What Paul said.




Important points:

1. Only Word can create a normal.dotm template. If you try to make your own you will end up crippling Word.
2. You do not have to use macros. However, by not doing so, you are reducing what you can do with Word.
3. The normal template that Word builds contains no macros.

You can find more about the normal template and its functions here: Normal Template.



Why, other than that you do not use macros, do you want to avoid using the normal template that is a part of Word.