Pathfinder/3.5 Inquisitor vs. Ranger?

[Duncan_Ruadrik]

So right now Im running a pathfinder archery Ranger. Hes a half elf, and took Sword of the Arcane Order at level 5, so he is casting primarily arcane spells, though the occasional healing spell is nice. His Favored Enemies are Arcane Casters and Constructs. (though the GM says I can change constructs to undead, since he didnt warn me about it)

Anyway, I was wondering if an Archery focused Human Inquisitor would be an equivalent back up character. Also, right now, I have the chance to switch characters if I so desire... we are in a land of an undead empire who uses people like cattle, cattle that they can tax, and turn into soldiers whenever they need. Yup. pretty messed up.

Anyway, I feel an Inquisitor could be a very fitting choice right now, whether I use him as a back up character, or I choose to use him instead of my Ranger. also, the GM says he would be a local, which could give some useful info to the party, which is trying to retrieve an artifact behind the cover of diplomatic negotiations. Basically, the party is taking on the role of a covert ops group.

We have a Half Vampire Cleric, a Sorcerer, and a scout/ non-shifting Druid.

We are at level 8 right now, so yeah. Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

[genericwit]

Level 8 is a fantastic level for Inquisitors, it's where they really hit their stride. They can track like a ranger, they can be stealthy, they make great interrogators, can get a pet (Feather Domain), have a lot of great buffs, and on top of that, they've got their juiciest class features. An Inquisitor can do pretty much everything a ranger can do. That said, if you've got a buff-happy caster friend, the Ranger may outshine the Inquisitor in combat, but the Inquisitor can just do so much.

Rangers are total beasts in combat. A dedicated archer ranger is a beast (esp. if you stack all favored enemy upgrades in one enemy and use instant enemy, a third level spell--basically Ranger's smite). The also get a handful of useful spells, and don't have to worry about selecting the right ones. They're both fun, flavorful classes to play.

But to answer your question, you can pretty much use them interchangeably.

[TheOOB]

Just a quick note from someone who just played an Inquisitor(you recently died at level 9, but thats neither here nor there). Inquisitors are interesting and can be powerful, but they have a lot of book keeping. They have several abilities to keep track of and change, and have to constantly keep an eye on their few spells per day to keep their essential short duration buffs active. They can be strong, but there is a lot of book keeping involved to make up for your otherwise meh combat abilities.

A ranger is much simpler to play.

[Vaynor]

The Red Towel: Moved to D&D 3e/3.5e/d20.