowcraft Mage I would simply teleport to a safer location using one of my many tactical teleportation options.

Finally, with a small suggestion from me, I was enclosed in a hallucinogenic gas filled room, which rendered me unable to cast spells, and out of my mind enough to be unable to remember or properly perform the command words for my items. Then a projector began playing that sort of cliche brainwashing flashing picture thing. Fortunately, the warforged in my group kept me from watching the images. He did not bother for my owl familiar though.

The exploration of the bizarre facility, trying to figure out what it was with a mage who has no concept of technology, and all of the interesting lore bits made the session quite fun.

[atemu1234]

I'm DM for a few different groups, and ironically have never been a player. I don't honestly think I'd be good at it, but the favorite session I ever DMed was when I was in high school. It was me and a couple friends, and one was a druid/bard, with a dancing bear for an animal companion. When I introduced him, it was in the middle of the woods, and the joke was that when he sang (he was a singing bard) the bear would dance normally (like a normal dancing bear) but when the bardruid would turn his back, the bear would breakdance.

Another candidate was when this same group was travelling to the underdark (character backstory needed to make sense, too long for now) and they came across a village with an evangelist, a scrawny dude with the voice of MLK. It was a fun time, and the evangelist converted some Kobolds to his goddess' faith.

[Ruethgar]

I had a DM who was a history major and had us reenact portions of European history converted to D&D's more fantastical nature. I don't remember many specifics, that was over a decade ago, but I do remember thoroughly enjoying it more than most any other.