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Going to have a human male inquisitor in my group. Trying to decide on a deity, we've narrowed it down to Iomedae, Desna or Cayden. Leaning towards Desna - emnity with Lamashtu & Ghlaunder give plenty of storyhooks, but Iomedae's no slouch, either.
Not so worried about mechanics here, but more how would you play the inquisitor flavor/rp-wise? Ideas for things like motivations, goals and such helpful, as we've never played this class before.
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What about Szuriel?
A Soldier, looking to find his place on battlefield, honing his skills.
He knows, one day, the greatest final battle will occur, and that, is when he will fight his most glorious battle.
This is kind of wieghty question, because it matters a great deal what deity you decide on. I think the most standard issue Inquisitor would be strongly patterned after Batman, big on intimidation, has strong detective skills, driven by justice, but decidedly darker than a paladin.
That being said, my current Inquisitor is dedicated to Besmara and is a Pirate captain in skulls and shackles....and he is nothing like I just described. He values freedom above all things and is more of a roguish daredevil, bring me the horizon type.
At the end of the day I think it's just important to pick some tenets of your deity and embody them fully and with passion...beyond that its really up to you.
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The thing that is most key to how I RP my CG inquisitor of Shelyn is that she is not afraid to 'shoot the dog.' When there's something that needs to be done that might not be righteous, but is for the good of her faith or the Pathfinder's, my inquisitor does not flinch, even when it brings her into conflict with the powers that be in the city, the Society, or even her own faith. She has a definite vigilante attitude.
She fights to protect innocents, lovers, and beauty from all the ugliness in the world. She's pushed her perception and Sense Motive up very, very high. With the added power of detect alignment and detect lies, she sees an awful lot of the dark secrets of the people around her. It's made her very cynical, but never made her swerve from her devotion to the Songbird.
The thing that is most key to how I RP my CG inquisitor of Shelyn is that she is not afraid to 'shoot the dog.' When there's something that needs to be done that might not be righteous, but is for the good of her faith or the Pathfinder's, my inquisitor does not flinch, even when it brings her into conflict with the powers that be in the city, the Society, or even her own faith. She has a definite vigilante attitude.
She fights to protect innocents, lovers, and beauty from all the ugliness in the world. She's pushed her perception and Sense Motive up very, very high. With the added power of detect alignment and detect lies, she sees an awful lot of the dark secrets of the people around her. It's made her very cynical, but never made her swerve from her devotion to the Songbird.
Very helpful - thank you!
Does anyone else have tips/insight on how they've played inquisitor's, particularly for the deity's I mentioned in the original post?
I read in the Faiths of Purity book that paladins, monks & inquisitors rarely follow Desna or Cayden b/c they are too chaotic. Paladins & monks I understand, but I don't get why inquisitors would have any issues with a chaotic deity - there isn't anything in the APG that says inquisitors can't be chaotic alignment, & an inquisitor who embraces /fights for personal freedom seems very viable to me.
Am I missing something here???
It just occurred to me - inquisitors MAY not follow a chaotic deity as much because chaotically-aligned deities tend to not have a very structured church hierarchy. It's kind of hard to root out internal threats to the faith when there's virtually no organized church to speak of. This isn't to say there can't be an inquisitor of Desna, Shelyn or Cayden (etc) though - someone should probably keep an eye out to make sure somebody isn't trying to corrupt the faith's tenets (hello, cultist of Ghlaunder!).
Hmmm, as I typed that, I started to picture an inquisitor who spends most of his time fighting external threats to/enemies of the faith, but also keeps a watchful eye out for anyone trying to corrupt the deity's faith from within. Since there is no real or strong church structure, the inquisitor is largely left to do whatever is necessary to protect the greater good of the faith on his own.
Instead of finding corruption within a structured hierarchy, there are other faith based organizations to keep an eye on.
Inquisitors of Cayden might investigate rumors of child abuse at an orphanage, or a tavern that served as a front for slave traders.
Shelyn's inquisitors could clear out fiend infested ruins in preparation of plans to refurbish the frescoes of some ancient temple there.
I'm about to play my first inquisitor this week. Still haven't decided how to play it. I've been told I can make up a deity, so domain and favoured weapon are completely up to me which is great.
I'm toying with a half crazy madness domain inquisitor who smites those with too much power over the weak, or a merry drunken travel domain inquisitor who smites killjoys, and spreads mischief.
Either way he's going to be a bit eccentric, and not the typical grumpy zealot.
What is the reason behind the short list of deities?
Just that the player & I went through the deities, and those were the ones that were most appealing. Also, they would fit in the easiest with the type of campaign I tend to run.
and not the typical grumpy zealot.
I don't really expect my player to run this pc that way either, esp as he's the party face.
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I don't really expect my player to run this pc that way either, esp as he's the party face.
Nobody expects the Desnan Inquisition! Our chief weapon is surprise. Surprise, and chaos... Our two chief weapons are surprise, chaos, and luck... Our three weapons are surprise, chaos, luck, travel...
Amongst our weaponry are such diverse elements as surprise, chaos, luck, travel, and pretty butterflies...I'll come in again.
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I don't really expect my player to run this pc that way either, esp as he's the party face.Nobody expects the Desnan Inquisition! Our chief weapon is surprise. Surprise, and chaos... Our two chief weapons are surprise, chaos, and luck... Our three weapons are surprise, chaos, luck, travel...
Amongst our weaponry are such diverse elements as surprise, chaos, luck, travel, and pretty butterflies...I'll come in again.
And Starknives
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The Desnan inquisitor in my Kingmaker campaign plays sort of like a templar, protecting pilgrims and travelers on the roads in his lands, hunting out those who torment others in dreams like hags, and of course going after worshippers of opposing gods like ghlaunder and lamashtu. He also tends to be the counter-espionage guy in their kingdom.
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An inquisitor is simply put the agent of a deity. The deity he worships will affect him more than any other class including a cleric. Where a cleric focus more spreading the word and being a visible example of the faith, an inquisitor is more subtle.
A Inquisitor of Iomedae will be completely different than one of Cayden Cailean. Iomedae is the deity of honor and valor so her inquisitors could focus on investigating matters of honor. Finding the knight that broke his oath and cheats while hiding behind his knighthood would make sense for her inquisitors.
Cayden Ceilean is a deity of freedom and bravery so would more likely focused on fighting things that oppress people. His job could be to bring down a government who oppresses the common people. He could also focus on fighting slavery.
All deities can and should have inquisitors. With some deities they are more visible because the deities structure is more visible, but they are always there. You don't have your class tattooed on your forehead so everyone knows what you are. Even the clerics of some deities may not be obvious Cayden Ceilean is a perfect example. His "temple" may be an in and the cleric is actually the bartender. You may even wander into his temple and not even realize it.
I absolutely love this thread and wish it was in the description of the Inquisitor itself.
I am playing a LN gunslinger/inquisitor of Abaddar and view his motivations as seeking out threats to society and civilizations ,rooting out corruption and fighting to bring justice to the lawlessland.
Considering it's a Carrion Crown campaign and almost all forms of government are corrupt, he has his work cut out for him.
I believe that he will be assasinating many officials when he gets out of the damn werewolf infested forest.
I've rolled up a Barbarian/Inquisitor who follows Abadar, which I'm hoping will be fun. He's following a lawful god, but has a hint of the chaotic in him left over from his Barbarian days. He thinks that lawful society is something to be strived for, though he himself will have no place in it, being the brutal killer that he is.
He's extremely shy and introverted when it comes to anything not directly involving what he sees as his divine mission, but will step up and take charge, or commit any action if he thinks it will further Abadar's cause.
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I've got an inquisitor of Desna who doesn't really play the "mysterious avenger/defender of the faith" role - he's more about living what he believes is the true faith of Desna, particularly when it comes to individual freedom. He was kind of chased out of the church of Desna because he broke someone out of prison who he believed had been wrongly convicted - his faith told him he had to take such an action. The church hierarchy (such as it is) didn't support him, and he would have been imprisoned as well if he hadn't fled. So he ventured out on his own (or with fellow adventurers, of course), living the Desnan ideals of travelling, trusting to luck, and, above all, supporting individual freedom.
He's not a dark, tortured soul, nor is he especially devious or sneaky -he just feels the church may have gotten too focused on being a church and lost touch with the ideals of Desna's faith.
Going to have a human male inquisitor in my group. Trying to decide on a deity, we've narrowed it down to Iomedae, Desna or Cayden. Leaning towards Desna - emnity with Lamashtu & Ghlaunder give plenty of storyhooks, but Iomedae's no slouch, either.
Not so worried about mechanics here, but more how would you play the inquisitor flavor/rp-wise? Ideas for things like motivations, goals and such helpful, as we've never played this class before.
I kind of play my Inquisitor of Abadar as the bad @$$ with a highborn british fop
attitude mixed with "where does the inquisitor crap in the campaign setting?' - anywhere he feels like it...because he is a nigh unstoppable murder machine that only gets stronger as the fight winds up!
My Pharasmin inquisitor is just now having the opportunity to return to civilization, and his key objective upcoming is to follow a cousin who was consigned to a Pharasmin monastery in Ustalav and has not been heard from since. There will be some heretical slaughter coming down, no doubt... Dunn is the strong left hand of the Lady of Graves, and he marches around like a black Santa Claus, handing out his deity's "gift" to all who are "deserving."
I went with an Inquisitor of Ragathiel. The Empyreal Lord of Chivalry, Duty, and of course Vengeance. As an act of Obedience you are supposed to Slay those who have committed an Evil Act. I was basically a Bounty Hunter. But first I had my own righteous vengeance to extract.
Very simple character to play. Lot's of fun. Think Judge Dredd with more points in intimidation.
I got to say things like
- "I find your lack of faith disturbing"
- "I kick-@ss for the lord"
- "I am the law"
- "I came here to kick-@$$ and chew black root, and I'm all out of black root."
You could also get a little bit of evil out of your system by creating a test of bravery.
You could even create a scenario, with much planning, that forces a "brave" person to do something very brave; like solo a small dragon. Something deadly and dangerous.
The only people accompanying that person may be you and your party.
I am sure you can put someone in a no-win situation where that person must choose who gets to keep their freedom.
So many ideas, it's up to you to learn whether a person is faking bravery or actually is.
"I'm Batman."
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Exactly. I see a few have found awesome uses for the inquisitor but I cant get into it. Seems fun tho, even taken seriously without the batman and monty python references that will inevitably come up.
For some deities I just don't know though.
I mean, what would a inquisitor of Calistria do? Find and punish people who are bad at sex?
"WELL,WELL, if it isn't Mr. 30 seconds. We meet again."
"OH NO, not you again, I thought about baseball the whole time honestly, I did!!!
"Such sad excuses, have you anymore!!??
"Well no I guess I am out...."
"So you have spent yourself again, I am sensing a disturbing pattern.."
"Look, I will do better, I swear to Cayden!!!"
"SWEAR TO MMMMMMEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!
"Oh gods, please!!"
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There is an NPC inquisitor of Calistria in my Kingmaker game as well. She leads a group of women who have all been raped by noblemen or soldiers before. They travel around the kingdoms seeking revenge on rapists who use their title, money, or power to escape punishment.
She is always accompanied by a Dark Tapestry oracle, a half-orc ranger, and a dirge bard who plays haunting melodies on a violin while they close in on their intended target. Her band is called the Daughters and they usually number between 4-6 women, with the newest members typically being the ones whose revenge they are seeking currently.
I've been rolling an inquisitor of Cayden Cailean in PFS. He's not terribly bright or charismatic, but he has a strong sense of justice and hates any form of discrimination or bigotry.
Also, he's a brewer on the side and carries his tankard everywhere.
How would people go about a zen like inquisitor. Very Buddhist like. Would someone like at eve try be to an inquisitor, and if so to what virtue/? To use it for. Enlightenment?
Go after people who prevent others from enlightenment?
Well, there is no right or wrong way to play an inquisitor from an RP standpoint. I think half the fun is coming up with a back-story unique to whatever the player wants.
However, you asked for RP examples so I'll give mine even though its a different deity than your chosen ones.
My Half-Orc inquisitor (Anger Inquisition) was part of a barbarian tribe of Gorum. He was sort of the investigator/hunter for the tribe, although not much investigation is needed in a chaotic tribe.
Both me and my Barbarian Brother (another player not related IRL) began our quest for the Carrion Crown campaign. We fought eagerly sided by side as true warriors of Gorum. Well, tragedy struck at level 2, when my barbarian brother was killed. In mourning, I spent most nights in the tavern drinking my sorrows away until finally deciding to take it upon myself to remember my brother best by embracing our tribes true barbarian heritage.
I'm currently a level 3 Inquisitor, however, starting next level I'll begin a two level dip into Drunken Brute / Wild Rager Barbarian.
Since he never truly embraced the tribes barbarian traditions in the past (coupled with him spending most his time in a drunken state), his rage is wild and unpredictable.
Seemed a fun route to take... Sort of the opposite of Grizzly's Zen Inquisitor.
I mean, what would a inquisitor of Calistria do? Find and punish people who are bad at sex?Uh...Calistria is the Goddess of Vengeance. Inigo Montoya makes an excellent Inquisitor of Calistria, as does Frank Castle. She's one of the easiest Gods to figure out what her Inquisitors do.
I believe she's also a patron of knowledge, specifically secrets and intrigue (if I recall) . My infiltrator of Calistria jumped on the opportunity to get closer to the Red Mantis in Serpents Skull to learn their delicious secrets.
Also with the vengeance, wherever appropriate.
This is kind of wieghty question, because it matters a great deal what deity you decide on. I think the most standard issue Inquisitor would be strongly patterned after Batman, big on intimidation, has strong detective skills, driven by justice, but decidedly darker than a paladin.
That is if you even want to have a deity. They do give you the option of serving an "idea." So basically: batman without the weight of a middleman to weigh you down with outside doctrine. You can play LG without playing the lawful stupid people tend to think paladins have to play. You could also go the route of a CN individual such a V (you know the one) devoted to revolution, Galt style.
Also, here is a post I made previously in an inquisitor thread in general discussion.
In a world filled with wonder, one hard boiled cop has lost faith everyone on this side and the next. He can only continue to believe in the justice he serves. But can he keep to his morals when his loved ones are at risk?
Coming this summer, Liam Neesan is....Looking for His Family (and maybe knife punching some wolves).
I think this shows off how a LN inquisitor without a deity might play out.
Mechanically, you still get the domain, and you still deal with general restrictions, although they are more defined by your own choices when making the character rather than making it 'fit' with a deity. You might miss out on savored weapons though. Discuss with your GM before trying out this style, and see if you can weasel out a half decent martial weapon of out the deal. It might be easier if you try to loosely attach yourself to a preexisting organization (town militia, royal spies, etc).
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Currently I'm playing one in a low rp, heavy combat campaign. Its a dwarven inquisitor of Gorum. I have to say that I really enjoy the character just from the combat side of things. And if my GM would change over the game to be heavier in the rp I would be a bull in a china shop with everything. Questioning every decision and tactic made by the frontliners, always nagging why their not praying to Gorum etc....
No matter what, I have to say this class has been one of my favorites and I will most likely continue with their use in my future games.
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Just possibilities rather than standards, but:
Iomedae: Root out those who would have us become that which we fight. Even as we hold the line against the demons of the Worldwound, there are those in our midst that poison us. They would have us commit atrocities in the name of justice. They would have us act as devils in the name of Iomedae. They would have us spill the blood of the very people we are trying to save.
They must be rooted out. Seek out those who consort with demons, but do not compromise your soul. Seek out those who would persecute the innocent, and be not swayed by politics. Hold the line against the enemy without. Cut out the enemy within.
Cayden Cailean: Some folks really overcomplicate doing the right thing. Yeah, political discretion this and legal entanglements that. "Oh, but our economy and culture depend on slavery! This is a way of life that has brought prosperity for centuries!"
Cool story, bro.
Look, I'm not telling you you should go out killing every slave owner there is. For one, that's just sloppy. And a lot of those people are also victims of a corrupt system. But you can pick your targets, and if you do it right, you can knock that machine right off the rails and save a lot of people at the same time. Just make sure you don't hurt the cause while you're doing it. Know who you're targetting. And know what kind of fires you'll be starting with them.
Don't ever let someone else's rules get in the way of doing the right thing. But don't forget that your actions have consequences. Own what you do.
Desna: People are afraid of the dark. They see the night as a source of fear and danger. This should not be the case. The night should be a time of wonders. The shadows should offer solace and safety.
It falls to us to reclaim such things.
We are the ones who will take back the night. Those evils which hide in the darkness will find no refuge there, for we will be there waiting for them.
Not all that lurks in shadow is wicked. It falls to us to protect them from those that would claim their homes and those who ignorantly fear them.
We are the shepherds of dreams. We are that which nightmares dread. We are wonder. We are horror. And we walk in the darkness without fear.
I have a friend who wasn't that into this game, but he created an inquisitor. The character was a dhampir, with the day-born trait. The priests in his temple found his pregnant mother, and so after this character was born they used her to create more dhampirs. The temple created an army of dhampirs to do their dirty work from the woman. The character knows none of this, and ran away from the temple because he believed they were straying from the true path of the religion. Because the people at the temple always told him he was un-pure and he worships a god of hunting and nature, his goal is to hunt and kill all "abominations of nature" (magical beasts, undead, and aberrations). His niche in the party is to identify monsters, their weaknesses, and then exploit them (he's the guy with scary amounts of holy water and silver).
Desna: People are afraid of the dark. They see the night as a source of fear and danger. This should not be the case. The night should be a time of wonders. The shadows should offer solace and safety.
It falls to us to reclaim such things.
We are the ones who will take back the night. Those evils which hide in the darkness will find no refuge there, for we will be there waiting for them.
Hence why my Desnan Inquisitor specialized in hunting down Necromancers of all kinds... or any other spell-casters who thought it's fun to mess with peoples minds/fears.
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Desna: People are afraid of the dark. They see the night as a source of fear and danger. This should not be the case. The night should be a time of wonders. The shadows should offer solace and safety.
It falls to us to reclaim such things.
We are the ones who will take back the night. Those evils which hide in the darkness will find no refuge there, for we will be there waiting for them.
Not all that lurks in shadow is wicked. It falls to us to protect them from those that would claim their homes and those who ignorantly fear them.
We are the shepherds of dreams. We are that which nightmares dread. We are wonder. We are horror. And we walk in the darkness without fear.
I am so borrowing/stealing this for my own use
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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I mean, what would a inquisitor of Calistria do? Find and punish people who are bad at sex?Uh...Calistria is the Goddess of Vengeance. Inigo Montoya makes an excellent Inquisitor of Calistria, as does Frank Castle. She's one of the easiest Gods to figure out what her Inquisitors do.I believe she's also a patron of knowledge, specifically secrets and intrigue (if I recall) . My infiltrator of Calistria jumped on the opportunity to get closer to the Red Mantis in Serpents Skull to learn their delicious secrets.
Also with the vengeance, wherever appropriate.
Queen of Thorns, Queen of Thorns.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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I'm looking at playing an Inquisitor of Erastil.
"It's up to me to live in the wild, to keep others safe, so they can live, grow old, and die together. As long as I'm needed, me and my (Owl)bear here will watch the wilds, and make sure that husbands find wives, parents love their children, and people are happy. If they've problems, Erastil'l send 'em to me, and, I'll use the talents he loaned me to straighten 'em out. Cheating husbands? Unfaithful wives? We'll sniff 'em out and straighten 'em out. One way" *brandishes axe* "Or another."
GRizzly Adams, Dwarven inquisitor of Erastil. :-)
My Pharasmin inquisitor is just now having the opportunity to return to civilization, and his key objective upcoming is to follow a cousin who was consigned to a Pharasmin monastery in Ustalav and has not been heard from since. There will be some heretical slaughter coming down, no doubt... Dunn is the strong left hand of the Lady of Graves, and he marches around like a black Santa Claus, handing out his deity's "gift" to all who are "deserving."
My Inquisitor of Pharasma is the typical Van Helsing type, monster hunting expert with the strongest focus on undead and other abominations against the Grey Lady. It's his job to investigate things and do what's necessary when necessary.
I've been playing him as a 'good soldier' for the first few levels but he just had a bad experience with the high priest of the city temple (guy didn't trust me and undermined a plan I had been working). Suddenly he finds himself realizing that the rules aren't always right and he needs to stop following anyone except Pharasma and himself.....
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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I also think the name "Inquisitor" can throw people off.
Look at the class skills.
Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (dungeoneering) (Int), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Knowledge (planes) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Stealth (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).
While most of them do work towards the 'smite my enemies', the skills alone give some other ideas.
Bluff, Disguise and Sense Motive allow them to 'move among the people' not just to smite the unworthy, but to reward the worthy.
Diplomacy and the knowlege skills make inquisitors the natural missionaries of the people, while their spells and judgements lend towards surviving to convert. "You people, you now free people. You saw how my goddess gave me the ability to withstand Moloch's fires (resist energy and empower my weapons to bring low his chosen prophet. Now, let me tell you, you do not need to follow the teachings of Moloch to bring fire and warmth to your villiage! Saranae brings the fires of purity and claims not your children as sacrifices!"
Same thing goes for Survival, Swim, and Knowledge nature. "I lived among the tribesmen, helping them forage and teaching them better ways to live off the land. In the end, my skills in the woods and the blessing of Old Deadeye saw them, and I, through."