So it’s October and time for another Blog Carnival, and since the ball is in Yon Chatty One’s court, he’s opted for super heroes.  Since I’ve been rattling on about the apocalypse, I figured why not combine the two.  After all, super heroes don’t necessarily have to have powers.  A super hero of the apocalypse is the concept that popped into my head today while trying to figure out what my offering should be.  After all, why break a theme?

Another area of interest to me is medieval and dark age history.  I’m fascinated by the Knights Templar.  Not just the legends from The DaVinci Code, but also the actual history of them.  So, my offering for the carnival is a combination of super heroes and knightly order.  They aren’t super powered heroes, but more like the “larger than life” hero that is super because they’re just to awesome be to regular heroes.  There are no stats, so this concept can be added to any and all post apocalyptic games you may be running.  It’s under the creative commons license.  Don’t sell it and give me credit, and everything is cool.

The Templars

Shortly after the fall of the United States, a group of warriors emerged.  They grew their own crops, and tended thier own livestock.  But they were primarily warriors.  They sought out the lawless and brought swift justice.  Raiders began to quiver in fear when they saw their banner, a white flag with a red cross on it.  They were the Templars, and they served only justice.

Men have tried to buy off the Templars, and even tried to destroy their settlement, called only The Temple.  However, they’ve been met with swift and terrible defeat each time.  Each attempt to take a Templar prisoner has resulted in many deaths, even the Templar’s own…no Templar has ever been a prisoner.  Before long, no one bothered to try.  The risk wasn’t worth the reward.

Legends have started to circulate that the Templars are a remnant, long hidden, of the original Knights Templar who have returned from exile to take up their old ways defending those who need defending.  Others maintain they are just men who are skilled in war, most likely former military and possibly special ops soldiers of some type.  No one knows for certain, as the Templars never venture forth from The Temple for any purpose other than war.  However, they have retainers who go forth and trade with nearby communities.

These retainers refuse to discuss the Templar’s origins, or even how they themselves came to be retainers of the Templars.  However, they do speak of the Templar’s sense of honor and justice.  They speak of how the Templars refuse to turn the land over to the lawless, and how only through strength can some people be convinced of the error of their ways.  They also speak of how they have no urge to rule, only to serve an ideal greater than themselves, and they pray for a leader who can return the world to it’s previous glory.

Regardless of where they come from, those who find themselves under the protection of the Templars are thankful, for outside of their influence is a world where rape, murder, torture and theft are no longer crimes, but ways of life.  Where the lawless make the laws, and the cruel are the enforcers of that law.

Will the Templars take the fight to them?  Who knows.  It’s your decision in your world.  Enjoy