WARRIOR-CAVALIER KIT

Templar

Description:  This holy warrior is a champion of his or her faith and people, in 
that order.  Templars are bound tightly to one faith and one deity as church 
knights in service to the priests of the temples (hence the name).  They are 
different in their orientation from Paladins, who often are more paragons of 
justice and goodness rather than champions of a specific deity.  Depending on 
the ethos of their deity, Templars may or may not have a greater than average 
concern for the welfare of common people, both those of their own faith and 
those who may be converted to the "true path."  Many lawful Templars will be 
highly intolerant of priests or Templars of other religions, seeing them as 
demagogues and wrong-headed rivals.  In the case of Lawful Good holy warriors, 
this usually simply results in efforts to demonstrate by deeds the rectitude of 
his or her cause.  Lawful Neutral or (especially) Lawful Evil Templars, however, 
may resort to violence to demonstrate their superiority and to "cleanse" the 
area of false prophets.  Non-lawful Templars tend to be somewhat more tolerant 
of other religions.

Requirements:  Templars can be of any race and any alignment, but must have 
scores of at least 13 in both Strength and Wisdom and 10 in Dexterity, 
Constitution, and Charisma.

Weapons & Armor:  Templars can wear any kind of heavy armor (at least ring mail) 
and use any kind of shield.  A Templar's Weapons of Choice do not follow a set 
pattern as do those of other Cavaliers, but in general Templars share the same 
weapon restrictions as Clerics of their religion; however, all Templars can also 
use lances.  As usual, only after all Weapons of Choice have been learned can a 
Templar become proficient in weapons of other types.

Special Benefits:  Templars receive a +4 bonus to reaction rolls with NPCs of
 his or her religion.  Further, the Templar can always obtain free shelter and 
food at temples of his or her faith, and can borrow mundane equipment for up to 
a week free of charge.  If the item is lost or destroyed, the Templar must 
replace it, and he or she loses the reaction bonus until such restitution is 
made.  Magical items are never lent to the Templar.

Aura of Bravery:  As a standard Cavalier.

Banner of Renown:  As a standard Cavalier, save that a Templar's banner also 
affects undead and extraplanar creatures, who will be sensitive to the divine 
patronage embodied in the banner of a high-level Templar.

Battlefield Blessing:  A knighted Templar of 5th level or above can attempt to 
rally and motivate followers of his or her deity with a brief but fiery 
exhortation in the name of the faith and the justice and rectitude of the cause 
for which they fight.  This Battlefield Blessing requires one round of 
uninterrupted effort on the part of the Templar, but after it has been completed 
all dedicated (as per the Clerical Ceremony) followers of the Templar's deity 
within 10' per level of experience receive the benefits of a bless spell for one 
round per level of the Templar (doubled if the Battlefield Blessing is performed 
on Holy Ground).  A Templar of 5th to 8th level can only perform a Battlefield 
Blessing while on Holy Ground, but a Templar of 9th level or higher can perform 
it anywhere.

Divine Instruction:  Templars receive a degree of religious indoctrination as 
part of their training in the order.  As a result, they gain free proficiency in 
Religion and may select proficiencies from the Priest list without penalty.  In 
addition, a Templar of 9th level and above can attempt to read clerical spells 
from scrolls, though they have a 25% chance of spell failure.

Holy Ground:  A Templar draws strength of mind, spiritual focus, and a general 
sense of well-being from the presence of his or her deity as embodied in 
fortresses and other edifices of the faith.  As a result, a Templar gains a +2 
bonus to saving throws, morale (for NPCs), and ability checks (including 
proficiency checks) while on the grounds of a temple or other building 
consecrated to his or her faith.  In addition, Templars are sensitive to danger 
when they are on Holy Ground, gaining a +1 bonus to avoid surprise.

Knight's Challenge:  As a standard Cavalier.

Knightly Onslaught:  As a standard Cavalier.

Stronghold:  As a standard Cavalier.

Weapons of Choice:  As a standard Cavalier, save that Templars do not gain the 
usual all-around bonus when using their Weapons of Choice while mounted.  
However, a Templar does gain the all-around bonus (i.e., bonus to hit, damage, 
and speed factor) when fighting any creature that is an acknowledged and defined 
enemy of the church, including priests, paladins, and Templars in the service of 
deities with whom the Templar's deity has enmity.  In addition, they always 
apply when fighting on Holy Ground.

A Templar is free to select any weapons from those allowed to Clerics of his or 
her faith as his or her Weapons of Choice and to become proficient in them in 
any order desired.  In addition, all Templars can become proficient in lances of 
all types, and they must select Lances (all) as one of their Weapons of Choice, 
though this may be chosen as their Primary, Secondary, or Tertiary weapon, as 
the Templar desires.

Unlike other Cavaliers, a Templar does not disdain the use of missile weapons 
and may become proficient with them and select them as Weapons of Choice, as 
long as they fall within the weapons allowed to Clerics of the faith.

Special Hindrances:  A Templar must donate at least half of his or her income to 
his or her Templar order or church organization or any other worthy cause 
designated by the church.  In addition, Templars must obey commands given by 
priests of his or her faith (especially priests of higher level); a Templar must 
be ready to fight and die in the faith's name.  A Templar may also be asked to 
join in any wars that the church declares as holy.  Failure to do so will result 
in the loss of the Templar's special abilities until a quest (q.v.) is 
undertaken on the church's behalf.

Templars often fight from horseback, but equally often they fight on foot.  As a 
result, they do not gain the Horsemanship ability common to other Cavaliers.  
They also do not directly follow the knightly traditions of the secular world, 
and thus Templars need not begin as squires or pages, nor do they attract 
Retainers into service.

Finally, churches draw Templars from all walks of life rather than relying on 
the nobility; thus, a Templar gains no benefits from Noble Lineage.  On the 
other hand, while a Templar is required to keep his or her equipment in tip-top 
shape in order to present a good account of themselves as shining paragons of 
the faithful, they need not spend more than the base price for goods, services, 
and living expenses as other Cavaliers do.  The exception to this is a Templar's 
weapons and armor, which must be properly embellished in order to put forth an 
brilliant and indelible impression of the indomitable presence and power of the 
church; thus, for these items they must spend the increased amount required of 
other Cavaliers.  A similar 'surcharge' is applied when a Templar builds a 
Stronghold, making it a truly impressive edifice of the might and splendor of 
the church, but all cost overruns for this purpose are taken care of by the 
Templar's church; thus, the Templar him- or herself need only pay the normal 
amount out of his or her pocket for such construction.

Bonus Proficiencies:  Religion, Riding (Land-based)
Required Proficiencies:  Etiquette, Heraldry
Preferred Proficiencies:  Alertness, Armorer, Artillerist, Awareness, Ancient 
History, Artistic Ability, Bowyer/Fletcher, Chanting, Debate, Endurance, 
Etiquette, Fortification, Heraldry, Leadership, Observation, Reading/Writing, 
Signaling, Singing, Strategy, Tactics, Weaponsmithing
Forbidden Proficiencies:  Any Psionicist, Rogue, or Wizard proficiencies not 
noted as Preferred