Melee-Focused Inquisitor Examples

[Vexanon Ur'Zahl]

So I see a lot on here about making ranged Inquisitors due to being proficient with the best ranged weapon in the game, but if I reeeeeaaaaally wanted to make a melee focused one, what would be a solid way to go with it? I have a campaign coming up and would like to play as one.

I was thinking a standard two-handed build, since they're less feat intensive than say TWF, but I don't know much about divine spell-casting so I feel like I'm definitely missing something on feats.

What are some examples of standard melee inquisitor builds you have tried before? Are there any specifics I should know? Any gear or spells or feats I should specifically look at?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated :)

[Walter Vizard]

I am currently playing this character in a PFS PbP campaign.
I started with a falchion...well...because why wouldn't I?
and I now also have a Longspear. I like the reach.
I plan on taking power attack at 3rd and by 5th Bane comes into play. Also, when you recieve your teamwork feats,
being melee will assist in having them relavent.

[Deylinarr]

This is the character sheet for my real-life Carrion Crown inquisitor (we are close to finishing book 2) Items are AP-specific so far from optimal: he's a 2-hander but the best weapon the party has is a +1 keen longsword so Im stuck with it for the moment.

He's the party tank, and my plan had originally been to dip Inq and stay Fighter. But early on I found myself using the Inq abilities more than I expected so shifted gears. Feats like Judgment Surge and Extra Bane help to offset the fact the two fighter levels so he doesn't feel behind the rest of the party.

We just made 7th level so he is now the proud owner of bane. From a melee perspective, Power attack + furious focus + bane = AWESOME fun. Add to that the fact that the party rogue is always looking for the flank meaning I almost always getting the extra 1d6 from the Teamwork feat: so even with the poor weapon choice he's normally +15 to hit and doing 1d8+3d6+14 damage.

Not sure how that competes to some of the crazy optimal builds out there but he's FUN to play and the AP hasn't thrown much his way that he couldn't handle.........

But don't forget to check this Guide for some great tips.

[Vexanon Ur'Zahl]

I was looking at some of the teamwork feats and that 1d6 for flanking feat looks mighty nice.

Holy crap Judgement Surge is ridiculous! Definitely have to take that, excellent suggestion! Power attack and furious focus are must-haves for sure. I'm reading through the guide you suggested as well and it has a lot of useful information. Thanks!

The character comes from an eastern area, and I'm being allowed to have free proficiency with one martial weapon from the area, so I'm thinking either Naginata (unless reach is a no-no for him) or a Katana (two handed of course).

Anyhow. I'm glad that A) The melee inquisitor is a viable option and B) I already got some kickarse advice on it. Thanks a lot!

[Driver 325 yards]

You get a domain, so why not go with the Animal Domain (Feather). You could also take Boon Companion (i think that is the name of the feat).

Now you have a flanking buddy at maximum level. You could even (and probably should) give you animal companion some teamwork feats. By seventh level you could have a tiger as a flanking companion/mount.

[Daelen]

If you are allowed a single martial Eastern weapon, then there is no better choice in my opinion than the nodachi. Its the weapon that replaces the falchion on every two-handed build I make now.

[Vexanon Ur'Zahl]

The animal companion idea is cool and I could see it for another character, but in the campaign I'm gonna be in we have a cavalier who's gonna have a lion as his mount and he'd probably be a bit slighted if I waltzed in riding a tiger or something similar xD

I love how versatile the inquisitor seems to be though, they can do quite a bunch of different things in order to accommodate various playstyles.

[Driver 325 yards]

Well, if not a Tiger, then go with my personal favorite, a Roc (at seventh he is a flying monstrousity). Warning, the Roc might steal the show from you though. I built a mad dog barbarian with a Roc companion and the others at the table would sarcastically ask for the Roc's input and ignore my character.

If no, then you are still going to have to pick a domain of some type. Maybe the Rage Domain or the Anger Inquisition. Both let you rage. These builds, however, normally start off with a couple of levels of barbarian for access to rage powers and the extra rage power feat. Further, clear up the interpretation of the language used in these domains/inquisitions to avoid conflicts with your GM. People interpret the language differently as is evident by some the the rule threads.

If not that then the Travel Domain to avoid difficult terrain (huge for meleers) and later dimensional hop to teleport.

[voska66]

Vexanon Ur'Zahl wrote:

The animal companion idea is cool and I could see it for another character, but in the campaign I'm gonna be in we have a cavalier who's gonna have a lion as his mount and he'd probably be a bit slighted if I waltzed in riding a tiger or something similar xD

I love how versatile the inquisitor seems to be though, they can do quite a bunch of different things in order to accommodate various playstyles.

Go with the mounted tiger. If I was playing a Cavalier I'd love a mounted Inquisitor with me. The team synergy would be great and we are both mounted.