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The Inquisitor

This document provides suggestions and insights into how to translate the ideas of the Inquisitor class from the source material into Pathfinder Fate Accelerated.

"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.

Inquisitors tend to move from place to place, chasing down enemies and researching emerging threats. As a result, they often travel with others, if for no other reason than to mask their presence. Inquisitors work with members of their faith whenever possible, but even such allies are not above suspicion."

Archetype Considerations

The only two Archetypes an inquisitor has to concern themselves with are Roguish and Divine.

Divine +3 allows unrestricted spell casting using the simple magic guidelines, which you should read first if you are serious about playing a spellcaster. Also, some sample spell write-ups are available.

Thus if you want your starting inquisitor to be a full caster starting out, you should consider the Fanatical set of Starting Archetypes, plus one or two practical Stunts to shore up the practical facet of an inquisitor.

Starting inquisitors who prefer to accentuate their practical side should consider the Pragmatic or Worldly sets of Starting Archetypes, plus one or two faith related Stunts to shore up their "holy" facet.

Freestyle

It's also possible to make a character that is conceptually an inquisitor but mechanically defined with a Archetype other than Roguish.

For instance the inquisitor of a god that deals in fundamental forces might go with Divine & Primal, while the inquisitor of a god of art and creativity might go Divine & Focused and the inquisitor of a god of magic might go Divine & Arcane.

Thuvor serves the interests of Pharasma, The Lady of Graves, goddess of birth, death, and prophesy.

A powerful demiurge, a master of both Theurgy and Anatheurgy, Thuvor commands the fundamental forces of positive and negative energy. Additionally, he is particularly adept at destroying the undead, which are an abomination before Pharasma.

Greatly favored by his patron deity, Thuvor is engaged by his Lady primarily to hunt down and deal with those trafficing in souls, to oppose particularly egregious uses of necromancy, and to neutralize overreaching intelligent undead who are disrupting the cycle of life and death (such as an ambitious vampire lord).

Skoth is a servant of the god of magic Nethys, The All-Seeing Eye, dedicated to self-mastery of the disparate arts of magic and swordsmanship. He is big on being mysterious, tries to cloak the full range of his abilities as a surprise for the unwary, and keeps his own counsel.

In the service of Nethys, Skoth is a seeker of powerful magical artifacts that have been lost to the world as a sort of arcano-archaeologist.

Researching lost relics, and then questing to recover any that seem likely, he sometimes receives visions from his god pointing him in the right direction.

Woe be unto any would-be treasure hunters who seek the same prize...

Approach Considerations

An inquisitor's choice of Approaches will usually be influenced by their patron deity and the nature of their service to the religion associated with that deity.

But stereotypically inquisitors are often Sneaky, Clever, and Careful during an investigation, but then Forceful or Flashy when persecuting a heretic or otherwise laying down their divine judgment.

What Kind Of Inquisitor, Exactly?

Generally speaking, when defining a character in Pathfinder Fate Accelerated that you envision falling into the "inquisitor" category, you might start out by asking yourself the following questions:

Sample Iconics

Doritha, Ephraim, Skoth, Thuvor

Starting Archetype Sets

Fanatical

Divine +3, Roguish +1

Pragmatic

Divine +2, Roguish +2

Worldly

Divine +1, Roguish +3

Adaptable

Divine +1, Roguish +2, Combative +1

Support / Utility

The source material offers inquisitors as secondary divine casters with an array of options including buffing, debuffing, status effect removal, and healing.

Skill-mongers

Inquisitors are competent skill-mongers (or "skill monkeys" as you prefer), with both a respectable skill list and sufficient skill points to apply to them.

Additionally, inquisitors get some other useful abilities over time that are effective in social encounters, allowing them to serve as an adventuring party's "face" if desired.

Self-buffing Striker

Inquisitors gain a variety of self-buffs that allow them to do various things, but most noticeably improves their combat effectiveness and offers the option to compensate for the class's intermediate base attack bonus.

That combined with a decent weapon and armor proficiency list and intermediate hitpoints allows an inquisitor to be effective as a secondary striker and complement a party's overall effectiveness in armed conflict.

Alignment / Code of Conduct

The primary downside of the inquisitor in the source material is alignment restrictions and a vague requirement to not deviate from their service to their chosen deity and associated religious dogma.

However, as inquisitors typically operate outside the framework of their religion's normal hierarchy, this is generally less restrictive than the similar obligations of a cleric, and is significantly less severe than a paladin's code of conduct.

Diverging From Source Material

The inquisitor concept is very specific and carries a fair amount of fictional baggage with it. Though in actuality it is just the logical flaws of a rigid class system peeking through, narratively the idea of the inquisitor is suggestive of a rigid hierarchical priesthood with internecine politics that would necessitate a difference between a cleric, a paladin, and an inquisitor.

It can also be a bit of a stretch to narratively justify an inquisitor for many of the gods of Golarion, as the concept doesn't always fit in with the regularly established lore on the various deities' viewpoints and religions.

But that sort of nitpicking aside, taken on its mechanical merits the inquisitor is an interesting and solid class with a wide array of useful abilities.

Choice of judgments, domain, and a broad skill list offers options for customization and diversity, and it is a very respectable and flexible hybrid "gish" class that usually allows for a fun play experience.

Translating into Pathfinder Fate Accelerated, you'll find that the alignment concept has been dispensed with altogether; "goodness" and "evilness" and "lawfulness" and etc. can be a thing as represented by Aspects and Troubles, but there is no mechanical impact other than what is ordinarily available in Fate Accelerated via Aspects.

Divine spellcasting is covered by the Divine Archetype, and practical skills are covered by the Roguish Archetype.

Judgments and Domain abilities can be represented by Stunts, or via the create advantage action, or reinterpreted into some other form altogether as desired.

  1. What deity does my inquisitor serve?
  2. Does my inquisitor feel that they are only responsible for their own actions and have the ability to coexist with others who do not share their views, or do they hold those around them to the same code of conduct the inquisitor adheres to and persecute those who do not follow it?
  3. Does my inquisitor focus more on their divine or their roguish abilities?
  4. Is my inquisitor any good in a conflict, and if so how?

Whom Do You Serve?

The first question is probably the most important for framing the nature of your character. You can use the choice of divine patron to guide your decisions about your character's Aspects and Stunts, and to inform your portrayal.

Contemplative or Evangelist?

Some inquisitors are portrayed as being inwardly focused, responsible for their own deeds and conduct. In fact, some inquisitors conceal their deific nature altogether, never mentioning their allegiance to their deity or religion.

This sort of inquisitor can generally get along with others and cooperate towards a common goal with people of different viewpoints, at least to some extent. This is conducive to party dynamics and getting things done.

Other inquisitors are portrayed as being outwardly focused, intent on imposing the worship of their religion and the tenets of their patron upon the world. This sort of inquisitor often has a difficult time working and playing well with others, and often finds themselves embroiled in some kind of strife due to their evangelical overtures and intolerance for other beliefs. This can make for some great drama, but on the other hand it can also get quite stale and annoying.

Regardless of where your inquisitor is at on that spectrum, thinking about it now will guide your choice of High Concept and Trouble. It will also indicate if you plan to portray the character in an antagonistic or cooperative manner relative to other player characters.

Divine or Roguish Dominant?

Some inquisitors concentrate on their ability to get things done via practical skills, while others favor deific pursuits. Obviously, where your inquisitor sits on this spectrum will guide your decision on how to assign your Archetype bonuses.

Secondarily, this question also covers consideration of whether or not you want your inquisitor to start out with full spellcasting ability.

Ephraim is a kind and wise servant of Sarenrae, dedicated to reducing discord in the world and furthering the growth of his religion. Quick with a kind word and perhaps a small trinket picked up along the way on his long travels, he has an uncanny ability to smooth relations even between people of diverse viewpoints.

Also skilled at trading and bartering, he maintains enough of a sideline in curios to fund his wanderings as well as give him a handy pretense of commerce when traveling in more policed regions.

Fight or Flight?

Unfortunately, conflict is inevitable. Inquisitors are not primarily oriented around combat, but that doesn't mean that they cannot make their presense felt when things get ugly.

By itself Roguish can be used to attack others and defend against attacks with a bit of narrative justification, typically using light weapons such as daggers and short swords, throwing knives, crossbows, and similar "practical" weapons.

A character using Roguish to participate in melee combat avoids straight toe-to-toe engagements and instead fights cagey or "dirty", using the environment and surprise to their advantage. If at all possible most rogues forced to do violence prefer to end the fight quickly with a sneak attack or ambush, because they know that the longer the conflict plays out the more likely they'll get cornered or whacked.

In a prolonged melee fight against an opponent using Combatives, the longer the fight goes on the more difficult it will typically get for the rogue to keep coming up with justifications for attacking and defending while being Roguish. The nature of the scene set up and clever usage of the create advantage action will determine how easy it is to keep flogging the narrative for justifications, but simple action economy favors an equivalently experienced foe using Combatives and the rogue is definitely on a clock.

Fortunately it is relatively easy to level the playing field between Combatives and Roguish with one or more Stunts such as the following.

Dirty Infighter: Because I am skilled at dirty tricks fighting and getting inside my opponents' guard to strike at vulnerable areas, I am a surprisingly effective combatant. Though my fighting style remains unconventional and evasive, when armed with daggers, light one handed melee weapons such as short swords, garrottes, saps, makeshift weapons, and similar armaments I can use Roguish to directly engage opponents who are using Combative in armed physical conflicts.

Shiv: Because I am skilled with daggers of all shapes and sizes, I may use Roguish as if it were Combatives when fighting with one or more daggers in a conflict, and I inflict +1 stress when I successfully attack while doing so.

Alternately, an inquisitor with Divine +3 or higher can use offensive spells as their contribution to a conflict.

Ultimately you'll need to decide for yourself if your inquisitor chooses to avoid conflicts or is otherwise dead weight in a fight, or not, and allocate your Stunts and Archetypes appropriately.

Doritha is a deadly Justiciar, lethal with sword and crossbow, unrelenting in the pursuit and persecution of oathbreakers and theives foolish enough to steal from a Temple of Abadar.

Few have ever evaded her judgment, and many have fallen to her blade or been slain by her crossbow bolts. Any transgressors unfortunate enough to have her upon their trail are likely not long for this world.

Stunts

Inquisitor characters might find the following Stunt categories of interest: Deific, Dastardly, Archer, Social, Competence.

The following Stunts are offered as samples that might be relevant for some inquisitors.

However, the best Stunts are those that are tailor made to fit your concept, so don't hesitate to come up with your own or work with your GM to define something that is "just right" for your character.

Faith Worthiness

Inquisitors that are granted abilities by their patrons can lose access to those abilities if they do something unworthy of their faith; thus such Stunts typically include language to that effect.

This is left to the GM's discretion, but it isn't intended to create antagonistic situations. Ultimately a player should have a large measure of control over their character's story; any failings of faith should be regarded as a roleplaying opportunity.

See the Stunt options document for ideas on how to do this.

Dangerous

Inquisitors are often surprisingly dangerous opponents.

Back At You: Because even my defense is dangerous, whenever I am Quickly Roguish and defend with style against a physical melee attack while wielding a light weapon I may use the boost to inflict a single point of stress on my attacker, immediately, as a free action.

Careful Crossbowman: Because I am skilled with a crossbow, I gain +2 when I am Carefully Roguish and attack with a crossbow.

Dirty Infighter: Because I am skilled at dirty tricks fighting and getting inside my opponents' guard to strike at vulnerable areas, I am a surprisingly effective combatant. Though my fighting style remains unconventional and evasive, when armed with daggers, light one handed melee weapons such as short swords, garrottes, saps, makeshift weapons, and similar armaments I can use Roguish to directly engage opponents who are using Combative in armed physical conflicts.

Divine Weapon (-2): Because I am favored by my patron deity, I have been graced with a divinely empowered weapon. If I have recently done something unworthy of my faith, the weapon loses its special abilities until I have atoned.

Divine Weapon

Divine Blade, Aura Of Protection

Good At: Blocking (+2), Cutting (+2)

Bad At: Going Unnoticed (-2)

Stress [1][2][3]

Mild (2)

See Special Items for details.

This item requires Divine +2 or better to use.

Foe Bane: Because I have a favored enemy Race, when I succesfully attack a target of that Race I inflict +2 shifts of extra stress. Additionally, if my attack results in a tie I may use the boost to inflict a single point of stress on the defender, immediately, as a free action.

Forbidding Presence: Because I present a very intimidating and stern visage while emanating a frightenting aura, I gain +1 when being Flashy and attempting to frighten or demoralize.

Hip Shot: Because I am skilled at rapidly shooting arrows, I gain +2 when I am Quickly Roguish and attack with a short bow or hand crossbow.

Making It Count: Because I am able to make my attacks really matter, on an attack that succeeds with style I may spend a fate point to prevent the target from checking a stress box to reduce the stress of the attack. The target may still take consequences.

Mobile Strike: Because I have a fast-moving agile fighting style, whenever I am Quickly Roguish and attack, if I succeed with style and choose to reduce the damage I inflict to get a boost I may use that boost to immediately move 1 zone away, as a free action. If I also spend a Fate point I may move an additional zone further away.

One Against Many: Because I am skilled at defending myself against multiple attackers, I gain +2 to defend when I fight alone against two or more opponents. A single mook defined as a mob counts as being multiple opponents for purposes of this ability as long as there are two or more 'individuals' within the mob. 'Fighting alone' in this context means no allies are in my zone or an adjacent zone, and no ally is aiding me or attacking my opponents.

Retribution: Because my retribution is terrible when I succesfully attack an opponent who has inflicted stress or consequences upon me in the current conflict I inflict +1 shift more damage and this damage cannot be reduced.

Sneak Attack: Because I am good at looking unremarkable or going unnoticed altogether only to launch a deadly and treacherous attack on the unwary, I may add +4 when I am Sneakily Roguish and attack by surprise. If I inflict a Mild or Moderate consequence on my opponent with this attack I may spend a Fate point to bump the consequence from Mild to Moderate or from Moderate to Severe.

Sudden Attack: Because I am prone to sudden violence, I get +2 when I Forcefully attack an opponent who is unaware of my intent.

Durable

Many inquisitors are unusually resilient or difficult to injure.

Close Call: Because I excel at getting out of really bad situations, I can spend a fate point to concede after I already rolled to defend (normally a concession must be made instead of rolling to defend).

Divine Aegis: Because my patron deity protects me I may use Divine to defend against non-Divine magical and unusual attacks without needing to first create an advantage to invoke, unless I have recently done something unworthy of my faith.

Divine Favor: Because I am favored by my patron deity, I may add my Divine capability as a bonus to defend against physical attacks, unless I have recently done something unworthy of my faith.

Divine Renewal: Because I am favored by my patron deity, when I am Carefully Divine I may pray for aid to clear a stress box or a Mild Consequence, or to downgrade a Moderate or Severe Consequence, by overcoming a difficulty equal to the stress box's or Consequence's numerical value. This only works on my own stress and Consequences, not that of others. If I fail to overcome the difficulty I may not attempt to clear the same stress box or heal the same Consequence again; I must wait for it to clear by other means. I cannot use this ability if I have recently done something unworthy of my faith

Favored Follower: Because I am favored by my patron deity, once per scene when I spend a fate point to get a reroll I may proceed as if I had rolled +2 on the dice instead of rolling a second time. I may not use this ability if I have recently done something unworthy of my faith.

Rogue's Reflexes: Because I have great reflexes and am able to evade harm better than most people, I may use Roguish to defend against any kind of indirect or surprise attack and to avoid harm by getting out of the way of it. Narratively this can take many forms, such as rolling out of the way, ducking behind cover, 'seeing it coming' and somehow interupting the attack, or by some other means justified by the narrative.

This Stunt requires Roguish +2 to use.

NOTE: Roguish +3 and higher already allows a character to do this. This Stunt is for characters who have Roguish +2 and are willing to allocate a Stunt to gain this ability.

Shield of Faith: Because I am favored by my patron deity, I may add my Divine capability as a bonus to defend against indirect attacks such as poisons and strange abilities and magic, unless I have recently done something unworthy of my faith.

Stalwart Resistance: Because my innate fortitude and intrinsic vitality protects me, I gain +1 to defend against magical and unusual attacks without needing special narrative justification or first creating an advantage to invoke.

Perceptive

Many inquisitors are perceptive, alert, mystically aware, or difficult to fool or evade.

Alertness: Because I am unusually alert and perceptive I gain +2 while Focused to notice things.

Danger Sense: Because I am unusually alert and perceptive I gain +3 while Quickly Focused to notice things that are dangerous, fast moving, or pose an imminent threat to my safety.

Detect Evil: Because I am sensitive to ethical and moral propensities, I am able to sense strong concentrations of immorality and evilness in individuals, objects, and areas from six (6) zones away even if the source is not detectable to my other senses. Additionally, I gain +2 to notice relevant concentrations of evil while Focused.

Manhunter: Because I am skilled at tracking a quary, I can use Roguish instead of Primal when tracking a sentient humanoid in any environment, and I gain +1 when I Roguishly overcome challenges when doing so in an urban environment.

Sense Deceit: Because I am so skilled at sensing people's true motives, I gain +2 when I am Cleverly Roguish and attempt to discern if I am being deceived or tricked.

True Seeing: Because my patron diety grants me awareness, my powers of observation are divinely enhanced; I may use Divine instead of Focused to notice or perceive things, and I can sense things that require mystical awareness to detect.

Inspired

Many inquisitors are divinely inspired or favored by their patron deity with various abilities.

Destroy Undead: Because I am particularly good at destroying lesser undead, while Flashily Divine I may overcome to destroy an Undead mook in my zone or an adjacent zone; the difficulty is equal to the number of hits the mook has remaining. This does work on mobs of nameless Undead mooks, but it does not work on significant NPC Undead that have consequences.

Divine Judgment: Because I am empowered by my deity to pronounce judgments upon others, I gain +1 while Divine to create advantage to put a spell Aspect on an opponent in my zone or an adjacent zone. Only I can invoke this Aspect, and I may invoke it to improve my rolls against the opponent or to impose a -2 penalty on rolls made by the opponent. This ability uses the simple magic guidelines for create advantage and overcome. I may not use this ability if I have recently done something unworthy of my faith.

Creating Advantage with magic is explained in the Simple Magic guidelines.

Overcoming Spell Aspects is explained in the Simple Magic guidelines.

Fervent Prayer: Because my faith is strong, I am sometimes especially blessed by my god. I may spend a Fate point to gain +2 Divine on one (1) action and pray for blessings appropriate to that level of Divine capability. I may not use this ability if I have recently done something unworthy of my faith.

Holy Hand Grenades: Because my patron favors me, I am able to craft special reliquaries containing holy power that are released upon impact when thrown, inflicting harm on evil outsiders, undead, and other unnatural creatures nearby. I cannot use this ability if I have recently done something unworthy of my faith.

When I am Quickly Focused I gain +1 to throw a holy hand grenade into my zone or an adjacent zone, generally against an Average (+1) difficulty.

If I am successful, my holy hand grenade explodes and inflicts a number of shifts of damage equal to my (Careful + Divine) against every eligible target in the zone without splitting shifts between them. Malign outsiders (such as demons, devils, daemons, and proteans), undead, and other similar unnatural creatures are considered to be eligible for this effect.

For a given session I can carry around and use a number of holy hand grenades equal to my (Careful + Divine). Other people can not use my holy hand grenades.

This stunt requires Divine +1 or better to use.

Turn Undead: When I am Divine and attack I may target all Undead in my zone or in an adjacent zone without having to split my shifts between them.

Universal Linguist: Because I have a special ability with languages, I can fluently speak and understand any spoken language I encounter.

Savvy

Many inquisitors are practical people with experience in the sordid ways of the world.

Deceitful: Because I am so deceitful, I get +2 when I am Cleverly Roguish and create advantage or overcome challenges where my smooth patter applies.

Friendly Diplomacy: Because I am charmingly friendly to almost everyone and am good at making friends and calming situations down, I gain +2 whenever I attempt to avoid or end a conflict via non-violence, keep the peace, or improve the 'mood of the room'.

Skulker: Because I am so good at escaping notice, I get +2 while I am Sneakily Roguish and create advantage or overcome challenges to avoid notice.

Slip Away (-2): Because I am excellent at getting away with it and slipping away unseen, if there is a momentary distraction or opportunity I may spend a Fate point to immediately exit the scene by means appropriate to the narrative such as slippling away into a crowd, or through a hidden door to a secret escape hatch I happened to know about, or by using a magic item I happened to have, etc. I cannot be pursued in the current scene.

Thrive Under Pressure: Because I thrive under pressure, when I spend a fate point to invoke one of my Aspects to gain a +2 bonus on an action before I roll, if I succeed with style I get the fate point back immediately instead of gaining a boost.

Town And Country Sneaker: Because I am so good at lurking and being stealthy, I can use Roguish instead of Primal to create advantage and overcome when attempting to avoid being noticed in rural and wildland areas (Roguish is already usable for this in civilized areas).

Wheeler Dealer: Because I excel at talking my way into and out of situations and making deals, I gain +2 while Cleverly Roguish in social situations.