Customer Reviews

The Apocalypse Stone (AD&D)

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As a rule, I am not a fan of TSR generated adventures. It could have been my first DM didn't use them or when I first started reading them they didn't match the quality or fun of my DM's campaigns - the randomness of your average gamer has generally been more than these "enter room 32 and be attacked by 4d6 trolls" seem to be able to compensate for and oddly seem to encourage the much maligned "hack and slash" approach to RPG's.

The Apocalypse Stone may be the adventure that changes that opinion forever. The world is coming to horrible, irrevocable end - and your players are responsible for it! With pacing, drama, problem solving, tests of true heroism, and more bad-ums to battle than can safely be catalogued in your average Monstrous Manual update this adventure is not only challenging but is so deftly written that the failure of the PC's at any given point along the adventure is a viable option. Realistically, you should expect at least one or two of your PC's to die before they get to the climax - if they get to the climax at all. During the course of this adventure, if you haven't angered, sickened and otherwise re-invigorated your players, you've done something wrong. Anyone who doesn't think the use of the flesh golems in Chapter Three signifies a new diabolical height in psychological warfare has been gaming way too long - I actually had to stop reading at that point, take a break and come back.

What is remarkable about The Apocalypse Stone is how well it works as a story line. The adventure actually reads better than several of the novels TSR has published of late. No new spells or prayers are introduced, other than the Stone, there are no new artifacts or weapons (and the PC's realistically can't claim or use the Stone and remain PC's). This is a highly woven, well plotted story that makes your high-level characters do far more than just use their might and magic - in fact, if your players choose to approach the adventure that way, they are damned.

Even if they don't, your world maybe anyway...

Too often players get the idea that their gaming world is nothing more than a place where they(the heroes) kill the monsters and get treasure. Far too many adventures cater to this scheme. It's time to shake things up!

The setup is great and easily fits into almost every setting published(or made up). Things have been kept generic enough to be melded into your campaign world and style with little difficulty. There seems to be a trend with players when they get very powerful, they get cocky and indifferent. "How many demons? I'll just use my BIG sword." This adventure is a fitting way to end things with the message, "With great power comes great responsibility."

As their powers fail, and loved ones pay the price for simply associating with the PCs, it will be difficult for your group to not feel despair, regret, and helplessness.

If you are a player, please do not read this prior to going on this quest. It will be well worth it.

The great thing about this module is that not only is it a great ending adventure, but it also offers some great hints on how to use the ideas presented inside to fit any campaign. The adventure itself is intruiging, but be warned, you should not let your players have ANY IDEA what is really going on. The opening chapter specifically tells you the methods on how to lie to your players, keep them in the dark, and basically pull the wool over their eyes. I'd highly reccommend this book to any DM who wants to bring his campaign to a close with a bang, because this module features non-stop action all the way to the Apocolypse of your game world.

Being a new DM I found that my players were trying to take advantage of me and had to do something to stop it (I couldn't seem to kill ANY of them so I had to find another way). Then one day I found this book and picked it up. My players have just found out that they are the ones who caused the world to begin to come to an end. Can you imagine the looks on their faces? This module is the most detailed I have run across in all my time of gaming(I own something like 35 of them). The story is the best part, watching your noble players hearts sag as they realize they may have been responsible for the destruction of the world is very pleasing to the eye. If you are a DM looking for a good story to end off a high level campaign with alot of style then you must pick this one up!

Warning, spoilers beneath:

I've recently gotten back into AD&D, and picked up this module because of the unique premise. End the world and make your players responsible for it! The problem with the module however is that the players have very little hint of what's coming. Yes, I understand that this is what makes the module such a shock and great RP experience, but as written the reason the apocalypse comes about is unknown to anybody but a select few. To me, this means that the players won't have a sudden realization of a prophecy coming true, or realizing what an old myth really means. Instead, they're tricked into destroying the world and have absolutely no way to realize what happened until the final revelation (yes, they do get hints as to what's happening, but not why until then). I feel it would be much more effective to start a campaign with the idea that the world could be ended with this adventure, and then give hints through mythology or prophecy that slowly lead up to it.

That said, this is one of the better written AD&D adventures I've run across. There's little in the way of dungeon crawls, and a lot in the way of role playing, epic confrontations and last minute attempts at redemption while a world collapses (the final battle kind of reminded me of the beginning of "Superman" when Krypton exploded.. only with an epic fight going on in an attempt to stop it. The encounters are truly fiendish and dark, with hints on how to make them even darker. Again however, this might be too jarring for players who've played a campaign up to this point in a more usual style. Also, some of the challenges the players face have very little way to know what the correct choice is, and if they choose wrong they have no chance to even attempt to save the world.

I find the concept of this adventure quite intriguing, and many of the ideas can be used, but I feel it will work better if this endpoint is considered a possibility in a campaign that's just beginning, rather than saying "Well, nothing left to do with these characters, time to end the world with a bang."

The Apocalypse Stone is an AD&D (2nd edition) adventure for four to six characters of level 15 and above (for a total of 60-90 experience levels). In it, the players "accidentally" set in motion the end of the world, and then must discover what is happening and put a stop to it...or not.

This module is really a wild ride, and is one of the most interesting adventure modules that I have ever seen. The premise of the story is quite interesting, and the mechanism for the destruction of the world is absolutely fascinating, as is the ideas for the post-apocalypse. Indeed, I even liked the non-player characters included.

So, if you have some high-level characters, and want to really host an exciting adventure, then get The Apocalypse Stone. You won't regret it!

Considering this is a TSR product this adventure is not too bad. But it does suffer from the TSR curse that it just does not create a realistic adventure at all.

First what is good about this product: Well, it is different which is a welcome relief after myriad products which have similar themes just different names. There is some thought behind it and that shows.

What is bad about it: This may take a little while. First, it is inconsistent. In the test areas, where it is extremely important to have a uniformity of mind, one of the tests is failed if the characters get distracted from their goal. But a later test requires them to do just that to investigate a problem! Makes no sense. Second, it is linear, as most TSR products are and there is little chance to roleplay. Third, the adventure just makes no sense. The GM will strain credulity to have players who demand a small modicum of reality and rationality in their campaigns buy all of this. A little too much is explained by magic. Oh well.

Still, this is one of the best TSR products I have seen for a very long time. Most of them are trash in my opinion as they appeal to novice gamers or those who powergame and forget it is about roleplaying. This one makes a valiant attempt to try something different.

This is one of the best d&d adventures I have ever read! It is great if you have a long, developed campaign that you wish to bring to a glorious end. This story reads like a movie, filled with secondary plot hooks and opportunities to insert earlier campaign elements flawlessly (these old nemeses that lie about)... It is very atmospheric and emotionally engaging, if you are into world-shaking events.

Although I seldom play d&d now, having switched to white wolf systems, I had this book recommended to me with the highest praise, so I bought it. It is one of my most prized posessions now too, and I am only looking for a chance to go back to a new fantasy trip into the end times.

Make them go out with a bang! This extensive adventure is for high level characters. The DM may use this adventure to end his current campaign by literally allowing the current campaign world to be destoryed during an epic battle. This adventure is extensive in detail and interesting. It's one of the better high level adventures I have seen in the older TSR D&D line.

This is the most dangerous adventure since Return to the Tomb of Horrors.

This adventure has it all, a great nemesis for the players a false quest a redemption quest, demons, dark casttles, lost islands, and the most important THE END OF THE WORLD.

The only flaw that this adventure have is that it can't be placed in my favorite campaign setting RAVENLOFT. Because the land of the mist have not a pantheon.