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"Path of the Hellknight" is one of the best books in some time. Hellknights have always been fascinating and this book makes them sing, so I have been thinking about Hellknight concepts for any class.
There are two questions - can it be done? Almost yes I think. Importantly one doesn't have to take the prestige classes to be a Hellknight which obviously opens things up. *Should* it be done? We have 14 Orders and many options, something should fit.
Druids can wear the new Hellknight Leather and LN is no problem. The best Order is the Rack, and it works well.
Order of the Rack look like book-burners and killjoys to some outsiders but to members it is a bastion of traditionalism and solid conservatism. Their slogan could be Make Golarion Great Again.
OotR dislike cities seeing them as hives of waste and polluting innovation. A Druid Hellknight would travel to farmers and villagers, encouraging honest toil, wise agriculture and modest behaviour. It's a very patrician attitude, with RP challenges (like all Hellknights) but it could work. Horses and wolves are very normal animals and perfectly adequate Druid ACs. A horse-riding Druid with his HK longsword and fine Armor is impossible to differentiate from any other person worthy of authority, which sits well with their mindset.
There are a couple of technical issues. The Reckoning is very powerful but it is Cha-based, thus bad for a Druid and the initial benefit helps against poison. Most Druid Archetypes swap out Venom Immunity for redundancy.
Druids don't actually qualify for Signifier unless they take a domain instead of an animal. I wouldn't worry anyway, because of Wildshape progression we only want one level, HK gives us a bit of BAB and a Smite, but you might not bother and just take the Reckoning. To wear Dragonhide plate we need to take the Heavy Armor feat so may as well combine it to also qualify for HK. The description for HK plate doesn't specify which material is needed so Dragonhide Hellknight plate is very possible, not cheap, and impossibly haute couture, but possible.
I think this illustrates haw varied HKs can be and I'm interested in seeing any unusual yet valid concepts. Barbarian is out because of alignment, but Steelblood Bloodrager is definitely in, which could be interesting.
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I kinda love the idea.
I don't get your build, but a Druid (Lion Shaman) 5 / Hellknight Signifier 10 sounds awesome. You get Longsword and Heavy Armor proficiencies and a darkwood heavy shield doesn't need proficiency at all.
For your armor, there's another option, casting Ironwood on a standard Hellknight plate once a week.
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Nothing prevents Hellknight Plate from being made from special materials. Just make it from dragonhide and you're all set.
But I personally enjoy the idea; it's something I've considered in the past, and it can actually make sense for the reasons you've described. Ordered society can lead to civilizations that are less disruptive to the natural order.
I AM THE LAW...of the jungle!
I AM THE LAW...of the jungle!
in the new "The Jungle Book" movie, when the wolves are reciting their 'Law of the Jungle', one gets a very fascist vibe. Fits superb to an upcoming hellknight :)
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What's the reckoning?
Reckonings function exactly like Deific Obediences, but for Hellknight orders.
One has to suffer some torture, some self-flaggelation every day and in return one receives magic powers ranging from niche and bizarre to super good (Desna, Erastil, Rovagug etc.) Hellknights also get weapon proficiency.
Thus in our example, Order of the Rack, the knight has to do this every day as his Reckoning:
"Endure internal burns. Gain a +4 bonus on
Fortitude saving throws to resist poison. This increases
to +6 against ingested poisons."
The internal burns are done by drinking boiling water and the voice becomes raspy and menacing. Other orders do things like burning oneself for fire resistance or crushing limbs for bonuses to grapples. That sort of thing.
Order of the Rack Reckoning also gives weapon proficiency in both Longsword and Whip which is as good as it gets, only Bards don't benefit.
Then, as with Deific Obedience they get stuff at 12, 16 and 20. Order of the Rack gets an SLA to mute opponents, a field of mist which combines Fog Cloud and Rusting Grasp, and a use of Greater Shout.
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Those Reckonings sound great; my Hellknight used Agonizing Obedience (Flensing) for much the same effect/feel.
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The Reckonings are terrific.
I like them (along with Deific Obedience) because they are in the best spirit of the game - they require roleplaying, they do something interesting that isn't just +1s to rolls and they can give fighters and rogues and brawlers the occasional strange but powerful uses of magic. Anything that makes a PC more interesting and flexible keeps the player interested and the character useful. Take that Order of the Rack mute power for example. A Fighter who takes that and the Step Up and Strike feats now becomes very strong at shutting down casters, they cannot verbalise nor run away.