So, I just made a halfling inquisitor (Heretic) for a a message board game (Hell's Rebels) and I was looking to see what everyone thought. I'm sure he's not the most efficient build, but I see him as like a little homeless-looking Columbo.
He was 10 when his parents decided to make a pilgrimage to Kintargo to preach the value of Desna and how Halflings are more valuable as freemen. His parents were killed and he was taken as a slave and bought by a promenent member of the church of Asmodeus where he was forced to learn Infernal and picked up knowledge of the ruling houses while serving his master (his background skills). He enjoyed causing trouble, but made sure he was never caught. He would steal things and place them in other places. (Criminal Trait). He was eventually caught, beaten and sold. A priestess of Desna bought him and freed him, now he owes her his life.
Next level, I'll be taking ranks in Stealth, Disguise (to pretend to be a slave to get in places), Perception, Escape Artist, Survival and swim.
STR 12
DEX 14
CON 10
INT 10
WIS 16
CHA 15
Skill ranks in Bluff (9), Diplomacy (6), Know: Planes (4), Know: Religion (4), Sense Motive (8), Sleight of Hand (4), Spellcraft (4).
Background skills are Linguistics and Know: Nobility
Campaign Trait: Fed up Citizen
Trait: Freedom Fighter
Flaw: Insomniac
Bonus Trait: Criminal (sleight of hand)
Feat: Point Blank Shot
His Domain is Liberation
Orisons: Brand, Sift, Light, Disrupt Undead
1st level spell: Burst Bonds, Wrath
He has leather armor, but only wears it when "on the job". He carries 3 slings that he conceals as sashes or belts. Carries a club that he uses as a walking stick and keeps a star knife hidden on him.
So... the floor is open to any and all criticism or suggestions on how to make him better.
I would take a look at the divine fighting style for Desna. You can get CHA for attack and damage which would help fit the stats. It sounds like charisma is important for the personality.
Things like bane and judgment are a good damage source. A warpriest dip maybe to up the starknife damage.
I'm not familiar with divine fighting styles. Where can I find them?
Divine fighting technique on Archives of Nethys.
I'll stick with the Heretic template. That fits the story better, I think. He's not that into hunting down and killing all enemies of the faith.
It's a good idea to swap stats around, but that would mean his wisdom would only be 12. Granted, there's room to grow. Just increase to 13 and 4th level and 14 at 8th level, but the Heretic adds the wisdom mod to Bluff and Stealth checks. Being a halfling, his stealth is already pretty good, but his bluff would go down by 3 points. I'll have to think about that.
The fighting style is pretty cool, but I'm not sure if I want to give up his domain ability of Freedom of Movement one round per day per level.
Do you guys think those trade offs are worth it? Swap DEX and WIS do make DEX 18 and WIS 12? If I do that, there's no point in considering the divine fighting style since that uses Wisdom for attack and damage instead of any other stats. If I keep stats the same and trade out the freedom of movement for using WIS for attack and damage, is that worth it? The only change would be a +1 to damage.
By the way, thanks for your input on all of this. I haven't played an Inquisitor since the APG first came out.
Divine fighting techniques can be gained either by the feat or by the alternate means listed for each one. If you're willing to spend a feat then you don't need to sacrifice any domain or inquisition powers. Desna's shooting star is probably not the best for an inquisitor though - it bases your attack and damage on Cha, not on Wis.
Starting with Dex 18 does sound a lot better than Dex 14 to me. Bane, spells and judgements can fix up your damage well enough but you still need to hit.
STR 11 (+1 at 4th to 12)
DEX 18
CON 14
INT 10
WIS 14 (+1 at 8th to 15, +1 at 12th to 16)
CHA 12
Might be an alternative distribution. Not quite as Charismatic, but a lot tougher.
Consider a dip or 4 into UnRogue for Weapon Finesse, sneak attack, trapfinding, some extra skills, better Reflex saves, and maybe Evasion, a couple Rogue Talents, Debilitating Attack, and Uncanny Dodge.
Or a dip into Swashbuckler or Fighter for Weapon Finesse.
OK.. Leaning very heavily toward swapping WIS and DEX.
I know a higher CON would help, but I need CHA a little higher for skills, the way I plan to roleplay him. I'll just hang near the back and sling bullets at everyone.
I was toying with the idea of cross-classing into Investigator, later on. It's not a combat class, but I don't know if I want to deal with learning alchemy in character. I might do fighter. I plan to pick up Whipslinger as a feat, later and learn to trip people more effectively for some fun melee options. That'll be after I get Precise shot, though. I also like the Well Prepared and Low Profile feats.
It's just the difference of 1 on Charisma checks, but +2 to Fortitude saves and +2 hit points per level.
That's true... +1 on CHA checks does sound trivial when you compare it to +3 Fort saves and +2 HP's.
But, I'd have to lower STR and give up the +1 damage (when you're small, every point matters) and my carrying capacity goes down. Of course... he doesn't carry much, so that's not a big deal, I guess. I have a couple of days. I'll give that some serious thought.
Thanks for all your help. Any other suggestions or comments?
You're going to be +6 on ranged attacks within 30 feet at 1st level. That's pretty good. Just save your Judgment for a damage boost when you need it.
You can get your Strength back up to 12 at 4th level. And remember most Small equipment weighs half or a quarter normal, so you can still carry the same amount of gear.
Yeah. I already made the changes you suggested. LOL It does make more sense. I was going purely by roleplay and damning the mechanics, but I can still get the roleplay aspect and change the stats the way you suggested. Thanks!
I also changed his spells. Disrupt undead was changed to Acid Splash. Less damage, but can damage more targets than only undead, which probably won;t be too many at 1st and second level. Wrath has been changed to Magic Weapon. It does the same thing, but now it will hurt things only hurt by magic weapons. I'll save Wrath for higher level when it does more stuff.
Yeah, there's just so few ways to get more hit points. Toughness, Favored Class Bonus, and Constitution. Anything I'm missing?
Well... Ideally, I won't get hit with other bigger targets, so.... LOL
I think I'm gonna play him a little bit like Monk from the tv show "Monk". Not quite as extreme, but I think a little obsessive and a few phobias would be interesting.
I'm taking Heretic, though. It fits with the AP (Hell's Rebels) and Sanctified Slayers focus entirely on killing enemies of the religion which wouldn't go with how I imagine the character. Ever watch Monk or Columbo? They're more subdued/ non-violent characters, but relentless in getting the bad guys.
I looked at the Clandestine and ALMOST went with it. It fits perfectly with my background, but I'm going in the Bellflower Tiller prestige class so he's slightly more into liberating slaves than remaining hidden and that will become more apparent with time.
I haven't thought of the teamwork feats yet. Any suggestions?