Summary courtesy of Andrea Angiolino, used with permission.
Second, revised edition of "I Cavalieri del Tempio" - a RPG dedicated to the legend of the Templar Knights. Apart for some little semplifications, the core of the rules are the same of the first edition. With minor adjustments to character statistics all adventures are then compatible. the new edition also features an introduction by Franco Cuomo, famous Italian novelist whose "Gunther d'Amalfi Cavaliere Templare" is an award-winning bestseller.
The Order got esoteric knowledge in the East that allow them to separate their "astral body" from the physical one. Characters are members of a secret and esoteric organization born from the ashes of that order when it has been destroyed by the King of France and the Pope. They start the outermost part of the organization, knowing very little of the real purposes of their missions, and they are sent travel in time and space to direct the course of history follwing a secret "Celestial Plan" of the organization.
The setting is strictly historical and the kind of magic available reflects the credible supernatural power that could be believed at that age in the real world. Basic manual start with Middle Ages, but the system allows to feature adventures in any historical period or even in the future.
After a detailed introduction to the secret and esoteric organization of the Templar Knights born from the ashes of the Templar Order after its trial and destruction, the "Initiate book" details character generation. Each player is provided two different character sheet: he has to develope an "astral body" that is aethernal and will travel from a time to the other, between adventures. The other sheet is for the "physical body" in which the astral one will enter at the beginning of each new adventure, if time and place are different from the previous one.
The astral body has personality traits that can influence the actual mehaviour of the character: this is not totally under the control of the player. A character may speak less or more than his players would like, or panic, or do something really dangerous to save a friend... All according checks n the character traits choosen by the player while defining his character.
The physical body is defined by a collection of skills, used to resolve normal actions and checks. Some esoteric powers, compatible with the historical setting and the secrecy of the organization, belong to the astral body. Checks are made under the value of the attribute or skill, using a growing number of 6-sided dice depending on the difficulty: 3 dice are used for easy checks, up to 6 dice for extreme checks. Trying a check on a skill that the character does not have means adding one more die. If in the dice there are three 6s (the "number of the beast") means total failure, while three 1s are the perfect roll.
A glossary going from "Abbey" to "Travels" gives all the informatin that the master and the players may need about everyday life in the Middle Ages. Several standard Non Player Characters (NPCs) typical of that age are supplied, and they can also be used as a basis to choose skills when creating PCs. There are also a few historical famous NPCs, that will also have a role in the introductory adventures: "I Trentasei Invisibili", a mission from the Suth of France to Genoa in Italy, and "Le porte del paradiso", a sequel that will bring characters up to Verona. Several other adventures set in different European nations were published on magazines.
- I Cavalieri del Tempio - Seconda Edizione
