Fighter archetype

Armiger

Until would-be Hellknights take the trial referred to simply as the Test—in which they enter single combat with a conjured devil and either emerge victorious or die— they are known as armigers. While this is a blanket term for all Hellknights-in-training (including those training to become signifers), it also applies specifically to fighters who focus their training to become Hellknights. Despite their lack of recognized rank, armigers are skilled and deadly warriors.

Most armigers live and train at their order’s citadel, working toward the day when they become full-fledged Hellknights. These armigers follow a brutally strict routine; they spend hours honing their combat skills against other trainees, obsessively studying in the citadel’s libraries, or memorizing passages of the Hellknight philosophy known as the Measure and the Chain. At regular intervals, squads of armigers emerge from their citadels to patrol nearby cities or frontier lands, working to enforce Hellknight law and their order’s edicts.

On occasion, some armigers travel farther from their citadels, searching out those who mock the law and bringing them to justice by any means necessary. While a few do so as squires to full-fledged Hellknights, others strike out on their own or join bands of adventurers. To make up for the broken routine of adventuring life and the frequent compromises necessary in the presence of such allies, such roaming armigers are expected to perform frequent reckonings. These painful acts of mortification, such as scourging oneself or drinking boiling water, keep the would-be Hellknight disciplined and focused on the strictures of the Measure and the Chain.

Hellknight Order level 1

At 1st level, an armiger must select which Hellknight order she intends to join. If the armiger later gains levels in a Hellknight prestige class, she must select that same order.

Bonus Feats

This alters the fighter’s bonus feats.

When selecting fighter bonus feats, the armiger can select any feats whose names include the word “Hellknight” (such as those that appear on page 62 of Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Path of the Hellknight) as though they were combat feats.

This alters the fighter’s bonus feats.

Studious Squire

This alters the fighter’s class skills and skill points per level, and replaces the fighter’s bonus feats gained at 1st and 10th levels.

An armiger gains 2 additional skill ranks at each level. These ranks must be put into Intimidate and Knowledge (planes). In addition, the armiger treats Knowledge (local) and Knowledge (planes) as class skills.

This alters the fighter’s class skills and skill points per level, and replaces the fighter’s bonus feats gained at 1st and 10th levels. Ardent (Su): Armigers are difficult to sway from their beliefs. At 2nd level, an armiger gains a +1 bonus on Will saves against charm effects. This bonus increases by 1 for every 4 fighter levels beyond 2nd. Once per day, if an armiger is forced to take an action that is diametrically opposed to her order’s beliefs and values while under the influence of a charm or compulsion effect, she can immediately attempt a Will save against the effect’s DC to resist acting out that order. Success does not remove the existing charm or compulsion effect, but does allow the armiger to resist betraying her beliefs.

This replaces bravery.

Joining the Hellknights While many fighters who seek to join the Hellknights opt to take the armiger archetype, characters from any class are welcome to petition to join the Hellknights (provided the character is lawful). When a character seeks to join, he must either receive the patronage of a serving Hellknight or make plain his intentions by petitioning at a Hellknight order’s citadel. This begins a course of intensive reeducation and physical training that takes as long as the armiger’s trainer considers necessary, although the basic curriculum takes about 3 years. At the end of this period of training, the armiger must pass the Hellknight test (see the sidebar on page 95)—particularly brave or foolhardy armigers can always petition to take the test before their training is complete, but in most cases, this merely results in the armiger’s untimely demise.

Hellknights Hellknights