Origin
Templar Order was once more brutal than it is now. In the days when the Chantry was still young, templars were known as the Inquisition, a group that raided villages and combed the land in search so called "dangers" to humanity. These dangers include blood mages, abominations, and cultist, who were labeled as heretics. It was a dark and terrifying time in the history of Thedas, and one that only ended when the Chantry convinced the Inquisition to unite under the banner of their common faith. The name of their order changed, and their purpose became that of guardian and warden rather than hunter.
They keep their old role to hunting down mages that refuse to be part of the circle, this is made easy by using a phylactery made of their blood to track them down. Along with this they also added two new duties one good, one bad. The first is the Harrowing which protects mages from being possessed, the second is when a mage was out of control they do a lobotomy on their brain and make them tranquil. One of their most important tasks occurs during a mage's Harrowing. During this, a templar watches over the body of the mage, ready to kill him or her if demonic possession occurs.
Structure
The Order is composed of numerous branches, each of them centered on a specific community or region they are assigned to defend and monitor. Each of these chapters is ultimately led by a Knight-Commander, who in turn answers to the head of the local chantry, often a Grand Cleric, depending on the region in question. The size and strength of each branch also differs, depending on the community they serve or their specific mandate.
Different Chapters
The Ferelden chapter is run fair and open to the ideas and reformes of mages. The Krikwall chapter is run with an iron fist so much so that many innocent mages die. In the Tevinter Imperium the Imperial Chantries control their own Templars who step in when mages go too far. However, Magisters wield considerable political influence over the Tevinter Templars and almost always gets what they want.
Training
Templars go through a rigorous process of recruitment and indoctrination, often in monastic refuges segregated from everyday society. 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 useless. Driven by their faith, the templars are one of the most feared and respected forces in Thedas. Templars normally have an oath of chastity but they do sometimes get married.
Right of Annulment
Templars also have access to the Right of Annulment. The Right of Annulment gives the Templars the right to "pacify" or kill all mages in the tower. This would be used in the event that total chaos was unleashed by the mages and there is no chance that they could be saved. To help them control mages, templars have the ability to dispel magic and to inhibit spellcasting. Some are saying, however, that this needs to change.
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