History KnightTemplar / Videogames

** The Mogu are the definition of AbusivePrecursors whose crimes consist of ColdBloodedTorture, Necromancy, AndIMustScream, WouldHurtAChild and every trope that crosses the MoralEventHorizon. If Lei Shen's words are taken at face value, they genuinely believe themselves to be continuing the titan's work by bringing order to the races of the world that were native to Azeroth or diverge from the titan's plans, and it's implied the titan's themselves wouldn't exactly be upset how the Mogu go about things.

** The Mogu are the definition of AbusivePrecursors whose crimes consist of ColdBloodedTorture, Necromancy, AndIMustScream, WouldHurtAChild and every trope that crosses the MoralEvenHorizon. If Lei Shen's words are taken at face value, they genuinely believe themselves to be continuing the titan's work by bringing order to the races of the world that were native to Azeroth or diverge from the titan's plans, and it's implied the titan's themselves wouldn't exactly be upset how the Mogu go about things.

* The Knights Templar in ''VideoGame/DeusExInvisibleWar''.

** [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII The sequel]] reveals that [[spoiler:a large amount of the disorder and corruption in society comes directly from the Knights Templar to begin with. As they see themselves as the only sane and reasonable organization, eliminating individuals who are truly good and powerful, and who coincidentally interfere with their personal agendas, is entirely reasonable. To give an idea just how twisted their view is, ''[[AdolfHitler Hitler]]'' was a member, as was [[JosefStalin Stalin]].]] It strongly suggests, however, that a good bit of the Templars in late-1400s Italy were actually "in it" for personal gain, or otherwise using the Templar Order's ideals as political cover to be personally scummy, i.e. [[spoiler:Marco Barbarigo]]. Cesare Borgia, the main antagonist of ''Brotherhood'', doesn't even bother with that pretense and is all about military conquest and personal glory/greed, not even mentioning the Order.

* The guards from TheElderScrolls series are infamous for this.

* The guards from ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]''? Probably due more to the game's AI for them, but so much as touch something that doesn't belong to you and -- '''''STOP! YOU'VE VIOLATED THE LAW!!!!'''''
** It's just as bad across the other parts of the Elder Scrolls series. So much as ''sleep in public'' in [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]] and you've suddenly got guards crawling out the woodwork, all of them shouting at you to '''HALT!'''

* The Chantry templars of ''VideoGame/DragonAge'' are interesting studies of this behavior. While they do hunt down bad mages, many of them have a hard time differentiating a bad mage from a perfectly good one, and are all too willing to completely purge the Mage's Circle if anything goes wrong. This has happened at least once per century for the last seven hundred years. According to the Codex, candidates for the order are chosen first and foremost for religious conviction and martial aptitude. They're administered lyrium in order to assist them in fighting evil mages - but a conversation with Alistair implies that the entire purpose of the lyrium is to get them addicted, ensuring their loyalty. They track and destroy dangerous rogue mages - but a conversation with Wynne implies that many mage-hunters take a sadistic pleasure in their work, and two sidequests can result in the Chantry considering an Exalted March against the dwarven city of Orzammar.

* [[spoiler: As of DmC: Devil May Cry, Vergil has revealed himself to be one. At the last mission of the game, when Dante, Kat and he are looking at the city as Limbo has fallen apon Earth, Vergil responds ''"The path is clear for us to rule".'']]

* Yggdrasill from ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' [[spoiler:set out to resolve a war between two {{magitek}} nations and end the world's FantasticRacism, creating a world where everyone could be free of discrimination. One DeadLittleSister later, he's accomplishing this by splitting the world in half, grinding the humans into the dirt, and killing them off to create MetaphysicalFuel that would turn the half-elves into soulless, mindless, and lifeless beings.]] It never even occurs to him to consider that he ''hasn't'' got the moral high ground.

* Corrupted elements within the Church of Tyr in the ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'' mod ''The Maimed God's Saga'' start doing some pretty terrible things in the name of righteousness.

* X and the Maverick Hunters start to fall into this in ''VideoGame/MegaManX 4'' and ''X5''. Fast-forward 100 years to ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' and [[spoiler: Copy-]]X is protecting humans by mass extermination of innocent Reploids. [[spoiler:Had it not been for the ExecutiveMeddling of KeijiInafune by Creator/{{Capcom}}, it would have been the real X himself who became such a villain.]]

* [[LightIsNotGood Helios]] from ''VideoGame/GodOfWar 3''. In the third game, he is not only very determined to destroy the Titans (his own kind in the original [[ClassicalMythology Greek Mythology]]) so that they can't triumph, but also remarkably loyal to Zeus even after revealing himself to be something of a coward. [[spoiler: This loyalty causes extremely poorly made decisions that result in his death]]. Also, of all the gods in ''God of War 3'', he is the only one who has no personal reasons to attack Kratos.
* The ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' series is filled to the brim with these.
** The Titan Sargeras was tasked originally with keeping the universe safe by battling various {{Eldritch Abomination}}s, but eventually, [[HeWhoFightsMonsters he decided that there must be some underlying flaw in the universe]] and the only way to fix it and end his eternal battle was to [[OmnicidalManiac destroy all of existence]] and start anew. To this task, he created [[TheLegionsOfHell the Burning Legion]] of demons he had imprisoned and set off on a crusade against all that exists. Most demons are in it just because they like destroying stuff.
** In ''Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos'', Arthas Menethil starts out as a headstrong young man fighting the undead. Things start going downhill when he slaughters the populace of a major human city to avoid the plagued parts of it from turning into the undead. Later, when his father, the King, commands him to come home from an expedition in the home continent of the Scourge, he has hired thugs sink his own ships and blames the whole thing on them to get an excuse to disobey the order. Eventually, he lets a good friend die in exchange for a sword that can defeat the demon he thinks is behind everything. At which point he stopped being a Knight Templar wanting to save his people and turned into an avatar of vengeance is a hotly debated topic. Some fans will avidly debate that he ''never'' stopped being a Knight Templar, given several of the views the novel revealed him to have, and the fact that after mentally reliving his actions up to the point of reawakening, he decides that he would not change, as he still believes that he made the right decisions. Rather, {{hi|ddenDepths}}s [[FailureKnight fear of]] [[MyGreatestFailure failure]] prevents him from fully realizing his own evils, even when he [[IgnoredEpiphany briefly questions himself]], because to change his mind or path is to admit that his first choice was wrong, which is failure. [[spoiler:His calm sanity and acceptance of death seems to support that he was never truly evil. Great, so [[TheMourningAfter Jaina]] [[TearJerker WAS right, but by the time she knows, it's too late]].]]
** In the ExpansionPack for the same game, ''Frozen Throne'', Maiev Shadowsong devotes her entire existence to hunting down Illidan Stormrage, whom she had been tasked to guard during his imprisonment. She eventually lies to the man who gave her this task in the first place that his wife is dead so that he would help Maiev capture Illidan instead of going to save her from certain peril. In ''World of Warcraft'', she manages to fulfill her purpose, only to [[BadassDecay realise that her life has no meaning anymore]].
** Daelin's Proudmoore's quest to exterminate the orcs in ''Frozen Throne'' also matches this trope.
** Meanwhile, ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' has the Scarlet Crusade, an organisation bent on destroying the undead. Over the years, they have become so paranoid about the Plague which turns people into members of the Scourge that they will attack anyone they do not recognise as a member of their organisation. Ironically, their leader, and the man who sent them down the slippery slope, is a demon in disguise, manipulating them for the sole purpose of creating a force to destroy the Scourge.
** The Burning Crusade expansion introduced The Ethereum, the former Ethereal ruling class who declared war on The Void (and especially Dimensius) after the latter destroyed K'aresh, their homeworld. The Ethereum have become so consumed by their mission that they consider anyone who doesn't help them an enemy and have even gone to the point of infusing themselves with void energy to create [[SuperSoldier nexus-stalkers]], which often end up destabilizing and becoming [[HeWhoFightsMonsters voidwraiths]].
** Kael'thas Sunstrider's goal was to satisfy his race's addiction to magic after the Lich King corrupted the Sunwell. He aligned with Illidan and built the manaforges for this reason - to provide the blood elves with a new source of magic to replace the corrupted Sunwell. He did not become truly evil until after his first resurrection.
** Later on, in ''Wrath of the Lich King'', the Blue Dragonflight under Malygos also turn into this - willing to kill tens of thousands and cause irreversible ecological damage to the planet to rid the world of mortal arcane spellcasters. The Red Dragonflight and Kirin Tor ''agree'' that continued mortal use of magic will destroy Azeroth. The Blue Dragonflight is simply taking the direct approach to solving the problem.
** Judging by the fact that the [[spoiler:Titans created a being called [[http://www.wowwiki.com/Algalon_the_Observer Algalon the Observer]] to serve as a fail-safe protocol that would "re-originate" (read: annihilate all life and start over) the world and have every intention of using it, they probably qualify as well.]]
** [[http://www.wowpedia.org/Interrogator_Khan Interrogator Khan]] is one ''[[ExaltedTorturer scary]]'' [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique draenei]].
* Yggdrasill from ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' [[spoiler:set out to resolve a war between two {{magitek}} nations and end the world's FantasticRacism, creating a world where everyone could be free of discrimination. One DeadLittleSister later, he's accomplishing this by splitting the world in half, grinding the humans into the dirt, and killing them off to create MetaphysicalFuel that would turn the half-elves into soulless, mindless, and lifeless beings.]] It never even occurs to him to consider that he ''hasn't'' got the moral high ground.
* Grand Maestro Mohs from ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' is a devout follower of The Score, a set of extremely specific prophecies that say that there will be a time of great prosperity following a massive war between the two dominant countries, a war that he has tried to incite numerous times. To do this, Mohs collaborates with [[spoiler:Master Van]], the ''real'' villain of the game, who has conflicting interests with Mohs and is more of a WellIntentionedExtremist.
* Vhailor from ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'' is a member of the Mercykillers, a Planescape sect that believes in the absolute order of the law. Crime is violently punished, and rehabilitation is often not under consideration - their creed is thus: "Justice purges evil. Once all have been cleansed, the multiverse achieves perfection."
** For more fun involving Vhailor, check out the quote page.
** Just to help put things in perspective, Vhailor is no longer a man, but [[strike:a haunted suit of armor]] an incarnation of justice who exists through the strength of his Mercykiller beliefs.
** The Mercykiller faction formed when the Sodkillers (a gang preying on the Clueless) joined forces with the Sons of Mercy (a group of law-upholding citizens, some of them paladins) for unspecified reasons. The faction lived up to this portmanteau name (they ''kill mercy''), becoming the semi-official and extremely corrupt police force. Vhailor is remembered many years after his [[FateWorseThanDeath disappearance]] because of his fanaticism, showing that Knights Templar are very rare among the Mercykillers. Or that [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation Vhailor was considered insane]] even by Knight Templar standards.
* In ''{{VideoGame/Arcanum|OfSteamworksAndMagickObscura}}'', [[spoiler:the BigBad intends to cause the death of every living thing in order that they may enjoy the peace of oblivion]].
* The Knights Templar in ''VideoGame/DeusExInvisibleWar''.
* The Judicians in ''TwentyTwentySeven''.
* Subverted in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'', while [[spoiler: your main enemies in the game are the Knights Templar of the Church of Galbados, and the Church itself claims to want to destroy the monarchy and create a world of equality; in reality, the Church was founded by a demonic war lord, who, if resurrected, would bring about the end of civilization. The BigBad is also known as the Angel of Blood.]]
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'''s [[NoExportForYou supplemental material]] expands upon Ivalice's mythology and reveals that [[spoiler:the so-called bad guys were grotesquely wronged and exploited servants of the Gods (Cu Chulainn/Queklain and Zodiark first and foremost) who have it in for the Gods who caused them so much misery. And the Bloody Angel was the ''Head Angel'' serving the Gods, and was so disgusted upon discovering how the Lucavi were treated that she went off the deep end and went Knight Templar on her masters as well. In fact, Altima is the only one of the Zodiac Stone spirits to NOT be a Lucavi - the Virgo stone is associated to a different being among the Lucavi, which is never seen but is implied to have played a large part in Altima's...well, would that be a heel-face turn or a face-heel turn?]]
* Seymour Guado from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' believes that destroying the world of Spira and everything in it is the only way to save it from the ViciousCycle it's trapped in (this train of thought is possibly due to his [[FreudianExcuse own troubled upbringing]]).
** His superior, Grand Maester Yo Mika, is a variant, in that he actually wants to preserve the vicious cycle and is willing to do anything from lying to forced marriages to murder to achieve it. He doesn't actually agree with what Seymour wants to do (Auron mentions at one point that Mika and Seymour are "not of one mind", while in another, he talks about how Mika wouldn't approve of what Seymour ultimately wants) and genuinely thinks that there's no other way to stop Sin from destroying Spira besides forcing summoners to perform their {{Senseless Sacrifice}}s. Nor does he think that the people of Spira are capable of governing themselves without the Church of Yevon telling them what to do, claiming that enlightened rule by the dead clergy of Yevon was better than the "misguided failures" of the living.

* Corrupted elements within the Church of Tyr in the ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'' mod ''The Maimed God's Saga'' start doing some pretty terrible things in the name of righteousness.
** This leads Aribeth to the Dark Side in the original ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' campaign, though the fact that the enemy was screwing with her dreams probably didn't help.
* The Order of the Flaming Rose from ''VideoGame/TheWitcher'' is a Knight Templar organization with a UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans style of operation.

* [[AIIsACrapshoot The AI ODE System]] from ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' is an AI example of this. When its creator, Wilhelm Juergen, had a breakdown, it got reprogrammed to gather humans together in one network to protect Earth from aliens. It took its orders ''very literally'' and went on a mass kidnapping and absorbing spree, eventually going after its creator.
* Saren, the villain[[spoiler:/[[TheDragon Dragon]]]] of ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'', was an ''extremely'' violent Knight Templar during his tenure as a Spectre, prior to the events of the actual game, where he became more of a DarkMessiah.
** In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', the asari are shown to have a group of Knights Templar, the Justicars. Sworn to obliterate evil and corruption wherever they find it, they are lauded as heroes (heroines?) for their exploits and dedication, but most asari would rather not have them in the immediate vicinity due to their rather strict definitions of "corruption" and their reputation as merciless killers. Having one on a planet outside asari space, where they could interact more readily with other species, is seen as a diplomatic disaster waiting to happen.
** Subverted by recruitable character Justicar Samara. As seen above, Justicars have a reputation for mercilessness and extremism in the pursuit of justice, but when you meet Samara, she turns out to be rather reasonable. Although she still follows the Justicar code to the letter, Samara is content to use LoopholeAbuse to avoid harming innocent people if at all possible. And she is willing to work with [[AntiHero Renegade Shepard]] because she recognizes the larger threat, but does tell him that if they ever cross paths afterward, she ''will'' kill him/her (she, obviously, has no problem working with Paragon Shepard).
*** A notable example of her LoopholeAbuse occurs in the third game, when [[spoiler: the monastery where her two living daughters reside is destroyed with one of her daughters killed in the process. Her daughters suffer from a rare genetic condition amongst Asari that turn them into essentially sexual serial killers that can seduce anyone but kill them in the process and voluntarily lived in the monastery built for Asari of this condition to allow them to survive safely outside of society. The Justicar code doesn't allow any Asari with this condition to live outside the monastery so with it destroyed she has no choice but to kill her last living daughter, and instead points her gun at herself to avoid the conflict. Shepard can prevent her suicide and propose [[TakeAThirdOption an alternative]].]]
** Garrus is this in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2''. Before you pick him up as a party member, he is [[spoiler:under the guise of Archangel, who, with a squad, murders his way through the criminal underworld of Omega.]] He's still a badass, but he is not too worried about killing criminals anymore.
* X and the Maverick Hunters start to fall into this in ''VideoGame/MegaManX 4'' and ''X5''. Fast-forward 100 years to ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' and [[spoiler: Copy-]]X is protecting humans by mass extermination of innocent Reploids. [[spoiler:Had it not been for the ExecutiveMeddling of KeijiInafune by Creator/{{Capcom}}, it would have been the real X himself who became such a villain.]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{STALKER}} - Shadow of Chernobyl'', the [[spoiler:C-Consciousness Project is this. Conceived to rid the world of all destructive and negative human emotion, its members accidentally cause a spatial tear that causes the several kilometres around its site to become a desolate, radioactive wasteland fraught with dangerous mutants ("The Zone"). To prevent discovery of their project by those seeking valuable artifacts in The Zone, they use various devices that result in death and/or zombification of those who come near. Anyone who makes it past is diverted to what is believed by all to be an omnipotent wish granting device, but in reality, it brainwashes the wisher into becoming a minion of the project, either as part of the official death squad, or as mindwiped individuals who have a singular mission to carry out, but aren't sure why. The player character begins as one of these individuals.]]
* Despite the name, the Protoss High Templar from ''VideoGame/StarCraft'' may or may not be like this. But one of the major characters, Aldaris, is a Knight Templar to the core. At first, he didn't care whether Tassadar was contacting the Dark Templar for the good of the Protoss race in general because he knows that they are the only ones who can destroy the Overmind; he violated the Conclave's orders, so he must be arrested. He got better after seeing Tassadar and Zeratul's efforts (also Raynor's) to defeat the Overmind and started supporting them, but in Brood Wars, once again, he acts as a Knight Templar, refusing to work with Kerrigan while the others had no choice but to ally with her. Unfortunately, this is the only time where his actions were actually RIGHT. And he's killed soon after. By Kerrigan, who reveals that she's been using the rest of the Protoss the whole time.
** The Zerg Overmind, with its will to infest ''everything''-- especially the Protoss-- in order to create the perfect species, might also count.
** The UED from the expansion pack definitely are this: they just want to protect the Terrans, but that really means A) taking them over and B) wiping out all opposition, thus, making enemies of everyone.
* The ending for [[spoiler:Siegfried]] in ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries SoulCalibur IV]]'' [[spoiler:causes him to say, after defeating Nightmare, "With this... it ends." "Our kind must not exist in this world; not ever again." This causes [=SoulCalibur=] to crystallize him, Siegfried, and Soul Edge...as the screen fades to black, the epilogue says that the world will soon be "covered in crystals, making it a utopia without wars or suffering." Whether this is Siegfried's choice or SoulCalibur's is unknown.]]
** [[spoiler:Cassandra]]'s ending makes it pretty clear that [[EmpathicWeapon SoulCalibur]] has a serious Knight Templar streak. [[spoiler:She is so fed up with what her sister, [[WellIntentionedExtremist Sophitia]], has become because of [=SoulCalibur=] that, after destroying Soul Edge, she destroys Soul Calibur as well]].
** Confirmed in ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries SoulCalibur V]]'': [[spoiler: Soul Calibur fakes Sophitia's form to manipulate her son Patroklos to kill his sister Phyrra, the wielder of Soul Edge. After unleashing its true power, the sword subtly mind controls him to assure him he can't save her, and when he kills her, the sword dumps his soul into a void while it turns the world to crystal. After the Edge Master hits the ResetButton, Patroklos sees through the illusion and Soul Calibur gets infuriated at his defiance of its goals and tries to kill his spirit so it can take his body by force, and manifests itself as Elysium, the TrueFinalBoss of the story mode. LightIsNotGood indeed.]]
* Hotaru from ''VideoGame/MortalKombatDeception'' is fanatically devoted to order. In the game's story mode, he imprisons the main character (who had been allied with him) for unknowingly breaking curfew...and decades pass before he gets his appointed trial.
* [[spoiler:The goddess Ashera]] from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn]]''. [[spoiler:About 700 years prior to the events of the game, the world made a covenant with Ashera. She would sleep for 1,000 years, and if she is awoken by war, she would destroy the world without hesitation. She was awoken when her counterpart Yune was freed from the titular MacGuffin, so she turned 99.99% of the world's population to stone instead. Those who remained fought back, so she freed some people, gave them blessed arms, and sent them after the survivors. This turns out predictably, since one of the survivors is [[OneManArmy Ike]].]]
* In ''VideoGame/UltimaV'', Lord Blackthorn usurps Britannia's throne and turns the virtues, formerly self-imposed moral guidelines, into enforced laws (for example, forcing the people to donate to charity or face execution). The results are predictable.
** This, arguably, is also one of the reasons why humility is considered the final, eighth virtue in {{Ultima}}. Despite not being directly based on Truth, Love, or Courage, the game says that Truth, Love, and Courage cannot exist with the virtue's opposite, Pride.
* In ''VideoGame/NinetyNineNights'', the AxCrazy Inphyy is this. She's a [[LightIsNotGood light-empowered]] swordswoman (she's even an officer in an order that calls itself the "Temple Knights") who is so utterly convinced that the [[DarkIsNotEvil goblins and other races that follow the Dark]] are AlwaysChaoticEvil monsters, that she'll go so far as to cut down [[MoralDissonance little goblin children]] without missing a beat. Even her similarly-powered but [[TheHero far more sane]] brother Aspharr calls her out on this in a WhatTheHellHero moment.
** [[spoiler:Averted in the end as she does ally with the Goblins to take down the King of Nights. Still, if Kalarrnn had not spoken to her, she might have tried to kill both demon and goblin.]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{Drakengard}} 2'', Nowe's friend and fellow Knight of the Seal Eris is a definite Knight Templar at first, rationalizing her superiors' questionable actions, threatening to harm Nowe when he expresses doubt about the Knights' righteousness, and [[MoralDissonance sporting a disturbing smirk when about to]] [[spoiler:burn Manah at the stake]]. Luckily, she wises up eventually...even if it took [[spoiler: General Gismor using her as a human shield and leaving her to die]] for her to do so. Gismor himself does not fit the bill: he doesn't care about justice or order, only personal power.

* The ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' series in general has Knight Templars ''up the ass''; if a character is on the Law side, there's a very strong chance that they'll be one, ''especially'' the Angels and the [[{{Cult}} Order of Messiah]]. Some examples:
** The Law Hero gets to be like this near the end of ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'', and all the higher-ups on the Law side of the spectrum (who are all worshippers of the PathOfInspiration) are a version of this - including the protagonist, if the player so chooses.
** And then we have [[spoiler:[[GodIsEvil God himself]]]] in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'', who takes this trope to such an extreme that even [[spoiler:'''his angels''']] are in opposition to him.
** [[spoiler:Keisuke]] in ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' summons Yama to murder those he deems to be bad people, and depending on your choices, he either [[spoiler:[[MyGodWhatHaveIDone realizes what he's done]] and becomes TheAtoner, or dies at the hands of one of Kaido's demons]].
*** Averted with [[spoiler:Remiel and Amane, along with the game's take on God. God and pals]] are quite willing to support humanity's existence; it's just that they've put humanity on trial to see if they truly deserve the power. Should you follow [[spoiler:Amane]]'s ending path, [[spoiler:you go on to become TheMessiah, leading humanity in God's stead.]]
** [[spoiler:The Three Wise Men, Mastema, and, by extension, Mastema's underling Zelenin]] in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' want to [[spoiler:bring about a WorldOfSilence.]]
* [[spoiler:Gamma, Joules, and Drazil]] in ''VideoGame/SoulNomadAndTheWorldEaters'' are this trope incarnate. The '{{utopia}}' they have created and molded to [[TheEvilsOfFreeWill their own ideals]] can at best be described as '[[WorldOfSilence an utter nightmare]]'. Even the resident OmnicidalManiac [[EvenEvilHasStandards is disgusted by it]].

* The Order of the Hammer in ''VideoGame/{{Thief}}''. In ''VideoGame/{{Thief}} 2: The Metal Age'', the Mechanists emerge as "templars within the templars", scorning the antiquated aims of their brethren in favor of [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans something even more extreme]]. Their leader, Father Karras, [[OmnicidalManiac is even worse]].
* Leo from ''VideoGame/LunarEternalBlue'' starts off as this. Thankfully, he is more open-minded than most other examples of this trope and once he realises that the church he works for is actually trying to resurrect the dark god, he switches sides.
* Count [[MyNameIsNotDurwood Vulgar]]-- er, Veger from ''VideoGame/Jak3Wastelander'' certainly deserved a place. He didn't like Dark Eco. That was OK, nobody particularly liked Dark Eco. However, he exiled and repeatedly attempted to kill Jak, whose Dark Eco powers ''let him save the world at the end of the previous game''. He even described himself as "the glorious light that burns away the shadows" in between attempts to turn Haven City into a totalitarian theocracy under his rule, subverting UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans because it wasn't really going to be that much of a utopia with a psychotic zealot like Veger in charge.
* The Catholic Church as depicted in ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'' and, to a lesser extent, ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' (where the Knight Templar would probably more be Emiya Kiritsugu, since the church is mostly connected with [[BigBad Kotomine]] here) is obsessed with killing all vampires and other non-humans. A prime example is when Ciel resurrected for the first time: they ''killed her for a month straight, nonstop and rather messily'', before giving up because she cannot die while Roa lives. They also appear to have a mild hands off/EnemyMine approach regarding Arcueid...mostly because there is no way they could possibly kill her and they don't want to make her mad.
* Over the course of the ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' series, it turns out that the Patriots, the amoral organization controlling the government, was founded by [[spoiler:a benevolent group of people who only wanted to change the world for the better. However, their leader became so insistent on keeping order, he started resorting to more and more questionable methods, finally leaving control in the hands of A.I. units that did not put any value on human life.]]
* ''Shadowbane'' has the Temple of the [[KillItWithFire Cleansing]] [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Flame]], who get literal templars as a pert of their class options.

* The Whitecloaks in ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' game, faithful to the source universe.
* The Chantry templars of ''VideoGame/DragonAge'' are interesting studies of this behavior. While they do hunt down bad mages, many of them have a hard time differentiating a bad mage from a perfectly good one, and are all too willing to completely purge the Mage's Circle if anything goes wrong. This has happened at least once per century for the last seven hundred years. According to the Codex, candidates for the order are chosen first and foremost for religious conviction and martial aptitude. They're administered lyrium in order to assist them in fighting evil mages - but a conversation with Alistair implies that the entire purpose of the lyrium is to get them addicted, ensuring their loyalty. They track and destroy dangerous rogue mages - but a conversation with Wynne implies that many mage-hunters take a sadistic pleasure in their work, and two sidequests can result in the Chantry considering an Exalted March against the dwarven city of Orzammar.
** What makes the Chantry even more interesting is that this is subverted just as often as it is played straight. While there are definitely those templars who are extreme in their methods, the Warden meets quite a few who are more reasonable and pragmatic. They are partially justified because what they guard against -- demonic possession from the Fade -- is real, subtle, and very, very dangerous.
** The Grey Wardens themselves also offer an interesting variation on this, both subverting this and playing it ''very'' straight. The Wardens are single-mindedly determined to defeat the Blights whenever they arise, whilst remaining vigilant in the shadows when they are not. What makes the Wardens an interesting variation when subverting this is that they remain politically neutral in all internal affairs, often serving in a diplomatic capacity between nations and factions, while accepting members of all races and nations in Thedas without a thought. In this capacity, the Wardens can be seen as an order of Warrior Monks who maintain and attempt to keep the peace in Thedas. However, when the Blights and the Darkspawn emerge once more, [[LetsGetDangerous all bets are suddenly off]] in what the Wardens will do, which, as we're often reminded in the game, can lead to, as Alistair puts it, [[GoodIsNotNice "some pretty extreme things"]]. The Wardens will, in these circumstances, accept former or active Blood Mages, burn down innocent villages in order to protect more vital ones, potentially side with and thus gain contingent of ''Werewolves'' to help defend cities, authorise the creation of Golems ([[AndIMustScream who are completely self aware, but have no free will]]), and will forcibly recruit people into their order, even [[spoiler:Loghain]].
** ''Awakening'' gives you the option to either save the Warden stronghold of Vigil's Keep or the City of Amaranthine at the expense of the other. It's potentially possible to do both and keep all of your companions alive afterwards, but this is [[EarnYourHappyEnding not easily done]]. There is also the option to [[spoiler:keep the Architect, a sentient ''Darkspawn'', alive so he can continue his research into removing the HiveMind connection the Darkspawn have to the Archdemons]].
** ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' has the option to choose between various backstories of the first game. The full-on KnightTemplar option is by no means light, aptly titled "No Compromise".
** In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', [[spoiler: Anders]] eventually becomes one of these, due to [[spoiler: becoming an abomination and fusing with Justice, turning the spirit into Vengeance.]] The influence of [[spoiler: Vengeance, coupled with Ander's hatred for the templars and bitterness toward the oppression that mages suffer under]], means that [[spoiler: Anders/Vengeance is ultimately driven to plot a terror attack on the Kirkwall Chantry to force the conflict into an all-out war]].
** Knight-Commander Meredith, the leader of the Templars, is the very embodiment of the Knight Templar archetype, resorting to whatever means she can to ensure that mages don't go out of control, considering it her painful but righteous duty to suppress any free will that mages might exhibit, all the while rigidly clinging to her faith in the Maker and her position as His 'humble servant'. [[spoiler: She falls into a short crisis of faith during the final battle, when she is close to falling, but instantly reassures herself that the Maker is with her, and continues the fight with renewed zealous conviction]].
** Even before Meredith, you had Ser Alric, who proposed a "[[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything final solution]]" to the mage problem [[spoiler:in the form of making ALL mages Tranquil]]. And, from the start of the game, we had [[spoiler: Sister Petrice]]. At first, she's content to [[spoiler: get someone killed in order to highlight how "barbaric" the Qunari are and what a blight they are to the Chantry]], but she takes this ''[[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope several]]'' steps higher when [[spoiler:she murders the Viscount's son in cold blood because A) he was a convert to the Qun, and B) so she could make up a sob story about a Qunari supporter {[[PlayerCharacter Hawke]]) having killed the man while he was in the Chantry itself repenting his sins and coming back to the fold]].
* Sofia Lamb, leader of a sinister cult in the ruined undersea dystopia of Rapture during the events of ''VideoGame/BioShock2'', is this. [[spoiler: She believes that utopia cannot precede the utopian, plans on making humanity devoid of free will and self-awareness, and thinks that every action must be for the "Greater Good". She doesn't care about any moral arguments, individual pain, or suffering caused by her philosophy (kidnapping girls from the surface to make more Little Sisters to keep a bunch of insane mutated folk living in an abandoned underwater dystopia with a large supply of mutagenic drugs, because, in her mind, the pleasure gained by the Splicers overrules the suffering to the girls' families, is perfectly acceptable), and plans on injecting her daughter with all the minds of Rapture, making her into a mindless...thing that only serves the "common good" as defined by Sofia. It's even worse than it sounds.]]
* In ''VideoGame/BaldursGate 2'', Jahiera's personal quest revolves around a radical branch of the Harpers who believe that you must die due to your nature as a Bhaalspawn, regardless of whether you're a heroic person or not.
** Also, [[AnimalWrongsGroup Faldorn]].
* Agent Edgar Ross of ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'' sees no problems with [[IHaveYourWife kidnapping the wife and son]] of the RetiredOutlaw John Marston ([[TheAtoner Atoner]] or not) and using them as hostages to get him to go out and kill his former gang. And he spits out a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech every single time he sees John. He also ''really'' does not like {{Karma Houdini}}s.
-->"...Everyone will eventually pay for what they've done."
** Ironically, he's a KarmaHoudini himself...[[spoiler:Until Jack Marston avenges his father.]]
* Cyrus from ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' is out to create a world without war or conflict. To achieve this, he plans to destroy the current universe and rewrite it from scratch (possibly without emotion, depending on which version you play). At heart, he's still a pacifist, but boy does he know how to stretch the definition of that.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite's'' Team Plasma take the definition in its most literal form -- the members are dressed as Crusade-era knights, complete with Chi Rho on their chest cloth, and they claim that their mission is to "save" Pokémon from human enslavement. They look the part, for sure, and given the recent Serebii update, the methods involve theft to carry this out, so acting the part's guaranteed. [[spoiler:It turns out that Team Plasma doesn't follow this trope one hundred percent -- it's all a front for Ghetsis, one of the Seven Sages, to conquer Unova and be the only one allowed to use Pokémon. It is ambiguous how many Team Plasma members were truly in it for the cause they claimed -- the only one for sure being their [[UnwittingPawn figurehead]] leader and Ghetsis's son, N -- who's [[TheWoobie the least evil]] [[AntiVillain of the lot]].]]

* In ''VideoGame/MightAndMagic VII'', there are clear signs of some back-story between the good Church of the Sun and the evil Church of the Moon, showing that the Church of the Sun put too much emphasis on defeating the Moonies and not enough on, for instance, taking care not to leave too much of Erathia and its environs a seared wasteland.
* Just to push the point at how righteous he is, we have [[VideoGame/GuiltyGear Ky Kiske]] and his Knight Templar-tastic theme "''Holy Orders (Be Just or Be Dead)''". He gets better.

* The guards from ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]''? Probably due more to the game's AI for them, but so much as touch something that doesn't belong to you and -- '''''STOP! YOU'VE VIOLATED THE LAW!!!!'''''
** It's just as bad across the other parts of the Elder Scrolls series. So much as ''sleep in public'' in [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]] and you've suddenly got guards crawling out the woodwork, all of them shouting at you to '''HALT!'''
* [[spoiler:Edna Strickland]] of the ''VideoGame/BackToTheFuture'' Telltale Game certainly counts. [[spoiler: She had prudish tendencies before (which [[DeanBitterman runs in the family]]), but it gets cranked UpToEleven in the third episode - she and Citizen Brown have turned Hill Valley into a police state in order to rid it of vice, and she later [[MoralEventHorizon sentences her own husband to be tortured and brainwashed]] for daring to disagree with her.]]
* Ishida Mitsunari from ''VideoGame/SengokuBasara'' is [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge out to avenge the death]] of his liege lord at the hands of the villainous Tokugawa Ieyasu, and believes himself to be the only righteous person (aside from his friend [[ConsummateLiar Yoshitsugu]]) in Japan. All those who will not repent their villainous ways and join his noble cause are vile betrayers to be cleansed as the sinners they are. From anyone ''else'''s point of view, Mitsunari is an extremely fanatical and angry man lacking a purpose in life beyond his revenge, and Ieyasu is, for the most part, a (slightly hypocritical) LoveFreak whose repeated attempts at reasoning with Mitsunari only makes Mitsunari angrier.
* ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' has Allfather Lloyd, a lore figure and the leader of [[TheTheocracy Thorolund]] and Way of the White covenant. He organized a religion based around hunting undead and sacrificing them to prolong the Age of Fire. The [[spoiler:Darkwraiths]] would likely have been KnightTemplar {{Evil Counterpart}}s to the Way of White if they didn't go DrunkWithPower and become AlwaysChaoticEvil.
* The main villains of ''MasterOfTheWind'', the Hand, are a religious cult that fanatically believes that humans alone deserve to rule Soleste, and all nonhumans must be subjugated. Most of their forces consist of "holy" people who utilize light magic, and throughout the series they claim to be the "chosen of [[CrystalDragonJesus Arcadius]]" and that their actions are "spreading his divine will". [[spoiler:It turns out at the end that its all a farce. While the Hand's leader fanatically believes in the cult's message, TheDragon, who turns out to be the real power behind the Hand, doesn't actually care about Acradius' "message", and started the Hand purely so she could revel in the power she would have once they took over the world.]]

* [[spoiler: Colonel Longhena]] in ''[[DonPachi DoDonPachi]]''.
* MCPO John-117 (aka Master Chief) from the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' franchise starts off at this, especially in the novels. No matter what the situation, John is the consumate soldier. Even in ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}'', he readily accepts the orders of Tom Lasky (who, as a cadet, [[spoiler: had his ass saved by the Chief) even though he (the Master Chief) is much more experienced, simply because Lasky is an officer.]] Granted, this is what [=NCOs=] are expected to do with officers in general, but John is a legend in the UNSC, and Lasky even [[LampshadeHanging points out]], "Feels kinda odd for you to call me "Sir." But John is the consummate soldier, and follows the chain of command, even when the protocol is contrary to common sense.
* [[spoiler: Nikolai]] from [[{{VideoGame/AnarchyReigns}} Anarchy Reigns]] is one of the worst. He claims to work for law and order, but in the end, he just belives that the law is whatever the strong decide it should be, and order is a way to keep the weak on the bottom and himself on top.
* [[spoiler: As of DmC: Devil May Cry, Vergil has revealed himself to be one. At the last mission of the game, when Dante, Kat and he are looking at the city as Limbo has fallen apon Earth, Vergil responds ''"The path is clear for us to rule".'']]

* [[spoiler: As of DmC: Devil May Cry, Vergil has revealed himself to be one. At the last mission of the game, when Dante, Kat and he are looking at the city as Limbo has fallen apon Earth, Vergil responds''The path is clear for us to rule.'']]

* [[spoiler: As of http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VideoGame/DmCDevilMayCry, Vergil has revealed himself to be one. At the last mission of the game, when Dante, Kat and he are looking at the city as Limbo has fallen apon Earth, Vergil responds''The path is clear for us to rule.'']]

* [[spoiler: As of {{DmC: Devil May Cry}}, Vergil has revealed himself to be one. At the last mission of the game, when Dante, Kat and he are looking at the city as Limbo has fallen apon Earth, Vergil responds "The path is clear for us to rule."]]

* [[spoiler: As of {{DmC Devil May Cry}}, Vergil has revealed himself to be one. At the last mission of the game, when Dante, Kat and he are looking at the city as Limbo has fallen apon Earth, Vergil responds "The path is clear for us to rule."

[[spoiler: Nikolai]] from [[{{VideoGame/AnarchyReigns}} Anarchy Reigns]] is one of the worst. He claims to work for law and order, but in the end, he just belives that the law is whatever the strong decide it should be, and order is a way to keep the weak on the bottom and himself on top.

* Possibly [[LightIsNotGood Helios]] from ''VideoGame/GodOfWar 3''. In the third game, he is not only very determined to destroy the Titans (his own kind in the original [[ClassicalMythology Greek Mythology]]) so that they can't triumph, but also remarkably loyal to Zeus even after revealing himself to be something of a coward. [[spoiler: This loyalty causes extremely poorly made decisions that result in his death]]. Also, of all the gods in ''God of War 3'', he is the only one who has no personal reasons to attack Kratos.
* MCPO John-117 (aka Master Chief) from the [[Halo]] franchise starts off at this, especially in the novels. No matter what the situation, John is the consumate soldier. Even in [[Halo 4]], he readily accepts the orders of Tom Lasky (who, as a cadet, [[spoiler: [[ForwardUntoDawn had his ass saved by the Chief) even though he (the Master Chief) is much more experienced, simply because Lasky is an officer.]] Granted, this is what NCOs are expected to do with officers in general, but John is a legend in the UNSC, and Lasky even [[LampshadeHanging points out]], "Feels kinda odd for you to call me "Sir." But John is the consummate soldier, and follows the chain of command, even when the protocol is contrary to common sense.

* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic II'' has Jedi Master Atris. She is more extreme than most of the Jedi council, wanting [[PlayerCharacter the Exile]] to be punished even more than s/he was, arrogantly dismisses everything she doesn't agree with as being of the Dark Side, and during the events of the game, claiming to be the only true Jedi left. She is even willing to [[spoiler:call a conclave on Katarr without attending, to figure out the enemy that was hunting them. As a result, Darth Nihilus devasted the entire planet]]. Unfortunately, in her efforts to fight the Sith, [[spoiler:she has unknowingly fallen to the dark side]].

* [[spoiler: Colonel Longhena]] in ''[[VideoGame/DonPachi DoDonPachi]]''.