Broken Sword: The Shadow of The Templars - Plot

Plot

As the game begins, the American tourist George Stobbart witnesses a terrorist attack at a cafe in Paris, during which a clown steals an old man's briefcase and detonates a bomb. Soon after, George meets Nicole Collard, a journalist who is photographing the scene. George investigates the area to help Nicole gather information about the attack. He finds the clown's discarded nose and learns that a man was seen escaping with a briefcase. After Nicole discovers the address of a costume shop inside the clown nose, George learns from that shop's owner that the nose had been purchased by a man named Khan.

George travels to the hotel where Khan is staying, where he obtains an ancient manuscript from Khan's hotel safe. After evading two hired thugs, Flap and Guido, George takes the manuscript to Nicole, who deduces that it is related to the Knights Templar. In a nearby museum, George finds a tripod that is illustrated in the manuscript. He soon travels to the excavation site in Lochmarne, Ireland where the tripod had been discovered; and, there, he obtains a gem identical to one on the manuscript. In a Templar chapel beneath the local castle ruins, George discovers a mural of a hanged man with "Montfauçon" written underneath.

George returns to Paris and learns from Andre Lobineau, a colleague of Nicole's, that Montfauçon is a location in Paris. Flap and Guido attempt to steal the tripod from the museum; but they are beaten to the theft by Nicole, who gives the artifact to George. In the sewers of Montfauçon, George spies on a secret meeting of people who claim to be the Templars, and he learns of their plan to find the Sword of Baphomet. After the group leaves, George uses the tripod and gem in the underground chamber to reveal the name of a village in Syria: Marib. He travels to the village and discovers that Khan has been looking for him. At a nearby rock formation called the Bull's Head, George finds a lens and deduces that it is represented on the manuscript as a crystal ball. He also discovers an idol with three bearded faces, Baphomet; and a Latin inscription that describes Britain. Khan arrives and holds George at gunpoint, but George manages to escape.

Back in Paris, George learns from Andre that the manuscript mentions the Spanish De Vasconcellos family, who were once connected with the Templars. At the family's villa, George speaks to the family's sole surviving member, a Countess, who leads him to the De Vasconcellos mausoleum. There, George discovers the family's chalice, which the Countess entrusts to George. She asks him to find her missing ancestor, Don Carlos. In Paris, George uses the lens in the church at Montfauçon and discovers a hidden image of a burning man. In the church, George find Don Carlos' tomb, which is inscribed with a series of biblical references.

Andre reveals that an idol of Baphomet has been discovered in Paris, and George gains access to the excavation. Using the chalice, he discovers an image of a church with a square tower. George returns to the Countess, and he discovers that the biblical references show a secret area inside a well containing a chessboard mural with a river running through it. Compiling their clues, George, Nicole and Andre decide that the Templars are going to Bannockburn, Scotland. George and Nicole board a train, but she and an old woman in their compartment soon go missing. He reaches the conductor's carriage, where the old woman, Khan in disguise, throws Flap out of the carriage. However, Khan is shot and killed by another man. George and Nicole reach the church in time to see the Grand Master of the Templars acquire a power from two huge Baphomet idols—the Sword of Baphomet, or the Broken Sword. After trying to tempt George to join their ranks, the Grand Master orders the couple to be killed, but they escape with the aid of explosives. The church explodes, killing Guido, the Templars and—presumably—the Grand Master. The game ends with George and Nicole's first kiss.