I am a bit unsure how I should proceed here.
The group has been investigating a murder for some time and they have finally discovered the true culprit the high priest of pharasma in the city they are in.
They have gone to confront him to find that he has fabricated evidence that the one who hired them is the real culprit.
When they go to confront him he has a number of town guards waiting for them as well as a paladin of the dawnflower (Sarenrea) who has come as a neutral party to help in the arrest.
Thanks to him casting misdirection on himself the high priest doesn't detect as evil or lying but the person who hired the party (who went with them to confront the priest) does.
The paladin has decided that the person who hired them is guilty and has decided to arrest her however the party is innocent of any crime and do not register as evil so he is willing to let them go.
The party however includes an inquisitor of pharasma who has declared the high priest a heretic and want to question him.
It is true the high priest has lost his favour with pharasma and can no longer cast divine spells but he is also an arcane caster and he has been pretending he still has cleric powers by using magic items.
What should the high priest do now? The party is tenth level and has five members so they are quite strong and respected but they are strangers here and the high priest has been a respected member of the community for over 30 years. I don't think he would risk submitting himself to questioning but if he orders the guards and the other clerics to attack he would look guilty. If he simply refuses this also makes him look guilty but the party has no proof he has done anything wrong.
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Maybe the high priest should invoke a bit of church law and declare that the inquisitor can't question him, but another inquisitor, a high inquisitor in a neighboring city, can, as they are equals. This delays things as the high priest won't be questioned till word is sent to the next city and the high inquisitor agrees to look into things himself. This gives the high priest time to cover his tracks a bit more at need. When the high inquisitor arrives, there will be a formal inquiry. Only after that is done can civil authorities put the high priest on trial. This gives PCs time to investigate the scapegoat thoroughly and see if she's truly innocent and find the weaknesses in the high priest's fabricated evidence/get new evidence.
And then the formal inquiry can begin, with whatever plot twists you like. Maybe the high inquisitor is also corrupt and makes a deal with the high priest. Maybe the high inquisitor has been replaced with an outsider, conjured by the high priest. Or maybe the high inquisitor is attacked by agents of the high priest. The options go on and on.
That sounds like an awesome scenario, very high drama. Are you the GM and did you create that scenario? I don't have any good advice, just wanted to say kudos to you if you came up with that.
Btw, does the guy who hired the party detect as evil because he is evil, or because the high priest pulled some kind of magical trick on him?
If the party has enough evidence to convict him of a crime (and the High Priest knows this) there are possible scenarios:
- he could use the guards to buy time and flee. His charade finally revealed as he no longer has the favor of the gods.
- if he knows what evidence the party has, he could submit himself to a fair trial (don't know if there are any in your town), and use that time to destroy the party's evidence.
I don't think anyone can barge into other people's homes and say "you're guilty" and cast some spell to be sure he is. Plus that's not always accessible.
- he could refused to be treated as an evil entity, using his status a Priest and frowning upon the party's behavior.
Usually authorities of higher status are not subject to hearsay. The party might be well respected, but he is the guy who healed the wounded and represents Pharasma in that town.
Use the status of the High Priest in your favor.
Also consider the High Priest personality: is he full of himself thinking he can never be caught doing what he does? Is he fearful that people will discover his powers are gone and ostracize him?
Does he hold his position as High priest as important as life itself? What is he willing to sacrifice to keep the charade up?
Why have the gods left him? Maybe this is what he needs to move on, escape and start worshiping another entity.
@HeHateMe I am the gm yes and I did create this scenario. This campaign has been ongoing for nearly two years now and funny enough originally started as an adventure based on the Misborn trilogy. Things have gone a bit of track since then.
You can find it here if you want to look into it:
http://paizo.com/campaigns/MysteryOfTheKeepers/gameplay&page=1
I like Lathiira's idea about buying some time by asking for another inquisitor to come in.
The person who hired the party is innocent and only registers as evil because of magical mischief.
The high priest lost pharasma's favor because he had a man murdered and he used soulbind to steal the soul so he could not be resurrected (stopping him from going to the afterlife which is a big no no in pharasma's book) His position and power are both very important to him and he is not willing to give up either but he will flee if it comes to that.
Inquisitors very specifically have the power to break rules. If they feel the right thing to do is attack. They have the authority to do so. Heresy is pretty serious. Court might be fun because the inquisitor could just do all the cop shows style interrogation, and intimidation.
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Inquisitors have the authority to take any action they wish in regards to dealing with criminals especially heretics. In the descriptions of them they are feared for this authority they have since an Inquisitor can actually get a high priest excommunicated simply on their word regardless of facts. However most don't since doing this since they do this unjustly more then a couple of times and other priests, inquisitors and even the deity step in calling into question his or her actions.
The priest in your adventure still acting as a priest is interesting since he would have been stripped of his powers by Pharsma for his actions. I'm surprised that hasn't been noticed yet by underlings and what not. Still sounds very interesting.
What?! Where does it say this at?
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This is all the APG says about Inquisitors:
Grim and determined, the inquisitor roots out enemies of the faith, using trickery and guile when righteousness and purity is not enough. Although inquisitors are dedicated to a deity, they are above many of the normal rules and conventions of the church. They answer to their deity and their own sense of justice alone, and are willing to take extreme measures to meet their goals.
Nothing about them saying they have more authority than anyone else in the religion.
I was thinking more following their own path. Like a paladin challenging the unjust laws. It I'd up to GM interpretation, but in our history inquisitors were quite powerful and feared. So whatever the GM wants. :)
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You just stated it. They are above many of the normal rules. Think IAD of the police. They can and do investigate everyone answering to no one. They can and do override a police chief's authority. They can if they feel justified remove a high priest from power if they feel he or she is a heretic. Churches and priests fear them. Several suppliments all simply reinforce their descriptions of what they can and cannot do.This is all the APG says about Inquisitors:
Grim and determined, the inquisitor roots out enemies of the faith, using trickery and guile when righteousness and purity is not enough. Although inquisitors are dedicated to a deity, they are above many of the normal rules and conventions of the church. They answer to their deity and their own sense of justice alone, and are willing to take extreme measures to meet their goals.
"Above" in that sentence, in the same vein as the phrase "Above the law", does not mean they are higher in authority, it means they act outside of it. They can "remove" someone if they feel they need to, but under their own power, not out of authority or any special legal abilities. And Chruchs and the papacy tend to be wary of them specifically because they act outside of the hierarchy and don't cow down because a high ranked priest tells them to.
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Uh, yeah you did.
can actually get a high priest excommunicated simply on their word regardless of facts.
Inquisitors do not have this power. They would very much need facts and proof if they wanted to actually get a person excommunicated rather just assassinating or "disappearing" them.
And in most cases a church would not give Inquisiors free reign to do what they want. They might aid them if they belong to the same religion, but just being an Inquisitor doesn't give you special privileges or authority in a religion. In the same way that neither does being a Paladin or Cleric or Warpriest.
Just because an Inquisitor doesn't automatically make what your investigating guilty, and an Inquisitor might have a want to dispose of a priest for as much as they don't like them than any wrongdoing on the priest's part.
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"Not lie" would greatly depend and vary by each religion, but is pretty much universally false since it states on the first line:
Grim and determined, the inquisitor roots out enemies of the faith, using trickery and guile when righteousness and purity is not enough. Although inquisitors are dedicated to a deity, they are above many of the normal rules and conventions of the church. They answer to their deity and their own sense of justice alone, and are willing to take extreme measures to meet their goals.
Their word is not more trusted than a High-priest, normal priest, or even an acolyte just because of their class. They are not automatically given such clout just by virtue of being an Inquisitor.
And no, turning away a random person claiming to be inquisitor is not suspicious, turning away a known one on official church business would be though.
They have the freedom to to do their God's bidding outside any established religions involving their God. They absolutely do not have to answer to a church or anyone belonging to one. So yes they have freedom, but no clout just by simply existing.
Taking levels in Inquisitor, and being a well known Inquisitor are two very different things.
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However everything about them instills fear in church hierarchy. Think IAD in a police department. Regardless of their rank and standing no police officer from rookie to chief wants them around and investigating them. Most go out of their way to help them so they won't investigate them too much and leave quickly. Same thing with a church. The Inquisitor in this case is from the same religion so the priest probably would do everything to get rid of him. He answers to his deity and at some point might get info that the priest doesn't want him to know. If the Inquisitor was from a different religion the high priest could easily tell him to get lost.
Also in this case the Inquisitor is about mid level he has a reputation even if the rules for it are not used. By seventh he has earned a reputation since Leadership becomes available and Leadership pretty much states you are attracting followers because you are well known. No he isn't seventh yet but he is becoming known.
You watch way too much TV if you think of IAB as just a police boogeyman that are just out to get other officers.
Same thing with Inquisitors, the only people who should be afraid of them within their own religion are those doing what the probably shouldn't. Especially for Good aligned religions. Again, being an Inquisitor doesn't automatically make you a nightmare, and gives you absolutely no standing on just your class alone.
And all the previous conversation was about inquisitors in general, in regards to the OP's situation, yes, that Inquisitor has a reputation. But so does the High Priest. He probably wouldn't have gotten to where he is by now if some newcomer's words could unmake him just at face value.
Inquisitors are cool, I won't argue with you on that, but you are putting them on way too big a pedestal for what they are.
You mentioned Leadership? Yes, that's a feat they would have to take, and then maintain, it's not something just automatically given to them.
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Leadership is a feat I was simply using it as an example. By the time you get it you are well known. You actually validated my argument. Those who should be afraid of them are those within their religion doing wrong such as the high priest.
When they get high level and are well known, yes.
The rest of this conversation you've been arguing that they special privileges above what anyone else has earned just by virtue of taking a level in Inquisitor.