All Hail the Mighty Inquisitor! Huzzah!


Pathfinder First Edition General Discussion


I am starting to think inquisitor is my new favorite ‘go-to’ class.

A couple of us were talking the other day about versatile classes and filling party roles. And the inquisitor seems to be able to do just about anything. I don’t mean every inquisitor can do everything. But the class can be built to do nearly anything.

If you need a hammer (hurting the bad guys), anvil (interfering with the bad guys), or arm (supporting the good guys) combat role (or even any 2 of them); it can cover it. It probably is the least strong as the anvil, but it can cover that. The other 2 are pretty easy for it to handle.

Note: If you specify your role as ‘how’ rather than ‘what’, it obviously doesn’t work out very well. So if you say, “I will blast the bad guys with electrical attacks until they are dead,” you will find it difficult to do with an inquisitor. That is saying HOW you are going to do it. If you instead say, “I am going to make the bad guys dead,” that is WHAT you are doing (hammer role) and can be easily accomplished by an inquisitor.

If you need a sneak, face, knowledge, condition remover, or skill monkey non-combat role; it can easily handle that while still filling a combat role.

We probably won’t do it, but we were talking about making an entire party of inquisitors. I can’t see any reason it wouldn’t work at least as well as a more traditional party build.

People always talk about clerics being able to do anything, but they are hampered by lack of skill points.
Wizards can do anything, but they are squishy and have to be careful not to run out of spells.
I think summoners come close, but have difficulties with condition removal and a lack of skill points.
Bards are the classic that people say can cover everything, but they don’t have a lot of condition removals and they seem a bit mediocre covering the hammer role, though they can manage it fairly well.

May not be news to anyone else, but it seems interesting to me. What do you folks think? Agree or Disagree?

Liberty's Edge

More or less agree. Inquisitors pretty much rock, for all the reasons you list plus an ability to focus heavily on only a couple of stats (which is always an advantage).

Though, to go off on a tangent, the all Inquisitor party isn't nearly as good as the all Bard party. Individually, they're about even as classes (as you note, Bards lack a certain offensive punch and condition removal, but in exchange are much better party buffers)...but the synergy of several different Performances from different archetypes stacking is just silly as an all Bard party, while Inquisitors lack an equivalent synergy bonus (though the Teamwork Feats would help a bit, I guess).


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Inquisitors are great. They're even pretty good as a dip for an otherwise martial character (Gunquisitor is popular).


My gaming group was joking about making a party of Warpriests and Bards, until we realized that this party was actually pretty strong.


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Gronk de'Morcaine wrote:
We probably won’t do it, but we were talking about making an entire party of inquisitors.

The Bane Train™


Really digging my current inquisitor pirate captain. He seems to always be able to contribute which is nice. Social situation? I am decent face.
Combat, I am pretty strong melee against single targets and have a handful of good debuffs for masses. I didnt put heals on my spell list because we have cleric but I can still use wands in a pinch. I can skill monkey on a hanfull of important areas like proffession sailor and knowledge dungeoneering. I can track and assist with survival. It really is a versatile class. I wouldnt say I am the best at anything....but I am good at a whole lot of stuff and those are the kind of characters I like the most.


I just have 1 thing to say...

You think an all Inquistor party is scary? Wait till you see an all druid party... that gets terrifying... quick.


Lamontius wrote:
Gronk de'Morcaine wrote:
We probably won’t do it, but we were talking about making an entire party of inquisitors.
The Bane Train™

"Nobody expects the Chelish Inquisition!"

"Um, actually, we kinda did."


Deadmanwalking wrote:
... while Inquisitors lack an equivalent synergy bonus (though the Teamwork Feats would help a bit, I guess).

Not sure I entirely agree. Some of those teamwork feats can get pretty scary if a bunch of people have them. It annoys me that I can't often get someone to be willing to take them with me.


Gronk de'Morcaine wrote:
Deadmanwalking wrote:
... while Inquisitors lack an equivalent synergy bonus (though the Teamwork Feats would help a bit, I guess).
Not sure I entirely agree. Some of those teamwork feats can get pretty scary if a bunch of people have them. It annoys me that I can't often get someone to be willing to take them with me.

One keen Falcata and a certain feat spread amongst the melee folk in the party come to mind.


Lazurin Arborlon wrote:
Gronk de'Morcaine wrote:
Deadmanwalking wrote:
... while Inquisitors lack an equivalent synergy bonus (though the Teamwork Feats would help a bit, I guess).
Not sure I entirely agree. Some of those teamwork feats can get pretty scary if a bunch of people have them. It annoys me that I can't often get someone to be willing to take them with me.
One keen Falcata and a certain feat spread amongst the melee folk in the party come to mind.

I was thinking along the lines of:

Stealth Synergy - Now you are taking the best of 4-6 d20 rolls. even with just a few ranks you will all be pretty darn sneaky.

Shake it off - This could easily be a +4 or better to saving throws. Have some familiars with the same feat. Sheesh. Now the lot of your are nearly immune to many spells, SLA's, magical effects, and traps.

Etc...

You get that bonus even at low levels. That's huge.


Gronk de'Morcaine wrote:
Stealth Synergy - Now you are taking the best of 4-6 d20 rolls. even with just a few ranks you will all be pretty darn sneaky.

O_O That should be a rogue talent.

Liberty's Edge

Gronk de'Morcaine wrote:
Deadmanwalking wrote:
... while Inquisitors lack an equivalent synergy bonus (though the Teamwork Feats would help a bit, I guess).
Not sure I entirely agree. Some of those teamwork feats can get pretty scary if a bunch of people have them. It annoys me that I can't often get someone to be willing to take them with me.

Oh, they're nice. Just not compared to, say, +7 to hit, +4 to damage, +1 AC, +4 to saves vs. most stuff (+2 vs. everything), +2 to Caster Level, and all opponents having -2 to hit and damage, all at 7th level with less than a full round of buffing (from a standard Bard, Archivist, Magician, and Court Bard plus Good Hope and Haste).

Inquisitors are one of the best classes to do a team of...just not nearly as good as a team of Bards.


Of the APG's base classes the Inquisitor is my favorite. And my favorite variant is the spell-less version from Rogue Genius Games. It gets a full attack advancement and more judgments to make up for the lack of spells.

Shadow Lodge

I like the Inquisitor a lot as well. Nice flavor, nice combat potential, nice self-buffer, and overall balanced class. It seems to be one of the classes that flys under the radar, because nobody ever complains about them being OP, but its really really hard to call them weak. So it is less subject to nerfs then Crane Wings and such.

Also, because Nobody Expects the French Inquisition! But for some reason, everyone is always ready for the Spanish Inquisition.

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