Hell Knight

Not all who start as novice armigers have what it takes to become a full-fledged Hell Knight, but those who do receive a wide array of abilities as they grow more powerful. While the individual powers and focus of a particular Hell Knight vary according to his order, all Hell Knights are universally feared and respected in regions where they maintain a presence. Most Hell Knights are lawful neutral and proudly avoid being “tainted” by distractions such as good or evil, but some who rise in power shift toward tyrannical and cruel natures.

Hit Die: d10.

Requirements

To qualify to become a Hell Knight, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

  • Base Attack Bonus: +5.
  • Skills: Intimidate 5 ranks, Knowledge (planes) 2 ranks.
  • Armor Proficiency: Must be proficient with heavy armor.
  • Alignment: Any lawful.
  • Special: The character must slay a devil with HD greater than his character level. This victory must be witnessed by a Hell Knight.

Class Skills

The Hell knight’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (local) (Int), Perception (Wis), Ride (Dex), and Sense Motive (Wis).

Skill Ranks at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Table: Hell knight
Level Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Ref Save Will Save Special
1st 1 1 0 0 Aura of law, detect chaos, order, smite chaos 1/day
2nd 2 1 1 1 Discern lies, Hell Knight armor 1
3rd 3 2 1 1 1st discipline, force of will 1
4th 4 2 1 1 Smite chaos 2/day
5th 5 3 2 2 Hell Knight armor 2
6th 6 3 2 2 2nd discipline, force of will 2
7th 7 4 2 2 Lawbringer, smite chaos 3/day
8th 8 4 3 3 Hell Knight armor 3
9th 9 5 3 3 3rd Discipline, force of will 3, infernal armor
10th 10 5 3 3 Hell’s knight, smite chaos 4/day

Class Features

The following are all class features of the Hell knight.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

Hell knights gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.

Aura of Law (Ex)

A Hell Knight’s lawful aura (see the detect law spell) functions as that of a cleric whose level is equal to the Hell Knight’s character level.

Detect Chaos (Sp)

This ability functions like the paladin’s detect evil ability, save that it grants the use of detect chaos instead.

Order

A character must choose one Hell Knight order to join at 1st level. The choice of order determines what disciplines the character gains later access to.

Smite Chaos (Su)

This ability functions as the paladin’s smite evil ability, but against chaotic-aligned creatures. This ability is twice as effective against outsiders with the chaotic subtype, chaotic-aligned aberrations, and fey.

Discern Lies (Sp)

At 2nd level, a Hell Knight can use discern lies as a spell-like ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + his Charisma modifier with a caster level equal to his character level.

Hell Knight Armor (Ex)

At 2nd level, a Hell Knight earns the right to wear Hell Knight plate, which does not reduce his speed. While wearing this armor, the Hell Knight reduces its armor check penalty by 1 and increases the maximum Dexterity bonus allowed by 1. At 5th level, these adjustments increase to 2. At 8th level, these adjustments increase to 3.

Disciplines

At 3rd-level, a Hell Knight gains access to his first discipline, choosing one associated with his specific order. At 6th level, the Hell Knight gains a second discipline, chosen from any listed as being available to “any order.” At 9th level, the Hell Knight gains his third discipline, choosing this one from any of the disciplines listed below, even those from another order, with the exception of pentamic faith. When applicable, the save DC to resist a discipline’s effect is equal to DC 10 + the Hell Knight’s level + his Charisma modifier. The Hell Knight can use any one discipline a number of times per day equal to the total number of disciplines he has access to, so at 3rd level he can use his discipline once per day. At 6th level, he can use both disciplines twice per day each. At 9th level, he can use all three of his disciplines three times per day.

Brand (Sp; Order of the Pyre): The Hell Knight can use mark of justice as a spell-like ability.

Call Armor (Su; any order) As a move action, the Hell Knight can cause her armor to instantly appear on her body. Alternatively, she can dismiss it as a move action, causing it to vanish. (Doing either of these counts as one use of this discipline.) Where the armor appears from or vanishes to can be anywhere the knight designates, but it must be a place the knight has seen on the same plane of existence where she is, or be in an extradimensional space she controls, such as a bag of holding. This armor is a specific suit of Hell Knight plate that the knight designates when she selects this discipline. The Hell Knight can attune this ability to a new set of armor, but doing so takes 1 week. Source PPC:PotH

Censor (Su; Order of the Rack): When the Hell Knight uses smite chaos on a creature, he can strike the creature mute for 1d4 rounds unless it succeeds at a Will save. A mute creature cannot speak, cast spells with verbal components or use language-dependent effects.

Command (Sp; any order): The Hell Knight can use greater command as a spell-like ability, using her character level as her caster level. Source PPC:PotH

Dispel Chaos (Sp; any order): The Hell knight can use dispel chaos as a spell-like ability, using her character level as her caster level. Source PPC:PotH

Favored Quarry (Ex; any order): The Hell knight chooses a creature type from the ranger favored enemy table (usually humanoid with a specific subtype, but this is not required). The Hell knight gains a +2 bonus on Bluff, Intimidate, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival checks against creatures of her selected type. She can also attempt Knowledge skill checks untrained to identify those creatures. Each time the knight chooses an additional discipline, this bonus increases by 2 (to a potential maximum of +6 at 9th level). Source PPC:PotH

Fearsomeness (Ex; any order): A Hell Knight who successfully uses the Intimidate skill to cause a creature within 10 feet to become shaken can instead cause that creature to become frightened.

Mental Intrusion (Sp; any order): The Hell Knight can use telepathy as a spell-like ability, using her character level as her caster level. Source PPC:PotH

Onslaught (Su; Order of the Nail): As a free action, a Hell Knight increases his base speed by 10 feet and gains a +4 bonus to his Strength for 1 round. If the Hell Knight is mounted, these bonuses also apply to his mount.

Pentamic Faith (Ex; Order of the God Claw only): This ability allows the Hell Knight to select one of the following domains: Artifice, Glory, Knowledge, Law, Magic, Nobility, Protection, Rune, Strength, Travel, or War. The Hell Knight gains the granted powers (but not domain spells) of that domain, treating his Hell Knight levels as cleric levels to determine what domain abilities he has access to.

Shackle (Su; Order of the Chain): When the Hell Knight uses smite chaos on a creature, he can impede its mobility. The creature can negate this effect with a successful Will save; otherwise, it is affected as if by slow for 1d4 rounds.

Shadow Step (Sp; any order): The Hell Knight can use enlarged shadow step as a spell-like ability, as if the Enlarge Spell metamagic feat were applied to the spell, using her character level as her caster level. Source PPC:PotH

Summon Devil (Sp; Order of the Gate): The Hell Knight can use summon monster V as a spell-like ability to summon 1 bearded devil. At 6th level, this spell-like ability is replaced by summon monster VI, allowing him to summon 1d3 bearded devils or 1 erinyes. At 9th level, this spell-like ability is replaced by summon monster VII, allowing him to summon 1d4+1 bearded devils, 1d3 erinyes, or 1 bone devil.

Summon Servant of Law (Sp; any order): The Hell Knight can summon a creature or creatures to help her, as if using a summon monster spell. At 3rd level, she can summon 1d3 hell hounds. At 6th level, she can summon 1d3 advanced hell hounds or one axiomite. And at 9th level, she can summon 1d4+1 hell hounds, 1d3 axiomites, or one zelekhut inevitable. Source PPC:PotH

Trace (Su; any order): The Hell knight can study a single personal belonging of a creature for 1 minute, after which she knows the general direction of the creature’s current location as long as it is within 1 mile and on the same plane. She also learns the direction the creature is currently moving, if any. This effect lasts for 10 minutes per character level. An object can be used as the focus for this ability only once. For the purposes of this ability, a “personal belonging” is any object a creature owned or carried with it for more than a week. If the target is under the effects of nondetection or a similar spell or effect, or is on a different plane, this ability gives no result. Source PPC:PotH

Tracker (Sp; any order): The Hell Knight can summon a creature to aid him, either in battle or to track an enemy, as if using a summon monster spell, save that the summoned creature lingers for 1 hour before vanishing. A 6th-level Hell Knight can summon either an eagle, a riding dog, a wolf, or a leopard. A 9th-level Hell Knight can instead opt to summon a dire wolf or a hell hound.

Versatile Intimidation (Ex; any order): The Hell Knight can use Intimidate to reproduce the effects of another Charisma-based skill. Choose one of the following: Bluff, Diplomacy, Handle Animal, or Perform (oratory). Each time the knight wishes to use that skill, she can attempt an Intimidate check and treat it as if it were a check of the desired type. At 9th level, the knight can choose an additional skill from the list above and use Intimidate to reproduce its effects. Source PPC:PotH

Vigilance (Su; Order of the Scourge): The Hell Knight gains low-light vision (this effect is constant). In addition, as a full-round action, he can see through up to 5 feet of stone, wood, or similar barriers as if they didn’t exist. Metal and denser barriers block this effect. Each use of this ability to see through solid objects lasts as long as the Hell Knight concentrates, up to a number of rounds equal to the Hell Knight’s level.

Wrack (Su; any order): The Hell Knight can make a touch attack as a standard action to cause a creature to suffer incredible pain. The creature touched takes damage equal to 1d6 + the Hell Knight’s Charisma modifier, and must succeed at a Will save or become staggered for 1d4 rounds.

Force of Will (Ex)

At 3rd level, a Hell Knight gains a +2 bonus on Will saves against spells with any one of the following subschools or descriptors: charm, compulsion, glamer, fear, figment, pattern, or phantasm. At 6th level, the Hell Knight chooses another subschool or descriptor from the list and gains a +2 bonus on his Will save against spells of that type, and the bonus provided by his first selection increases to +4. At 9th level, he chooses from the list again, and both previous selections increase by 2, so that he has a +6, a +4, and a +2 bonus, respectively, against spells of three different groups.

Lawbringer (Ex)

At 7th level, a Hell Knight’s attacks are treated as being lawful for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

Infernal Armor (Su)

As long as he wears Hell Knight armor, a 9th-level Hell Knight gains a +2 bonus on all Charisma-related checks made while interacting with lawful, nongood creatures. In addition, while wearing the armor, he gains the ability to see perfectly in darkness of any kind, resistance to fire 30, resistance to acid 10, and resistance to cold 10.

Hell’s Knight (Su)

At 10th level, a Hell Knight can grant a weapon he wields or touches the axiomatic, flaming burst, or unholy weapon special ability. This weapon has this special ability as long as the Hell Knight remains within 100 feet of the weapon, but a Hell Knight can maintain only a single weapon’s granted special ability at a time. The Hell Knight also becomes immune to fire while wearing Hell Knight plate.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Pathfinder Campaign Setting: The Inner Sea World Guide. © 2011, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors: Keith Baker, Wolfgang Baur, Clinton J. Boomer, Jason Bulmahn, Joshua J. Frost, Ed Greenwood, Stephen S. Greer, Jeff Grubb, James Jacobs, Michael Kortes, Tito Leati, Mike McArtor, Rob McCreary, Erik Mona, Jason Eric Nelson, Jeff Quick, Sean K Reynolds, F. Wesley Schneider, Leandra Christine Schneider, David Schwartz, Amber E. Scott, Stan!, Owen K.C. Stephens, Todd Stewart, James L. Sutter, Greg A. Vaughan, Jeremy Walker, and JD Wiker.

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Adventurer’s Guide © 2017, Paizo Inc.; Authors: Benjamin Bruck, John Compton, Crystal Frasier, Tim Hitchcock, Jenny Jarzabski, Isabelle Lee, Joe Pasini, Jessica Price, David Schwartz, and Josh Vogt.

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