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 Raves and Reviews
Official
Review by Tom Vasel, a renowned board game enthusiast and critic
Official Review from Christ Centered Game Reviews
ChaddBoxx
from the Holy Lands Community writes:
"Kudos to Faith Quest Games for integrity!! There is no telling
how many people you have helped to get closer to God, or to come
to God by providing this setting for us. We are told to boast in
God, so I am boasting that He has provided us with an awesome game
through you and your efforts. Thank you so much for providing a
game that I can bring my son up with and pass on to him my love
for role-playing. After becoming closer in my walk with God, I thought
my role-playing days were done. Not anymore!!!"
Fraydeimos
from the Discussion Page writes:
"Bravo, I just finished reading Holy Lands Light Edition
and it is very well put together. Much less material makes things
easier to find and will speed up and simplify game play. Light Edition
is so well written that it has streamlined Holy Lands without
taking away the "reality" feeling that goes hand in hand with good
RPG's. Congrat's on a job well done."
 Bellock from Santa Monica,
CA writes:
"Yes...It is perfect. This Light Edition is awesome.
While reading over the tight 75 page edited version, ideas came
pouring in. What this has done has cleared up a bunch of clouds
around my eyes about what the game is about. You have pretty much
said, "Here are the pages that are essential to playing. Now, put
those reference pages aside and just play." It's great, so clear
and easy. The Second Edition, while necessary, is a bit overwhelming;
it will and can always be the Holy Lands lexicon. But while
reading the Light Edition, ideas just kept coming because so much
of my brain space was cleared up from not having to think about,
"OK, which page are the weapons on, and the pluses for a natural
20 on an Advantage Roll are..." Instead, I thought of the shape
and color of the castles, the grey-scale of the clouds outside,
and the fog horn that just sounded offshore (thanks to that sweet
cover). I want to play a Martialist."
B. Cozad
from the Holy Lands Community writes:
"Hey guys, as a former D&D player I can tell you this is the best
alternative to D&D available. I quit D&D 15 years ago but I continued
to role-play. I would play games that had no occult element in them
and avoided any new age theology and so forth. But this meant that
I could not play many fantasy-style games because magic and the
occult are so much integrated into most systems. ...So when I discovered
Holy Lands last year, it was a sigh of relief. Here is a Fantasy
game that you can play without fear of being led down a dark road
or of the other players wanting to play evil assassins or sorcerers
and worshipping pagan gods. The imagery is clean, crisp and detailed.
As an artist myself that is important. And as they say themselves
on the official website, you can play the game as a ministry or
just for entertainment. ...The rules are quick and simple. The character
generation well done. ...On the whole, I would put this game up
against any of the established or popular games out there and play
it before any of them."
DiceClown
from the Holy Lands Community writes:
"...the move to create the Light edition was a good one. The Holylands
RPG in general is well made with solid mechanics... Don't mistake
the term "made easier" to mean compromise of detail. It has plenty
of detail and the mechanics are smoother and game play is faster
paced... The Light Edition is the final product of quality testing,
re-thinking, re-writing and vision. Way thumbs up for me! If you
have not yet purchased the Light Edition you will not be disappointed,
check it out for yourself!"
Chris Hopler
from Schenectady, NY writes:
"This is a great way for new Christian gamers to get into RPG's
in that it gives fairly basic rules with a good amount of flexibility
to handle most gaming situations. The Adventure Pack idea
is good for new Racs to get their feet wet in running a game...
I still think it is the best dedicated Christian RPG on the market."
Aaron Siddall
from Aaron
Siddall Illustration writes:
"After having received your books and looked through them, I want
to say that I am indeed impressed. This game is well thought out,
with a stable and interesting system, coupled with an easy-to-read
text and a well thought out and imaginative premise and storyline."
Chad C.
from Stilwell, OK writes:
"Holy Lands Light Edition ranks near the top of all RPG's
that I have played. It has a "real" feel to it and is easy to understand.
The manual is so well written that game play can begin within a
few hours of receiving it. More importantly, it is Christian based
and a game I can have a good time with, whether playing with strangers,
friends, and even my own children. I will not spend my time, which
is precious not only to me but to my family also, on a game of lesser
caliber. Thanks for creating the type of game that I can both enjoy
with my family while teaching Christian virtues to my children at
the same time. There are few game systems out there that can provide
both at the level at which this performs."
Bryant Stone, Without
Wax from
the Holy Lands Community writes:
"Thank you very much for making Holy Lands. It's a great game and
I have grown to trust God much more since I've begun playing.
My character's maximum Faith increases each time I Rac for someone
and I find out how God has come through for them in a situation.
Me, the Rac, who designed all of it is still surprised just because
I roll the die and find out that God intervened, and I have a great
time focusing on how God would play the part of His character in
saving the PCs." ... "Seriously, I think my head would explode if
I [had to pick one thing that I like best about Holy Lands]. It's
my first RPG and I absolutely love the mechanics but I also really
enjoy the fact it's Christian-themed. Again I love the different
Miracles for my Saint and reading the other type Miracles is a blast.
The Adventure Packs are wicked...well, ummm...they're not really
wicked in the moral sense...but you get my drift! :D"
About Holy Lands RPG
 The distinctions between Holy Lands
and other RPG's (role-playing games) are its keys to excellence.
First of all, Holy Lands stands alone because "real" Christianity
is the fundamental faith of the character, not some allegorical
fantasy faith in a polytheistic (multi-god) world. The character
believes in, proclaims, and fights for God the Father, Jesus Christ,
and the "real" message of eternal salvation. Next, the challenges
the characters face are based on high-fantasy
evils (demons, sorcery, and dangerous rogues) that have a primary
mission of destroying the Church and Christians. It raises
the story to an epic level where evil fights for tyrannical dominance
and good (the Christians) oppose these forces with might and Miracles
to create and maintain peace.
Although
the setting is medieval Europe to bring God and Christianity "into
the game," Holy Lands imposes two unique twists that bring
the game "out of the box" of stereotypical history. First,
it fuses the exploratory freedoms of a fantasy world with historic
(natural and political) dynamics. Therefore, your character
can travel through the "miles of infested caves" of say the German
Alps and "across the dangerous plains" of France to the
fictional western harbor city of "Corodell," for example.
In this way, you're only as limited to history as you desire for
geographic exploration and adventure.
The other
unique twist in Holy Lands is that it suggests a more "ideal"
Christianity dominates as the characters' faith. By this,
the game suggests that the virtues of both the modern and historic
faith make up the setting for the Christian "religion." Since
there was one Church historically, Holy Lands blends this
system of hierarchy with the more virtuous strengths of today's
Christianity that emphasize each of us must have a strong relationship
with God. Therefore, clergy have more of a responsibility
of service to the people of a community, where the religious leaders
have more of a political authority than a spiritual dominance, and
people are saved by their profession of faith - not by their service
to the religious.
 Another important aspect of
Holy Lands is that it deals directly with the Biblical principles
of sorcery, selfish gain, and cruelty being evil. Where other
games encourage the characters to use magic and undiscriminating
violence whenever possible, Holy Lands separates these as
the fruits of those devoted to furthering evil. It emphasizes
that human life (even those devoted to furthering evil) is to be
protected and saved eternally at any cost, and violence to mankind
should only result when all other efforts at peace have failed.
Contrary to other RPG's, Holy Lands rewards respect, charity,
and Christian apologetics from characters to their fellow men and
women. Furthermore, in Holy Lands, the supernaturally
evil (demons) are plentiful, and offer a "channel" for allowing
the skillful combat that has become commonplace in RPG's these days
to take place.
The bottom line is that Holy Lands
is a Christian role-playing game. The uncompromised Christian
elements of the game masterfully combined with fantasy wonder make
it stand head-and-shoulders above its competitors. With a
clear position, a clear message, and a clear conscience, Holy
Lands remains an icon for Christian adventurers everywhere.
From temptation to Miracles to preaching to destroying evil, this
game is the answer for Christian gamers who need a higher level
than the other games offer out there.
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Frequently Asked Questions
 Why the Dark Ages as a Setting?
Since Holy Lands is an alternative to the fantasy RPG's of
the world, the Middle Ages is the perfect setting to bring myths,
legends, and other elements of wonder to life, including ancient
dragons, great kings, brave knights, mysterious castles, burly dwarfs,
evil giants, and countless other beings of fantasy.
What About the Terrible
Tragedies of the Medieval Times?
Holy Lands
is not a vehicle to reenact the tragedies of the
Medieval Church in any way.
The historical Dark Ages were a very turbulent time for humanity,
and many awful deeds were carried out "in the name of God" from
several religions. As stated above, the Middle Ages is a perfect
setting for fantastic adventure, not for power-laden persecution.
Historically,
one Church was the primary, dominant Christian
power until well after the Middle Ages, which spans the setting
for Holy Lands. Nevertheless, Holy Lands is
designed for interdenominational entertainment to use the fantasy
elements of the Middle Ages, not necessarily the historic elements.
Though some name designators are used to keep some aspects in historic
perspective (such as Bishop So-n-so or Father So-n-so), the idea
of Holy Lands is to only represent a very holy time for the
Christian Church. Holy Lands eloquently combines the
essentials of high fantasy with the most constructive fundamentals
of the modern and medieval Christian Church, all in a historic setting.
 What About the Politics of the Middle Ages?
As stated above, Holy Lands incorporates modern Christian
fundamentals and historic settings with the wonders of high fantasy.
The politics and political structure of the different lands are
as different as the rulers of the lands themselves. Some are
noble and orderly, where others are evil and unstable; but most
are somewhere in between. This includes both Christian and
non-Christian lands and rulers. In any event, Holy Lands
stresses that murder and cruelty to any human by a character is
forbidden, regardless of religion, social class, or any other factor
(a stark contrast to the actual Middle Ages and secular RPG’s, but
a key principle nonetheless). It is always important for the
player’s character to do right regardless of what other people do
or expect.
Can You Play other Character Races in Holy Lands, such as Dwarves, Elves,
etc.?
 Currently,
Holy Lands characters can only be of some form of the human
race since PEOPLE were created in the image of God with a
soul for eternal redemption. Having said that, there are gnome,
dwarf, and giant “forms” of the human race, all of which are human
but take on drastically different physical shapes and sizes than
the average human. Most other races are considered to be a
Demi-Race, which is a half-human half-demon race of beings, including
elves, trolls, goblins, etc. Though individuals of a Demi-Race
can be morally good (extremely rare and shunned by their fellow
clansmen), overall, they are corrupted, soulless, and non-redeemable
beings with a fundamentally cruel and untrustworthy nature.
 Can I ONLY play a Christian Character?
Of course. Your
character’s job is to protect the Church from evil demons, sorcerers,
and non-Christian invaders, all while you do your best to convert
unbelievers and seek after adventure. Aside from not murdering
and committing acts of cruelty, you can play your character as “Christian”
as you feel is appropriate. Remember, the primary function
of Holy Lands is entertainment (yes, Christian entertainment,
but entertainment nonetheless), and you can therefore incorporate
as much or as little preaching, prayer, and ministry as you feel
is acceptable to God. Holy Lands is very flexible for
pure entertainment or as a ministry to unbelievers.
Do Characters Gain Levels?
Yes. Holy Lands characters grow in levels by doing
good and fighting evil. Holy Lands uses a d20-based
system for performing Skills and for Combat. Accomplishing
tasks and defeating demons earn the character Experience points,
which contribute to the advancement of levels, and in turn make
accomplishing tasks and defeating demons easier.
How many people, minimum/maximum can play Holy lands?
Holy Lands is very
flexible in terms of number of players. In fact, it is able to handle
as many players as you can handle. People have played campaigns
with 15+ players at a time, but those games can be extremely trying
on one's patience (it’s hard to keep the game going with that many
people). An ideal group would be about 3-5 players plus the Rac
(storyteller/game master). Nevertheless, some great games
were played with just a Rac and a close friend. So, in short, you
can play with a minimum of 2 players and we would recommend a maximum
of 6.
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Key Elements of the Light Edition
The Light Edition of Holy Lands was designed with RPG gamers
like you in mind! It has what's become known as "sit-down-and-play"
functionality with all the quality and realism you expect.
Rather than reading a volume of text and studying charts and tables
just to get a game together, the Light Edition lets you get right
to gamin'! The compact, easy-to-read text gives you only
the most valuable information needed to play
a Holy Lands adventure in the least amount of time.
But don't worry, we compromised NOTHING! With 8 Character
Classes, tons of Holy Items, and plenty of Miracles, you have everything
you need for great adventure with nothing complicated to bog down
game play.
 The Light Edition includes the Devil
Hunter's manual with all the information you need to create and
play a Devil Hunter character. And of course, the Devil Hunter
Character Class would not be complete without 35 of the deadliest
demons that plague the Holy Lands, which are in much need of slaying!
But take heed, the fight is long and very dangerous, and few live
long enough to bear the glory of truly earning the name of a DEVIL
HUNTER. Can you?
Let the Quality of the game speak
for itself. From character creation to adventuring, players
soon see why Holy Lands is well-placed in the top of its
class! Don't take our word for it, see what other gamers are
saying about Holy Lands in the Reviews
above, or download it, and see for yourself!
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