Remarkable, Incredible and Amazing nerdiness
The idea started after I saw the statues below. I thought, hmm, why not an OSR setting of bushranger era Australia, say around 1820? Could have lots of things apart from bushrangers: pulp vigilantes, monsters, exploration, super science cities, time travel….
| 1486 | Diaz rounds Cape of Good Hope. |
| 1497 | Vasco da Gama sails to India via the Cape. |
| 1512 | Portuguese discover the Moluccas. |
| 1520 | Magellan enters the Pacific. |
| 1567 | Alvarez discovers the Solomon Islands. |
| 1595 | Cornelius Houtman pilots Dutch ships to the East Indies. |
| 1598 | Dutch established at Java. |
| 1606 | Quiros discovers the New Hebrides. |
| Discovery of Torres Strait. | |
| The DUYFKEN in the Gulf of Carpentaria. | |
| 1611 | Brouwer’s new route to the East. |
| 1616 | Dirk Hartog on the Western Australian coast. |
| 1622 | English ship TRIAL wrecked off the west coast. |
| 1627 | Nuytsland discovered. |
| 1636 | Van Diemen Governor of Dutch East Indies. |
| 1642 | Tasman discovers Van Diemen’s Land and New Zealand. |
| 1644 | Tasman in the Gulf of Carpentaria. |
| 1688 | Dampier in the CYGNET in Australian waters. |
| 1699 | Dampier in the ROEBUCK in Shark’s Bay. |
| 1768 | Cook’s ENDEAVOUR voyage. |
| 1770 | Cook’s discovery of New South Wales. |
| 1772 | Cook’s RESOLUTION voyage. |
| 1779 | Banks suggests founding a convict settlement at Botany Bay. |
| 1782 | End of the American War of Independence. |
| 1783 | Matra’s plan of colonization in New South Wales. |
| 1785 | Sir George Young’s plan. |
| 1786 | Determination to found a settlement at Botany Bay. |
| 1788 | Foundation of Sydney. |
| Laperouse in Botany Bay. | |
| 1789 | Establishment of New South Wales Corps. |
| Settlement of Norfolk Island. | |
| 1792 | End of Phillip’s governorship. |
| 1792-5 | Administration of Grose and Paterson. |
| 1795 | Hunter Governor of New South Wales. |
| 1795-6 | Bass and Flinders make voyages in the TOM THUMB. |
| 1797 | John Macarthur buys merino sheep. |
| Discovery of coal. | |
| 1798 | Bass discovers Bass Strait and Westernport. |
| Bass and Flinders circumnavigate Tasmania in the Norfolk. | |
| 1800 | King Governor of New South Wales. |
| Voyage of the LADY NELSON from England. | |
| Flinders’s voyage in the INVESTIGATOR. | |
| 1802 | Murray discovers Port Phillip. |
| Flinders meets Baudin in Encounter Bay. | |
| 1803 | Flinders circumnavigates Australia. |
| Wreck of the PORPOISE. | |
| Flinders imprisoned in Mauritius. | |
| Collins’s Port Phillip Settlement. | |
| 1804 | Foundation of Hobart. |
| Settlement at Port Dalrymple. | |
| 1806 | Bligh Governor of New South Wales. |
| 1807 | Arrest of John Macarthur. |
| 1808 | Mutiny in New South Wales; deposition of Bligh. |
| 1809 | Macquarie Governor of New South Wales. |
| 1810 | Extinction of New South Wales Corps. |
| Liberation of Flinders. | |
| 1813 | BlaxIand discovers a way across the Blue Mountains. |
| Evans discovers the Bathurst plains. | |
| Davey Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen’s Land. | |
| 1814 | Death of Flinders. |
| Establishment of Civil Court in New South Wales. | |
| 1816 | Bank of New South Wales founded. |
| 1817 | Oxley explores the Lachlan. |
| 1818 | Oxley explores the Macquarie. |
| 1819 | Commissioner Bigge in New South Wales. |
| 1821 | Brisbane Governor of New South Wales. |
| 1823 | New South Wales Judicature Act passed. |
| Oxley in Moreton Bay. | |
| 1824 | Wentworth’s AUSTRALIAN. |
| Foundation of Brisbane. | |
| 1824 | Annexation of Bathurst and Melville Islands. |
| Hume and Hovell’s expedition to Port Phillip. | |
| 1825 | Alteration of western boundary of New South Wales. |
| Lockyer explores the Brisbane River. | |
| Arthur Governor of Van Diemen’s Land. | |
| 1826 | The ASTROLABE at Westernport. |
| Settlement at Westernport. | |
| Darling Governor of New South Wales. | |
| 1827 | Lockyer’s Settlement at King George’s Sound. |
| Darling’s law to regulate the press. | |
| Alan Cunningham explores the Liverpool Range and the Darling Downs. | |
| Stirling examines the Swan River. | |
| 1828 | Enlargement of the Legislative Council of New South W ales. |
| Westernport Settlement abandoned. | |
| Sturt discovers the Darling. | |
| 1829 | Annexation of the Swan River. |
| Whole of Australia claimed as British territory. | |
| The PARMELIA conveys first immigrants to Swan River. | |
| Publication of Wakefield’s LETTER FROM SYDNEY. | |
| 1830 | Accession of William IV. |
| Act establishing trial by jury in New South Wales. | |
| Sturt explores the Murray to the sea. | |
| Perth founded. | |
| Governor Arthur’s ‘Black Drive.’ | |
| 1834 | Act to establish Colony of South Australia. |
| The Hentys settle at Portland. | |
| The Dorsetshire labourers transported. | |
| 1835 | John Batman in Port Phillip. |
| 1836 | Mitchell explores Australia Felix. |
| Adelaide founded. | |
| Lonsdale takes charge of the Port Phillip Settlement. | |
| Bourke’s grazing licences policy. | |
| 1837 | Accession of Queen Victoria. |
| Melbourne named. | |
| House of Commons Committee on Transportation. | |
| 1837-40 | George Grey’s explorations in Western Australia. |
| 1838 | Gawler Governor of South Australia. |
| Military settlement at Port Essington. | |
| 1839 | Latrobe appointed superintendent of Port Phillip. |
| Strzeleeki finds traces of gold. | |
| 1839 | Death of John Batman. |
| Lord Durham’s report on the state of Canada. | |
| McMillan’s first expedition to Gippsland. | |
| Abandonment of Moreton Bay Settlement. | |
| 1840 | Order in Council discontinuing transportation to Australia. |
| Eyre starts for the centre of the continent. | |
| Strzelecki’s journey through Gippsland. | |
| 1841 | Grey appointed Governor of South Australia. |
| 1842 | Robert Lowe in New South Wales. |
| Act for the Government of N.S.W. and Van Diemen’s Land passed. | |
| 1843 | Ridley invents the stripper. |
| 1844 | Convicts shipped to Port Phillip. |
| Sturt’s journey to the interior. | |
| Leichhardt’s first exploring expedition. | |
| 1845 | Grey appointed Governor of New Zealand. |
| Burra copper mine discovered. | |
| 1846 | Fitzroy ‘Governor-General’ of Australia. |
| Lieutenant Yule hoists British flag in New Guinea. | |
| 1847 | Gold found in Port Phillip. |
| The Gladstone Colony at Port Curtis. | |
| 1848 | Melbourne elects Lord Grey to the Legislative Council. |
| Leichhardt’s last expedition. | |
| 1849 | The RANDOLPH in Hobson’s Bay: resistance to convict immigration. |
| Port Essington abandoned. | |
| 1850 | Western Australia becomes a penal colony. |
| University of Sydney founded. | |
| Australian Colonies Government Act passed. | |
| Railway from Sydney to Goulburn built. | |
| 1851 | Separation of Victoria from New South Wales. |
| Hargreaves digs for gold on Summerhill Creek. | |
| Gold found at Ballarat. | |
| The diggings commence. | |
| 1852 | University of Melbourne founded. |
| 1853 | Tasmania named. |
| Town of Gladstone founded. | |
| French annexation of New Caledonia. | |
| 1854 | The Eureka Stockade. |
| Hobson’s Bay railway built. | |
| 1855 | Transportation to Norfolk Island ceased |
| 1855 | New constitutions come into effect in New South Wales, Victoria, |
| South Australia, and Tasmania. | |
| Ballot Act passed in Victoria. | |
| First anti-Chinese legislation passed. | |
| 1858 | Torrens Real Property Act passed. |
| 1859 | Colony of Queensland proclaimed. |
| Kingsley’s GEOFFREY HAMLYN published. | |
| 1860 | McDouall Stuart reaches the centre of the continent. |
| 1861 | Burke and Wills expedition. |
| Cowper’s quarrel with the New South Wales Legislative Council. | |
| 1862 | McDouall Stuart crosses the continent to Port Darwin |
| Duffy’s Land Act. | |
| 1863 | South Australia undertakes to administer the Northern Territory. |
| New Caledonia a convict colony. | |
| 1865 | McCuIloch proposes protection in Victoria. |
| 1867 | End of transportation to Western Australia. |
| Gold discovered at Gympie. | |
| The Darling grant controversy. | |
| 1868 | First Queensland Act to regulate Kanaka labour |
| 1869 | John Forrest’s journey in search of Leichhardt. |
| 1870 | British troops withdrawn from Australia. |
| Adam Lindsay Gordon died. | |
| 1872 | Overland telegraph line from Adelaide to Port Darwin constructed. |
| 1873 | John Forrest explores the interior. |
| Moresby’s discoveries in New Guinea. | |
| Stephens’s ‘free, compulsory, and secular’ Education Act. | |
| 1874 | University of Adelaide founded. |
| John Forrest’s journey from Perth to Adelaide. | |
| Fiji annexed by Great Britain. | |
| Clarke’s FOR THE TERM OF HIS NATURAL LIFE published. | |
| 1875 | Ernest Giles’s inland journey. |
| 1877 | Dispute as to payment of members in Victoria. |
| High Commissionership of the Pacific established. | |
| Brunton Stephens’s poem, THE DOMINION OF AUSTRALIA, published. | |
| 1878 | Black Wednesday’ (January 8). |
| 1879 | First Australian Trade Union Congress. |
| 1880 | Capture of the Kelly Gang. |
| 1880 | Payment of members carried in Victoria. |
| 1881 | Reform of the Victorian Legislative Council. |
| 1882 | Discovery of Mount Morgan. |
| The Kimberley gold rush. | |
| Henry Clarence Kendall died. | |
| 1883 | Silver discovered at Broken Hill. |
| McIlwraith annexes New Guinea. | |
| 1884 | German annexation of Kaiser Wilhelm’s Land, the Bismarck |
| Archipelago, and Samoa. | |
| 1885 | Federal Council established. |
| Soudan contingent from New South Wales. | |
| 1887 | Anglo-French Condominium in the New Hebrides. |
| First Colonial Conference. | |
| 1888 | Intercolonial Conference on Chinese immigration. |
| ROBBERY UNDER ARMS published. | |
| 1890 | Great maritime strike. |
| University of Tasmania founded. | |
| 1891 | First Federal Convention. |
| 1892 | Coolgardie gold-field discovered. |
| 1893 | Corowa Conference on Federation. |
| 1894 | Women’s enfranchisement in South Australia. |
| 1895 | Victorian Wages Board system established. |
| Paterson’s THE MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER published. | |
| 1896 | Henry Lawson’s IN THE DAYS WHEN THE WORLD WAS WIDE published. |
| 1897 | The second Colonial Conference. |
| 1897-8 | The Federal Convention. |
| 1898 | First Federal Referendum. |
| 1899 | Second Federal Referendum. |
| First Labour Government (Queensland). | |
| Australian contingents sent to South African War. | |
| 1900 | The Commonwealth Constitution before the Imperial Parliament. |
| 1901 | (May 9) First Commonwealth Parliament opened. |
| 1902 | Immigration Restriction Act passed. |
| Third Colonial Conference. | |
| 1903 | First Deakin Government. |
| Amended Naval Agreement. | |
| 1904 | The Watson Government. |
| Reid-McLean Government. | |
| Dalgety selected as site for federal capital. | |
| 1905 | Second Deakin Government. |
| 1906 | Amended Anglo-French agreement as to New Hebrides. |
| 1907 | Act for construction of Kalgoorlie to Port Augusta railway passed. |
| Imperial Conference. | |
| 1908 | First Fisher Government. |
| Revocation of choice of Dalgety. Canberra finally selected as site of federal capital. | |
| 1909 | Third Deakin Government. |
| Imperial Defence Conference. | |
| Compulsory military service instituted in Australia. | |
| Lord Kitchener’s report. | |
| 1910 | University of Brisbane founded. |
| Second Fisher Government. | |
| 1911 | Referendum for amendment of constitution. |
| Admiral Henderson’s naval report. | |
| Imperial Conference. | |
| 1912 | University of Perth founded. |
| 1913 | Cook Government. |
| Referendum for amendment of constitution. | |
| The AUSTRALIA completed. | |
| 1914 | Third Fisher Government. |
| Great European War. | |
| Fight between the SYDNEY and EMDEN at Cocos (November). | |
| 1915 | Hughes Government. |
| Anzac. | |
| 1916 | First Conscription Referendum. |
| 1917 | Second Conscription Referendum. |
| Transcontinental Railway opened. | |
| 1918 | Great battle on the Somme (August 8); capture of Mont St. Quentin by Australian forces. |
| Defeat and surrender of Germany. | |
| 1919 | Ross and Keith Smith fly from England to Australia by aeroplane. |
| 1920 | Visit of the Prince of Wales to Australia. |
| 1923 | End of Hughes Government. |
| Stanley Bruce Prime Minister. | |
| 1924 | Visit of Special Service squadron of the Royal Navy to Australia. |
| 1927 | Federal Parliament opened by Duke of York at the Commonwealth capital, Canberra. |
| 1928 | Flight by Bert Hinkler from England to Australia, and by Kingsford |
| Smith and Ulm from America to Australia and from Australia to New Zealand. | |
| 1929 | J. Scullin Prime Minister. |
| 1930 | First Australian-born Governor-General appointed: Sir Isaac Isaacs. |
| 1931 | Statute of Westminster. |
| 1932 | Opening of Sydney Harbour Bridge. |
| J. A. Lyons Prime Minister. | |
| Imperial Conference at Ottawa. | |
| 1934 | Victorian Centenary celebrations attended by the Duke of Gloucester. |
| 1935 | Italy attacks Abyssinia. |
| Jubilee of King George V. | |
| 1936 | Death of King George V |
| accession and later abdication of King Edward VIII | |
| accession of the Duke of York as King George VI. | |
| 1938 | The ‘Munich Crisis.’ |
| 1939 | Death of J. A. Lyons; R. G. Menzies becomes Prime Minister. |
| Second World War begins. | |
| 1940 | Australian forces share in North African campaigns. |
| 1941 | Tobruk. |
| A. W. Fadden Prime Minister, August-October. | |
| John Curtin Prime Minister. | |
| 1942 | Darwin bombed and Rabaul captured by Japanese |
| Battle of El Alamein. | |
| 1943 | Italy defeated and Mussolini overthrown. |
| 1944 | Invasion of Europe and Battle of Normandy. |
| Defeat of Referendum on increased powers for Commonwealth. | |
| General MacArthur lands in the Philippines. | |
| 1945 | Defeat of Germany (May). |
| United Nations’ Charter signed. |
There are a lot of weird and wonderful tables here.
D13 Complications from selling your henchperson into slavery
D24 How you ended up on a spaceship stranded between dimensions
D11 Weird stuff you find in a land made of felt, plushies and patchwork cloth
D23 things that can go wrong on the Shield Helicarrier that aren't the whole thing crashing
D10 stuffed plushies fantasy themed but weird
D20 Weird Dimensions Whose Descriptions Are One Sentence Long
D12 Legendary foods
D12 sad and pointless jobs in the cyberpunk future
D10 Encounters in the forest / in a swamp / on the road that you are equally likely to a) fight b) talk to c) run away from
D10 Greco-Roman style deities that aren't Greco-Roman deities but just as boring
D10 Weird Reasons for Adventurers to be Adventuring
D10 things that could replace a severed foot
D10 unpleasant/dangerous missions you kinda have to finish, but definitely didn't sign up for
D10 Weird Goblin Treasures
D11 Reasons the Party Needs to Catch the Biggest Fish in the River
D10 You are fighting through a dangerous maze for the entertainment of some decadent nobles. They are watching from a balcony high above. Horrible stuff that happens when they get bored and spin the wheel.
D10 things the worm wants to eat that isn't you
D10 Barbarian/Amazon clan names that can also work as metal band names
D30 ways a poncy NPC aristocrat inadvertently dooms the peasants (or PCs)
D10 uses for gaseous byproducts of chaos magic experimentation
D10 things you can see happening elsewhere in the hex-crawl
D10 things found in an abandoned mine working
d100 Carpentry or Woodwitchery Spells
D10 changeling forms (creatures switched by faeries at birth) each with 1 special ability, and 1 weakness
D10 Wizard Henchmen
D10 situations where exactly one PC is in serious danger
D10 cult initiations
D19 ways these guns aren't like real guns
D10 hot one liners the monster says after killing a PC
D10 good reasons to become a triple-agent
D13 brick wizard spells
D100 Dragon breath weapons
D8 Domains (Paradises) of Mad Gods
D30 unusual quirks of your pet axe
D8 Questions to Embarrass an Extra-dimensional Oracle Masquerading as a Magic-8-ball
D11 weird people who got a bounty put on their head by an evil mafia boss
D10 reasons Why This Golem Is Different
D5 Monster ecology generator
D10 what is the monster doing when you come across it?
D10 Creators/Masters and Created/Servants
D29 wizard body mods
D30 spell critical hits (like, super-gore spell-death-blow things. Go nuts)
D10 Decrees from the gods
D12 Stone age supe
D12 Stone age superheroes
D10 echoes from the fading of the light
D10 things that a drunken wanderer has totally spotted out in the forest, you should go check them out
D4 accidental innuendos that the adventurer could say when asking about rumors about mazes
D10 omens of a god's presence
D10 security countermeasures
D12 Signs of Inevitable Decay (caused by mummy rot or some such)
D10 forms of transmission for an eldritch plague
In an ancient forgotten pyramid
d7 Encounters (in the Pyramid)
d6 Traps (in the Pyramid)
d6 Treasures (in the Pyramid)
D10 NPC reactions when faced by the inevitability of their own demise (gimme that sweet existentialism, people, let the death in, 'cos there's snow on the ground, and the world won't wait here forever)
Hundreds of mutant undead fuse together… D10 forms that this fusion might take
D10 reactions from the insulted knight after diplomacy
D10 Turkey Day themed Random Encounters for when my family does the inevitable and doesn't follow the preconstructed adventure from the starter kit
D10 "aesop fable" / "just so" style tales
D10 space-fantasy gargantuan dwellers in the void (big ol’ creatures)
3D10 "X" people or weird humanoids
D20 foodstuffs of the decadent rich
D10 fancies of the decadent rich
D11 other adventuring parties in the Giant's Lair
D20 events on the frontier, in 10 words or less
D10 Plants of the Underdark
3D29 Potion/Spell/Fetish effects to discover from combining shit together
When combining herbs, salts and animal bits together
When combining symbolically potent things together
When combining angel dust, dream fragments, other worldly materials and so forth
D20 interesting jungle hexes!
D20 Shakespearean plot elements
D15 table of fallen angels
D10 Dungeon Rooms lost to space and time
D10 Room Hazards Hidden In The Lowest Depths of The Desert Archive
D20 contacts you made before you became an adventurer, organisations or people
D10 portal/gateway/dimensional door sites and where they lead
D6 Table of d100 Interesting but terrifying Tables that should never be attempted to preserve the sanity of gamers.
D12 voices of the divine
D4 Psychedelic effects/generalized mechanics of said effects caused by a magical super-drug
D4 Things who offer you said drug
D4 terms of agreement for the offer of drugs
D8 Examples of Weird Skin (maybe that a druggy also buying from that dealer happens to have?)
D10 things you got from your stint in the army
D12 nautical superstitions
D12 boat names and their greatest voyage
D5
D12 boat names and their greatest voyage
D5 ramblings/rants of the drunkest person in the tavern
d20 things you gave up for power
D25 serpent themed encounters
d100 simple weapons, common tools or household useful objects
D100 Adjectives that can apply equally to exotic D&D creatures, items and places
Gain a bonus to your DEF if… (d12)
d20 nonboring nonstandard humanoid races that could fill the kobold-goblin-hobgoblin-bugbear-gnoll niche
1d20 rumors about the haunted forest (not too gonzo preferred)
1d12 strange witch houses
d12 reasons for hirelings to be seeking adventure
d29 ways to imbue yourself with magic that don't involve snorting the ground-up remains of a wizard
d100 tactically interesting dungeon features
d16 half-completed minor mechanical creations the Inventor class starts with
1d10 ways to find a shop in a city
What is this Wizard's secret weakness? 1d12
2d96 list of forest encounters + a modifier that can be substituted into other encounters
well, THE FOREST WENT OFF THE RAILROAD, DIDN'T IT?
Secret Bonus Forest encounters
2d40 adjectives / encounters in an incredibly boring kafkaesque small town
d13 pieces of loot found in the mansion of a wealthy and eccentric noble
(d43) vague character backstory elements
d10 topics of unnerving folk songs being sung in the local tavern
d12 kinds of paladins
[5:50 AM] zak/Langouste: d12 Unusual Motivations for a Murder
d12 Ways the Yakuza will take revenge on you without resorting to physical harm
10 methods to learn the "Backstab" skill that don't involve levelling up or spending money
D12 evil fairies and their quirky outfits
d100 interesting outdoor encounter features
1d10 tiny dungeon layouts/structures (not what is in the rooms, just how they are arranged)
4d21 Alien generator
D10 over blown noble titles
d52+2 results from the Deck of Many OSR Things
HEARTS (Enhancement and Magic)
DIAMONDS (Wealth and Knowledge)
SPADES (Combat and Mishaps)
CLUBS (Disaster and Death)
JOKERS
And d20 secondary replacement results
1d20 random house rules to add to your game
d10 Bad Things You Heard From A Sentient Christmas Tree
d10 Consequences of a spacetime paradox
1d20 plots, schemes, plans and siege weapons the minor demons have made for when the archdemon arrives
1d12 ways to get to Hell
d10 Mercenary Companies
D12 magical pearls from the sea garden of the Queen of the Mermaids
Since gunpowder no longer works, what is powering that cannon? (1d20)
d78 shiny levers and the effect of pulling them
This Ancient Robot
What is powering this an
[5:50 AM] zak/Langouste: What is powering this ancient robot? (1d12)
Who built the ancient robot? (1d12)
d100 Loot items from a 20th century ruin useful to a murder hobo from a medieval culture/tech level
20 odd location in this swamp, and what's going on there
magic items that have class abilities attached
d10 things that can go wrong when rescuing your prisoner friend during a jail transfer in the 1960s
d12 standard traps with an amusing twist