Templar Magic

Sorcery and Faith

   Many of the Templar classes are able to cast spells from one
 or more schools of Wizard magic and/or Priest spheres.  In many
 cases, this can produce wild results, such as fireball-wielding
 dwarves.

   The important thing to understand is that while the overall
 mechanics of Templar magic are identical to their "standard"
 counterparts, much of the underlying philosophy is different.

   All Templar abilities, from skill at arms to magical prowess,
 are viewed as a direct gift from the focus of the Templar's
 order.  As such, they are allowed to bend the rules, within
 limits.  First and foremost, unless otherwise stated, NO Templar
 may design new spells, or construct magic items for her School
 (the main exception to this is the Whispers, the Templars of
 Symetyr, diety of Magic).

   Templars and Cults are not simply "secret societies", although
 most of them could be described as such).  Rather, they are
 groups centered around the veneration, if not the worship of
 something, to the extent that they are able to actually alter
 the soul and psyche of their members.  This alteration is what
 enables non-spellcasting races access to magic.

   However, there are difficulties.  If a Wizard locates a
 Templar's spellbook, he can easily derive the formulae of the
 spell into a usable form.  The reverse is not necessarily true.

   If a Templar attempts to learn a spell from the spellbook of a
 standard Mage, even if it is of the approved School, his chances
 of understanding the spell are reduced by 50%.  This stems from
 the fact that the Templar's system of magic is laced with a good
 deal of (from the point of view of a "real" Wizard) uneccessary
 frills to tie the spell to the Cult's focus.  The Wizard can
 just ignore the claptrap.

   Note that this is an actual subraction of 50 from the
 percentile chance (with the standard 5% minimum), not just a
 division by two.  Again, there is an exception for the Templars
 of Symetyr.