The Templates are a fan-created species originally devised by Multivac'sEntropicDilemma.
Origin and History
When the Matoran Universe was still young, the Makuta were in charge of creating Rahi. The Makuta went about doing this through the use of energy-based Viruses, which were fused with liquid protodermis and then manipulated in order to engineer Rahi for whatever purposes they saw fit. However, there was a flaw with this process: any new Rahi that a Makuta wanted, had to be created entirely from scratch -- synthesizing the virus, and then mixing it with liquid protodermis. Not only that, but the process took time -- up to weeks on average.
One Makuta (whose name is lost to history) noticed this flaw -- that the creation of a new Rahi was something that had to be done and redone over and over again. In times of peace this may not be a problem, the Makuta mused, but what about the rare occasion where they needed a Rahi that could perform a specific task, as soon as possible? They didn't have weeks to wait. Besides, the first few steps of the system were always the same, no matter what the end result was to be, and the Makuta believed it was a waste of time having to go through the beginning stages each time one wished to create.
With that in mind, the Makuta set out to standardize the process and make it more efficient. The viruses were unique, the Makuta felt, but the raw material -- the bodies -- were fundamentally the same. By experimenting with liquid Protodermis and a few basic viruses, the Makuta engineered an embryo of sorts, with three characteristics: they were created from materials common across the universe, meaning their components were not scarce; they could be easily and quickly mass-produced; and, best of all, they had an indefinite 'shelf-life'.
Then, when a Makuta wished to create a new Rahi, all he or she had to do was engineer the Virus, inject it into the embryo, and within minutes, the embryo would transform into that Rahi, complete with organs, minds, and the powers the Makuta needed. These embryos had no preset characteristics of their own -- blank 'templates', in short, on which someone else could add traits of their own liking. The 'physical body' step of Rahi creation had essentially been eliminated with this Makuta's invention -- any Makuta could churn out literally an army of new Rahi in hours. This new process allowed for much faster creation of Rahi, and facilitated their spread across the Matoran Universe.
The Makuta who had invented the embryos continued to experiment with the creation, until one day, through a freak accident, he discovered that by injecting a certain virus into these embryos, the genetic energy in the virus and the compounds in the embryos combined in such a way that the creations that resulted had sentience and self-awareness. The Makuta had stumbled upon the secret to the creation of souls.
Keeping the discovery a secret, the Makuta continued to create these homunculi. No two 'Templates' (as they were called) were alike: some were smarter than the others, each had a unique personality. But they differed in body structure as well, as the Makuta experimented with each new creation. Some were bipedal -- some had hundreds upon hundreds of appendages. Some had wings -- some were amphibious. Soon the Makuta had created dozens of these Templates, artificial beings that were more intelligent than the Rahkshi could ever be.
Eventually, the rest of the Brotherhood found out about the Makuta's experiments, and, for his treachery, had the Makuta executed. It was only after the Makuta's death that they realized their mistake: the Makuta had never recorded the magical formula of artificial sentience, taking the process to the grave. The Brotherhood had lost their chance for a way to quickly mass-produce soldiers that were clever enough to make decisions in the battlefield on their own. When the Brotherhood took over the Universe centuries later, it was through trickery, not force as would have been possible with sentient soldiers. The Rahkshi, albeit deadly, couldn't perform acts that required independent thinking.
Most of the Templates that had already been created were hunted down and killed, but the rest managed to escape and live out their lives. Fewer than a hundred still roamed around at the time of the Academy, their numbers having been slowly whittled down over the years.
Appearance and Biology
Varies widely with individuals. Some resemble fish, some insects...some have multiple legs, some have none at all...some are quadrupeds, some are humanoids...The only trait that all Templates share is sentience. Therefore it's usually impossible to tell a Template from a Rahi or even from other sentient species, not to mention the Templates that have survived to this day are extremely talented at disguising their origins, in order to escape extermination by the few Makuta who still have an eye out for their presence.
Powers and Abilities
Varies with individuals.
Culture
Varies with individuals.
Notable Templates
Sufik Siate
Main Article: Sufik Siate (BZPRPG)
Part of a series of Templates that were created as part of an attempt to take the power of invulnerability to its absolute, Sufik Siate (Designation A-8, Codename Ragdoll) was a Template who was designed to be "unkillable". A bipedal humanoid with an extra joint on his arms and legs, A-8's rubber-like ligaments and deflatable organs allowed him a level of flexibility that stretched the limits of imagination. His bones were such that they could not be broken by normal methods. A-8 could turn his neck and other joints a full 720 degrees. He was resistant to the opposite extremes of intense heat and cold, as well as concussive force and pressure. Not only that, but he had the ability to 'turn off' his sense of pain, so that even if an attack caused him to bleed, he could completely ignore the feeling as long as he deemed it inconvenient.
As with most other Templates, A-8 chose to give himself a name of his own choosing, in this case 'Sufik Siate'. He has never shared the meaning behind the name.
Sufik Siate was one of the lucky Templates, in that he stuck with some of his kindred as a group, weathering the extermination of their 'race' by the Brotherhood. Eventually Sufik Siate found his way into a mercenary group called the Hunters, rising above its ranks until he became their leader.
Eventually, Sufik Siate was approached with a deal by a mysterious stranger (Zyrul), to attack the Academy. Unknown to Sufik Siate or the rest of his group, this was in fact a test by Zyrul to see if there were any Academy students worth promoting to Elite status. The end of the battle left several of their Hunters dead. Feeling betrayed, Sufik Siate cut off their ties to Zyrul, though they stuck around in Metru Nui for a while longer to observe the events. For a short time they believed the Kin to be villains, thanks to Zyrul's propaganda, though once they realized the truth, pledged their allegiance to the Kin.
Sufik Siate remained loyal to the group through several incidents, until, upon arriving in the dimension of Aensetr Derrum, he was captured by a Matoran gang and tortured to a horrifyingly violent extent. Eventually, he died of his wounds, though not before finally seeing one of his fellow Kin again before his final journey to the Inheritance.