Templar Caste

The Templar Caste is a collection of Protoss tribes in the fictional StarCraft universe. Descended from great warrior tribes from the Aeon of Strife, these were selected by Khas and his students to act as warriors. With few exceptions, only Protoss members of the Templar Caste do any fighting. (The exceptions are the Ara Tribe, Shelak Tribe, Furinax Tribe and Dark Templar.) Members of the Templar Caste who are particularly skilled psychics are known as High Templar. Both High Templar and any member of the Templar Caste are sometimes simply referred to as "Templar".

Known Templar Tribes

As in every Protoss caste, templar tribes are named after constellations.

Sargas Tribe

Easily the most notorious of the Tribes, their loyalty to the Protoss Conclave was questionable. They continually fought to override the effects of the Khala upon their Tribe. The Sargas are adept at killing, and were employed by the Conclave as assassins and enforcers. While Protoss Rogues stemmed from virtually all Tribes, the largest contingent came from the Sargas. The Sargas' tribal color is blue. The Sargas Tribe was among those that survived the invasion of Aiur to flee to Shakuras. The Tribe would become the Dark Templar's main force in their Fleet.

Akilae Tribe

The Akilae Tribe represent the strongest fighting force in Protoss society. They dominated the other Tribes for hundreds of years during the Aeon of Strife but submitted completely to the Khala. Although loyal to the Judicators, the Akilae tribe argues that the Terrans should be considered potential allies instead of meaningless obstacles to be destroyed, and they protest the destruction of the infested Terran colonies. Tassadar and Fenix may have hailed from this tribe. The Akilae's tribal color is teal.

Auriga Tribe

Dozens of thousands of years ago, the Auriga were the first to construct sailing ships. Now they service and operate the massive Carriers and Arbiters of the Protoss fleets. During the civil war on Aiur, the Auriga took the side of the Protoss Conclave against Tassadar, but were defeated. The Auriga's tribal color is orange.

Venatir Tribe

Little is known of this tribe. Many of its members, like those of the Sargas Tribe, attempted to reject the Khala. In Starcraft: Brood War, the Venatir tribe is one of the few not wiped out by the Zerg, and it is with this tribe that the Protoss heroes Aldaris, Zeratul and Artanis flee to Shakuras. Aldaris would later take control of the Tribe in a rebellion, and both Aldaris and the majority of the Venatir Tribe would be killed. Presumably, some survived, as they are seen defending the city of Talematros, but the Tribes present there were killed by the Zerg when the city's power grid overloaded and exploded. The motto of the Venatir Scout pilots is "Praemonitus, promunitus," which translates to "Forewarned, forearmed." The Venatir's tribal color is brown.

Velari Tribe

The Velari Tribe helped to defend Aiur against invasion by the Zerg. They are often depicted as the Conclave's main agents, as the ruined buildings of the Conclave in Episode IV are of the Velari Tribe. When Aldaris is seen, he takes the color of the Velari Tribe. The Velari's tribal color is yellow.

See also

• Judicator Caste
• Khalai Caste

References

• StarCraft homepage at Blizzard Entertainment
• Battle.net StarCraft Compendium
• Underwood, Peter, Bill Roper, Chris Metzen and Jeffrey Vaughn. StarCraft (Manual). Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment, 1998.