My First Inquisitor

[Jiggy]

Alright, I'm trying my hand at an Inquisitor. His primary combat role is melee, and I also want some level of focus on noncombat capabilities (including being a "face" - another first for me).

Here's the first draft of the build. This is PFS, starting with 2 GM credits (thus being 1 adventure short of hitting second level and having just shy of 1k gold for gear).

Human
STR 16 (14+2)
DEX 14
CON 14
INT 12
WIS 15
CHA 07 (don't worry, he can still be a "face" - you'll see)

Traits: Reactionary (+2 Init), Something else (suggestions?)
Human bonus feat: Dodge

01:Inquisitor1[Spellbreaker Archetype][Domain:Conversion Inquisition:WIS to social skills][Judgment 1/day][Stern Gaze][1st-level spells][Strong Willed], FEAT:Toughness

Phew! That's a lot to take in at first level! Let's break it down:
HP: 14 (8HD+3Toughness+2CON+1FCB)
AC: 20 (10+6MWKBreastplate+1MWKBuckler+2DEX+1Dodge)
Fort +4
Ref +2
Will +4 And I get to roll twice against all mind-affecting effects!
Skill ranks: 8 (6+1INT+1Human)
I have WIS to social skills, so my lowest ability mod for purposes of skills is +1 (INT).
I'll want to pick a deity with a decent melee favored weapon - I believe there are a couple with the longsword and even one with the bastard sword. I'll have to look into those. (Alternatively, I could switch to half-elf, losing Dodge and 1 rank/level in favor of Ancestral Arms for free EWP - something the human bonus feat can't get me.)

In any case, I'll have a masterwork weapon, whatever it is. Additionally, via Prestige spending, I'll have a wand of CLW and a masterwork composite longbow. :D

Looking pretty exciting so far!

Any critiques or suggestions? I'm especially in the dark about spell selections.

[Jiggy]

...Anyone?

[KrispyXIV]

Jiggy wrote:

...Anyone?

Half Orc, I think, technically may be a little better than human; it gets relevant skill bonuses, good weapon proficiencies, and Darkvision along with a few cool combat tricks and options.

I dont play Half Orcs though, so what do I really know? :)

I do play Half-Elves though, and I'm a big fan of Dual Minded for making Will Saves as ridiculous as possible. Dual Minded + Birthmark + Elven spell resistances vs. enchantments may make Spellbreaker a bit redundant, and could open Preacher (awesome) as an option. Preacher also stacks with Infiltrator, which is an incredible option for a Face. (I personally love the combo).

If you're going sword and board (as noted in your AC listing, you have it there) scimitars are a good option if you want to crit alot, which means Sarenrae is a good Deity for that route. Iomedae has longswords, and has good combat domains, but you're going with Conversion so I'd avoid her.

Your stats look fine to me, though 'optimized' I think would be dropping the Dex to 12 for a 17 Str.

I'm currently enjoying my TWF Calistrian whip-quisitor, I hope you have as much fun with this guy! Inquisitors are boatloads of fun.

[DrDeth]

The Goddess Shelyn has Glaive as the favored weapon. Which means I’d pick Combat reflexes instead of Toughness, and Bodyguard instead of Dodge. Man, your party will love you and you can stand behind the tank adding to his AC without being thought of as coawardly.

[Mysterious Stranger]

I would recommend putting the racial bonus on the 15 instead of the 14. Either keep the 15 in Wisdom and start with a 17, or put the 15 in Strength and then use your 4th level bonus to get an 18. After that put your level bonus into Wisdom to get your spells and other abilities.

Stay human and use your favored class bonus for extra spells. As a spontaneous caster you are not going to have a lot so this is a huge advantage. Even the 0 level spells are useful since you can cast them an unlimited number of times per day. Detect Magic, Guidance, Light, Read Magic and Sift are all good spells. Expeditious Retreat, Divine Favor and Protection from Evil are good choices.

Antagonize is a great feat for an inquisitor . It will give you more control over your enemy and even force them into situations they would rather avoid. Works really well when someone is trying to get away and you force them to come back and attack you. If you were not playing a playing a Spell Breaker I would suggest Improved Monster Lore.

Iomedea has the long sword as a favored weapon so she works fine for a deity. All deities give conversion as a domain so that would not make a difference. Sarenrae also works well for a deity but will give scimitar instead of long sword. Of the two Iomedea is probably the more militant of the two.

For your last trait consider Birthmark. True you do not really need the bonus on charm and compulsion, but the ability to cast spells without a holy symbol is worth it especially if you are trying to work undercover.

[Katie Gonzalez]

Unfortunately the Conversion Inquisition isn't legal for Pathfinder Society Play (see the resources section). I know because I wanted to build my Inquisitor in a similar manner... had to settle for skipping the face role.

[AdAstraGames]

The idea of an Inquisitor of Love amuses me.

[thunderspirit]

AdAstraGames wrote:

The idea of an Inquisitor of Love amuses me.

Some people call him the space cowboy. Some call him the Gangsta of Love.

[Jiggy]

Deara Littleknight wrote:

Unfortunately the Conversion Inquisition isn't legal for Pathfinder Society Play (see the resources section). I know because I wanted to build my Inquisitor in a similar manner... had to settle for skipping the face role.

I see under the Ultimate Combat listing that none of the inquisitions are legal, but there's no such note for Ultimate Magic, which is where the Conversion inquisition is from, so it's legal. If you look into it, you'll see why the UC inquisitions aren't legal - it's pretty hard to be a non-gunslinger gun user.

[Jiggy]

Anyway, here's a revised level 1 build. Pending hammering out the last couple of details, I'm set to go with this one.

Human (need to pick an ethnicity from the ISWG)
Inquisitor of Ragathiel (LG, god of chivalry/duty/vengeance, favored weapon: bastard sword)
Conversion Inquisition

STR 17 (15+2)
DEX 16
CON 12
INT 10
WIS 14
CHA 07

Traits: Armor Expert (-1 ACP), Reactionary (+2 Initiative)
Human Bonus Feat: Toughness

01:Inquisitor[Spellbreaker][Judgment 1/day][Stern Gaze][1st-level spells][Strong Willed], Antagonize

Trained Skills:
Climb +7 (minus ACP)
Diplomacy +6
Kn(Religion) +4
Perception +6
Sense Motive +7
Survival +6
Swim +7 (minus ACP)

Any suggestions for tweaks?

[Jiggy]

Blech, I'm just not feeling the Antagonize feat. Maybe I'll replace it with Improved Initiative and then swap out Reactionary for Birthmark? Hmm...

[Helaman]

So even though Bastard Sword is exotic you can still take it for free? Cool.

[Jiggy]

Helaman wrote:

So even though Bastard Sword is exotic you can still take it for free? Cool.

Favored weapon, baby! Also, in PFS (and probably most home games) clerics/inquisitors of deities who favor Unarmed Strike get IUS so they can use their deity's favored weapon without provoking an AoO. :P

[AdAstraGames]

Jiggy: Armor Expert and Reactionary are both Combat Traits. Reactionary gets re-skinned in a couple of different places as a racial trait (Ekuje Reflexes is one such). As written/labeled you can't have both traits from the same 'grouping'.

[Jiggy]

AdAstraGames wrote:

Jiggy: Armor Expert and Reactionary are both Combat Traits. Reactionary gets re-skinned in a couple of different places as a racial trait (Ekuje Reflexes is one such). As written/labeled you can't have both traits from the same 'grouping'.

Whoops! Thanks for the catch. Yeah, just pretend I have one of the other, similar traits.

....

Actually, no, I don't care that much about initiative with this character. I'll just pick up good ol' Birthmark or something. As for that feat... Maybe Alertness? Cosmopolitan? Athletic? Self-sufficient? Persuasive? Persuasive...

Updated Build:
Human (need to pick an ethnicity from the ISWG)
Inquisitor of Ragathiel (LG, god of chivalry/duty/vengeance, favored weapon: bastard sword)
Conversion Inquisition

STR 17 (15+2)
DEX 16
CON 12
INT 10
WIS 14
CHA 07

Traits: Armor Expert (-1 ACP), Birthmark (divine focus, +2 versus charm and compulsion)
Human Bonus Feat: Toughness

01:Inquisitor[Spellbreaker][Judgment 1/day][Stern Gaze][1st-level spells][Strong Willed], Persuasive

Trained Skills:
Climb +7 (minus ACP)
Diplomacy +8
Kn(Religion) +4
Perception +6
Sense Motive +7
Survival +6
Swim +7 (minus ACP)

Well, that doesn't look half bad, does it?

[KrispyXIV]

Jiggy wrote:

I'll just pick up good ol' Birthmark or something.

Birthmark is worth it in a lot of cases just for the Saves IMO, the fact you get additional bonuses in the form of not needing a Divine Focus is like icing on your win-cake for that trait.

I'd recomend a Save feat if you're undecided on what to take. There's nothing better than having your GM call for a Will save, him seeing you roll a 2 and declaring his victory, then you pointing out that no, you still succeed, because you're awesome.

[Zavac the Scarred]

KrispyXIV wrote:

I'd recomend a Save feat if you're undecided on what to take. There's nothing better than having your GM call for a Will save, him seeing you roll a 2 and declaring his victory, then you pointing out that no, you still succeed, because you're awesome.

+1, "because you're awesome."

[Jiggy]

Anyone know if Favored Judgment or Judgment Surge are worthwhile?

[Coraith]

Jiggy wrote:

Anyone know if Favored Judgment or Judgment Surge are worthwhile?

Not really. Favored judgement is a burned feat since Inquisitors get Bane, +1 attack, damage, AC, saves when you happen to be fighting a specific type of creature and using a judgement.

Judgement surge can be useful but you only get to do it once a day, and the only thing it will effect will be, Destruction, Healing, Resistance. Both of them are pretty weak IMO.
Extended bane would be more useful then either of these feats.
Improved Monster Lore would net you(with monster lore) your class level in knowledge checks to identify monsters. Pretty useful usually.
I really recommend Improved Initiative though. Going first in battle is important if you want to get a buff/debuff those pesky creatures keeping you from your goal.

[Jiggy]

Thanks for the input, but I've since made and played the character. I don't remember what feat I put in that slot, but it wasn't either of the above. :)