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E L B O W G R E A S E!! I believe moisture is part of the recipe for removal and lots of the above mentioned grease, lots!

You will more than likely have two problems. the first being getting the stuff off the surface. It is likely drywall joint compound trwelded on thickly and then textured with a sponge or rag. If you luck is anything like mine, the removal will go wonderfully well for a a while and then the stuff won't want to let gowithout taking a big hunk of the underlying plaster with it. If it is drywall mud, you should be able to soften it up with water, if it's painted you'll have to figure out how to get the water through the paint layer.

The second problem will be the under lying plaster. My guess would be that it was not in good shape and the people that did this weren't skilled enough to do a flat skim coat and thought this was ok.

Try different techniques in a relatively unseen area. If you think you might have call in pros to fix the plaster, get their opinions on the removal.

Will removing it expose you to lead paint? If so, it's a job for professionals.

This very subject was addressed in the New York Time's Thursday interior design section a couple of weeks ago -- it was on the second page, in that question and answer feature they have. One of the methods was soaking and scraping. It sounded like it would take forever. There were some other pointers and methods, sorry I don't remember any details.

I have successfully corrected bad texturing jobs with a new skim coat. This may work, depending on how deep the texture goes. If it's too deep, get a mask and power sander and work on it first. (Check for asbestos first)

Another possibility is a thick wallpaper after sanding... I haven't tried it, however,

As above. I'd recommend a skim.

I'd be worried about the condition of any plaster underneath that mess. A San Francisco friend of mine lived in an apartment that I guess pre-dated galvanized nails. Anyhow, the nailheads holding up the ceilings had rusted out over the years and heavy plaster ceilings in his building fell down - apparently whole - in several apartments. Boom! They had to come into his place, remove and replace his plaster ceiling. It was a huge mess.

I might like the texturing depending on how it looks in real life. Seems of a piece with the wall covering under the chair rail or whatever you call it.

... but then I like the look of pressed-tin ceilings in the right circumstances too.

If you're going to remove the texturing, check with the landlord first. He may or may not be willing to help pay for the costs, but you certainly don't want to be socked with the cost of putting everything back the way it was when you move out if the texturing is something he added and loves.

Just found this post as I am struggling with cake-frosting too. Hoping you will see my post and let me know if you tackled that job and if so how??? I have drywall with a THICK texture on it. We are going to have our bathroom redone soon and may just demo the walls in the bedrooms and have the drywall guys put up new drywall -- it is that bad and very daunting to us to think we could tackle it.

For a rental, that's an HUGE and/or expensive amount of work. Besides, the "genius" who installed it may be your landlord.

I suggest hanging fabric/drapes from the picture molding to cover the walls. Very Edwardian, with no crumbling drywall to fix.

P.S. Sunspot is right about the condition of the walls underneath. Often, homeowners resort to using this textured stuff because the underlying walls are crap. You really don't want to be responsible for all new drywall or plaster.