Knights Templar (Deus Ex)

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The Knights Templar is a fictional organization within the universe of the video games, Deus Ex and its sequel, Deus Ex: Invisible War.

[edit] Deus Ex

In Deus Ex, The Knights Templar are the descendants of the medieval order of the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon . Prior to the start of the game, the organization acted as bankers to the Illuminati, backed up by their large gold supplies. They were headed by Stanton Dowd. Based in Paris, the Templars were the controlling influence behind most of the world's financial institutions, and worked to influence the global economy on behalf of the Illuminati. After the rise of Majestic 12, the Templars were slaughtered by the anti-terrorist force UNATCO. This operation marked the end of the 'traditional' incarnation of the order.

[edit] Deus Ex: Invisible War

The Knights Templar of Deus Ex: Invisible War, were established by Luminon Saman of the Order church, a worldwide religion controlled by the Illuminati, who had come to believe that the Order had deviated from the principles on which it was supposedly founded. They are said to have recieved from ex NSF operative particularily the group operating in Paris. They believe themselves to be descendants of the original Knights Templar and have a zealous belief in their religion and their "Grand Master" Saman.

Initially working in secret, Saman gathered followers from the branch of the Order church of which he was head in Trier, Germany, before spreading the organization worldwide. Believing themselves to be the modern incarnation of the original Knights Templar, they are opposed to bio-modification and nanotechnology in all forms, believing it to be a 'plague' and a violation of the "purity" of humanity. Their religious zealotry, combined with their absolute hatred of bio-modification, make them a dangerous and unstable organization to contend with, especially for their most despised enemy, the heavily modified Omar.

At the beginning of Deus Ex: Invisible War, it seems the new Templar have managed to gain access to the massive gold reserves of the original Templars, as they have vast financial resources and are even attempting to bankroll an army "larger than all other armies combined". With such a powerful force, the danger they pose to the ruling Illuminati has been established. In order to destroy a secret research lab, Saman orders the use of a powerful weapon called a 'nanite detonator' in a devastating attack that reduces the city of Chicago to dust. This terrorist act was the first in a series of strikes against ApostleCorp, the organization founded by Tracer Tong and Paul Denton, major supporting characters from the first game, to further develop bio-modification technology. Saman recognised the threat to his ideals posed by the dream of 'universal bio-modification' that ApostleCorp sought to accomplish and decided to destroy this ambition quickly.

However, these actions thrust the Templars into the spotlight and brought about the attention of the Illuminati leaders, who began working to eliminate the Templar threat.

Knowing that their refusal to biomodify their troops puts them at a serious disadvantage against biomodified enemies, Templar scientists have developed a special Powered Assault Armor suit (financed using their gold reserves), making them as tough as a biomodified human. The Templars also commissioned the development of a powerful new weapon, the Mag Rail, but this research was intercepted by the WTO/Illuminati. The Templars have therefore been forced to equip the bulk of their new heavy troops with standard rocket launchers. Ironically, the Mag Rail is the most effective means of combating the Templar's new Power Armor, and most of the Illuminati's troops carry one.

Their soldiers are referred to as Paladins. Armored Paladins are much larger than other combatants making them obvious targets. Like the Omar, ironically, their armor makes them invulnerable to fire, radiation and toxins as well as sub-zero temperatures but makes them vulnerable to EMP attacks almost identical to the Omar. The difference between the Armored Paladins is however that they are less vulnerable to bullets and physical attacks, but explode like bombs after death.

Despite the fact they become the main antagonists about halfway through the game, the Templars are one of the four groups the player can join at the game's finale, creating "The Templar Flood", in which the Templars unleash a nanite plague that eliminates biomodifications without harming the host. This drastically weakens the Illuminati (who are dependent upon biomodified troops for their military power), allowing the Templars to eventually seize control of the planet.

Deus Ex series by Ion Storm
Games	Deus Ex · Deus Ex: Invisible War
Characters	JC Denton · Paul Denton · Tracer Tong · Alex D · Major Deus Ex characters · Minor Deus Ex characters · Deus Ex: Invisible War characters
Organizations	UNATCO · NSF · Majestic 12 · X-51 · The Illuminati · The Knights Templar · The Order · WTO · The Omar · ApostleCorp
Miscellaneous	Robots in Deus Ex · The Collapse