Re: [DL] Deadlands Down under

[J T <jtsmailinglists@yahoo.com>]

Heh... That's where my posse is right now.  They have
yet to meet ol' Ned.



Major Spoilers and also long post on speculative
Australian DL history.









The Aboriginal myth attributes creation to the Rainbow
Serpent.  I interpereted that as actually worshiping
the rattlers.  BTW - in australia they are know as
rainbow serpents.  They are slighlt smaller, but have
an injected poison in thier tentacles.  (For your
Australian Marshalls, or Magistrates as they law was
known down under, a good rule is give your monsters
poison.  Everything in Oz is deadly poisonous.)  You
know - the rattlers were once gods.  However thier
worshipers began to turn away from them.  In a
desparate attempt to keep thier worship alive they
isolated the Aboriginals in Australia.  There they set
up the Dreamtime.

The Dreamtime for the Aboriginals is not exactly a
time, although in the past it once existed over the
whole land.  However, it is also still here now, and
can be reached through rituals, etc.  The Dreamtime
did once encumpass all of Australia.  It was a place
where the real world merged with the spiritual.  Much
like a deadlands, only not as unhappy.  Everything
wasn't all hunky dory - however at the time they set
up the dreamtime the worms had the power to merge the
hunting grounds with the earth on a large scale.  They
did not need monsters to generate fear to power thier
schemes.

But for the worms, it was not to last.  Despite the
worms hopes, the Aboriginals developed a shamanistic
world view.  Thier merging into the Dreamtime showed
them that there was not just the just one spirit. 
Slowly even the chosen ones of the rainbow serpent
began to drift away.  Now there are a few who still
bring glory to the rainbow serpent.  Lets just say
that they are becoming more and more militant and
strident as the worms power fades.

With the arrival of the colonizing powers came they
Reckoners.  They knew of the goings on in Australia,
but they did not have the power to do anything about
it.  With the Reckoning that changed.  Now there are
several power brokers in the area that are backed by
the Reckoners.  They slay the Aboriginals on a massive
scale.  For the reckoners this has two benefits.  Fear
spikes!  (nuff said there) and they eliminate they few
remaining worm followers.

Other things of Oz interest:

They ran into Los Diablos. Not your standard "bulls"
either.  They were huge funnel web spiders.  Instead
of a stampede every night they heard an organic
tapping that seemed to contain undecipherable
messages.  (Spiders communicate by tapping thier
abdemon on the ground.)  And when a huge trap door
opened next to them and a giant spider rushed out. 
Well - it spooked 'em!

Some day - in my spare time, I will write this up, and
post it on the web.  Someday!

Jeff Tolle
--- balance@tubas.net wrote:
> I found an interesting link today:
> 
> <http://www.ironoutlaw.com/>
> 
> Could be useful as a character for anyone thinking
> of haveing a posse 
> travel to Australia, or a very weird way of adding a
> harrowed in to any 
> campaign that's after 1880. There's some interesting
> stuff... One part 
> of this site mentions that Kelly's skull was used as
> a desk toy by one 
> of the policeman that brought him down!
> 
> Also, i could see the Australian setting being
> interesting, if someone 
> had the research and time to develop it. The
> American Western 'vibe' 
> seem to be echoed there, although there are
> certainly differences. 
> Rethemed shaman rules for aborginie magic (The
> Dreamtime gets nasty when 
> the reckoning starts, I bet) but overall, probably
> less visible magic 
> than the normal deadlands setting.
> 
> --
> Brett
> 
> LORD, WHAT CAN THE HARVEST HOPE FOR, IF NOT FOR THE
> CARE OF THE REAPER 
> MAN? (Reaper Man, Terry Pratchett)
> 	
> 
> 
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> with
> 	unsubscribe deadlands@gamerz.net
> as the BODY of the message.  The SUBJECT is ignored.
> 


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