Cult, crime, or something in between?
You may have seen them too.
Usually, they aren't difficult to recognize.
Shaved heads. Tattoos. Dark clothing. Sometimes groups of them standing around outside buildings, alleys, abandoned properties, or places where most sensible people wouldn't willingly spend their evening.
Police have connected members of the group to a long list of serious crimes, including kidnapping, murder, assault, intimidation, and other violent offenses. Yet despite how often the Black Templars appear in Ravenport crime reports, there is surprisingly little that the public actually knows about the organization itself.
And that's where things get strange.
MORE THAN A GANG
Calling the Black Templars a gang might be accurate, but it doesn't appear to tell the whole story.
The group has reportedly developed an interest in occult practices, rituals, symbols, ancient texts, and other forms of esoteric knowledge.
Exactly why they study these things is unclear.
Some former associates have claimed that members believe occult knowledge can give them access to things ordinary people don't understand. Others suggest the group's interest is simply another method of control—something used to manipulate recruits and frighten outsiders.
There are even rumors that certain Black Templar members conduct private rituals.
Whether those stories are true or simply another product of Ravenport's endless supply of urban legends is difficult to determine.
But the group certainly seems interested in the occult.
And that's unsettling enough.
RECRUITMENT
The Black Templars are also believed to actively recruit new members.
Their recruitment methods are difficult to establish, although people familiar with the group describe a structure where newcomers gradually become involved in increasingly serious criminal activity.
What begins as hanging around the group can apparently become something much harder to walk away from.
The organization has been accused of recruiting people who are vulnerable, angry, isolated, or already involved in criminal activity.
Once inside, members may be expected to prove their loyalty.
That can mean participating in assaults, intimidation, criminal operations, or activities connected to the group's occult interests.
Of course, the Black Templars themselves have rarely offered anything resembling a public explanation.
WHY THE TATTOOS?
One of the most recognizable features of Black Templar members is their appearance.
Many have completely shaved heads covered in tattoos, with some tattoos reportedly containing symbols associated with the organization.
The meaning behind those markings remains uncertain.
Some are believed to represent rank or membership. Others may have religious or occult meanings.
Then again, Ravenport residents have a tendency to assign supernatural explanations to anything they don't understand.
So perhaps not every strange tattoo is a secret occult symbol.
Still, if you see a group of heavily tattooed, shaved-head men wearing dark clothing and acting suspiciously...
Maybe don't go over and ask.
A LONG CRIMINAL RECORD
The Black Templars have been linked to numerous crimes throughout Ravenport.
Kidnapping.
Murder.
Assault.
Threats and intimidation.
Violent gang activity.
And potentially much more.
Authorities have reportedly investigated multiple individuals associated with the organization, although proving that every crime is directly connected to the Black Templars has proven difficult.
Like many criminal organizations, the group doesn't appear to operate with a neat organizational chart sitting on someone's desk.
Members come and go.
Associates disappear.
New recruits appear.
And investigations often end with more questions than answers.
SO WHAT DO THEY ACTUALLY WANT?
That's probably the biggest question.
Money?
Power?
Control?
Occult knowledge?
Something else entirely?
Nobody outside the organization seems to know.
The Black Templars don't appear interested in becoming famous, either. They don't advertise themselves. They don't hold press conferences. They don't publish manifestos.
They simply keep appearing.
In Ravenport's crime reports.
In rumors.
In stories told by people who claim they encountered them.
And occasionally, in places where nobody expected them to be.
For now, the Black Templars remain one of Ravenport's most notorious criminal organizations—and possibly one of its strangest.
They're criminals, occultists, recruiters, or perhaps all three.
And if the rumors surrounding them are even partially true, Ravenport may know far less about the Black Templars than it thinks it does.
