Fighting Dust Bunnies

We're still hard at work. But not cleaning. Well, a little bit, I guess.

The kids and I continue our fantasy role playing game. They were staying in the Inn of the Burning Heart, but got evicted by the owner/operator, Tusk. It seems they've been going out and slaying skeletons and zombies, and stirring up trouble. The more they kill, the more come out of the Woods and attack the town. They even burned down the General Store.

So, they had no place to live. Garrett, the sheriff, says, "Hey, how about the old haunted house. You can live there, since its abandoned. Of course, you're going to have to 'clean it out first.'"

So, what do you find in an old abandoned house? Whose owners mysteriously disappeared? Giants rats and feral dogs. Vines growing out of the walls. Oh, and rabid vampire dust bunnies!

You know what those are, don't you? You certainly expect to find dust bunnies in any house. But this one is rife with bad mojo. Soooo, vampire bunnies meets dust bunnies. The brave adventurers walk into an innocuous, though dirty, room. Once inside, dust bunnies come out of the corners and from under the bed, surrounding them. They're doing okay, then Luxord the Human Fighter (my son), rolls a critical fumble. (That means on a 20-sided die, he rolled a one. Not only did he miss, he ended up hitting himself.) He sliced his leg wide open, and the bunnies smelled blood. Oooooohhhh.

You should've seen their faces when I told them that the dust bunnies were vampire dust bunnies. Their teeth lengthened and sharpened, their eyes turned red, and little bat wings popped up. They took flight and swarmed towards Luxord, who was already bleeding freely. Snarling and snapping and zipping around the room. (Of course, there was very little danger to the adventurers, but they don't know that yet. They haven't played RPG's enough.)

Finally, the last vampire dust bunny (I just can't say that enough) bites the dust. No pun intended. An explosion of dust and dirt and teeth and tiny little bat wings that leaves the adventurers coughing and sneezing. What does Luxord do? He suggests they go to sleep. Its got to be, what, 11am now? Yeah, thats right. 11am, and he wants to sleep so his fighter can get his hit points (health) back.

Yeah, sure, I say. You won't to go to sleep in a house that you haven't fully explored yet. And then wake up at night when the zombies and skeletons are up and about. Are you sure about that? The face on his face was priceless. Everyone else burst out laughing.

That is why I play this game with my kids. What do you think? Any ideas? Tips? What do you do to connect with your kids?