Hellknight Plate - when can you buy and wear it?

[OneSoulLegion]

I have a character who is considering going into a Hellknight order.

Looking at Hellknight Plate, it's essentially the same as slightly more expensive Masterwork Full Plate until you gain the hellknight armour training, but I was wondering just when you are allowed to buy and start using Hellknight Plate, by the rules (treating it as full plate until you get the armour training).

First of all, since the armour has a different name but isn't a (named) magic item, I'll assume that you can't upgrade a suit of full plate to hellknight plate. You'd have to sell your old armour and buy a new suit.

I assume only Hellknights should wear it, but would you qualify for that when?

* You get your first level in Hellknight?

* If you pick up the Armiger or Hellknight Prestige awards as a member of the Cheliax faction - as Armiger you are officially a member of an order, if only honorary, and as such do you qualify for wearing the armour?

* Something else?

[Ninjaxenomorph]

Technically, it is level 2 of the Hellknight PRC that gives you the privilege of wearing Hellknight armor, but I assume just taking the prestige award would qualify you.

[BigNorseWolf]

As far as i can see its normal equipment from the ISWG and thus on the always available list. It isn't a named magical armor like Rhino hide, its a type of armor no different than Plate, scale, or chain, and thus can be upgraded.

You are however giving your DM free reign to give you a hard time if you wear it without some sort of entitlement to it.

[OneSoulLegion]

BigNorseWolf wrote:

As far as i can see its normal equipment from the ISWG and thus on the always available list. It isn't a named magical armor like Rhino hide, its a type of armor no different than Plate, scale, or chain, and thus can be upgraded.

You are however giving your DM free reign to give you a hard time if you wear it without some sort of entitlement to it.

I agree it can be upgraded to be magical. The clarification I made in my OP is that you can't buy a suit of Masterwork Full Plate and then later pay the 350gp difference to "upgrade" it to Hellknight Plate, since that'd be like upgrading a breastplate to full plate.

And definitely for RP reasons, without being a member of a hell knight order you'd get into trouble for wearing the armour. But if you are a Hell Knight, by PrC or PP Award, that's different.