THE END second edition review

Whoa-boy. Here's one for the Bible thumpers; it starts out stirring things up. The book, with its gold print and black exterior, looks rather like a classic Protestant Bible in design style, with a "Hexagram of the Seven Seals of the Apocalypse" on the front. Just about guaranteed to get some looks, and get some folks kicked out of their mom's basement. Well known for its role as "the first post-apocalypse role-playing game based on the Book of Revelation," the game received critical acclaim for its bleak setting and creative background material. The End also received substantial attention [all press is good press, ya neh?] due to Gen Con's decision to ban its initial sale at the convention. There's a sure attention getter.

WARNING/DISCLAIMER: This Game is not for those who have an extreme sensitivity to religion, or whose religious views aren't open for examination. IT IS ONLY A GAME, NOT A STATEMENT OF DOCTRINE, PROPHECY, WHATEVER. If it helps, think of it as a parallel universe, or whatever works. It does say, "Mature Readers Only" on the back cover, but I know some level-headed, relatively sane folks who would refuse to play because of the subject matter.

Overview: The End is the classic End-of-the-World story with a twist. When reading it, I was reminded of an old Steve Martin stand up routine:

"What if you died, and then found yourself standing in line at the Pearly Gates, and it was just like they said, with Saint Peter, the Pearly Gates, a big Book of Life, and everything? Wouldn't you feel stupid? [To self] Aw, man in college they said this was all bullshit."

The End takes the predicted doom in the Book of Revelations a la the King James Version of the Bible, fine tunes it a bit for playability, and thrusts characters off in the middle of the post-Tribulation era. They blame the differences between the Revelations in their book and the Bible as tampering by monks in the Middle Ages. A nice out, it does make the game book itself the definitive source book for the game, and not every text the PCs can scrounge. One can just imagine if they had not;

"Where are you going, John?"

"Gaming over at Black Dog's."

"Hey, those aren't game books; that's Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, the Greek-English Concordance, and the Interlinear Four Translations New Testament."

"They're gaming books now, Bucko."

Of course, each Judge [as the Gamemaster is called in The End] is free to pick and choose which scriptures he or she would like to allow.

The End uses the much-maligned D20 system, and I won't use this review to list my complaints about those particular game mechanics. The book is written in such a format that if one has a system with which one is comfortable, one can adopt-adapt-improve anything one likes from it, if the scenario/setting appeals. Those who have gamed with me and/or my crowd know what thieves we are; I would most likely steal the setting and scenario, and just use my game mechanics.

Setting: This is grim stuff, Intrepid Adventurers. The Player Characters [PCs] have been denied entrance into Heaven or Hell, and are doomed to live out their days on an Earth abandoned by God. Non-Player Characters [NPCs] range from children, folks just like the PCs, warlords, slavers, doctors, Indian chiefs, ad infinitum.

The world itself is "reverting to Eden;" anything man-made is rapidly decaying, except items that are in use. This effect is called "the End of the World Blues," or simply the Blues. An example given in the book is that of two houses side-by-side. The one with people living in it seems pretty much as it did before The End, just a bit run down. The empty will probably collapse in weeks, and be dust in months.

Whole regions of North America have reverted to the wild, and savage beasts have lost their fear of man. All in all, the setting is pretty grim. "It is a beautiful and terrifying place."

The Breakdown: Below follows a chapter breakdown, with a bit of data as appropriate.

Table of Contents: Quite useful, and it actually makes sense. I thought naming the Chapters after books in the Bible was a nice touch, as well as the parchment-like yellowed paper. Reading this book when alone can be creepy.

Chapter 1: Book of Chronicles. Storytelling and background, gives the reader a feel of the setting through the experiences of an NPC. Well written, it ends with a cliff hanger that leaves the reader wanting more, exactly as an intro should.

Chapter 2: Book of Revelation. "What the Hell happened," step by step. Some FAQ, and a slang list for setting the mood. This is the stuff that will cause the local religious expert [and every group I know has one, even if it's only me] to say, "Huh-uh, it ain't gonna happen like that; Reverend Loudernhell said it would " It's a game setting. Get over it.

Chapter 3: Book of Kings. A listing of the current human settlements, called colonies, that exist in the basic game. There is sufficient detail to get the ball rolling, with plenty of grey areas. If one's group has PCs that like to snag the book and read it, it won't avail them much. Big chunks of the setting/situation are left to the individual judge, with only thumbnail sketches of NPCs, weaponry, etceteras. I always retain the right to slam PCs for playing on knowledge their Character should not have, but the book avoids this conflict by not going into too much detail.

Chapter 4: Book of Genesis. Character Generation. Those familiar with the D20 system will find little new here, with two exceptions.

1. There is a new stat called Ennui, and if it builds too high, bad things happen to the character. It is caused by loneliness, essentially [the book explains it better]. Some PCs might gripe about this [I would], but I think it's a nifty way to herd them together without the over-used "Y'all meet in a tavern, and this mage is hiring for a quest " It also pushes characters to seek out colonies and human company, which can drive a scenario by itself for a bit.

2. Characters are not heroic. On purpose. The quote from the back is "The Meek have inherited the Earth poor bastards." By "Meek," these are the folks that chose neither Heaven nor Hell; they are neither classic good guys nor bad guys. As the game points out, anyone who felt strongly on the G vs. E issue was probably called away before the scenario starts. Characters will be mediocre, in skills and worldview, until their experiences allow them to develop otherwise. The game does point out that few people easy to kill are probably around anymore.

Chapter 5: Book of Acts. Skills and Feats are as per the D20 system. Yawn.

Chapter 6: Book of Lamentations. This chapter lists scenario/setting specific "magic," and things particular to The End one might not find in other D20 stuff. There are some interesting variations on magic here. The magic breaks down into Shamanistic Magic and Word of God magic, both of which are pretty impressive, especially as it seems the rest of the world is pretty well "mundane" [there aren't a bunch of elves and such hopping about]. I found the magic system interesting, and delightfully limiting. The Judge won't have to worry about different types of magic-users in the party.

Ennui is explained in detail, and its effects are listed, some of which could be dangerous to the party, not just the individual. The "Diseases of the End" are also listed, which makes for some cheerful reading. This is followed up with Denizens of the End, a list of all the nasty critters which exist to torment PCs.

Chapter 7: Book of Numbers. As in, "Your number's up, Pal." The rules of combat. This game's take on combat is almost as dangerous as the whiners claim my system is. With a d4 for hit points, and the wimpiest handgun in the game doing a d6+1, characters can check out with a quickness. This game does have a lovely lethality to it.

NOTE: The game, in a point of wonderful ambiguity, leaves open what happens when you die. Most folks think Heaven and Hell are closed forever, and if they die, they just cease to be.

It's scary in the dark, isn't it?

Chapter 8: Book of Judges. Remember, the Gamemaster in The End is referred to as the Judge. This is a basic "How to GM" chapter, with lots of nifty ideas that the experienced players probably know already, but I recommend reading it anyway, at least once as a refresher. I particularly like the Ultimate Rule on page 271. Another of my favorite entries is "Simply do not let the characters know exactly what is out there, and let them begin to fear."

The "Introduction" section of Judges details how to prepare the PC for the game, through Judge guidance, giving each PC a feel for what's going on and going to go on.

Chapter 9: Book of Apocrypha. A Rogues' Gallery of NPCs to scare the bejesus out of the PCs, and maybe occasionally aid them, they are presented in character sheet format. The last of the book contains photocopy-able character sheets.

Index: In case one can't find something thru the Table of Contents, the Index in the back of the book is quite handy. There is also an index to the book's art, and ads in the very back for upcoming supplements.

Rating: Using the 1 [worst] to 10 [best] scale, I give The End, Lost Souls Edition an 8. I might have rated it higher, but some of the artwork left a bit to be desired, particularly for a reprint where they could have fixed some things. I tried to be objective, but it may have lost .5 or so due to my distaste with the D20 system. GMs who like that system may rate it higher.

I do like the concept and setting, and yes, I admit it, the brutality of the Game. It read well, there were few typos, and in the ultimate litmus test, I found myself wanting to run the scenario when I finished reading it.

Your mileage may vary.