These are the followers of the ancient rites and rituals of the Knights Templar whose writings and disciplines foresaw the demonic invasion centuries ago. Since the Dark Ages their order has been prepared for this apocalypse, training in the ways of holy magic and organizing their followers for the eventual war against the forces of Hell.
Templars are the true believers, the keepers of the faith, and the destroyers of evil. They are extremely organized and regimented, their centuries of preparation giving them the best basic footing for waging war against the demons. They also control and defend the London Underground, which serves as mankind’s sanctuary.
Templars utilize the basic military model of the secular world. Their ability to achieve discipline and uniformity, however, is what sets them apart. They have a clear separation within their hierarchy when dealing with societal administration and battle, and their chain of command is clear and strictly adhered to, making them extremely effective when fighting in groups.
The order of divine warriors and righteous swordsmens is, and by large, composed of noble men and women who wish to preserve humanity and smite the Great Dark that has fallen upon our world. After the Earth has been all by destroyed at the tooth and claw of the Demons, the Templar deemed themeselves necessary leadership caste of London's remnant force, serving as the frontline in this righteous battle.
The ways of the Templar are steeped in ancient rites and rituals. They follow The Rule and maintain their aptly named organization The Order with efficiency and clarity of purpose. In the aftermath of the demonic apocalypse, they have continued with their true purpose - maintaining watch over ancient relics of great power, and protecting the bloodline of man.
Templar techsmiths forge weapons that hold true to their martial and medieval roots, incorporating a mixture of technology and the arcane. Their training and holy rites reflect this melding of tradition and the modern era, as well.
Templar skills and spells are ordered in three disciplines:
- Assault: These skills allow a Templar to increase his or her damage, improve his or her chances at landing critical blows, or even strike multiple targets at once. Some Templar can focus their will and righteous vengeance to add holy damage to their attacks.
- Invocation: These are ancient rites that greatly augment the offensive or defensive capabilities of the Templar for short periods of time. These often affect the physical abilities of the Templar, endowing a knight with supernormal strength, speed, defenses or fighting agility.
- Holy Aura: These radiant auras have a wide variety of effects, from damaging demons to providing greater defense to the Templar and his or her companions to flowing healing powers and so on. These auras are not active abilities in that once initiated they continue to emit their benefits until the Templar wills them to stop.
Blademasters are aggressive, high-damage melee fighters who come into their own when wielding two weapons and inflicting pain with sharp objects. They are often seen running to the front of the battle and causing havoc in spurts, allowing others with ranged weaponary to deal damage from afar and in relative safety. Their skill groups are Swordsmanship, Surge Attack and Auras.
The Blademaster is all about dealing as much damage as fast as one can. It is the only class known to be able to dual-wield swords. The Blademaster also gets a nifty skill called Throw Sword Mastery for hitting those pesky out-of-reach demons.
Guardians lead the charge in the Templar's struggle. Wielding shields and swords, they thrive by drawing groups of Demons in close when they can be punished en masse. Guardians are most effective when overwhelmed and surrounded and immobility can increase their effectivness. Their skill groups consist of Swordsmanship, Shields, Auras.
The Guardian is the stereotypical tank, built around the use of offhand shields. The Guardian makes for great crowd control, especially since it comes coupled with a handful of AoE skills made to keep the demon mobs on their knees. With Auras, the more enemies they are surrounded by, the more effect the aura grants.