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We start with the usual things like an authorial forward, a credits page (with two entries), and a table of contents. The setting of the game is presented in a four page prologue that details a rough history of the fall of the rebellious angels into Hell and their escape in the year 2001 (a vague, apparently generalized sin of Pride being the cause of the rebellion). What’s odd is that the prologue tone shifts between obviously in-game fiction, quotes from scripture, and the author speaking to the audience. We go from an obviously out of setting statement “you have in your hands one of the most authentic supernatural-horror role playing games ever made” to a “yes…it is true!” later on. I don’t think the author really believes his game is Apocalyptic Truth, but the lack of clear separation and chronic use of ellipses throughout the book, make things look weirder than they were probably intended.
Chapter 1: The Game is the standard introduction to RPGs kind of text, to teach people new to the hobby what an RPG is, the difference between a Player and a Game Creator (hereafter in this review called by the more standard term, “GM”), and a too brief introduction to task resolution and what kind of dice you need (“that’s right an 8 sided die”). One of the things I found interesting was the idea that players could petition a GM when they disagreed with his ruling; a player has two minutes to make their case, and can make two of these petitions per adventure. While many gamers would laugh at the idea, I found the concept potentially helpful for completely novice (and likely young) gamers. The dice the game uses are d8s, d10s, and d20s. Task resolution is rolled on a d20, with the target number always being 20 or higher. The chapter doesn’t really explain what that means however, nor does it say what the other dice are used for (it turns out damage and monster health respectively, for the majority of the time). The chapter also explains how time works time works in terms of the game (characters get “ACTs” which last for 3 seconds, and they get one per turn) as well as explain how time works in reality for some odd reason (“twenty four hours make up a day. Sixty minutes make up an hour. Sixty seconds make up a minute.”). The chapter then finishes up with some ideas for penalties and movement rates that probably should have been located elsewhere in the book.
Chapter 2: Forces of Light introduces players to the various Bloodlines (i.e. character races) and Factions that work to “generally either support mankind, or wish to return to Heaven, or both.” Devils are those angels who fell, and have since escaped Hell. Darklings are the children of devils and humans (devils escaped 1000 years ago for three days, and Darklings are their nearly immortal children). Dustforms are people who know the truth and can work magic. Prophets are people who have been empowered by the good devils. And finally there are Angelics, which are people who have been blessed by actual angels (not fallen ones) and made into quasi-angels themselves. Alethia want to return to Heaven and be with God again through humble faith, Malakai want to help humanity and have turned away from God and Satan both, Salistra want to earn a place in Heaven by fighting evil, and finally the Zackaari seek to uncover the proper rituals to return to Heaven and humanity can take a flying leap for all they care.
Chapter 3: Powers of Darkness follows the same format as the previous chapter, to the point of reprinting the pages on Devils, Darklings, and Dustforms from a few pages back. Taking the place of Prophets however are Aboreths, people who have been empowered and disfigured by bad fallen angels. And instead of Angelics, the Powers of Darkness have Slayrres, the spirits of dead evil devils in the bodies of the recently dead. In terms of factions, three are on the side of Darkness. Dracolytes are the outsiders who work against humanity, but only because they want to be left alone. Satanos are the corrupters, driving people to depravity. Kakoss are those who would seek to rule as tyrants.
Chapter 4: Morality covers the alignment system of the game. I won’t go into great detail, except that morality seems to be more a measure of how good or evil a character is, than what type of good or evil they are. Benevolent Characters are considered “saintly” for example, and the system is actually a little clearer and more straightforward than the whole Neutral Evil versus Chaotic Evil confusion from a well-known game. The chapter finishes off by exploring the Codes of Ascension (the means by which devils can legally fight one another) and the nature of the Untouched (those who lose their divine powers). Both could have used more detail than they received here, but they get some later on.
Chapter 5: Character Stats shows how characters are measured. Physical is for strength and agility, Mental is the measure of knowledge and wisdom, Presence is a measure of social impact, and Vitality is how tough the character is. Stats are measured in terms of Blood Stats (the base stat), Advancing Stats (a stat point raised as a character grows in levels), and Final Stats (the Blood plus Advancing Stats combined). Characters start with 2d10+4 points to divide in Blood Stats between the four categories (Physical, Mental, Presence, and Vitality). Advancing Stats are gained by the character rolling their Advancing Stat or higher on a d10; one chance per level total, not per Stat. Personally I don’t like the randomness of the Advancing Stat system, but fans of arbitrary systems may enjoy their character advancing due to chance.
Chapter 6: Survival Scores covers how many health points a character has (1d8 per level, roughly) and how many spirit points a character has as well (again, 1d8 per level, roughly). While health points are your standard “hit points” from other games, spirit points are a measure of how far away a character is from turning into a demon (through possession or transformation, the chapter isn’t clear). One of the neater ideas in the game however is that of Body Hits. Characters double their health points, and then divide them between their arms, legs, torso, and head. If a body part reaches 0 points, it’s useless or destroyed. Unfortunately, it’s not clear what purpose a character’s health points serve after you’ve assigned your Body Hits. A minor quibble, and not enough for me to dismiss the mechanic, but it could use a bit more clarification I think.
Chapter 7: Essence points. Essence points are the measure of energy characters use to cast spells. Not much here aside from mechanics, but the idea of Unholy Ground (areas where Essence doesn’t work for anybody) is introduced as part of the setting.
Next is Chapter 8: Ascension Rank. Apparently the levels players earn for their characters give the character a Factional rank and extra powers within the setting. But only if you’re not a devil, which was a limitation not mentioned back in the devil write-ups earlier. And apparently, Dustforms always appear to rank as Pawns to the magical senses of everybody else, regardless of the Dustform’s true power. I think the intent here was to mechanically reward higher level characters with higher faction status and a freebie power to help balance them against Devils, but it just feels kind of thrown together.
Chapter 9: Spell Resistance details… well, spell resistance. Basically, the more powerful the caster or the spell (or both), the harder the spell will be to resist.
Chapter 10: Background & Experience details how many experience points the different bloodlines need to raise a level, and how many XP a GM should hand out for various feats. I rather liked that the XP amounts needed and awarded were both fairly low; it just feels like it encourages faster leveling and power increasing. Also covered is income and resources, determined by a random dice roll. Players are then strongly encouraged (with bold text) to make their character’s profession within consideration of the randomly rolled income. Want to make a high powered film producer as your character? Hope you roll well then. Finishing up is a table for rolling up how many contacts your character has and some ideas as to who they might be.
Chapter 11: Character Skills is about, well, character skills. At character creation and each advancing level characters receive a fixed number of points to spend on skills (with Dustforms getting the most and Devils the least). The system uses a d20 roll, plus a relevant Final Stat and associated skill ranks (just half the Final Stat if unskilled), and the player needs a total that’s equal to or higher than the target number (which is anywhere from 20 on up). The skills themselves range from fairly straightforward abilities to abilities that actually alter the character (like a person skilled in Weapons getting a bonus to hit). There’s nothing too complex here, and to be honest it looks like a more flavorful alternative to what I consider the blander approach of games like Palladium or BRP. It’s also a nice, fairly comprehensive listing of skills. That said, GMs can expect to reference this chapter repeatedly, looking up how some of the mechanically “crunchier” skills work. Also there’s some weirdness in the list, like using an Explosives Skill to determine how well the character can throw a grenade; using the Weapons skill, with a focus on thrown weapons, makes more sense to me. Still, if I can let other systems off the hook for combining rifles and archery and thrown weapons under a single generic skill, using Explosives to throw a grenade isn’t that large a stretch.
I found Chapter 12: Combat Rank to be an interesting idea. Basically, characters can spend some of their skill points to purchase increasing ranks of mastery with non-modern weapons, that lets them do increased damage and combat actions and gives a parrying bonus. Higher ranks give greater advantages, and these advantages increase as the character rises in level.
Chapters 13 through 15 cover combat itself. In a nutshell, “one hit, one kill” is exceptionally hard to pull off unless the aggressor is using a massively damaging attack or the defender is very, very weak. Initiative is determined by rolling a d10 (another use for the d10!) and applying modifiers, with lowest rolls going first. Armor slows you down and gives extra health points. And death isn’t final for non-Devils, thanks to the possibility of resurrection magics. (Devils don’t necessarily die when they’re killed, but they do become unplayable). Mention is made about bleeding damage, and it’s brutal (characters lose 1 health point every three seconds/ACT, until they receive medical attention).
Chapter 16: Weapons & Equipment covers a pretty good range of stuff. Rules for dual wielding and fumbles are also included here, although it seems like they make more sense in one of the earlier chapters on combat. Eight weapons that seem to be unique to the game setting are also introduced; most make sense as to how they are used, but one of them (a centipede-looking collection of blades called the Jasteel) seems so implausible and unwieldy I can’t really accept it. And this is in a game about devils and angels and magic and such.
Chapter 17: Spell Spheres covers how much magical energy characters have and what kind of magic they can use. In Creations End, there are seven Spheres of magic, with each sphere offering different effects. Diving Blessing covers healing, Divine Energy covers the elements and movement, Power Sensate deals with sensory effects, Corporeal Magic includes mental and physical alterations, Pseudo Reality distorts reality and perception, Sorcery allows for mind control and combat magics, and Necro Energy spells influence death and undeath. Characters learn individual spells, and have the easiest time learning spells from the Sphere connected to their Faction, using a system of Research Points which are gained as the character raises in level to buy the Spells. Characters can learn spells outside their faction’s Sphere, choosing a Secondary Sphere to learn spells from at an increased cost. Spells outside one of those two Spheres are considered “forbidden”, meaning they cost much, much more to learn. Besides the expense involved however, the student must also find a higher level character who can teach the spell, and the student must be high enough level to learn the spell to begin with. While many Spheres share spells (which are reprinted verbatim), they each have many unique effects and no school feels overly handicapped.
Chapters 18 and 19 cover Glyphs & Runes and Artifacts & Relics respectively. Glyphs (and Runes) are magical inscriptions that store spells and can be created by PCs. Artifacts (and Relics) are ancient items of vast power, and are beyond the scope of PC creation. Artifacts are the weaker of the two, giving powers identical to lower level spells. These are your “Wands of Magic Missles” as it were. Relics are more interesting, containing powers that seem to have no limits. Relics are the MacGuffin Devices of a story.
Devilish possession is covered in Chapter 20: Possession & Exorcism. It turns out that when you were picking your character’s Bloodline way back in Chapters 3 and 4, Devil PCs can possess people (those chapters never mentioned this). Granted, the Devil has to be pretty powerful to have a chance of pulling it off (at least level 2), but the victim’s level or power apparently has no impact on the Devil’s attempt. All the Devil has to do is roll less than the Possessing Devil’s level on a d20. Exorcism, by comparison, is much more challenging and involves more rolls by both sides. Some light incantations and ritualization for the exorcism attempt is included.
While the last three chapters were somewhat formulaic, Chapter 21: Dept. of Demon Investigations was a nice addition to the setting. The US government learned of the existence of the demons and devils, and created a secretive branch dedicated to destroying the threat. The Factions believe the DDI to play a role in the upcoming Apocalypse, and have made the Department as an organization safe from destruction, but this protection doesn’t extend to rank and file agents. The DDI knows some of what’s going on, and is collecting magical tools of their own. It’s an interesting idea, and pretty original, but it only comes in at little over half a page and almost begs for more detail.
Blood Earth & Avatars is the subject of Chapter 22. Hidden from normal sight is a world where the spirits of mankind are shadowy reflections, buildings are duplicated, angels have manifested to comfort mankind, and devils materialize to do battle with one another or merge with the souls of man (possession). Magic is out of the question, apparently no (PC) Bloodline other than devils can travel here, and nobody can hurt an angel here. Other than devils engaging in pugilistic bouts (the loser losing his Faction membership and morality) there’s not really anything to do here or any reason to visit. I’m not really sure what purpose this chapter serves, other than to give devils a place to have private one-on-one fights that end in one side becoming apolitical, but it’s only a little under a page in length.
Okay, so we have four Factions trying to basically be good or at least civil, and three Factions trying to be all evil and such. Wouldn’t it be neat if the leadership of the seven Factions all secretly worked together like a UN of fallen angels? Well, Chapter 23: Council of the Fallen is just that. We don’t really get any idea as to what this Council is working towards other than something to do with Biblical Prophecy, how PCs could help or interfere the Prophecy, or even why the leaders of the Factions would agree to work together in the first place. Basically they serve as a big plot device for why the battles between the Factions isn’t on the evening news: the Council has multiple organizations dedicated to policing the troops on both sides of the battle. And what are the biggest no-no crimes for this organization? A devil showing its wings or breaking it’s restrictions on possessing somebody. I’m not sure what those restrictions are, the book didn’t mention any that I could tell, and apparently it’s okay for a devil to flash its “retractable claws” or display its eyes that “appear liquid black” (traits mentioned both times the Devil Bloodline was described, back in Chapters 2 and 3). Those who break the “no wings, no unregistered possession” rules are hunted to death. The chapter also includes some background info on the leaders of the Factions and some “Faction Roles” a character can choose to take if they desire. But since the roles seem to be somewhat limiting (you get a small bonus to one thing, but a steep penalty towards another), I suspect most players will probably not be interested in taking them.
Chapter 24: Religious Cults is a collection of ideas for various movements within the setting of Creations End. Three of them get a couple of paragraphs of detail, and there’s a page of rough ideas for another eleven. It’s not terrible, but it’s so sparse I’m not sure it’s worth the effort.
Okay, the next chapter was one I was looking forward to. Chapter 25: Creatures. We get eleven different monsters, each getting a page of description and detail. There’s some interesting ideas here and there, but overall it doesn’t work. One creature is created when a devil becomes a demon and is destroyed, but previously the book said that only humans could become demons. Another creature is basically “just” a shadow panther, which feels about as relevant to Biblical horror as a Displacer Beast or Blink Dog. While all of the monsters are defined in terms of how much damage they can take and do, they lack stats to reflect their strength or intellect, making it hard for other GMs to gauge how strong or smart they should be.
Chapter 26: Angels isn’t bad, but it’s basically just a way for GMs to work another set of McGuffins into the game. Only these McGuffins are also railroaders. You can’t fight them, you can’t stop them, and everything they do is done with the support of God. I suspect telling God “no” to something would at least result in a purge from the Council of Fallen, on grounds of interfering with Prophecy or some such. Assuming God didn’t just strike the offenders dead on the spot Himself. Chapter 27: The Fallen is essentially a slightly expanded and clearer version of the background info introduced at the start of the book. Both Chapter 26 and 27 have some short lists of relevant names for angels and fallen angels alike. Chapter 28: Heaven & Hell spends a couple of pages giving background information on the divine places a character might have once known. But since there’s no means given for a player to visit (and return from, in Hell’s case), I’m not sure how useful this information is. These should have been interesting Chapters, but there’s no real way presented for character to interact with any of it outside of GM fiat or as plot devices.
Chapter 29: Quick Start & Resource Sheets is a fairly handy collection of the various charts and broad mechanical ideas used elsewhere in the book. It also has a pretty good 2-page character sheet. Chapter 30: Adventures & Personalities is a collection of one or two sentence adventure ideas, along with detailed write-ups of several NPCs of various levels. And a barely different version of the character sheets from 20 pages back is offered. Other than more reprinted material, there’s some good stuff in this chapter for helping GMs get a feel for character creation and what kinds of things PCs might do in the game. Not much, but it’s something. Finally we have Chapter 31: Index of Definitions, which is another way to say “glossary”. It’s a good glossary, although it might have been better to include it near the beginning of the book, to introduce new players to all the terms beforehand.
Creations End is a Biblical Apocalypse heartbreaker of an RPG. The credits page lists only two people, with Brian Lassen doing the line artwork, and Michael Holder doing what I have to assume was everything else. This is, essentially and as near as I can tell, entirely the work of one person. And so criticizing it makes me feel overly harsh (Mr. Holder seems like a really nice guy), and comparing it to products where teams of artists and writers worked underneath a line director feels unfair to me. But when I compare it to other recent solo-works, Creations End is still a mess of a game, filled with editing errors, unclear setting themes, an occasionally patronizing tone, and mechanics that could use some errata.
For Style I’ll give it a low 2. While the mechanics are written fairly straightforward, the in-setting fiction is possibly the worst case of poor editing I’ve seen. The layout is also pretty bad, with entire pages consisting of a handful of sentences and other pages filled with empty white space. There’s some photographic art by Holder that doesn’t do anything for me, but it also doesn’t detract either. And, to be blunt, I found Lassen’s line work to be fairly amateurish at times. I also found Lassen’s work to feel relevant to the subject at hand and (outside of some of the Creature entries) never feeling like filler; he was obviously working for a game about Biblical-themed horror and the ideas behind his art were good. And many larger productions don’t manage that kind of artistic relevance. Ultimately, Lassen’s work and the clear printing is the only thing earning this book as high a rating as it gets. It’s certainly not unintelligible, but it's so disorganized and scattered that it hurts usability to the point that I want to give it a 1.
For Substance I’ll give it a high 1, with a conditional middle 2. There’s a handful of disjointed neat ideas throughout this book, and a dedicated GM could probably run a heck of a game with it, despite itself. As is though, the strongest features I could find for this game were in the mechanics. I think a fan of AD&D or Palladium’s systems might find the approach to skills and Body Hits in Creations End to be quite interesting. Otherwise, the mechanics feel kind of dated, the setting is underdeveloped and somewhat contradictory, and the game seems to alternate between wanting to be a Biblical-themed horror game and a World of Darkness-styled dark urban fantasy. And several key elements aren’t detailed nearly enough. There’s enough good ideas shining through for me to easily give it a Substance of a low 2 (it’s not a complete and total waste), and people looking to idea mine for old school systems might raise that to a middle 2, but the cost of the book makes me feel like it’s a waste of money for the price. Hence I have to give it a 1.
Who Should Get This Game? Fans of the either the Palladium system or AD&D and horror themed games might find a few things to idea mine for use in other games. Everybody else should probably go find a better game for cheaper elsewhere.
In Conclusion, I’ll sum it all up thusly: there really should be an apostrophe in the title of the game, and a dozen better games have come and gone that do everything this game does, only better. It’s what Demon the Fallen might have looked like if Palladium Books released it in 1983, only with more empty space. I hate bashing on a product that feels like a first effort by an amateur author, but I’d also hate for somebody to drop $30 on a game this poor.
