diff --git a/lib/ansible/executor/task_executor.py b/lib/ansible/executor/task_executor.py
index b317c72cb5a..297d8b2526f 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/executor/task_executor.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/executor/task_executor.py
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ from ansible import constants as C
 from ansible.errors import AnsibleError, AnsibleParserError
 from ansible.playbook.conditional import Conditional
 from ansible.playbook.task import Task
-from ansible.plugins import lookup_loader, connection_loader, action_loader
+from ansible.plugins import connection_loader, action_loader
 from ansible.template import Templar
 from ansible.utils.listify import listify_lookup_plugin_terms
 from ansible.utils.unicode import to_unicode
@@ -149,10 +149,14 @@ class TaskExecutor:
         # now we update them with the play context vars
         self._play_context.update_vars(vars_copy)
 
+        templar = Templar(loader=self._loader, shared_loader_obj=self._shared_loader_obj, variables=vars_copy)
         items = None
-        if self._task.loop and self._task.loop in lookup_loader:
-            loop_terms = listify_lookup_plugin_terms(terms=self._task.loop_args, variables=vars_copy, loader=self._loader, fail_on_undefined=True)
-            items = lookup_loader.get(self._task.loop, loader=self._loader).run(terms=loop_terms, variables=vars_copy)
+        if self._task.loop:
+            if self._task.loop in self._shared_loader_obj.lookup_loader:
+                loop_terms = listify_lookup_plugin_terms(terms=self._task.loop_args, templar=templar, loader=self._loader, fail_on_undefined=True)
+                items = self._shared_loader_obj.lookup_loader.get(self._task.loop, loader=self._loader, templar=templar).run(terms=loop_terms, variables=vars_copy)
+            else:
+                raise AnsibleError("Unexpected failure in finding the lookup named '%s' in the available lookup plugins" % self._task.loop)
 
         return items
 
diff --git a/lib/ansible/playbook/__init__.py b/lib/ansible/playbook/__init__.py
index 40e6638f239..6f7aee35ad9 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/playbook/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/playbook/__init__.py
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ from ansible.parsing import DataLoader
 from ansible.playbook.attribute import Attribute, FieldAttribute
 from ansible.playbook.play import Play
 from ansible.playbook.playbook_include import PlaybookInclude
-from ansible.plugins import push_basedir
+from ansible.plugins import get_all_plugin_loaders
 
 
 __all__ = ['Playbook']
@@ -57,8 +57,12 @@ class Playbook:
         # set the loaders basedir
         self._loader.set_basedir(self._basedir)
 
-        # also add the basedir to the list of module directories
-        push_basedir(self._basedir)
+        # dynamically load any plugins from the role directory
+        for name, obj in get_all_plugin_loaders():
+            if obj.subdir:
+                plugin_path = os.path.join(self._basedir, obj.subdir)
+                if os.path.isdir(plugin_path):
+                    obj.add_directory(plugin_path)
 
         ds = self._loader.load_from_file(os.path.basename(file_name))
         if not isinstance(ds, list):
diff --git a/lib/ansible/playbook/role/__init__.py b/lib/ansible/playbook/role/__init__.py
index 415ce12d1f8..f46014f60bc 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/playbook/role/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/playbook/role/__init__.py
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ from ansible.playbook.helpers import load_list_of_blocks
 from ansible.playbook.role.include import RoleInclude
 from ansible.playbook.role.metadata import RoleMetadata
 from ansible.playbook.taggable import Taggable
-from ansible.plugins import get_all_plugin_loaders, push_basedir
+from ansible.plugins import get_all_plugin_loaders
 from ansible.utils.vars import combine_vars
 
 
@@ -142,8 +142,6 @@ class Role(Base, Become, Conditional, Taggable):
         self._variable_manager = role_include.get_variable_manager()
         self._loader           = role_include.get_loader()
 
-        push_basedir(self._role_path)
-
         if parent_role:
             self.add_parent(parent_role)
 
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/__init__.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/__init__.py
index f8273fbcdad..4054c616335 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/__init__.py
@@ -42,6 +42,11 @@ PATH_CACHE = {}
 PLUGIN_PATH_CACHE = {}
 _basedirs = []
 
+# FIXME: the _basedirs code may be dead, and no longer needed, as
+#        we now use add_directory for all plugin types here instead
+#        of relying on this global variable (which also causes problems
+#        with forked processes). See the Playbook() and Role() classes
+#        for how we now ue get_all_plugin_loaders() below.
 def push_basedir(basedir):
     # avoid pushing the same absolute dir more than once
     basedir = to_unicode(os.path.realpath(basedir))
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/__init__.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/__init__.py
index 9ce4add7010..5abca22ac7d 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/__init__.py
@@ -28,8 +28,9 @@ except ImportError:
 __all__ = ['LookupBase']
 
 class LookupBase:
-    def __init__(self, loader=None, **kwargs):
+    def __init__(self, loader=None, templar=None, **kwargs):
         self._loader = loader
+        self._templar = templar
         self._display = display
 
     def get_basedir(self, variables):
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/cartesian.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/cartesian.py
index 7d8e08cb94d..9ae18587aeb 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/cartesian.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/cartesian.py
@@ -29,16 +29,16 @@ class LookupModule(LookupBase):
     [1, 2, 3], [a, b] -> [1, a], [1, b], [2, a], [2, b], [3, a], [3, b]
     """
 
-    def __lookup_variabless(self, terms, variables):
+    def __lookup_variables(self, terms):
         results = []
         for x in terms:
-            intermediate = listify_lookup_plugin_terms(x, variables, loader=self._loader)
+            intermediate = listify_lookup_plugin_terms(x, templar=self._templar, loader=self._loader)
             results.append(intermediate)
         return results
 
     def run(self, terms, variables=None, **kwargs):
 
-        terms = self.__lookup_variabless(terms, variables)
+        terms = self.__lookup_variables(terms)
 
         my_list = terms[:]
         if len(my_list) == 0:
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/first_found.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/first_found.py
index e9fe9a676a5..6e0aaee117a 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/first_found.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/first_found.py
@@ -125,7 +125,6 @@ from jinja2.exceptions import UndefinedError
 
 from ansible.errors import AnsibleLookupError, AnsibleUndefinedVariable
 from ansible.plugins.lookup import LookupBase
-from ansible.template import Templar
 from ansible.utils.boolean import boolean
 
 class LookupModule(LookupBase):
@@ -174,11 +173,10 @@ class LookupModule(LookupBase):
         else:
             total_search = terms
 
-        templar = Templar(loader=self._loader, variables=variables)
         roledir = variables.get('roledir')
         for fn in total_search:
             try:
-                fn = templar.template(fn)
+                fn = self._templar.template(fn)
             except (AnsibleUndefinedVariable, UndefinedError) as e:
                 continue
 
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/flattened.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/flattened.py
index f0a8adaf5e6..7477db4b834 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/flattened.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/flattened.py
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ class LookupModule(LookupBase):
 
             if isinstance(term, basestring):
                 # convert a variable to a list
-                term2 = listify_lookup_plugin_terms(term, variables, loader=self._loader)
+                term2 = listify_lookup_plugin_terms(term, templar=self._templar, loader=self._loader)
                 # but avoid converting a plain string to a list of one string
                 if term2 != [ term ]:
                     term = term2
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/nested.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/nested.py
index b4b4e5d9714..23938f6a19c 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/nested.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/nested.py
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ class LookupModule(LookupBase):
         results = []
         for x in terms:
             try:
-                intermediate = listify_lookup_plugin_terms(x, variables, loader=self._loader, fail_on_undefined=True)
+                intermediate = listify_lookup_plugin_terms(x, templar=self._templar, loader=self._loader, fail_on_undefined=True)
             except UndefinedError, e:
                 raise AnsibleUndefinedVariable("One of the nested variables was undefined. The error was: %s" % e)
             results.append(intermediate)
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/sequence.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/sequence.py
index 1e66626b68e..5cd87f4f524 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/sequence.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/sequence.py
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ from re import compile as re_compile, IGNORECASE
 from ansible.errors import *
 from ansible.parsing.splitter import parse_kv
 from ansible.plugins.lookup import LookupBase
-from ansible.template import Templar
 
 # shortcut format
 NUM = "(0?x?[0-9a-f]+)"
@@ -188,13 +187,11 @@ class LookupModule(LookupBase):
         if isinstance(terms, basestring):
             terms = [ terms ]
 
-        templar = Templar(loader=self._loader, variables=variables)
-
         for term in terms:
             try:
                 self.reset()  # clear out things for this iteration
 
-                term = templar.template(term)
+                term = self._templar.template(term)
                 try:
                     if not self.parse_simple_args(term):
                         self.parse_kv_args(parse_kv(term))
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/subelements.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/subelements.py
index d8c2b1086e3..e014e382bab 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/subelements.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/subelements.py
@@ -33,8 +33,9 @@ class LookupModule(LookupBase):
             raise AnsibleError(
                 "subelements lookup expects a list of two or three items, "
                 + msg)
-        terms = listify_lookup_plugin_terms(terms, variables, loader=self._loader)
-        terms[0] = listify_lookup_plugin_terms(terms[0], variables, loader=self._loader)
+
+        terms = listify_lookup_plugin_terms(terms, templar=self._templar, loader=self._loader)
+        terms[0] = listify_lookup_plugin_terms(terms[0], templar=self._templar, loader=self._loader)
 
         # check lookup terms - check number of terms
         if not isinstance(terms, list) or not 2 <= len(terms) <= 3:
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/template.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/template.py
index e40247bbc3d..311904b280b 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/template.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/template.py
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ import os
 
 from ansible.errors import AnsibleError
 from ansible.plugins.lookup import LookupBase
-from ansible.template import Templar
 
 class LookupModule(LookupBase):
 
@@ -34,8 +33,6 @@ class LookupModule(LookupBase):
 
         ret = []
 
-        templar = Templar(loader=self._loader, variables=variables)
-
         for term in terms:
             self._display.debug("File lookup term: %s" % term)
 
@@ -44,7 +41,7 @@ class LookupModule(LookupBase):
             if lookupfile and os.path.exists(lookupfile):
                 with open(lookupfile, 'r') as f:
                     template_data = f.read()
-                    res = templar.template(template_data, preserve_trailing_newlines=True)
+                    res = self._templar.template(template_data, preserve_trailing_newlines=True)
                     ret.append(res)
             else:
                 raise AnsibleError("the template file %s could not be found for the lookup" % term)
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/together.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/together.py
index 2f53121cc8b..42c98455070 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/together.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/together.py
@@ -31,16 +31,16 @@ class LookupModule(LookupBase):
     [1, 2], [3] -> [1, 3], [2, None]
     """
 
-    def __lookup_variabless(self, terms, variables):
+    def __lookup_variables(self, terms):
         results = []
         for x in terms:
-            intermediate = listify_lookup_plugin_terms(x, variables, loader=self._loader)
+            intermediate = listify_lookup_plugin_terms(x, templar=self._templar, loader=self._loader)
             results.append(intermediate)
         return results
 
     def run(self, terms, variables=None, **kwargs):
 
-        terms = self.__lookup_variabless(terms, variables)
+        terms = self.__lookup_variables(terms)
 
         my_list = terms[:]
         if len(my_list) == 0:
diff --git a/lib/ansible/template/__init__.py b/lib/ansible/template/__init__.py
index 8d0a8730456..574359955db 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/template/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/template/__init__.py
@@ -65,8 +65,6 @@ class Templar:
             self._basedir = './'
 
         if shared_loader_obj:
-            global _basedirs
-            _basedirs = shared_loader_obj.basedirs[:]
             self._filter_loader = getattr(shared_loader_obj, 'filter_loader')
             self._lookup_loader = getattr(shared_loader_obj, 'lookup_loader')
         else:
@@ -250,7 +248,7 @@ class Templar:
         return thing if thing is not None else ''
 
     def _lookup(self, name, *args, **kwargs):
-        instance = self._lookup_loader.get(name.lower(), loader=self._loader)
+        instance = self._lookup_loader.get(name.lower(), loader=self._loader, templar=self)
 
         if instance is not None:
             # safely catch run failures per #5059
diff --git a/lib/ansible/utils/listify.py b/lib/ansible/utils/listify.py
index 95d48121339..237e131613f 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/utils/listify.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/utils/listify.py
@@ -26,19 +26,18 @@ from ansible.template.safe_eval import safe_eval
 __all__ = ['listify_lookup_plugin_terms']
 
 #FIXME: probably just move this into lookup plugin base class
-def listify_lookup_plugin_terms(terms, variables, loader, fail_on_undefined=False):
+def listify_lookup_plugin_terms(terms, templar, loader, fail_on_undefined=False):
 
     if isinstance(terms, basestring):
         stripped = terms.strip()
-        templar = Templar(loader=loader, variables=variables)
-
         #FIXME: warn/deprecation on bare vars in with_ so we can eventually remove fail on undefined override
         terms = templar.template(terms, convert_bare=True, fail_on_undefined=fail_on_undefined)
-
         #TODO: check if this is needed as template should also return correct type already
-        terms = safe_eval(terms)
+        #terms = safe_eval(terms)
+    else:
+        terms = templar.template(terms, fail_on_undefined=fail_on_undefined)
 
-        if isinstance(terms, basestring) or not isinstance(terms, Iterable):
-            terms = [ terms ]
+    if isinstance(terms, basestring) or not isinstance(terms, Iterable):
+        terms = [ terms ]
 
     return terms