Disclaimer: this is NOT a post concerning power gaming or munchkin players. This is a post exploring the feasibility of using one class’ full abilities. Also, I find the class fascinating.
I am currently playing a 1 barbarian / 6 inquisitor in a home game. We rolled for stats and I rolled quite well. Plus, I’m using a house-ruled race. So, my character works quite well.
I noticed however that the inquisitor seems to have a basic design flaw. If made using a 15- or 20-point buy (or rolling poorly) the multiple ability dependability (all but cha) limits fully using its combat abilities. The class requires several high stats that just aren’t possible with a point buy or an unlucky roll. The class has two non-spell combat components—judgment and bane weapon. The former works fine (maybe even too good) while bane works great IF the proper bane is used. Arguably, especially in a living Pathfinder game, an inquisitor can only apply bane after a successful knowledge check. This is were things get ugly.
Inquisitors identify monsters based on int, wis, and skill ranks. As this is an essential roll every combat, the six knowledge skills used to know what your fighting should be nearly maxed out. But, the class gets six points per level with one extra from favored class. This leaves very little room for other important class skills such as survival, sense motive, and intimidate (let alone stealth or perception). The sheer volume of skills needed forces players to compromise their character’s skills, leaving the possibility that the inquisitor, is in fact, not that great at identifying monsters or deficient in other areas—bad news for a skill based class like this. Knowledge: Local also presents a thorny problem. This is neither a class skill nor does wis add to identifying monsters. As such, inquisitors are inexplicably poor at applying the correct bane property to humanoids while making awful giant hunters. This appears to be an error of omission rather than intentional.
I think they should have just created one monster lore knowledge skill. While this is definitely a very powerful skill, the current system makes no sense as it penalizes non-specific monster hunters (as opposed to characters that hunt only the undead or aberrations or the like). Furthermore, rangers instinctively get their favored enemy bonus even if most rangers couldn’t identify their favor enemy to save their (or their group’s) life.
Perhaps the most salient design flaw is that the inquisitor is an amalgam of two unrelated concepts—the Catholic Inquisition (the iconic character even wears red) and the Hugh Jackman-style Van Helsing steam punk monster hunter (the iconic character even has his hat). This requires the class to have a great intimidate and sense motive, impeccable understanding of orthodox cannon, detect lie as an immediate action, and a battery of language dependant spells. But, the class also needs to be a gadget-driven knight errant who sneaks through the night ridding the world of evil, using knowledge and reason to defeat their foes, hence the tracking and bane abilities.
Any thoughts? Am I off base? Why did the class make it through so much play testing with such a basic flaw?