Deus Ex
In the video game Deus Ex, the Knights Templar are the descendents of the medieval order of the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon . Prior to the start of the game, the organization acted as bankers to the Illuminati, backed up by their large gold supplies. Based in Paris, the Templars were the controlling influence behind most of the world's financial institutions, and worked to influence the global economy on behalf of the Illuminati. After the rise of Majestic 12, the Templars were slaughtered by the anti-terrorist force UNATCO. This operation marked the end of the 'traditional' incarnation of the order.
Deus Ex: Invisible War
The Knights Templar of Deus Ex: Invisible War, were established by Luminon Saman of the Order church, a worldwide religion controlled by the Illuminati, who had come to believe that the Order had deviated from the principles on which it was supposedly founded. Initially working in secret, Saman gathered followers from the branch of the Order church of which he was head in Trier, Germany, before spreading the organization worldwide. Believing themselves to be the modern incarnation of the original Knights Templar, they are opposed to bio-modification and Nanotechnology in all forms, believing it to be a 'plague' and a violation of the purity of humanity.
At the beginning of Deus Ex: Invisible War, the Templars have become a powerful force, and the danger they pose to the ruling Illuminati has been established. In order to destroy a secret research lab, Saman orders the use of a powerful weapon called a 'nanite detonator' in a devastating attack that reduces the city of Chicago to dust. This terrorist act was the first in a series of strikes against ApostleCorp, the organization founded by Tracer Tong and Paul Denton, major supporting characters from the first game, to further develop bio-modification technology. Saman recognised the threat to his ideals posed by the dream of 'universal bio-modification' that ApostleCorp sought to accomplish and decided to destroy this ambition quickly.
However, these actions thrust the Templars into the spotlight and brought about the attention of the Illuminati leaders, who began working to elminate the Templar threat.
At the conclusion of the game, the player can choose to assist the Templars in creating and deploying a virus that deactivates all bio-modification thus weakening the Illuminati, whose power base consists largely of their control over this technology and the elite troops utilizing its capabilities, enabling the Templars to overthrow them and assume control.
Templar soldiers are equipped with suits of 'Power Armour' purchased using gold from the treasury of the original Templars, enhancing their physical strength and helping to even the odds against their bio-modified coounterparts. Their religious zealotry, combined with their absolute hatred of bio-modification, make them a dangerous and unstable organization to contend with, especially for their most despised enemy, the heavily modified Omar.