Instructions for Holy Warriors

This section defines and describes the nature of the warriors that reside within and serve a specific temple. Keep in mind that the Desert Realm has multiple deities, and while medieval holy knights of old earth serve as a reference for the definition of Templars and Paladins, in DR they are still quite different.

Templars:
Templars are the warrior caste of a Temple. They are typically taken as volunteers from the general followers of any temple. Often they are orphan children who are brought in and raised by the church as Templars, and often they are simply followers of a God or Goddess who have decided to become a holy warrior and dedicate themselves to fighting for their deity.

Lord Templars:
Simply a higher rank of Templar. These are people like the StormRider and they may have specific titles depending on their deity. Lord Templars command the Templar ranks and there is typically only one Lord Templar per Temple.

Paladins:
Paladins are typically chosen from among the ranks of the Templars, although in some special cases they can be brought in by the choosing of a deity or the designation of a prophecy. Paladins are the uncontrolled holy knights of a temple. They are considered revered holy figures who have achieved the high status of being able to battle for their deity without the express consent of the priests or priestesses who control the temple. Usually only the High Priest or Priestess of a temple can command a Paladin, but even then the Paladin may refuse based on their own interpretation of signs and portents from their deity. They will, however, usually obey the commands of a Lord Paladin.

Lord Paladins:
Lord Paladins are special cases. There is typically only one Lord Paladin for any one deity, although this may vary depending on the deity and the strictures of the Temples. Lord Paladins are almost always appointed through divine intervention of some kind. They are usually selected by the deity as their divine chosen mortal servant in the mortal realm, and as such they are typically picked from among those most suited to serve that deities needs.

There are three important factors to consider for all holy warriors:

• Armor and Uniform
• Divine Holy Magic
• Specific Skills

All holy warriors will have generalized skills. By this I mean that there are going to be certain skills that all Paladins will have, just as there will be certain skills that all Templars will have. Paladins and Templars will also have some specialized skills depending on their God or Goddess.

Generalized Paladin and Templar Skills:

Reading and writing common are typically learned skills taught by the priesthood in all temples. This is why priests and priestesses are among the most educated people in the society outside of the nobility. Templars who are raised in the church will always have the ability to read and write. Templars who come from outside the church will be taught to read and write as part of their training.

Riding is another skill and all Templars will be taught to ride either a reaper or a drover and sometimes both depending on the wealth of the temple and the beasts they normally keep.

Honor and Ethics are another trait that all Templars and Paladins will share. Honor means not kicking an enemy when he is down or stabbing them in the back (although it should be noted that there are times when this is allowed if your enemy happens to out-power you by a great deal and is a threat to others). Ethics means not sleeping with whores or gambling or drinking excessively and trashing the town. Obviously there are a lot more to honor and ethics than just these things, but I'm not going to define them all here. Suffice it to say that you probably understand what they are and know when your character is breaking their own ethics and honor system.

Stewardship is another skill that all Templars and Paladins are taught. Stewardship means caring for others and caring for the temple. Holy warriors do not kick peasants in the face and lord it over them. They may act arrogant at times, but this is a fault that is not looked upon well by the temple. In general, holy warriors should act piously and give a helping hand to others when they can.

Lastly, all Templars and Paladins are taught organized battle tactics. For those in command this means they know how to organize their men on the battlefield and communicate with them - getting them to move into the correct positions and attack when needed. For those not in command, this means knowing what signals indicate what, and where to move and when to attack. They also learn the major battle tactics of their primary opponents. In Forwell that means they study the out-land desert tribes, the Joguur, the tactics used by Ve'tair and Mythlyn, and the tactics used by the orc.

Specialized Skills by Deity:

Templars of Tor will be specialized in archery.
Paladins of Tor will be specialized in the spear and lance.

Templars of Volai will be specialized in blunt weaponry.
Paladins of Volai will be specialized in Long Swords and Battle Mauls.

Templars of Jhalla will be specialized in hand to hand martial arts.
Paladins of Jhalla will be specialized in the lance and the Jhallan Volrath.

Templars of Guere will have generalized knowledge of large numbers of weaponry.
Paladins of Guere will chose one weapon and learn it well.

Templars of Matrim will have extreme specialized skill in one particular weapon of their choosing. In the temples when on guard duty they will always carry a long handled scythe in addition to their chosen weapon.
Paladins of Matrim will further this specialty usually selecting one additional weapon to specialize in.

Templars of Viedre will have specialized skills in rapiers and longswords.
Paladins of Viedre will specialize in two handed swords.

Templars of Foret (Druid Warriors) will have specialized skills in living weaponry including clubs, wooden or thorn maces, whips, slings and staves.
Paladins (Paragon Druids) of Foret will specialize in the Shepherds Crook.

Armor for Holy Warriors by Deity:

Tor
Templars wear desert banded armor with an open faced helm. They also wear loose fitting white shirts. They have no leg armor, but wear a skirt of banded ring mail that drops down to just above their knees.
Paladins wear a similar banded desert armor but they also have a breast plate and their helm is not open faced. Additionally, they wear a sky blue shirt beneath their armor which can be seen on their forearms and beneath the seams of their armor.

Base armor for the Templars of Tor

Upper torso plate, helm and bracers.
Lower body armor is typically leather.
Boots are also armored, but not pictured here.

Volai
Templars of Volai wear the finest full platemail manufactured by the Priests and Priestesses of Volai who specialize in metal forging (there is a group of them within the temple that perform this act on a regular basis).
Likewise, the Paladins of Volai wear an even fancier and more elaborate full plate.
The armor of Guere is usually colored a rich brown.

Jhalla
Neither the Templars of Jhalla, nor the Paladins of Jhalla wear any armor other than bracers and boots (and sometimes gauntlets). The followers of Jhalla practice a hand to hand fighting technique and they prefer not to lose their edge by wearing armor that would restrict them.

Guere
The Templars of Guere wear chain mail and a breast plate that looks just like the kind normally worn in Ivanhelm by gladiators.
The Paladins of Guere wear a full plate that is specially designed by commission to a master smithy. Smiths in the cities of DR often compete with each other for these commissions as they not only pay well but present an opportunity to craft a masterpiece.
The armor of Guere is typically red with black strips on it.

Viedre
Templars of Viedre wear a light chain tunic covered by shoulder plates and a single central breast plate. They wear boots that come up to the knees and the knees are covered with a hinged plate. Their armor is typically colored turquoise.
Paladins of Viedre wear a light chain suit that extends in split dress fashion to cover their lower body. Over this they wear a turquoise colored torso plate armor with shoulder plates.

Matrim
Templars of Matrim wear a black upper torso plate and a black chain mail that covers them from the waist down and is split dress fashion to cover the lower body. Beneath this they also wear a black outfit composed of loose fitting cloth. Their faces are always covered by a mask that is part of the chain hood covering their heads. The mask is painted with a white skull over a black background.
Paladins of Matrim wear full black platemail with a face plate that is designed to match the face of the paladin (as would be a death mask).

Matric Templar Armor
Upper Plate and Face Mask

Foret
The Druid Warriors and Paragon Druids of Foret do not wear armor. They rely on the magic of Foret to harden their skin in combat.

Divine Holy Spells by Deity:
In short, you can find these in the RPG Rules > Magic and Psionics section under the holy spells by deity type. Those spells listed as usable by Templars or Paladins are the ones that apply. You can add new spells by posting them in the Development Forum for review.

The number of spells you can have are thus:
Templar: 2
Lord Templar: 5
Paladin: 5
Lord Paladin: Varies

These are the number of spells the character can cast per day. Characters gain new spells each day by praying for them. The spells you get are technically supplied by the Gods, but since this is a written forum you can basically select your characters spells from any that they are capable of casting (this is the advantage of holy magic over mortal magic used by wizards).