Templar Order
Mage Training
While the Circle of Magi was established by the Chantry and the Oroaesian Empire to provide internal control over mages, who guards the guardians? The answer is the templars, a warrior arm of the Chantry dedicated to overseeing, controlling, and—when necessary—eliminating mages to ensure they do not pose a threat to the people of Thedastria.
Structure
Templars are organized into garrisons, each led by a Knight-Commander, each typically assigned to a specific Circle of mages. It is the garrison’s job to watch over their Circle, ensure its good behavior, and step in to deal with any problems that it seems the mages of the Circle aren’t coping with
to the templars’ satisfaction.
A common ceremonial function of a Circle’s templars is keeping vigil over an apprentice’s Harrowing. If the apprentice fails and falls
victim to the demons of the Fade, the knights act and destroy the transformed abomination before it can become a threat. The templars are also involved in choosing mages for the Rite of Tranquility of Tranquility.
Public Agenda
The Templar Order is a military order of the Chantry that hunts apostates and maleficar and watches over the mages from the Circle of Magi.
Assets
Templars are trained to deal with hostile magic, and develop unique talents focused on fighting magical foes, particularly mages. At the most basic level, templars have a draining effect on mages. The blows of experienced templars dissipate a mage’s store of mana, making it more difficult and costly to wield magic against them. Templars can resist or ignore the effects of magic used against them, and purge an area of magical effects. Templar talents are described as part of the Templar specialization.
Perhaps the templars’ greatest capacity, however, is utter certainty in the righteousness of their cause. Mages fear templars as much for the fact that there is no swaying them from their mission as they do for their powers.
Military
While templars are officially deemed a force of defenders by the Chantry, established to protect the communities of the faithful from magical threats, they are in fact an army unto themselves; well-equipped, highly disciplined and devoted to their duties.
Foreign Relations
The templars are a symbol of the Chantry’s military might and a constant reminder to mages of the Chantry’s oversight of their lives and activities. The people of Thedastria generally see templars as heroes: holy warriors armed by their faith to protect the world from the ravages of magic. The tensions between the templars and their charges, the Circle of Magi, eventually lead to the Mage-Templar War during 37th year of the Dragon Age and ultimately the formation of the Inquisition.
Not surprisingly, the Harrowing vigils, the Rite of Tranquility, and the Right of Annulment do not endear the Templar Order Order to the Circle of Magi. Although members of the two institutions spend considerable time together, they only tolerate each other at best. Plenty of mages deeply resent the templars as clear and persistent symbols of their oppression. Similarly, many Templars view every mage as a cataclysm waiting to happen. Fraternization between templars and Circle mages is strongly frowned upon, as emotional attachments threaten the delicate balance the organizations must maintain.
Education
The templars and the Chantry choose candidates for initiation based on their courage and combat prowess but also, even more importantly, on their unshakeable—and often unquestioning—faith in the Maker and the Chant of Light. Templars must face horrors that would break lesser warriors, and must rely on their faith to sustain them.
The Chantry does not rely solely on the templars’ steadfast faith. Knights of the Order are given doses of refined lyrium as part of their initiation and training to awaken and develop their unique magical talents. Thereafter, they must continue to consume small doses of the rare mineral, supplied by the Chantry.
A templar deprived of lyrium develops emotional instabilities and can eventually go mad. Some suspect lyrium plays only a tangential role in a templar’s training and that the mineral’s primary purpose is to addict the templars to its use and allow the Chantry (which controls the legal lyrium trade) to maintain control over them. Of course, few voice such suspicions, and certainly not where a templar or sister of the Chantry might overhear.
Type
Military, Knightly Order
Alternative Names
The Order
Training Level
Professional
Veterancy Level
Experienced
Leader Title
Official State Religion
Parent Organization
Official Languages
Related Professions
Manufactured Items
Related Items
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