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Thanks for the reply! I overlooked that shields weren't allowed, thanks for pointing it out!

It really does seem that I'm trying to do too much at the same time with this guy. Without bonus feats it's hard to juggle melee, ranged and an animal companion simultaniously. In theory I think an Inquisitor Switch Hitter could be awesome, but it seems the sad reality of it is that he's lacking in feats. I guess War (Tactics) might make for a better domain since it will lessen that burden, switching from Deadly Aim to Power Attack and whatnot. Still, the animal companion does contribute to DPR so perhaps it isn't that much of à leap.

I'll go back to the drawing board and do some more thinking. :)

Name: Clone van Helsing
Concept: Inquisitor Switch Hitter (Inspired by Treantmonk's Ranger guide!)
Race: Human
Point Buy: 20
Level: 12
Domain: Animal (Feather)
Animal Companion: Wolf (in the guise of a big Mastiff!)

Favored Class Bonuses:
* +3 Hit Points
* 3 extra lvl 1 spells
* 3 extra lvl 2 spells
* 3 extra lvl 3 spells

Traits:
* Reactionary
* Heirloom Weapon (Double Crossbow)

Planned Weponry:
* Scimitar
* Buckler
* Double Crossbow (Or any other Crossbow really)

STR: 8
DEX: 21 (17 base +2 racial +2 lvl)
CON: 12
INT: 10
WIS: 16 (15 base +1 lvl)
CHA: 10

Feats:
1: Weapon Finesse
1: Dervish Dance
3: Quick Draw
5: Rapid Reload
7: Point Blank Shot
9: Rapid Shot
11: Crossbow Mastery

(I'm considering Improved Share Spells since the Inquisitor and Animal Companion will be close more often than not, aiming for that flanking bonus, and being able to buff them together could be awesome)

TW: Outflank
TW: Swap Places
TW: Duck And Cower
TW: Coordinated Defense

Animal Companion Feats (With INT 3):
* Power Attack
* Weapon Focus (Natural Attack)
* Improved Natural Attack (Bite)
* Vital Strike
* Outflank

As the "name" implies this character is obviously inspired by one of the interpretations of the character van Helsing, whom I think is really iconic for this class. There are two things I mainly wanted the character to have: a loyal bloodhound at his side ready to sniff out any unnatural beings and a crossbow on his back to impale whatever his companion finds! The secondary objective was to keep him flexible, hence the Switch Hitter route and extra spells from the Favored Class bonus.

I figure 7 skill points per level should be enough to warrant the measly 10 intelligence, and while I'll probably be a social character I'll rely on my skills instead of raw CHA bonus. Strength will be my dump stat since I'm going for Dervish Dance. Dervish Dance keeps the MAD in check I hope, and with just two feats he'll be able to put out some hurt in close combat so I can focus the rest of the feats on the incredibly feat-intense Crossbow route. I will be going for an animal companion mainly for fluff reasons, and I'm opting for a wolf instead of a dog since I want something a bit more combaty.

Basic tactics are quite simple in that you shoot when the enemy is far away and switch to melee when they start to get close, of course flanking with the Animal Companion while doing so for that tasty +4 attack bonus for both of them. The Inquisitor can switch between holding his scimitar in two hands for that extra oomph or in one hand to gain the buckler AC bonus, depending on opposition.

So do you guys think this Switch Hitter build could work? Do you have any ideas how I could achieve the concept in a more efficient way with feats, stat allocation etc? Is it awefully gimped compare to other Inquisitor builds because of the crossbow route and animal companion? Is the build even legal? :P
I must admit that it feels a little so-so to invest in the Crossbow route when it seems that you can get pretty much the same deal with bows only with less feats. Power Attack, Deadly Aim, Quicken Spell and/or Impr. Share Spells are all feats I would really like to add (which of course could be done later, but our campaigns tend to end around 12th level at which point everyone's tired of their characters and wants to make new ones!)

Thanks in advance!

Ah, I see, thank you!

Hello there!

I was just wondering if the Red Dragon Disciple's Dragon Form ability would be qualified for the Empower Spell-Like Ability monster feat? Or indeed if the Form of Dragon spells, Bull's Strength and the like which provides bonuses to stats can be empowered at all through Empower Spell feat?

Thanks in advance!

Being able to create custom spellbooks would indeed be great! Right now I'm simply adding my Oracle's spells to Favourites, but I'm also running a Witch in another, freshly started campaign so being able to save individual spellbooks would be awesome.