I’ve already mentioned the fearsome platypus, but Australian myth and folklore offers up some interesting monsters too like the are-they-silly-or-scary drop bears – giant koalas that drop out of trees and crush you, then rip your face off – and of course, everyone’s favourite vorpal billabong lurker, the bunyip from Aboriginal mythology.

Sometimes fact is stranger than fiction. Just take a look at Australian megafauna for real life examples of dire animals. For a more current example, the Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) affecting Tasmanian Devils just screams “adventure hook”. Tasmanian Devils are crazy little creatures to begin with. Their jaws give them the most powerful bite force of any mammal (relative to body size), they let off a foul odour when stressed, they’re ferocious when feeding, and their disturbing ear-piercing screech sounds as scary as any monster. Add to all this the DFTD and you’ve got a group of ravenous screeching monsters covered in sores and wounds.

In your fantasy game, perhaps the disease drives them even more insane so that they give up their scavenging ways and attack travellers on the roads. Villagers cower in their shacks as they hear the unearthly screams of the diseased devils stalking the outskirts of the town. I’ve actually developed a race of monstrous humanoids called the Retch (singular and plural) which are based on Tasmanian Devils. I’ll update them to Pathfinder RPG stats some time and post them here with crunch, fluff and adventure hooks.

Paizo’s third annual RPG Superstar competition has begun and two Australians have made it into the Top 32 contenders. So, 6% of the finalists are Australian, whereas only 0.3% of the world is Australian. Therefore, we must be awesome Best of luck to my fellow Aussies. For those in the Canberra region, be sure to check out CanCon next year (you’ve just missed it this time around) or even Gen Con Oz in Brisbane. I went to the first Gen Con Oz in 2008 and was at the session where an Aussie came up with what Tracey Hickman now calls “The Australian Rule” on page 69 of his X-treme Dungeon Mastery book (while I don’t agree with all of the book’s content, there are some gems in there and it’s a fun read).

Fantasy and science-fiction roleplaying games are often showcases of outlandish environments. Australia is just as amazing with the Devil’s Marbles, Wave Rock, Uluru, the Pinnacles, the Twelve Apostles, Jenolan Caves, the Great Barrier Reef and countless other breathtaking environments.

I’m not sure how popular the 1987 Call of Cthulhu supplement Terror Australis is, but I’ve purchased the PDF and flicked through it. It includes three adventures, several monsters and an interesting mix of historical data and Lovecraftian mythos. Australian roleplaying games are few and far between, so if you’re interested in the concept, this is a good place to start. Besides, Australia and Cthulhu are each crazy and deadly enough that combining them is just awesomeness waiting to happen.

Before I wrap up, I just want to take a moment to recognise that for some, Australia Day is a time for celebrating everything that makes this country great. But for others, it represents the day that the English invaded this country and declared it Terra nullius, displacing the Aboriginal people who had called this land home for over 40,000 years. If you want to find out more about this, start with the Australia Day article on Wikipedia or search Google for “Invasion Day”.

That’s it for this post. I hope it’s been enlightening. Next time you’re looking for a bizarre plant, animal or environment, look to Australia to see if it can fill your needs. If you’re running a game about natural disasters, read up about Australia to see how people have coped in these terrible situations. And if your GM runs a game set in Australia, be sure to keep your eyes on the trees. You never know when the drop bears will strike!