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Hell Knight Commander

Not all who join 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 and more powerful.

Consider playing a Hell Knight Commander if you...

  • Want to be a paragon of law, without the baggage of goodness or evil.
  • Seek to uphold a black-and-white philosophy that divides the world sharply between right and wrong.
  • Value being part of an organization with information, resources, and goals beyond yourself.
  • Enjoy playing a character torn between discipline and temptation.
  • Value pragmatism over idealism.
  • Relish wearing dark armor and intimidating your foes, but are not necessarily evil.
  • Desire to be a martial combatant with deadly supernatural abilities.
  • Want to play an ominous, armored spellcaster who commands devils.
  • Are playing in a group that consists primarily of law-abiding characters.

Class Details

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: You must slay a devil with HD greater than your own. 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, smite chaos 1/day
2nd 2 1 1 1 Discern lies, Hell knight armor 1
3rd 3 2 1 1 Discipline 1, 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 Discipline 2, 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 Discipline 3, 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)

The power of a Hell knight’s aura of law (see the detect law spell) is equal to his total character level.

Detect Chaos (Sp)

This ability functions like a paladin's detect evil ability, save that it detects chaos.

Order

A character must choose one Hell knight order to join. The choice of order determines what disciplines the character gains access to. Details for each order are here.

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 plus his Charisma modifier. His caster level equals his total character level.

Hell Knight Armor (Ex)

At 2nd level, a Hell Knight earns the right to wear Hell Knight armor (below). While wearing this armor, the Hell Knight reduces the armor check penalty by 1, increases the maximum Dexterity bonus allowed by 1, and moves at full speed.

At 5th level, these adjustments increase to 2.

At 8th level, these adjustments increase to 3.

Hell Knight Plate

These distinctive suits of armor are a special type of masterwork full plate that, when worn by a character with levels in the Hell Knight prestige class, grants additional effects.

Price 2,000 gp Armor Bonus +9 Max Dex +1 Armor Check Penalty (ACP) –5 Arcane Spell Failure Chance 35% Speed (30 ft.) 20 ft.2 Speed (20 ft.) 15 ft.2 Weight 50 lbs.

2 When running in heavy armor, you move only triple your speed, not quadruple.

Disciplines

A 3rd-level Hell knight gains access to his first discipline, choosing one that is 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 not from his own 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 + the Hell knight’s 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 may use his discipline once per day. At 6th level, he may use both disciplines twice per day each. At 9th level, he may 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) 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 makes a successful Will save. A mute creature cannot speak, nor can it cast spells that have verbal components or use language-dependent effects.

Command (Sp): 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): 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): 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 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): 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): Once per day 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, and War. The Hell knight gains all of 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 Will save; otherwise, it is affected as if by a slow spell for 1d4 rounds.

Shadow Step (Sp): 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 may 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): 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): 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): 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, the Hell knight can see through up to 5 feet of stone, wood, or similar barriers as if they didn’t exist. Metal or denser barriers block this effect. Each use of this ability 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 may make a touch attack as a standard action to cause a creature to suffer incredible pain. The creature touched takes 1d6 points of damage + the Hell knight’s Charisma modifier, and must make a Will save to avoid being staggered for 1d4 rounds.

Force of Will (Ex)

At 3rd level, a Hell knight gains a +2 bonus on Will saves against spells with one of the following descriptors: charm, compulsion, glamer, fear, figment, pattern, or phantasm.

At 6th level, the Hell knight chooses another subschool or descriptor to gain a +2 bonus on his Will save against, 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 the three different effects.

Lawbringer (Ex)

At 7th level, a Hell knight’s attacks are treated as lawful for 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 nongood lawful creatures. In addition, he gains the ability to see perfectly in darkness of any kind, resistance to fire 30, and resistance to acid 10 and 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 quality. This weapon maintains this new quality as long as the Hell knight remains within 100 feet of the weapon—a Hell knight may maintain only a single weapon’s granted quality at a time. The Hell knight also becomes immune to fire while wearing Hell knight armor.