Temple

Temple is the classic knights faction of Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era: an army of the Sun's faithful led by heroes with the faction skill Righteousness, fielding Swordsmen, Crossbowmen, Griffins, Lightweavers, Cavalry, Inquisitors and, at tier 7, Angels. Unfrozen's first FAQ introduced it as "Temple (Classic Knights)" (Unfrozen, Aug 30, 2024), one of the 3 familiar factions beside Necropolis and Dungeon. It was playable in the free demo of Oct 9, 2025 and in the Early Access release of Apr 30, 2026, and it is the faction whose own skill has changed most since launch. All six are compared on Factions; how to play it is on Temple Guide.

Quick facts

Lore

The Temple follows the Sun, which its clerics hold to be a magic chalice where good souls go after death; so the templars preach self-improvement and hate necromancers, as Unfrozen's lore devlog explains (Devlog #3, Oct 20, 2024). Unfrozen's in-universe scholar sets the "Temple of the Sun" against the Church of the Moon: the twin Churches of Sun and Moon "have competed for the hearts and minds of people across the globe", and the Sun clerics blame necromancers for "interfering with the passing of souls" (Devlog #4, Nov 15, 2024). The Sep 3, 2026 plans post says Temple's "power fantasy should be built around their faith in the Chalice" (Patch #14). The setting is the continent of Jadame, and the faction's place in the story is told in the Campaign.

The town

0:07 The Temple town is a sunny city of timber houses, market stalls, a golden castle and blue-domed halls, with a palace floating on a cloud in Steam's store screenshot; it is the first town in Unfrozen's Early Access launch trailer. Unfrozen reworked the town and the Angels after early feedback, which its post of Jun 13, 2025 lists among the changes made before delaying Early Access (Unfrozen). Dwellings named in the patch notes include "Mews" for tier 2 and "Griffin Rookery" for tier 3 (Patch #11, Jul 6, 2026).

17:28 The town's unique building is the "Guild of Six Winds" (Patch #8): Turin's guide shows a hero trained there for a day in Attack, Defense, Spell Power or Knowledge, leaving the army in the town's reserve, and he recommends sending a hero there only after the day's movement is spent.

Creatures

Every tier has a base creature and two alternative upgrades; the names below are the ones in Unfrozen's patch notes (beta notes, Oct 15, 2026). The whole bestiary is on Creatures.

21:39 The Steam store page singles out griffins that "counterattack multiple times", knights with "devastating charges" and the Hierophant, which heals (Steam). Several models changed before launch: Unfrozen redesigned the Angels, Archangels and Apotheosis (the Archangels got a new color scheme) and fully remade the Temple Cavalry (Devlog #15, Apr 24, 2026; Community Feedback #4, Mar 6, 2026).

Faction skill: from Ascension to Righteousness and its prayers

Every hero starts with the faction skill (FAQ Part 2). Temple's has had three forms:

• Ascension (Jul 2025 chart). Unfrozen's skills devlog showed the Temple skill as Ascension: each time a friendly stack dies, the remaining friendly creatures' HP rises by 10%, 20% or 30% at Basic, Advanced and Expert until the end of the next round (Devlog #11, Jul 25, 2025, in an image).
• Righteousness (Early Access). At launch the skill is called Righteousness, with subskills such as "Chosen One", which gives creatures part of the hero's attributes, and "Strong Faith", which adds attributes when a stack dies; Patch #8 cut them from 100% to 50% and from 2 to 1 (Jun 1, 2026).
• Prayers (public beta). Patch #14 announced a rework "in the form of prayers" (Unfrozen, Sep 3, 2026). The Oct 15, 2026 beta rebuilt Righteousness so the hero uses one of three prayers in battle: "Song of Wrath" (attacks deal extra Pure Damage), "Plea for Healing" (stacks that take damage restore health and can resurrect fallen creatures) and "Hymn of Power" (abilities extend the stack's positive effects), with strength depending on hero level. Its subskills include "Fields of Serenity" (Temple creatures deal 10% more and take 10% less damage on native terrain), "Piety" (10% more experience) and "Contemplation" (prayers need no Focus Charges) (beta notes). Unfrozen wrote that the new skill "is no longer tied to creatures dying in battle or to a significant increase in the hero's stats". The beta update of Oct 21, 2026 made each prayer single-use but stackable on several stacks at once (v0.82.03).

0:37 The creator Turin's Temple guide of May 14, 2026 explains the launch version in play: whenever a friendly creature dies or kills an enemy, the hero's Attack, Defense, Spell Power and Knowledge rise by 1 for two rounds, and the bonus stacks, so losing even one Swordsman strengthens the whole army.

The prayers exist only on the public beta branch as of Oct 21, 2026; Unfrozen has not dated their release to the main game.

Faction Laws

35:02 Faction Laws are each faction's perk tree, bought with Seals earned from Law points. Unfrozen's laws devlog named three Temple laws: build structures in your towns twice a day, immunity to negative effects while fighting in Grasslands, and Temple heroes able to learn any spell of any tier (Devlog #14, Dec 5, 2025). The patch notes name many more, among them "Tax Collectors", "Architect's Mastery", "Hero's Blessing", "Power of Faith", "Encouragement", "Training: Scouting", "Elite Griffins", "Elite Cavalry", "Elite Inquisitors" and "Elite Angels".

The laws have moved more than any other faction's. Patch #13 said Temple "underperforms in the late game" and gave every creature-upgrade law an extra level, from 2 to 3 (Aug 20, 2026); on Sep 30, 2026 "Sacred Lands" was replaced by "Sacred Protection", which makes friendly heroes immune to negative effects in combat and on the adventure map (Unfrozen); and the Oct 15 beta, because of the new faction skill, cut the creature laws back to two levels, removed "Execute Excellence" and turned "Elite Angels" into ignoring 10% or 20% of the target's Defense.

Heroes

16:14 Temple heroes named in Unfrozen's patch notes include Lord Edgar (who starts with Righteousness and passes part of his attributes to his creatures), Vesper, Julius, Nadir, Anastasia the Meek, Aeos the Exalted, Heretic Avis, Pip, Lia the Untethered One, Clarissa, Kestrel, Keandra, Merry Elias and Zenith (Patch #8; Patch #11). Vesper is a familiar face: Unfrozen's art devlog sets "Old Vesper in Heroes II" beside "Young Vesper in Olden Era" (Devlog #15). Lord Edgar's specialization was weakened in Patch #8 and again in the Oct 21 beta, while Patch #11 traded his Advanced Righteousness for Basic Righteousness and Battlecraft. Picks for every faction are on Best Heroes.

Changes in patches

• Patch #11 (Jul 6, 2026): Griffins' health rose from 25 to 30, tier 2 shooters lost a point of Initiative, and an exploit that let Temple players gain endless resources on the adventure map was fixed.
• Patch #13 (Aug 20, 2026): the law overhaul above, with cheaper "Architect's Mastery" (from 6 to 2 Seals) and "Tax Collectors".
• Public beta (Oct 15, 2026): the prayers, plus new abilities: "Shields Up" for all tier 1 versions, "Inspiring" for Noble Cavalry, "Strike and Return" for Sunspear Cavalry and "Malleus Maleficarum" for Mother Superior (beta notes).

Frequently asked questions

What is the Temple faction in Olden Era? Temple is the human knights faction of Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era, the faithful of the Sun, with Swordsmen, Crossbowmen, Griffins, Cavalry, Inquisitors and Angels. It was one of the four factions in the Oct 2025 demo and one of six at the Early Access launch on Apr 30, 2026.

What is Temple's faction skill in Olden Era? Temple's faction skill is Righteousness. In the public beta of Oct 15, 2026 it was rebuilt around three prayers (Song of Wrath, Plea for Healing and Hymn of Power), which are not on the main branch as of Oct 21, 2026.

What are the Temple units in Olden Era? Olden Era's Temple fields Swordsman, Crossbowman, Griffin, Lightweaver, Cavalry, Inquisitor and Angel at tiers 1 to 7, each with two alternative upgrades, such as Archangel and Apotheosis for the Angel.

What are the Temple faction laws? Unfrozen's examples of Temple laws in Olden Era are building twice a day in your towns, immunity to negative effects in Grasslands and letting Temple heroes learn any spell of any tier; other laws upgrade each creature tier, the economy and the heroes.

Who are the Temple heroes in Olden Era? Olden Era's Temple heroes include Lord Edgar, Vesper, Julius, Nadir, Anastasia the Meek, Aeos the Exalted, Lia the Untethered One, Kestrel, Keandra and Zenith, among the 18 each faction has in Early Access.

Sources

• FAQ, Unfrozen, Aug 30, 2024
• Devlog #3: On Lore and Subjectivity, Unfrozen, Oct 20, 2024
• Devlog #4: On Necromancy and the Necromancers' Guild, Unfrozen, Nov 15, 2024
• FAQ: Part 2, Unfrozen, Dec 6, 2024
• Important Update Regarding Early Access, Unfrozen, Jun 13, 2025
• Devlog #11: Game Mechanics pt. 2: Skills and Subclasses, Unfrozen, Jul 25, 2025
• Devlog #13: On Schism and Their Eldritch Powers, Unfrozen, Aug 29, 2025
• Demo is LIVE NOW!, Unfrozen, Oct 9, 2025
• Devlog #14: Gameplay Mechanics pt. 3: Faction Laws, Unfrozen, Dec 5, 2025
• HoMM: Olden Era | Community Feedback #4: UI, QoL and Others!, Unfrozen, Mar 6, 2026
• Devlog #15: How and Why We Chose the Artstyle of Olden Era, Unfrozen, Apr 24, 2026
• Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era Released!, Unfrozen, Apr 30, 2026
• Patch #8: Skills Rework, Balance Pass & Exploit Fixes, Unfrozen, Jun 1, 2026
• Patch #11: Necromancy Update, UI Tweaks and Balance Changes, Unfrozen, Jul 6, 2026
• Patch #13: The Mysterious Island, Unfrozen, Aug 20, 2026
• Patch #14: More PvE Content and Plans for the Future!, Unfrozen, Sep 3, 2026
• Alliances & Updated Random Map Generator, Unfrozen, Sep 30, 2026
• BETA Patch: Balance Update - New Damage Formula, Smarter AI & New Creatures, Unfrozen, Oct 15, 2026
• BETA Patch: Balance Tweaks - Spells, Heroes & a New Artifact, Unfrozen, Oct 21, 2026
• Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era on Steam, Steam, read Oct 21, 2026
• Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era - Early Access Launch Trailer!, Unfrozen Official, Apr 30, 2026 (video)
• Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era - Temple Faction Beginners Guide, Turin, May 14, 2026 (video)