HOTT
in the Dreamtime
Australian Aboriginal Lists for 'Hordes of the Things'
By Alan Saunders
These lists are based on Australian aboriginal myths and legends from across the continent, and represent an amalgamation of ideas from different groups and languages. My source has been a pair of books by A.W. Reed, 'Aboriginal Stories of Australia' and 'More Aboriginal Stories of Australia'. In traditional HOTT style I have prepared a 'good' list and a 'bad' list. Australian aboriginal lists for HOTT are hampered by a total lack of pitched battles, so I have taken elements from various stories and lumped them together. Think of each list not as an army, but as a community.
People of the Dreamtime
Stronghold: A sacred rock covered in paintings, or a hunter's camp
|
God @ 4AP |
(Baiame, the Great Spirit) |
1 |
|
Hero @ 4AP |
(The Winjarning brothers) |
1 |
|
Warband General @ 2AP |
(Wirinun and elders) |
1 |
|
Warband @ 2AP |
(Warriors with spear and clubs) |
3 |
|
Flyers @ 2AP |
(Warrawilberoos) |
1 |
|
Flyers @ 2AP |
(Assorted birds) |
2 |
|
Lurkers @ 1AP |
(Tuckonies) |
2 |
Alternatives: Magician or Magician general (Powerful wirinun) @ 4AP
I had originally decided that Baiame did not merit the status of a HOTT God, but in one story he is invoked by a tribe to help them against the trickster, Wahn, and appears. He should be depicted as a warrior, albeit a perfect specimen of such.
The Winjarning brothers are a pair of heroes who travel the lands righting wrongs and fighting evil. Again, they should be depicted as warriors.
A Wirinun is a medicine man or priest. There is some evidence of offensive magic, but not enough to justify the wirinun being a magician. His magical effect can be rationalised as being the presence on the table of all of the elements of his army (apart from the warriors). However, a magician is included as an alternative.
Warriors are classed as warband because they operate well in inhospitable terrain. I did think of classifying some of them as shooters, with boomerang and woomera, but the only mention of a boomerang in a story is where one is used to decapitate an enemy. And that is in close combat. All other fighting described is at close quarters with spear and club. Some warriors may carry a shield, but all would be either naked or wearing a breechcloth. There is scope, however, for plenty of body-paint.
Warrawilberoos are whirlwind spirits. In some stories they are evil, in some good. I have opted for the latter, as the good side needed the variety. They should be depicted as men riding inside whirlwinds of dust and sand.
Birds were created by Baiame and his helpers to fight against the insect plague summoned by the evil Marmoo.
Tuckonies are tree spirits, and appear as miniature men with high squeaky voices. One illustration shows them as a couple of feet tall. In some stories they are able to make trees grow to great size.
Horrors of the Dreamtime
Stronghold: A hollow tree, cave or a hole in the ground.
|
Sneaker @ 3AP |
(Marmoo, the Evil One) |
1 |
|
Horde general @ 1AP |
(The spirit of Marmoo) |
1 |
|
Sneaker @ 3AP |
(Wahn, the crow) |
1 |
|
Flyers @ 2AP |
(Keen Keengs) |
2 |
|
Behemoth @ 4AP |
(The Whowhie) |
1 |
|
Hordes @ 1AP |
(Insects) |
4 |
|
Lurker @ 1AP |
(Moograbah and family) |
1 |
|
Beast @ 2AP |
(Cheerooneer, or similar villain, with dogs) |
1 |
|
Water Lurker @ 1AP |
(Guran Gath) |
1 |
|
Water Lurker @ 1AP |
(Bunyip or crocodiles) |
1 |
Alternatives: Behemoth (Giant man, giant animated zombie, giant snake or Rainbow Serpent) @ 4AP, Magician (Goose women or similar evil sorcerors) @ 4AP
Marmoo, the Evil One is the enemy of Baiame, constantly seeking to spoil his creation. He attempts to achieve his aims by guile and stealth rather than outright confrontation, so is classed as a sneaker. This means, of course, that he can't be a general, so his spirit is fielded as a separate element. It is classed as a horde because in one tale he is slain by the Winjarning brothers and his body burned. However, he takes various animal forms that leap out of the fire, each being slain by the brothers in order to destroy his evil for good. Consequently the general should be represented by a large fire with various indigenous Australian animals in, or leaping out, of it.
Wahn the crow is a trickster in a number of stories. He usually comes to a sticky end, however, and in one tale is slain by Baiame himself, although some versions show him as mischievous rather than malicious.
Keen Keengs are birdmen, apparently descended from giants. They appear as tall humans with wings along their arms that fold into slots when they are on the ground. They have only two fingers and a thumb on each hand. Worshippers of a fire god they attempt to capture and sacrifice the Winjarning brothers, but are destroyed.
The Whowhie is the great monster of the Murray River. It is described as being some twenty feet long, and appears as a six legged lizard with a frog's head. Although a water monster it travelled the land at night eating warriors, until a large alliance of them ganged up on it and slew it.
One of Marmoo's attempts to destroy Baiame's creation involved sending a vast swarm of insects. These were defeated by the creation of many birds that ate the swarm (and continue to do so).
Moograbah and Cheerooneer are villains in a couple of stories. Moograbah and his family were cannibals that lured travellers to their camp, fed them drugged cakes and killed them whilst they slept. Cheerooneer was a hideous dog-headed man whose arms were so long that his fingers brushed the ground. He terrorised an area with his wife and a pack of dogs. Other tales also tell of lone individuals with two or more dogs that terrorise tribes.
Guran Gath and the Bunyip are water monsters. Guran Gath is described as half lizard and half fish. The Bunyip comes in a variety of forms; use something that feels right and you can't go far wrong. Crocodiles are always a safe option for water lurkers as well.
The alternatives represent different versions of the element types already in the list. Giants appear in a few stories, and can be of prodigious size (in more ways than one, apparently). In one tale a tribe constructs a monster dingo from stick, human hair and animal parts, and sends it to attack an enemy tribe. Giant snakes appear in a couple of tales, and in one, although usually depicted as a powerful creative force, a tribe is attacked by the Rainbow Serpent and kills it. The Goose Women were malicious magic users that beset a hero in one tale.
Figures are were not easy to come by, but Feudal Castings now do suitable humans which could be converted into some of the other element types as well with a little work. Australian birds and animals in any scale would be harder to come by, apart from the dogs.