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Templars

2009-11-15T16:02:00Z

80.47.242.39: /* The real Templars */

{{Faction Infobox
|image = Knights Templar Cross.svg
|imgdesc = The Templars used many variations on this red cross pattée as their symbol.
|religion = Roman Catholic (officially)
|nationality =
|location = [[Acre]] Rich district
|targets = All targets are secretly (or openly) Templars
|game = ''[[Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles]]'' ''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' ''[[Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines]]'' ''[[Assassin's Creed II]]''
}}{{quote|Non nobis Domine, non nobis, sed Nomini Tuo da Gloriam'' (Latin for ''"Not to us God, not to us, but to Your Name Give Glory'')|Motto of the Templars}}

The '''Knights Templar''' are the sworn enemies of the [[Assassins]]. They attack [[Masyaf]] after a failed mission under Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem; and after that, Templars found in the Holy Land will attack [[Altaïr]] on sight. They tend to attack more skilfully and take more hits than normal guards. You can find them in small villages throughout the kingdom, as well as throughout the cities, keenly observing their surroundings of encroaching danger. Templars are battlefield hardened soldiers lending aide to King Richard in the Third Crusade. Their battlefield experience shows in the way they fight. They are warriors in every meaning of the word, extremely skilled in the application of sword combat, and extremely disciplined. Templars should be dealt with while expressing extreme caution and solid battle skills. These soldiers are usually stationary, and on the lookout for the Assassins, their sworn enemies, who they are engaged with in a low-scale war.

==History==
''Orde du Temple'' in French, the Knights Templar are amongst the most famous of the Western Christian military orders involved in the war. They are well known by the distinctive white mantles with a red cross. Officially endorsed by the Roman Catholic Church around 1129, the Order became a favoured charity throughout Christianity, and grew rapidly in membership. Because the Templars' existence was tied closely to the Crusades; when the Holy Land was lost, support for the Order faded.

==Distribution and goals==
Their main goal is to bring peace to the Holy Land, but the ways they do it are both ruthless and barbaric. However, they believe that they're doing good. They're trying to control peoples' free wills and they will ruthlessly kill anyone who is against them, especially the Assassins, whose leader, Al Mualim, was a member of the Templars but he later chose to betray them by stealing the Piece of Eden for his own purposes.
They're also good at manipulation, as they've members in both the Crusader and Saracen armies, allowing themselves to manipulate both [[Richard the Lionheart]] and [[Saladin]] for their own gain and manipulated the other knight orders like the Hospitalliers, Teutonic Knights and even the Assassins (Hashshashin) via Al Mualim.

==Members==
===Third Crusade===
* [[Robert de Sable]] (Grand Master of the Knights Templar)
* [[Tamir the Merchant]] (Black marketeer in [[Damascus]])
* [[Garnier de Naplouse]] (Grand Master of the [[Knights Hospitalier]])
* [[Talal the Slave Trader]] (Slave master in [[Jerusalem]])
* [[Abul Nuqoud]] (A noble man of Damascus)
* [[William of Montferrat]] (Regent lord of [[Acre]])
* [[Majd Addin]] (Regent lord of Jerusalem)
* [[Jubair al Hakim]] (Head of the Illuminated and the chief scholar of Damascus)
* [[Sibrand]] (Grand Master of the [[Knights Teutonic]])
* [[Al Mualim]] (Master and leader of the [[Assassin]]s, betrayed the Templar's)
* [[Maria]] (Robert de Sable's steward and his own personal assassin)
* [[Masun]] (Traitorous assassin who is a double agent to the Templar)
* [[Anonymous Templar Knights]] (regular soldiers)

=== Renaissance ===

*Rodrigo Borgia (His Holiness, Pope Alexander VI)
*Uberto Alberti (The Gonfaloniere of Florence)
*Seven Other Conspirators (Seen at the end of Assassin's Creed Lineage, Part 2)
*Francesco de' Pazzi
*Vieri de' Pazzi

===Modern times===
* [[Abstergo Industries]] (current form of the Templars)
** [[Warren Vidic]] (Scientist of Abstergo Industries)
** Three men who are the bosses of [[Abstergo Industries]]

== Achievement ==
There are 60 Templars within the game world. Thirty are located in the kingdom, and ten in each city. Two subsections (either poor, middle, rich) of each city will have three Templars, and the remaining subsection will have four. Watch out when hunting them, however, as Templars are completely immune to throwing knives. In any Memory Block, regardless of the Rank Memory that Altaïr has, the Templars will attack with all techniques (Guard Break, Counter-grab, etc.) and are extremely hard to kill without more advanced techniques and a high sync bar, or climbing on the wall behind the Templar unnoticed then assassinating them. Should one be able to throw a Templar to the ground however, they can easily be dispatched by a hidden blade or a few sword strikes. Templars will wave their swords and shout upon seeing you, leaving them open for a few precious seconds, during which the player can tackle them and assassinate them while they are on the floor. Templars will also automatically realize that you are an assassin, regardless of whether you are blended or not, unless you are sitting on a bench. Templar locations are broken down as follows:

Kingdom: 30x

Jerusalem Poor: 3x

Jerusalem Mid: 3x

Jerusalem Rich: 4x

Damascus Poor: 3x

Damascus Mid: 3x

Damascus Rich: 4x

Acre Poor: 4x

Acre Middle: 3x

Acre Rich: 3x

Eliminating all 60 Templars in the game will grant the Personal Vendetta achievement.

Personal Vendetta
Kill every Templar. (40 Points)

==Locations==
Simply put, if anyone finds a Templar in-game, check they aren't already listed and then give detailed description of their location. (Please don't use viewpoints as references, they disappear off of the map.)

There is one close by the docks on the Christian part of the kingdom. As you are leaving from Masyaf go right and you'll see a lake. At the edge of the docks is a Templar. There is one hiding in a house nearby.

There is one in the Poor District of Acre at the western edge of the large courtyard north of the plaza where you do the Masyaf flags fetch. Climb up in the middle of that western wall and you'll see him below you in front of a water spout.

There is another hiding inside the row of burnt out dwellings along the 'street' between the northern wall (Poor District Acre) and in the first block of houses as you approach the first sea-viewpoint from that direction. Stay on the roofs to spot him below.

In the Middle District of Acre (Sibrand campaign), there is one at the far western end of the docks. Keep going past where you save the citizen there toward the sea and boats.

:''Note: It seems that if you are fighting with a Templar on a roof and he dies from the fall, it doesn't count toward your tally.''

There is one in the Rich District of Acre on the roof of the giant church, between the two steeples.

There is one in the Rich District of Jerusalem hiding behind the building south of the large building with a golden roof.

There is one in the Kingdom on the way out of Damascus. As you are going out of Damascus go to the tents and look along the river for a Templar. There is one behind the view point tower nearby.

The website [http://www.assassinscreed-maps.com/ Assassin's Creed Interactive Maps] has great maps of the Kingdom and each separate district of Damascus, Acre, and Jerusalem with Templar locations marked by green dots. When you mouse over the dots, a screen shot showing the Templar will pop up.

== Extra Templars ==
During the Robert de Sable assassination you will fight more Templars. However, these do not count towards the total.

== The Historical Templars ==

{{WP-REAL|Knights Templar}}
The Knights Templar was a real Roman Catholic military order who were prominent during the Crusades. They were among the most skilled fighters at the time, which is reflected in the game. Their ruthlessness against non-Catholics was also infamous; this also is reflected in the game.

{{AC}}

Social stealth

2009-11-14T15:44:19Z

80.47.242.39: /* Assassin's Creed 2 */

[[File:Icons hud.jpg|thumb|px|right|The Stealth Meter (up to bottom): Unaware, Watched, Alert and Detected]]
'''Social Stealth''', or how uncounspicous one can remain in public environments, is a main ability to a successful assassin.

=Philosophy=

A true master assassin knows that people cannot approprietally prepare themselves to a invisible strike. For the true assassin, remaining unexposed is the safest way to move about without catching the city guards' attention, arousing the crowd or alerting the target. Therefore, avoiding attention at all times is key to a Hashashin's survival during an assassination mission.

As the second tenet of the "The Creed", remaining anonymous is a top priority at all times and it is required within the Assassins Order, since investigations and assassinations have a way larger chance of success when no one knows from where comes the blunt. To understand the people and know extensively how use that element to your advantage during your endeavours is the key. Let them mask your approach during assassinations and reveal yourself only when absolutely certain, using the crowd to creat distractions and moving for the kill when everyone's attention are in something else that not you.

Either performing silently executions or public assassinations, one must strike at the most appropriate moment, time and place where he can not only hit, but also run or hold his ground if necessary be. Normally approaching someone from behind and putting a [[Hidden Blade|hidden blade]] between their ribs or gently pushing past a crownd and bursting through the guards on a rampage charge at the target's head, social stealth mastery is indispensable. Mastering the kill is your priority, mastering the approach should be too.

=In-Game=

==Assassin's Creed==

A major theme in this game is '''social stealth'''. Other games have worked with the idea of stealth play while out in the open, notably the disguises in the Hitman series, but few if any have included the crowd dynamics found in [[Assassin's Creed]].

The social stealth system keeps track of how much attention is being paid to Altaïr and his actions. Citizens and guards will react anyway you treat and interact with them. While walking around the city and kingdom, you can either force people out of the way and to the ground or you can gently push past them. The first will attract a lot of attention in your direction but get you through the crowd more quickly, and the person you knocked to the ground may get up and push you back risking exposure if close to a assassination target. Gently pushing past or moving past people will attract no attention but will take more time. Any socially unacceptable behavior will also increase the attention that people pay you. If you quickly climb the front of a building then you will attract a lot of attention, as will jumping from a rooftop and landing in a crowd. Slowly climbing a ladder or dropping quietly into the street will attract much less attention when moving about. Remaining anonymous, completely avoiding all arousing suspicion and publicly expressing only socially acceptable behavior will allow for safe travel through city streets.

With the social stealth system you won't find any shadows to hide in if you are being chased by guards. Instead you have to escape their sight and then blend in with the surrounding crowd, like joining a group of scholars or ducking into a rooftop garden. The [[scholars]] have the added benefit of being a mobile source of social camouflage. Other places to hide include bales of hay and even benches (while sitting between two people). The public is your greatest ally when used properly.

Remaining anonymous will also refill your sync bar. If you attract too much attention, the omnipresent guards will recognize you as an assassin and try to kill you, ruining your anonymity, and forcing you to hide. The guards are implacable and to a large degree always scanning the crowd for your presence another reason to remain one with the crowd, if easily dispatched, foes who will follow you over rooftops and chase you through streets, often while gathering reinforcements. A very important (slow paced) but guaranteed way to assure anonymity is to Blend. Dressed as a religious scholar Altaïr's mannerisms mimic theirs, an example folding the hands and being in the prayer stance ensures very slow yet extremely safe passage.

==Assassin's Creed 2==

"Assassin's 2"'s social stealth engine seems to be unchanged, but still largely improved. Crowds are more intelligent, you can ask people to distract targets and other places like carts of fish and jumping into water can be used to lose the guards, although some smarter soldiers may search the hay carts to check if the player is hidden there.

{{AC}}
[[Category:Gameplay]]

Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad

2009-11-14T15:31:11Z

80.47.242.39: /* Assassin's Creed II  */

{{Character Infobox
|name = Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad
|image = 1190119344.jpg
|imgdesc = A full body portrait of Altaïr.
|arabic = الطائر ابن لا أحد
|meaning = "Bird of Prey, Son of None"
|faction = [[Assassins]]
|appear = ''[[Assassin's Creed]]''
|period = Third Crusade
}}

'''Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad''' (الطائر ابن لا أحد in [[wikipedia:Arabic|Arabic]]) is the character whom the player will play as most in ''[[Assassin's Creed]]'', as well as the ancestor of [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze]] and [[Desmond Miles]]. His first name, "Altaïr", means 'Bird of Prey' or 'Eagle' ('Eagle' is also the meaning of the first name of his descendant [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze|Ezio]]). His last name Ibn-La'Ahad means "Son of None".

==Biography==

===''[[Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles]]''===
Altaïr's backstory before the events revealed through [[Desmond Miles]]' memories. In the prequel, Altaïr is still a high-ranking assassin who is tasked with recovering an artifact known as Chalice. On his way to find it, he has to acquire three keys and fight off Templars. It is later revealed that the Chalice is in fact a woman named [[Adha]], but she is kidnapped by Templars under the leadership of Basilisk. Altaïr succeeds in killing Basilisk, but is unable to save Adha, who is taken away by ship. Altaïr yells that he will find her, but has he eventually succeeded or heard of her again is unknown.

===''[[Assassin's Creed]]''===
Altaïr is an ancestor of [[Desmond Miles]] and his memories are encoded into Miles' DNA. [[Abstergo Industries]] abducted Miles in order to use the [[Animus]] on him, which would decode his genetic structure and extract vital information from the memories of Altaïr, in a project bent on New World Order. Altaïr is a master assassin instructor, capable of extraordinary acrobatic feats, a master of social stealth, fully adept in the application of the deadly arts, and a member of the [[Assassins|Assassins' Order]]. Near the beginning of the game, he is demoted to the Assassins' [[Rank]] of [[Novice]] and removed of all his equipment save for his robes. In order to regain his status, he must publicly assassinate nine men who are involved in exploiting the war hostilities in the Holy Land.

Altaïr travels between the four cities ([[Jerusalem]], [[Masyaf]], [[Damascus]], and [[Acre]]) to kill his victims. His extensive knowledge in the deadly arts are without question at the level of an instructor, able to infiltrate any fortification completely unnoticed, brush shoulders with a primary assassination target without alerting them to his hostile presence and strike from any direction, a testament of his undeniable mastery over "Hiding in Plain Sight", showing his understanding of the "Assassins Creed" and the importance of the second [[tenet]]. Altaïr, bound by the second tenet of the "Assassins Creed" has mastered the ability to become one with the crowd, so that his deadly presence and approach is masked entirely from his intended target. His ability to blend in and appear as just another face in the crowd, makes it much more possible to get in extremely close to a target and silently assassinate them using the Hidden Blade without alerting the immediate surrounding environment. Whether investigating or silently assassinating, Altaïr constantly remains anonymous out of his instinctive assassins nature, remaining anonymous for Altaïr is second nature, very briefly exposing himself to the public's eye preparing (even though very rare and extremely short in length and for good reason) to strike during a public assassination of one of "The Nine", and even public assassinations do not guarantee Altaïr's exposed appearance, he is a master assassin instructor and is highly skilled in adapting to changing situations and the changing environment, knowing all too well in how to still maintain control in the constantly dangerous and changing environment, possession of such sharp perceptional skills carries over into how he reads the crowd for any slight sign of danger. Sharp sense of awareness, will aid Altaïr greatly in survival moving about the dangerous cities, and kingdom throughout the Holy Land. As stated Altaïr's acrobatic skills help in both assassination and escape, he uses these skills to strike from many different locations and directions, mainly from affront, above, and behind when performing public assassinations which have all been recorded in virtual history according to entry wound. Altaïr's assassination expertise is unquestionable, seeing how he can appear from the crowd undetected, and quickly kill anyone he focuses on silently, then blends immediately back into the crowd. During primary assassinations Altaïr clearly knows the meaning of subtlety. Altaïr stalks the district most affected by the targets corruption, obtaining information on where and when he will be so that he may plan to properly strike. Using that knowledge better prepares for the opportune moment to strike.

Observing, and moving silently about the large crowds that usually gather within the kill zone as only a "blade in the crowd". Altaïr strikes without flaw or mercy making him very efficient in the exact moment of the strike. Highly educated upon the politics involving the Crusaders and Saracens and their religious philosophies, this educational training will help Altaïr in better understanding their territories, and the numerous factions within. It will give better perspective on perhaps why men choose certain paths in life and as the Assassins better know themselves and understand not to judge their targets but embrace their perspective on what they call justifiable action, but to put it after our own philosophy of "peace in all things". For any who threaten our cause will die under the shining sun in public. Altaïr knows that when the opportune time presents itself to strike, he must not show mercy to the target for their politically sanctioned death will ensure peace returns or so our philosophy depicts it when taught. Altaïr's social mastery ensures that low-profile kills performed while hiding amongst the crowd will succeed, allowing him to eliminate any guards patrolling the streets. Altaïr is a master at anonymous travel and the silent approach, when moving about the city streets seeking out his target Altaïr moves with the crowd as the crowd, then at the moment to strike his target, he moves as a cloaked white ghost. To get caught in the crowd with Altaïr silently stalking you is imminent death. It is as if the target is lost in a heavy and thick fog shrouding a forest of death, only its a sea of people moving about in different directions until one of those sudden bumps turns out to be the sharp Hidden Blade being extended into one of your vital organs. During escape such skills come in handy for quickly seeking high ground or space between the encroaching city guard. When ranked a novice, Altaïr was ordered to start tracking his targets personally by [[Al Mualim]]. He showed that, in combination with social stealth mastery and tracking knowledge, blending into the crowd and becoming simply another face in the crowd allowed Altaïr to carry out his assassination target investigations more easily.

His social stealth expertise helps when dealing with Crusaders and Saracen guards. When moving about a city looking for a highly public figure marked for assassination one must never call for attention, it runs the risk of possibly breaking the second and third tenet within the "Assassins Creed". Altaïr is trained extensively on how to traverse the city disguised as a holy scholar. Dressing as a scholar allows the silent eagle assassin to get close enough to a target without raising suspicion before striking. Scholar robe disguises aid in assassinations due to the simple facts they happen in broad daylight within the open public for the people to witness and spread news of its happening and the disguise masks your true appearance and intentions. This disguise also makes travel easier as scholars have less restraint within the cities, and applying the proper mannerisms to aide the disguise helps that much more. Through experience and instinct Altaïr keenly observes the environment remaining alert at all times to the extremely active guard presence that surrounds him.

The name Altaïr is an Arabic word, which means "The Flying Eagle". In interviews, the game's producer, [[wikipedia:Jade_Raymond|Jade Raymond]] has stated that while in mid-air, Altaïr's shadow resembles that of an eagle. This is because of his attire, which includes a point at the front of the hood (to resemble a beak) and slits through the back of the outfit (to resemble tail feathers). The second part of his name, Ibn-La'Ahad means 'son of no-one', reflecting his mysterious origins. It has been revealed by Raymond that his father was a Muslim and his mother a Christian. His appearance is remarkably similar to Desmond's, only a few scars seeming to separate their appearances at first glance. His rebellious nature and mission failure would lead to his severe demotion, placing him on the same level as a raw initiate to the Assassin Order. That same attitude cost [[Malik]] his right arm, as well as the life of his brother Kadar at the beginning of the story. As the situation progresses and Altaïr listens to the final words of his assassination victims, listening to their revelations involving them and their justified corrupt deeds within the Holy Land and their cities, his attitude changes and he becomes less impetuous, overconfident, demanding, arrogant, self-centred and impatient, learning to perceive more between the lines and actions of the world while drawing upon the teachings of the "Assassins Creed". Near the end of the conflict, all of his brash and rebellious nature, has vanished behind a demeanour of calm, focused, driven, humble, more patient and higher wisdom of understanding. But with this he learns what it is the "Assassins Creed" truly means, and recommends of him as an Assassin.

A few pieces of dialogue hint that Altaïr was potentially in a relationship prior to the game with a woman named Adra, but has since become single, possibly due to the woman in question either missing or having left him (it's indicated that she left, but whether it was leaving Altaïr, or for a mission was made unclear). Although this could actually be heard Adha, which is the woman who Altaïr saves in ''Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles'', which is a prequel to ''Assassin's Creed''. At the end of the game he finally kills Lord Basilisk, but Adha is taken away on a ship, and Altaïr vows to find her. The point of the game is to find "The Chalice", and you learn late in the game that the Chalice is actually Adha - so Altaïr does not know of her for quite some time. The fact that he had a descendant, [[Ezio Auditore de Firenze]] and later [[Desmond Miles]], however, confirms that he did at one point of his life father a child. Based on the game's premise of genetic memory storage, this would have to have happened after the events in Assassin's Creed.

===''[[Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines]]''===
Some point after the events of ''Assassin's Creed'', Altaïr travels to the island of [[Cyprus]] in an attempt to eliminate the remaining Templars.

===''[[Assassin's Creed II]] ''===
Although Altaïr is supposed to be dead for hundreds of years from the events of ''Assassin' Creed II'', it is known that he left a [[wikipedia:codex|Codex]] that his descendant [[Ezio Auditore di Firenze|Ezio]] will have to find its secret.

As we know from the game, Altaïr is well-known among Assassins and they respect him as hero. In his Codex he left secret map, leading to Pieces of Eden all around the world.

Altaïr`s body armor is accessible in the game and is neccessary to complete it. It is available to player after he explores six Assassin`s Tombs. When brought to the Vault in Villa Auditore, all six seals will open secret room containing powerful Altaïr`s body armor.

==Equipment And Skiils==

Like other assassins Altair is trained in stealth assassination techniques, hand to hand and weapons combat, blade throwing, climbing, urban acrobatics, eavesdropping, interrogation, and pick pocketing.

Altaïr's most interesting weapon is the Hidden Blade--a weapon similar to a katar, which is used for close-range assassinations. It is mounted on the inside of his left hand gauntlet, and when deployed, extends between the space left by his amputated ring finger. He flicks a trigger on a ring to make the blade appear where his finger had once been. This amputation was part of the initiation for becoming an assassin of the Hashshashin sect. Altaïr also uses a combination of throwing knives, a sword, the Hidden Blade, and his fists. The throwing knives are very useful for taking down archers. Use of the sword is slower than use of the dagger, of which is fast and light and can be used in tandem with the throwing knives. However, attacking with the sword is much more damaging to the enemies than when using the dagger. Altaïr also uses an ability called "Eagle Vision," a sort of "sixth sense" that lets him see people's intentions. Guards appear in red, allies in blue, citizens with information in white and assassination targets in yellow.

==Trivia==
*Jade Raymond, producer of ''Assassin's Creed'', revealed during an interview at the Ubidays 2007 that Altaïr was born to a Muslim father, and a Christian mother<ref>[http://www.gametrailers.com/video/ubidays-07-assassins-creed/19929 Ubidays 07 Jade Raymond Interview Pt. 2]</ref>.

==Notes and references==
{{Reflist}}

{{AC}}
[[Category:Assassin's Creed Characters]]
[[Category:Assassins]]