Templar (Origins)

For the specialization in Dragon Age II, see Templar (Dragon Age II).

For the specialization in Dragon Age: Inquisition, see Templar (Inquisition).

Templar
type	Warrior
effects	+2 magic +3 mental resistance
description	Mages who refuse the Circle's control become apostates and live in fear of a templar's powers--the ability to dispel and resist magic. As servants of the Chantry, the templars have been the most effective means of controlling the spread and use of arcane power for centuries.

Templar is one of the specializations available to the warrior class in Dragon Age: Origins. The templar specializes in anti-magic combat.

Background

Often portrayed as stoic and grim, the Order of Templars originated as the martial arm of the Chantry. Armed with the ability to dispel and resist magic in addition to their formidable combat talents, the templars are uniquely qualified to act as both a foil for apostates – mages who refuse to submit to the authority of the Circle – and a first line of defense against the dark powers of blood mages and abominations.

While mages often resent the templars as symbols of the Chantry’s control over magic, the people of Thedas see them as saviors and holy warriors, champions of all that is good armed with piety enough to protect the world from the ravages of foul magic. In reality, the Chantry’s militant arm looks first for skilled warriors with unshakable faith in the Maker, with a flawless moral center as a secondary concern. Templars must carry out their duty with an emotional distance, and the Order of Templars would rather have soldiers with religious fervor and absolute loyalty than paragons of virtue who might question orders when it comes time to make difficult choices.

It is this sense of ruthless piety that most frightens mages when they get the templars’ attention: When the templars are sent to eliminate a possible blood mage, there is no reasoning with them, and if the templars are prepared the mage’s magic is often all but useless. Driven by their faith, the templars are one of the most feared and respected forces in Thedas.

Templar Talents

Righteous Strike

Passive

The templars are enforcers specifically designed to control and slay mages. Each of the templar's melee hits against an enemy spellcaster drains its mana.

Cleanse Area

Activated Range: Personal Activation: 40 Cooldown: 30s Requires: Level 9

The templar purges the area of magic, removing all dispellable effects from those nearby. Friendly fire possible.

Mental Fortress

Passive Requires: Level 12

The templar has learned to focus on duty, gaining a large bonus to mental resistance.

Holy Smite

Activated Range: Medium Activation: 70 Cooldown: 40s Requires: Level 15

The templar strikes out with righteous fire, inflicting spirit damage on the target and other nearby enemies. If the target is a spellcaster, it must pass a mental resistance check or else loses mana and takes additional spirit damage proportional to the mana lost. All affected enemies are stunned or knocked back unless they pass physical resistance checks.

Unlocking

The templar specialization can be taught by Alistair if his approval rating is high enough. Bodahn Feddic in the Party Camp also sells a manual that will unlock the specialization for 15 0 0.

Note: If you save before purchasing just reload game and you still have the specialization unlocked (as it works for all specialization manuals).

Class bonuses

The Templar specialization is useful to any warrior. In many cases, an enemy mage is possibly the biggest threat due to their ranged damage and disables. Templar abilities help to resist these disables with the initial mental resistance bonus, and the "Mental Fortress" ability. "Cleanse Area" is useful for removing disabling glyphs, and magic related stuns on party members. The passive mana drain from melee attacks caused by "Righteous Strike" also reduces a mage's ability to escape by casting stuns once the warrior has closed in. The final ability "Holy Smite" grants a ranged attack useful for disabling a mage while closing in.

Templar exclusive items

Templar Armor

Knight Commander's Plate

Armor of the Divine Will

External links

• Templar on the BioWare Wiki