Heavy Metal Thunder Mouse is an RPG where you form a rodent motorcycle gang

If Biker Mice from Mars proves anything, it’s that even rodents look awesome if you dress them in leathers and stick them on the saddle of a roaring motorcycle.

This philosophy lives on with Heavy Metal Thunder Mouse, an upcoming indie roleplaying game designed by Derek Kamal that’s currently live on Kickstarter.

Built on a modified version of the FATE engine with further inspiration from Powered by the Apocalypse titles, Thunder Mouse casts players as a gang of motorcycle-riding mice in the fictional US locale of Thunder City – hilariously described as “home to the only mice in the world who have figured out combustion engines” – who can choose to do good or bad as their club rises in stature (even if they don’t).

Some of the mice gangs in Thunder City include the Spanner Murine Motorcycle Club, Asphalt Avengers, Bardlings and more, although it’s added that it’s not only the rodents who have decided to hop on hogs – cats, crabs, chipmunks and dogs are named as some of the other species to have taken to two wheels that can pop up in adventures.

Thunder Mouse sessions are designed to last around three or four hours with two to five players, plus a GM, and can feed into an ongoing campaign set in the universe.

Kamal and his team plan to launch the 150-page core rulebook for Thunder Mouse next March. The physical edition has only been confirmed for the US, but a digital PDF is available through the crowdfunding campaign for $10 (£8).