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| [[File:Bunyip 1890.jpg|thumb|right|300px]]
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| '''Bunyips''' are one of the very few [[monster]]s native to Australia... or at least the ones that anyone can actually name on a first guess. Found in Aboriginal Australian myths throughout the continent, the term basically means "devil" or "evil spirit", but has become particularly associated with a water-dwelling monster. The precise characteristics are hard to pin down beyond that, both because of its scattered multi-tribal origin and because there are so many different, contradictory accounts of what the bunyip ''is''! Some of the most common descriptions of bunyips are a bizarre predatory mammalian creature resembling a seal, an amphibious dog, or a giant otter, or a bizarre long-necked small-headed "thing". At least one depiction of the bunyip characterizes it as a giant starfish! One of the few common characteristics is a massive booming or roaring call.
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| Theories as to what inspired the myth include encounters with Australian seals or cassowaries, a now-extinct giant marsupial of some sort, or even just the booming call of the shy, marsh-dwelling Australasian bittern.
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| ==D&D==
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| In [[Dungeons & Dragons]], the bunyip appeared in [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] and was described as a weird combination of seal and shark, being a seal-like mammal with shark-like body and shark-like jaws. They are not evil, just rather playful and mischievous, but the combination of that personality with a big, strong body and a set of jaws that can easily bite off limbs is dangerous. They don't prey on humanoids in general, but small humanoid races such as [[dwarves]], [[gnome]]s, [[halfling]]s and [[goblin]]s are within the size range of their usual prey, so a bunyip that finds one struggling in the water is likely to go with its instincts and try to make a meal.
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| ==Pathfinder==
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| In [[Pathfinder]], the bunyip is also a seal-shark hybrid, but it's much more aggressive and voracious than its AD&D counterpart. There are several noted varieties, including the arctic bunyip, the swamp-dwelling muck bunyip, and the open-ocean-ranging ocean bunyip.
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| [[Category: Monsters]] [[Category: Pathfinder]]
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