Book of Heavy Metal

[Silver Raven]

For the longest time, I've been inspired by heavy metal. Both the musical genre and video games and anime that are metal (i.e. Guilty Gear, Bastard).

With this in mind I want to tell a story based in a Heavy Metal themed world where everything is a reference to bands, songs, band members and is played straight. The viewers might think it's ridiculous but the people in this world take it very seriously.

Slepnir has eight legs and magic runes carved upon his teeth, an icy coat of grey, thunder and lighting sound his feet. The Holy Diver is a warrior saint from another dimension.

What I am requesting now if I haven't already is that need help world building my proclamation to metal music. (want to make long living thread don't know how to keep it from going necro)
For some inspriation I recomend looking up the following: Heavy Metal (1984)movie[Classic and my first intro to metal]

Bastard!![Heavy Metal Dark Fastasy based on DND nuff said]

Guilty Gear[has tech and is probably my biggest influence]

Brutal Legend[amazing world and creature design also more tech]

Slain!! A solid indie title

Devil May Cry [ymmv]
Doom[ymmv]
Splatterhouse[ymmv]

musical genres: mainly the 15 styles of metal shown im that one youtube vid but will also have some more dep3ndong on what needs to be fulled.

BROTHERS AND SISTERS I AM CALLING YOU!! COME WRITE YOUR NAME IN THE BOOK OF HEAVY METAL!!!!!

[Red Fel]

With this in mind I want to tell a story based in a Heavy Metal themed world where everything is a reference to bands, songs, band members and is played straight. The viewers might think it's ridiculous but the people in this world take it very seriously.

There are two sides to this. One is constructing your world around the Metal, and another is arranging the Metal around your world.

Let me give you examples. Of the first, your world has to fit the tone of Metal. There may have been peaceful times in the past, but those times are gone. This world is shattered and barbaric. Even those holdouts of civilization are cold stone, cold hearts, cold steel. Virtue is protected by brutality; innocence is ended by monstrosity. Your world needs to reflect that. Demons and cults, barbarians and bandits, spells and steel and burning blood. Everything has to be extra. It must be Metal.

Of the second, consider how the Metal fits the world. You say "Heavy Metal" as though the Metal was a monolith, and not a deeply personal journey of brutality. You can have cults of Death Metal-themed necromancers corrupting what little good remains. You can have the Heavy Metal Berserkers, bandits who roam the countryside. The knights who defend the downtrodden can be Epic Metal-inspired. Using themes this way not only helps build your world, it helps lend it consistency and predictability. When the people hear of the Blind Guardian, they know he will come to save them from the terror of Dimmu Borgir.

See what I mean?

Now, that said, Bastard!!! pretty much nailed how to build the setting. It's pretty generic fantasy, with everything epic and over-the-top and turned up to 11, and everything important carrying the names of Metal. So just do that. Take a bog-standard setting of your choice and paint over it in a healthy coat of Metal, and you're done.

[sktarq]

Now depending on the age of you players I would recommend you take a look at FATAL (esp 1st edition) for the references and ideas that they took from it (the specifics of which I have protectively purged from brain) in order to see what NOT to do with this idea.

[Silver Raven]

Now, that said, Bastard!!! pretty much nailed how to build the setting. It's pretty generic fantasy, with everything epic and over-the-top and turned up to 11, and everything important carrying the names of Metal. So just do that. Take a bog-standard setting of your choice and paint over it in a healthy coat of Metal, and you're done.

One of the reasons why it's my influence but by the time it get to later chapters it becomes more religious, Guilty Gear is Bastard!! but better imho and has tech which isn't seen too often in fantasy, Plus the Neon Knights have to be Mech Riding Warriors. I do agree that Metal is a journey through Brutality I haven't thought of it that way until you just mentioned it. Yet; even though it's dark and depressing music I'v never felt that way from the music.

I do agree that plan is to have DnD + Heavy Metal, but I also want to have tech like Mech Knights, airships, and mobile fortresses.

[Red Fel]

One of the reasons why it's my influence but by the time it get to later chapters it becomes more religious, Guilty Gear is Bastard!! but better imho and has tech which isn't seen too often in fantasy, Plus the Neon Knights have to be Mech Riding Warriors. I do agree that Metal is a journey through Brutality I haven't thought of it that way until you just mentioned it. Yet; even though it's dark and depressing music I'v never felt that way from the music.

I do agree that plan is to have DnD + Heavy Metal, but I also want to have tech like Mech Knights, airships, and mobile fortresses.

Metal isn't dark and depressing. (Except maybe Death Metal.) It's Brutal, but blood-pumping. It's a music of optimism, the kind of rage and power that overcomes any obstacle.

It's very simple. Adversity + overcoming obstacles = adventure. Adversity involving dripping blood and armored demons with flaming chainsaws + overcoming obstacles with raw rage and a sword that burns like a screaming sun = Metal.

Just think of whatever seemed cool when you were twelve. You'll get there.

[Max_Killjoy]

While not strictly/only metal, I would recommend Monster Magnet.

Spoiler: (A touch NSFW).

Show

Dopes To Infinity
Look To Your Orb For the Warning
Negasonic Teenage Warhead (The character in the Deadpool movies was named for this song.)
Spacelord
Kiss of the Scorpion
Melt

The band that's a chunk of the inspiration for one of the deities in a setting I'm working on.

A lot of their songs would fit right into the Heavy Metal soundtrack.

[2D8HP]

Just get some Lamentations of the Flame Princess (which is based on 1981 rules D&D) adventures.

Broodmother Skyfortress, Death Frost Doom, and Frostbitten & Mutilated all have a very "Metal" esthetic, and I suspect that the rest of the LotFP does as well.

If you want to homebrew more setting details just get do some research on some of what Viking and pre-Viking age Scandinavians would place on trees (not unlike a scene in the movie Excalibur), describing that should suffice.

[Bohandas]

Take a look at Warhammer 40000

EDIT:

Also take a look at the GWAR song Metal Metal Land, which describes a world shaped by the aesthetic of heavy metal

[Leafar]

For the longest time, I've been inspired by heavy metal. Both the musical genre and video games and anime that are metal (i.e. Guilty Gear, Bastard).

With this in mind I want to tell a story based in a Heavy Metal themed world where everything is a reference to bands, songs, band members and is played straight. The viewers might think it's ridiculous but the people in this world take it very seriously.

Slepnir has eight legs and magic runes carved upon his teeth, an icy coat of grey, thunder and lighting sound his feet. The Holy Diver is a warrior saint from another dimension.

What I am requesting now if I haven't already is that need help world building my proclamation to metal music. (want to make long living thread don't know how to keep it from going necro)
For some inspriation I recomend looking up the following: Heavy Metal (1984)movie[Classic and my first intro to metal]

Bastard!![Heavy Metal Dark Fastasy based on DND nuff said]

Guilty Gear[has tech and is probably my biggest influence]

Brutal Legend[amazing world and creature design also more tech]

Slain!! A solid indie title

Devil May Cry [ymmv]
Doom[ymmv]
Splatterhouse[ymmv]

musical genres: mainly the 15 styles of metal shown im that one youtube vid but will also have some more dep3ndong on what needs to be fulled.

BROTHERS AND SISTERS I AM CALLING YOU!! COME WRITE YOUR NAME IN THE BOOK OF HEAVY METAL!!!!!

I think Metallica is the greatest band of all time, so this sounds like an awesome idea. :)

[Wizard_Lizard]

Imagine the bards.
IMAGINE THE BARDS!!!!