Hello everyone,
My group and I are going to be running a one-shot campaign to teach a new player. So my brother and I decided we were going to venture into a group of classes we rarely touch, the divine classes. I have decided to go with the Inquisitor (brother is a paladin), but I'm not sure the best way to go about building him. What I do know is the following:
20 point-buy
Starting level: 1
Deity: Sarenrae
Race: Human
Weapon: Scimitar if possible
Domain: Fire?
I could use some help figuring out stats and feats. I would like to be in melee with a scimitar, but not sure how effective it would be given the 3/4 BAB. Any help or assistance you guys can provide would be greatly appreciated.
Str 14
Dex 14
Con 14
Wis 14
int 10
Cha 10
Pick one of the first 4 to put your +2 in.
Inquisitors are great melee guys due to their Judgements and Banes.
The inquisitor like most secondary combatants will be good at melee when buffed. When you have judgement or bane up/ when you have cast any of the multitude of good buffing divine spells on yourself, you'll be a good melee fighter. Other times, less so.
Make sure your spells known have lots of buff spells in there. In terms of feats, well...do you want to go dervish dance? Its on theme and works well with the character. If so, your first 3 feats are sort of set, if not, then persumably you would be going strength based. My low level melee inquisitor had weapon focus and power attack. Expanded arcana is almost always a good choice for characters with spells known.
Defensive feats can also be a good idea, you are at least starting in light armor, dodge will be welcome to add a little survivability into your d8 hit die frame.
Stats whise, dr death's example is pretty good, though i would probably go with a 12 Con for a higher strength or dex (depending on if you are going dervish dance or not).
I would say it depends upon what else you want to do with the character.
If all you want to do is slice things up with a scimitar, there are probably much more focused choices than an inquisitor. One of the biggest strengths of the inquisitor (at least in my mind) is the skill ranks, spells, med BaB, 2 good saves, etc... make it so they can be pretty decent at 2 or more things.
I have a heavily armored inquisi-tank that is also the party face.
I am starting a stealth/scout switch hitting inquisitor that also will eventually have an improved familiar.
I heard someone at my local is making a mounted archer inquisitor, but I haven't seen it yet. I would think this could be better done with hunter, but we'll see what he comes up with.
I've also seen a reach pole arm trip inquisitor that wasn't too bad.
So first decide what other capabilities or roles you want to bring to the group. Then we can help with more detailed advice.
I would recommend going with the following stats STR 12 DEX 18(+2 Racial) CON 14, INT 12 WIS 14 CHA 7. Take the Heresy Inquisition to use WIS for bluff and intimidate. Let your brother be the nice one your job is the scare the crap out of people and lie when needed. Classic good cop (Paladin), bad cop (Inquisitor). Go for dervish dance and let your brother go for the STR.
I would recommend going with the following stats STR 12 DEX 18(+2 Racial) CON 14, INT 12 WIS 14 CHA 7. Take the Heresy Inquisition to use WIS for bluff and intimidate. Let your brother be the nice one your job is the scare the crap out of people and lie when needed. Classic good cop (Paladin), bad cop (Inquisitor). Go for dervish dance and let your brother go for the STR.Often I myself would say the same but can you get away with that as an inquisitor? I mean it would be level 5 before you get power attack at all and with your stats you wouldn't get it. If piranha strike is allowed its still level 5. Plus the dreaded transition from level 1 to 3 when our scimitar is using strength. I couldn't do it but maybe the OP can.
Inquisitors are also proficient with bows so for the first 2 levels he can function as an archer. He can also carry a dagger to take advantage of weapon finesse. The difference between 1d4 and 1d6 is on the average a single point so that is not a big deal. Judgments and spells will also boost his combat ability. By the time he hits 5th level and bane kicks in he will be fine even without power attack. Power attack is not going to give him as much damage as it will the paladin. First he is using the scimitar one handed so he only gets +2 damage per -1 to hit. Also since he is a ¾ BAB class he does not get as much from it as a full BAB class. The penalty to hit may also make him miss too much to make it worthwhile.
Keep in mind that other than dervish dance all his abilities work equally well with ranged and melee. Being able to hit with a ranged attack is going to be worth a lot when he starts to face flying monsters.
Thanks a lot for the recommendations everyone. I'm definitely considering the idea of the dervish dancer. Since we are starting at level 1 I'll bring along a good ranged weapon to cover me until I can get the three feats.
Now I just have to decide between Conversion or Heresy inquisition.
Again thanks everyone and of course if you have more to add feel free.
I would say it depends upon what else you want to do with the character.
If all you want to do is slice things up with a scimitar, there are probably much more focused choices than an inquisitor. One of the biggest strengths of the inquisitor (at least in my mind) is the skill ranks, spells, med BaB, 2 good saves, etc... make it so they can be pretty decent at 2 or more things.
The main reason I want to go with the inquisitor is for all of the stuff they get. I like having skills and being the more versatile in the group. I mostly play for RP purposes so just being able to slice stuff up gets a little boring :P
Do you get traits? Fate's Favored with divine favor is the bomb at low levels.
...
The main reason I want to go with the inquisitor is for all of the stuff they get. I like having skills and being the more versatile in the group. I mostly play for RP purposes so just being able to slice stuff up gets a little boring :PI would say it depends upon what else you want to do with the character.
If all you want to do is slice things up with a scimitar, there are probably much more focused choices than an inquisitor. One of the biggest strengths of the inquisitor (at least in my mind) is the skill ranks, spells, med BaB, 2 good saves, etc... make it so they can be pretty decent at 2 or more things.
Absolutely agree.
But you can't be good at everything. So you need to decide in what else you want to specialize. Since you are talking the conversion or heresy inquisition, it sounds like you want to do the face role. They can actually be very good at that.I have a PFS dwarf inquisitor that dumped charisma to 5 with the conversion inquisition. He is normally the best face character unless we have an actual bard at the table.
Consider learning spells like:
disguise self
forced quiet
interrogation
persuasive goad
adjustable disguise
castigate
confess
detect thoughts
disguise other
honeyed tongue
mantle of calm
perceive cues
qualm
see invisible
silence
tongues
undetectable alignment
whispering wind
zone of truth
They fit fairly thematically into that role. Obviously you can't take all of them and some are very nearly as useful as a low level wand or scroll.
If I was trying to be the face character, I probably would not try to also be good at stealth/scouting. It might be a bit more difficult to get people to trust you if you look and act like a thief.
So bright shiny mithral armor could look very noble and trustworthy. I even took heavy armor proficiency so I could be wearing full plate. Obviously a 'noble knight protector' in full plate is not trying to scam anyone.
If you are going the dervish dancer route though, you wouldn't want that. But a mithral breastplate would still look very upperclass, rich, and noble-ish.
Also most inquisitors will put at least some points into all the monster knowledges to make sure you can identify enemy weaknesses.
Will the paladin be putting points into diplomacy? If so Heresy is probably the better inquisition for you. The ability to roll twice on bluff, diplomacy and stealth and take the better result is better than using WIS modifier to diplomacy. The 8th level abilities are about equal. Dominate is a stronger but is limited to humanoids, where the curse can affect any creature.
Fate’s Favored is good, but Birthmark allows you always to have a holy symbol for your spells. This can be very useful if you are trying to infiltrate an evil group. If they search you and find a holy symbol of Sarenrae that is going to be hard to explain. If you do want Fate’s Favored then you may want Power of suggestion. Personally I think always having a holy symbol is better.
I think it is fantastic that the Inquisitor is the only class who gets repeating crossbow proficiency. So, I would go heavy repeating crossbow with a bayonet on it. No, it isn't optimal, but it is sooooo cool in the ROLE-playing perspective.
I do believe the paladin is planning on going with diplomacy and I agree that the ability to roll twice does sound much better than using wisdom on diplomacy. Besides I see this character as more of a bluffer/intimidator rather than a diplomat (he leaves that job to the paladin).
I completely forgot about traits. Normally we get our choice of 3 traits (2 general and 1 based on the campaign) none of which can be in the same category. Birthmark is definitely fitting for this character and convenient to boot.
Fourshadow, the repeating crossbow is an interesting idea and since I will be starting at level 1 I may consider that as my starting/ranged weapon of choice. Thanks for bringing it up!
Two level dip into Cavalier (order of cockatrice) nets you dazzling display as a bonus feat that you get to use as a standard action instead of a full action.
Blistering Invective is a beast of a spell that you can get that works just like dazzling display as a standard action but adds fire damage as well.
Half orcs add 1/2 their lvl to intimidate as their favored class bonus.
Heresy is a great inquisition for intimidators.
Rogue thug archtype dip... I forget what exactly it does but I know it enhances demoralize. It also gives you some sneak attack so if you take Shatter Defenses, it adds a nice +1d6 to shaken foes.
|
Two level dip into Cavalier (order of cockatrice) nets you dazzling display as a bonus feat that you get to use as a standard action instead of a full action.
Uh...read the Code for Order of the Cockatrice. I'm pretty sure being an Inquisitor of Sarenrae and following that code are actively mutually exclusive.
Two level dip into Cavalier (order of cockatrice) nets you dazzling display as a bonus feat that you get to use as a standard action instead of a full action.Uh...read the Code for Order of the Cockatrice. I'm pretty sure being an Inquisitor of Sarenrae and following that code are actively mutually exclusive.
What better god for a glory seeking megalomaniac to serve than the most loved of the gods? There are plenty of real life religious people doing great deeds of philanthropy in the name of a god just for the glory. And let's not forget certain crusades... Nothing like spreading the good words of peace and acceptance of your god through the force of a blade.
He's also an Inquisitor, not a Paladin or Cleric. They don't play by the same religious rules. There are plenty of ways to spin it.
Regardless, I was just presenting a number of interesting options to consider. It's not that difficult to change a diety in favor of a class feature if it appeals to you more.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
An inquisitor may have some leeway, but they are still followers of the god. The church may not have authority over an inquisitor, but the deity does. Any inquisitor ignoring the teachings of the god for selfish reasons will soon be an ex –inquisitor. In the real world there may be a lot of religious people who don’t care about their religion, but they are not being granted powers.
Also the inquisitor is the last class you want to multiclass with. They have too many abilities that will be weakened or delayed by dipping.
This is also part of a team so changing deities may be more difficult than normal.
|
|
What better god for a glory seeking megalomaniac to serve than the most loved of the gods? There are plenty of real life religious people doing great deeds of philanthropy in the name of a god just for the glory. And let's not forget certain crusades... Nothing like spreading the good words of peace and acceptance of your god through the force of a blade.
Sure...and all that's a valid reason for a Cavalier to claim to worship Sarenrae, but he doesn't get powers from it, because Sarenrae knows he's an ass.
He's also an Inquisitor, not a Paladin or Cleric. They don't play by the same religious rules. There are plenty of ways to spin it.
Uh...that's a load of crap, basically. Per the rules:
"An inquisitor who slips into corruption or changes to a prohibited alignment loses all spells and the judgment ability. She cannot thereafter gain levels as an inquisitor until she atones (see the atonement spell description)."
That's slightly less restrictive than the Cleric version, but following the Order of the Cockatrice definitely still qualifies as 'slipping into corruption' for a follower of Sarenrae (self-aggrandizement at the expense of others is pretty much completely antithetical to her teachings).
Regardless, I was just presenting a number of interesting options to consider. It's not that difficult to change a diety in favor of a class feature if it appeals to you more.
Sure...but if you note something that requires a deity change, you should probably state that it requires such a change.
...
The main reason I want to go with the inquisitor is for all of the stuff they get. I like having skills and being the more versatile in the group. I mostly play for RP purposes so just being able to slice stuff up gets a little boring :PI would say it depends upon what else you want to do with the character.
If all you want to do is slice things up with a scimitar, there are probably much more focused choices than an inquisitor. One of the biggest strengths of the inquisitor (at least in my mind) is the skill ranks, spells, med BaB, 2 good saves, etc... make it so they can be pretty decent at 2 or more things.
Absolutely agree.
But you can't be good at everything. So you need to decide in what else you want to specialize. Since you are talking the conversion or heresy inquisition, it sounds like you want to do the face role. They can actually be very good at that.I have a PFS dwarf inquisitor that dumped charisma to 5 with the conversion inquisition. He is normally the best face character unless we have an actual bard at the table.
Consider learning spells like:
disguise self
forced quiet
interrogation
persuasive goad
adjustable disguise
castigate
confess
detect thoughts
disguise other
honeyed tongue
mantle of calm
perceive cues
qualm
see invisible
silence
tongues
undetectable alignment
whispering wind
zone of truthThey fit fairly thematically into that role. Obviously you can't take all of them and some are very nearly as useful as a low level wand or scroll.
If I was trying to be the face character, I probably would not try to also be good at stealth/scouting. It might be a bit more difficult to get people to trust you if you look and act like a thief.
So bright shiny mithral armor could look very noble and trustworthy. I even took heavy armor proficiency so I could be wearing full plate. Obviously a 'noble knight protector' in full plate is not trying to scam anyone.
If you are going the...
To add to this, you don't need ranks in Stealth because you have solo tactics and access to Stealth Synergy. Suddenly scouting became a two man operation!
