Critique my 'savage' Inquisitor...

[BadBird]

Ximenetlalocotecl, the Spirit-Serpent

N<->NG Witch-Hunter Preacher Inquisitor of Pharasma/ Sohei Monk 1
Human: 16/18+, 12, 14, 10, 14, 8
Traits: Fate's Favored, Magical Knack
FCB: HP/Spells
Domain: Repose|Ancestors

Ximenetlalocotecl was raised from a marked birth to ruthlessly hunt down those who would abuse the spirit-world and the grave, taking his orders - and receiving fearsome powers - from both his totem of Pharasma, and the demanding spirits of the vengeful dead. Highly skilled in the use of a serpentine blade, totemic shield and the hand-to-hand combat of his savage martial arts, he is also knowledgeable in the ways of magic and the wards against it.

Now this fiercely determined and stone-faced spirit-talker has emerged from his dark haunts in the far-flung ends of the world, ostensibly at the behest of his patron totem-god, if not for more strange and inscrutable reasons...

Primary Weapons: Temple Sword, Monk Unarmed Strike (W/ Greater Magic Weapon)
Primary Defenses: Mithral Mountain Pattern Armor, Light Wooden Quickdraw Shield

1SoM. Sohei/Monk abilities: Flurry of Blows (W/ Light Armor) / Temple Sword Proficiency / Monk Unarmed Strike / Devoted Guardian
~Feats: +Monk: Dodge / +Human: Toughness / Combat Reflexes

2WPI. Inquisitor/Witch-Hunter Abilities: Judgement 1/day / Spell Sage / Repose: Gentle Rest

3WPI. Witch-Hunter Ability: Knowledgeable Defense
~Feat: Quick Draw

4WPI. Preacher Ability: Determination 2/day

5WPI. Inquisitor Ability: Judgement 2/day
~Feat: Snake Style

6WPI. Inquisitor Ability: Bane

7WPI. Witch-Hunter/Preacher Abilities: Spell Scent / Determination 3/day
~Feat:Snake Sidewind

8WPI. Inquisitor Ability: Judgement 3/day

9WPI. Inquisitor Abilities: Second Judgement / Ancestors: Speak with Dead
~Feat: Snake Fang

10WPI. Preacher Ability: Determination 4/day

11WPI. Inquisitor Ability: Judgement 4/day
~Feat: Power Attack

Primary Skills: Spellcraft, Sense Motive, Perception, Intimidate

The basic idea is to remove his shield just long enough to conduct flurry of blows attacks, but otherwise to benefit from 'light' armor, a shield, and whatever other defense he can acquire (such as Shield of Faith later down the road). Snake Style's sense motive AC is situationally useful, and once Snake Fang is picked up at 9 his high AC and potentially the use of the Determined: Warning ability will allow him to put up a very strong defense coupled with unarmed strike retaliation.

Well, there it is so far. It's potentially intended for a Shackles campaign, where I thought the caster-hunting and spirit-talking flavor would be an interesting counterpoint to all the murderous pirates and voodoo...

[Renegadeshepherd]

the build doesn't take anything to an extreme, is balanced in nearly all ways, no obvious weaknesses that enemies would exploit, and you have flexible tactics. Thus I would say that your going to be viewed as the "5th man" role, is this ok with you? I like it. if I were picky I would say perhaps a half orc would do a little better but I don't see a reason to nitpick, especially when you have a vision for your character and story to go with it.

[BadBird]

Well fortunately we're usually not overly concerned with 'role', assuming that everyone is effective - this guy could well end up being the muscle. The basic idea is that (Inquisitor abilities x flurry of blows) should be able to serve out a very healthy amount of damage while he stacks more on with counterattacks.

The other major concern is being able to walk into harm's way with enough AC to survive and make Snake Fang pay off - I'm still trying to decide how adequately defensive this is. Against a rabble at least it seems like it would do well - the fighting style concept is based around the idea of being trained to charge down some jungle juju type while their minions get bounced on their own time. I didn't originally pick the Ancestors domain or Preacher for their defensive abilities, but they seem quite effective for handling a dangerous target with something like: move up and stagger -> force re-roll if needed, retaliate -> Bane flurry. A Conductive cestus or something would be a cheap way to add stagger to a full attack as well I suppose.

[Renegadeshepherd]

Well AC wise its weak for a heavy armored frontliner but strong for a monk. I'll leave it to you to decide the quality of that. I couldn't advocate putting in another feat for defense but I would remind you that if you face a foe you think will hit more often you always have fight defensively.

[BadBird]

Yeah, I hoped to cover the gap between medium/heavy armor and light/heavy shield as much as possible with magic. Shield of Faith is very handy, and the Protection Judgement is always a possibility - maybe switching out the +ab judgement once I have Heroism. Saving money with magic also opens the possibility for little bonuses from things like a Snakeskin Tunic.

Speaking of fighting defensively, that's actually pretty great if I'm starting out against a really dangerous target with a staggering touch attack, followed by trying not to get smashed up...