Gods of Metal: Ragnarock is a tabletop role-playing game released in 2022 by Hunters Entertainment and Renegade Game Studios.
In it, the players are faceless denizens of a colorless world aptly named "Mundania", whose unseen overlords feed on the energy of their quiet misery. In a rare few souls, though, a spark of rebellion is fanned into a flame by their oppression. If it becomes strong enough, at the moment of release their soul is catapulted into the far more colorful world of Ragnarock. Here, everything is like the covers of 80's Heavy Metal albums, and the escapees from Mundania are able to forge powerful new identities and find patronage from a member of the pantheon of metal. So empowered, they form bands and travel the land battling the forces of conformity and banality.
Gods of Metal: Ragnarock provides examples of:
- Call a Hit Point a "Smeerp": Like many quirky role-playing games, it gives standard elements unique names. The Gamemaster is the "Metal Maestro", for example, a group of player characters is a Band, and Feats are called "Power Moves".
- Character Class System: Player avatars can be one of six classes, including the Brutalizer (warrior), Bludgard (cleric), Amplord (artificer), and Chordmaster (elemental shaman).
- Big Bad: In the presented setting, there's a weird field over the sea that drains the vitality of anything within it...and it's starting to spread. "The Silence", as it's dubbed, is served up as the ultimate threat for the players to find a way to prevent.
- Good Is Not Nice: Showing up in the section on enemies are a cult called the Bellringers, who are dedicated to stopping the Silence from destroying the world, and by most rubrics would be considered good guys for that. Thing is, they don't trust any kind of outside input, and are willing to sacrifice anything — or anyone — to achieve their admittedly noble goals.
- Justified Tutorial: While a lot of role-playing games come with a sample adventure, this one has a scenario that's meant to walk new players through the character system. It does this by having them state their worthiness of their causes to the servants of the metal gods, and creating an entirely new person to be, to carry out the gods' will.
- Mean Boss: One of the more terrifying opponents the players can encounter is Gary Smith, Manager, one of the corporate overlords of Mundania who ended up in Ragnarock. Among other things, his chastisement for not doing their jobs right can temporarily turn player characters back into their mundane selves.
- The Power of Rock: If it wasn't obvious, the players will be abounding in a world where instruments are weapons and music is where the magic comes from.
- Sorting Algorithm of Evil: Instead of having a book about detailed monster sheets, the game uses categories based on the general level of threat they represent. These start off with Schlubs (Mooks), Horde (Mooks in groups), Solos, who are in the vein of Elite Mooks and can actually do some damage by themselves, up to the rather directly-named Boss and Legendary tier, for Eldritch Abomination-style enemies that will test the mettle of even a high-level, carefully-prepared band.
- Unicorn: One of the creatures inhabiting Ragnarock is the "Metalicorn", a deadly horned horse with metal skin and a mane of rainbow-colored flame.
