Welcome to the Brightlands

The big folk are gone. Their houses and sheds still tower like cathedrals, and inside them great machines sleep on. Their roads criss-cross the land, going places no one recalls.

No one remembers where they went, or why, and the Brightlands they left behind have grown wild and wonderful without them.

The small folk have made a world of their own: echidna spine trains winding through the Redstone Wastes, possums trading high in the Mistvine Canopy, wombats digging whole cities beneath the Whitecap Ranges, and wallabies bounding the Gum Lands.

It is a good life, and a small one, and most folk never look past their own fencepost.

But the world is bigger than a village. Old ruins keep their secrets. Wild and feral things prowl or swoop the far tracks. And somewhere out past the lamplight, a grey quiet has begun to creep through the bush, taking the colour out of everything it touches.

Somebody has to go and see. Somebody always has to go and see.

That somebody is you.

Because some small folk awaken something special: a voice, an inner power grown from belief and passion, strong enough to bend the world around them.

Maybe yours Shouts with courage that inspires others, Whispers secrets that bend shadows, Sings healing songs that mend both heart and wound, or Chants the world’s patterns into new wonders.

A voice grows as you adventure with your friends, discover what you truly believe in, and give back to those in need.

Help those in distress, mend what was broken, fill a hungry village’s store, and your voice will grow bright enough to light the way for everyone who follows.

What Is This Game?

The Voices of Bush & Burrow is a roleplaying game: a game of shared storytelling, played around a table with dice, cards and friends. If you have never played one before, it works like this.

One of you is the Narrator: they describe the world, play everyone who lives in it, and ask the most important question in the game, which is “what do you do?” Everyone else plays a hero: a small, brave someone with a big heart and an awakened voice.

There is no board and no script. You say what your hero does in your own words, the Narrator says what happens next, and between you all, the story unfolds.

The dice step in to decide when things get risky, and the cards keep your powers and treasures where you can see and use them. The Narrator is never playing against you: they set the challenges, but they are just as delighted as anyone when you beat them.

The game ends when the story does, often mid-laugh, usually well past bedtime.

What You Need to Play

• Two to six friends, one of them the Narrator.
• A handful of normal six-sided dice (three or four per player is plenty).
• Your character sheet & your cards.
• Spare paper, pencils & erasers.
• A pile of small tokens: seeds, buttons, or pebbles all work nicely.
• A table, some snacks & an afternoon.

Dice notation: normal six-sided dice are the only ones this game ever needs, and this book calls them d6.

How to Read This Book

Players only need the first half of this book. Creating a Character and Playing the Game matter most: read those, skim the rest and stop at the fold. Everything past it belongs to the Narrator, and its surprises are better met in play.

If you’re the Narrator: read the whole thing, once, comfortably. You don’t need to remember it all: it will be there when you need it. You will also want an adventure, and The Creek That Stopped Humming waits near the back of this book, ready to run.

The Golden Rules

Play is a conversation. The Narrator describes, you ask questions, you say what your character does, and the story moves forward. Everything else in this book is in service of that.

Fiction first. Decide what your character would actually do, then find the rule, not the other way around.

Roll only when it matters. If you have the time, the tools, and nothing is pressing, you just do it. Dice are for moments that could go wrong in interesting ways.

Play kindly. This game is for everyone at the table. If a part of the story isn’t fun for someone, pause, check in, and steer somewhere brighter. Scary can be fun, upset never is.

Rulings over rules. When something isn’t covered, the Narrator decides what makes sense and play continues. If a ruling works, it’s a rule.

This book is yours. Change what doesn’t fit your table, invent what’s missing, and keep whatever makes your Brightlands shine.