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I wont go into the extended backstory for this character that I am setting up, but the short of it is that she is a Tiefling (strike one) inquisitor that gains her powers from an ideal not a major deity (strike two).
My idea is that she has honest conviction and desire to see cultists, subversive ideas, and the like stamped out so that society can be protected. She has the crocodile domain (GM approved this), and has a scaley look about her, making her parentage obvious. After researching the order of the Pyre, they dont like those who gain powers from unclear sources, and they dont like tieflings. However, she wouldn't go away, applying to be an armiger over and over. FInally they took her in, interrogated her, tortured her, questioned her powers and how she got them, and determined they came from a firm conviction in the ideals of the measure and the chain, and that she sees this as an ability to rise above her accursed body.
My idea was that they would send her off as a questing armiger, having determined that she is sound of spirit, mind, and heart, only questioning her parentage, and not thrilled that she doesnt worship a particular god (though the lictor is an atheist, and this character isnt far behind, finding religion a drug for the weak, gaining her powers from her own hate/belief/desire to protect society). SO they would allow her to become an armiger, and send her off as a questing armiger, to gain prestige, or die.
It's just the surface, but my real question is, does this sound like something that could happen in the Order of the Pyre? My research says that the order is more concerned with upholding the beliefs and values of Chellish society, and keeping out subversive and manipulative ideals, not specifically ideal-focused divine casters. They also dont like Tieflings, but it doesnt say they would never allow one, just that it is extremely unlikely. They are probably hoping she'll just go off and get herself killed.
Opinions?
The lore doesn't absolutely preclude tieflings or non-god-worshiping people from the Order of the Pyre, so yes, it would be feasible. The only thing that matters at this point is the finding out the opinions of the people you're going to be playing with, to determine whether or not they'll give you grief and make the game un-fun for you. Some people will think that character is too much of a special snowflake, and some people will think it's a fun and interesting twist.
If the ideal that the tiefling inquisitor gains power from is Law, that would be a clear enough source for most Hellknights.
From other sources, we know that reducing a summoned devil to zero hit points is quite sufficient to pass the test for that last "Special" requirement -- in fact, that is how it is usually done.
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In short, she spent most of her time as a young child living in the sewers of westcrown, and struggling to keep lights going all night to keep the shadows from draining her life away. she saw lots of cults, lots of strange 'magicians' and others lead people astray. She was cast out by her tiefling mother due to her scaled skin, tail and reptilian look (her mother could 'pass' and this child would have given her away). So seh sees herself as living on the fringes of society, and found a companionship with the other reptiles down there (getting the crocodile domain and a dwarf caiman familiar). She gains her power from belief in law, and stability, and out of a hate for religious cults. She wants to protect society from them by lurking on the fringes and attacking suddenly and viciously. She wants to earn acceptance (in a way) in society by becoming a hellknight, as she sees that as the only way this can be done.
She is a living gromoire, and spent much of her time gathering and studying cast-off books and talking to everyone she could (that would talk to her) and asking them questions. She gathered bits and pieces of holy texts from those she found in trash heaps, and compiled a holy book based on scriptures from all of the lawful religions in Chellish society that she feels support it. She is not anti-religion or an atheist, but she does not personally prescribe to them, feeling like they made her this way as a way to cast her into the fires so she could forge herself, through her own will and focus.
That may be too 'special snowflake' but it seems like a relatively common story in Chellish society. Not the details, but the "tiefling trying to earn her place" story.
That last part I'm a bit concerned about "You must slay a devil with HD greater than your own." Personally I'd go with a Demon as they oppose Devils as a side issue, but the 'Slay' part is possibly a major issue, as that requires the Devil to be on it's native plane, any where else and it's just a defeat/banished unless summoned/bound by certain spells. 3.5 carry over that still pops up in some more resent books, so I'm inclined to believe it's still a valid issue at this time.as long as they meet these prerequisites sure i dont see why not
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.
I would assume that 'slay', is used here in its most usual meaning, as in kill the corporate entity of the devil, as opposed to actually permanently kill that particular devil and destroy its essence, which is what you do when you kill it on its own plane. the hard part is to get a hell knight to go with you while you find a devil, (or other fiend if your DM is liberal enough) powerful enough for the victory to qualify, and then get it off this plane of existence.
You might be interested in the Pathfinder Tales novel "Hellknight". One of its main characters is a tiefling Hellknight.
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Klorox,
There's actually a third level spell that summons a bearded devil specifically for this purpose. Ironically enough. Turns out the Hellknights thought of this.
David,
Yeah! I've read it. Mild inspiration. Does my character idea sound too far-fetched or good? My main concern is the domain (crocodile) alongside her belief system (law and such, see above). while crocodile's arent inherently lawful, the domain is something that resonates with her in particular, not necessarily with 'law'.
There is nothing at all far fetched about this character concept. This character has the common tiefling handicap of having to prove that he is something more than the spawn of a devil.
Of course, there is the potential issue that you have a character who has the crocodile as a sacred animal when as best I can tell there are no crocodiles native to Cheliax. But that just provides more story fodder for your background -- maybe your character is originally from or spent time in the Mwangi Expanse, for example. Being an immigrant from there would just be a minor extra social stigma to overcome in Cheliax.