Bunyips
The Bunyip (or ‘bunyit’) is the most
famous addition to human folklore derived from Aboriginal legend. It is often
described as a large creature the size of a hippopotamus with large tusks and
flippers. Its modus vivendi is to
lurk in waterholes and ambush creatures that come down to drink. It’s possible
that for some tribes the invention of the Bunyip was simply a way of keeping
children from undrinkable or dangerous water sources, but white travellers seem
to have adopted the notion of the dangerous water creature whole-heartedly (and
probably with a little leg-pulling from the native populace).
Reported sightings of the monster made
the newspapers throughout the Victorian era and into the first third of the
following century. Many farmers claimed to have heard it bellowing from distant
billabongs or rivers, or to have seen its bulk sinking beneath brackish waters.
At one point, several plays were written about the beast, along with many
sensational novels aimed at thrilling the readership of the day (see picture,
left).
Today theories about the validity of the
Bunyip vary. Some claim that the bellowing of the creature is simply the
‘booming’ of the Bittern, a type of marsh-dwelling bird. Others claim that the
monster is an Aboriginal race-memory harking back to the days when the massive
Diprotodonts roamed the countryside.
Given the variety of descriptions of the
Bunyip, it is probable that its close connexion to shifting Dreamland forces
allows it to alter is form depending upon its immediate needs or desires.
Nevertheless, it seems always to be amphibious, always bestial in nature, as
well as bellowing forth its hideous cry. The following statistics are for a
gigantic bipedal form, armed with clawed flippers:
STR: 45 (10D6+10)
CON: 26 (4D6+12)
SIZ: 45 (10D6+10)
INT: 19 (2D6+12)
POW: 35 (10D6)
DEX: 16-17 (3D6+6)
Move: 10/16 Swimming
HP:
36
Av Damage Bonus: +5D6
Weapon: Bite 65%, 1D10; Claw 65%,
Grapple, then 5D6+db on each successive round
Armour: 10 point Hide
SAN Loss: 1/1D10; 1/1D3 SAN Loss to hear
a Bunyip’s terrifying cry
Skills: Sense Life 95%; Swim Quietly 95%
Habitat:
Billabongs and other lonely waterholes
Drop
Bears
Since the United States Atlantic Fleet
first arrived in Sydney Harbour on August the 20th 1908, American
troops have been regular visitors to these shores. The locals, seeing the US
sailors as being vastly more cashed-up than themselves, often tried to part
them from their hard-earned pay, or, if they couldn’t achieve this end,
attempted to convince them of various illusory horrors of the Australian
wilderness. Foremost amongst these is the Drop Bear.
Typically, this menace is ostensibly much
like the sleepy Koala; however, this superficial resemblance hides a terrifying
nature. The Drop Bear is highly carnivorous and equipped with massive fangs and
claws; its habitual tactic is to wait for its target to walk under the tree
wherein it hides and then to fall down upon it, attacking by surprise and
tearing its prey’s head off. Unlike the Koala, it is fearless and often wanders
deep into human enclaves in its search for food: colonies have even been
observed on the underside of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Obviously there is not much substance to
the stories of the Drop Bear; however, it may suit some Keepers to weave a tale
out of this piece of folklore and so, here are some statistics:
STR: 20 (4D6+6)
CON: 14 (4D6)
SIZ: 2-3 (1D4)
POW: 15-16 (1D6+12)
DEX: 10-11 (3D6)
Move: 14
HP:
8-9
Av Damage Bonus: none
Weapon: Bite 50%, 1D8; Claw 30%, 1D10+2
Armour: 4 points of thick fur
Skills: Hide 85%; Climb 90%; Sneak 60%
Habitat:
In elevated positions throughout Australia
Fisher’s
Ghost
Fred Fisher was a landowner who worked a
farm in the district of Campbelltown in what is now Sydney’s south west. One
day his friend George Worrall came to town with the news that Fisher had gone
to England on business and had left him with power of attorney over Fisher’s
land and possessions. Later, Worrall claimed that he’d received a letter
telling him that Fisher no longer intended to return to Australia and that
Worrall could claim all of his holdings. Later still, a local man named John
Farley rushed into the pub, agitated and scared: he claimed to have seen
Fisher’s ghost on a nearby bridge crossing a creek. The ghost had said nothing
but had simply pointed into a nearby field through which the creek ran. Police
formed a search party and the body of Fred Fisher was soon located, buried near
the creek which today bears his name.
Lasseter’s
Reef
Harold Bell Lasseter was a prospector who
claimed to have stumbled upon a fabulous gold deposit near the meeting of the
Western Australia and Northern Territory borders in 1930. He claimed to have
been rescued by Afghans after discovering the deposit and thus failed to
accurately record the location. Subsequent attempts to rediscover the “reef”
saw Lasseter become increasingly erratic until doubts about his sanity brought
the expeditions to a halt. After trekking solo into the wilderness one last
time, Lasseter failed to return and was later discovered dead by a rescue team.
Apparently, he had met some Aborigines who had helped him survive, sun-blinded
and dehydrated, until he had decided to head to Ayers Rock where a return to
civilisation might be effected. The discovery of his personal belongings in a
nearby cave, including his journal, failed to positively identify the location
of the fabled golden lode.
The Great Depression of the 1930s led
many people to go off in search of the Reef, many of them never to be seen
again. Even today, talk of Lasseter’s Reef - regardless of the questionable
reliability of Lasseter’s mental acuity - can get gold fever spiking.
The
Min Min Lights
The Min Min Lights are floating discs of
light which hover in the Bush, often pursuing for miles those who see them.
Aboriginal legends speak of them from times immemorial and swagmen brought the
tales back with them to the City from their wanderings in the Bush. The ‘Lights
are most often seen in the south-western region of Queensland and the
north-eastern corner of New South Wales, that area known as Channel Country.
The ‘Lights have been claimed by
UFO-logists as evidence of extraterrestrial visitors, while atmospheric scientists
claim that they are nothing more than an unusual optical effect produced by
meteorological conditions in the area. However, the jury is largely still out
as to what causes them to appear.
Mystery
Kangaroos
Kangaroos have mysteriously appeared in
countries other than their native one and sightings have been recorded since
the early 1900s. Most reports concern colonies of kangaroos or wallabies that
have spawned from creatures escaped from zoological collections, such as the
Devon wallabies or the kangaroos which populate the forests south of Versailles.
Other sightings have a more sinister overtone though.
Many of these sightings have been in
mainland USA where the phenomenon has sometimes been termed ‘American
Kangaroos’. It is thought that escaped creatures from zoos, circuses and so
forth could explain the phenomenon but, even given breeding viability, the rash
of sightings is extreme. Further, encounters with these creatures have seen
them described as ‘ghostly’ with ‘glowing eyes’ and an uncharacteristically
bad-tempered attitude wherein dogs and cats have been harmed or even killed.
Phantom
Cats
Folklore tells of a squadron of US
Marines that were stationed in NSW between the Wars. They had with them a pair
of cougars that were the squad’s mascots. These were set free before the unit
returned to America and now these beasts and their offspring run wild in the
Bushlands of Australia.
Another tale tells of a travelling circus
which was involved in a collision whilst moving to its next venue. In the
mayhem, two tigers escaped their confines and fled into the Bush, where they
have maintained a close-knit clan, hiding from prying eyes.
Yet again there was the Sydney-based
eccentric millionaire who built a menagerie in the western ranges of the city
and who, when ordered to remove the unlicensed and potentially dangerous zoo,
simply opened the cage doors and let his collection run free: the wild cats
were never recovered.
Whether any of these stories are true is
unclear (and, despite many serious attempts, the facts cannot be fully substantiated);
nevertheless, reports of large savage felines crop up frequently in the local
folklore. The best known is the legend of the ‘Lithgow Panther’, a large feline
that roams the Bushland near Lithgow on the far side of the Blue Mountains west
of Sydney.
Yarri,
or Marsupial Lion
‘Yarri’ is an Aboriginal word used to
describe a large feline predator that supposedly roams the Queensland
wildernesses; the word itself may be a relic held over from a time when the
first Australian settlers encountered such a creature. Many have thought that sightings
of the Yarri prove that the Marsupial Lion, or Thylacoleo carnifax, has somehow escaped extinction and is hiding,
awaiting its rediscovery by scientific researchers. Like the Phantom Cats (see
above), this could just be another case of a grossly overlarge feral cat making
its presence felt, but who can say?
Yowies
The word ‘Yowie’ is a white derivation of
the Aboriginal word ‘Yuuri’, the name of a beast from Aboriginal folklore.
Early explorers brought back the legend of the Yowie (or ‘Yowie-Whowie’ as it
is sometimes called) from outlying Aboriginal tribes. Given the vagueness of
the description in those old tales, white Australians found other
interpretations for the creature.
It’s possible that reported meetings of
the Yowie were legends that covered strange encounters with menacing people
lurking in the Bush – lost swaggies, escaped felons etc. These informed the
tales to the extent that the Yowie became a kind of Bushland hominid, not
unlike the Yeti, or Sasquatch. Like those other creatures, the jury is still
out concerning their origin and habits, despite a solid fan-base of intrepid investigators
who staunchly believe that they exist.
STR: 16-17 (3D6+6)
CON: 16-17 (3D6+6)
SIZ: 13 (2D6+6)
INT: 10 (2D6+3)
POW: 10-11 (3D6)
DEX: 13-14 (3D6+3)
Move: 8
HP:
14-15
Av Damage Bonus: +1D4
Weapon: Fist 50%, 1D3+db; Thrown Rock
50%, 1D6+0.5db
Armour: 4
SAN Loss: 0/1D6; 0/1 SAN Loss to hear a
Yowie’s bloodcurdling howl
Skills: Climb 70%; Hide 75%; Jump 55%;
Listen 75%; Scent 60%; Sneak 65%; Spot Hidden 65%
Habitat:
Remote Bush wilderness areas across Australia
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