Pathfinder Inquisitor

[Major]

So I'm looking to create an Inquisitor. I know they do ranged pretty well, but I'm curious if it is possible/viable to make a good melee Inquisitor.

I'm leaning towards the fluff and concept more than optimization, but at the same time I don't want to hold the party back by being crappy.

As such, I am asking the playground to help with making this Inquisitor able to hold his own and be useful.

Important things:
For the concept I'm taking the heretic archetype. Think Ramza from Final Fantasy Tactics. The Inquisitor has been wrongly accused of something and is on the run. They are still a good person and want to do what is right. One thing I also want to note is that while the class might be Inquisitor they are very...paladiny. As in a noble upstanding heroic type who wants to help people. Their desire to help people, but also survive and not get captured by the corrupt church that deemed them a heretic will be a fun fluff part.

Anyways, the main problems I have:
1) Deity to get a melee weapon (I like swords...so I'd appreciate it if the favored weapon was some type of sword). This is especially tricky because I need to get a weapon, a useful domain, but still fit the concept of a good heroic person who likes justice and helping people. (but also crushing the evil...gotta fit inquisitor in somehow :P)

2) Stats: What stats are most important for a melee style Inquisitor? I was thinking weapon finesse that way I can still fall back on the bow, but the problem with this is that I doubt I could use bow and melee without sucking at both. Do note it is 20 point buy.

3) Feats: 3.5 is my specialty, not pathfinder. I've been getting into pathfinder games a lot more and have enjoyed it, but I don't know good feats, crap feats, etc like I know 3.5. So what are good feats for an Inquisitor (Heretic) that wants to go melee?

Thanks for any help :)

Oh...it's starting at level 1 if that helps, but having things planned out further is fine with me. I'd prefer human.

I like charisma by the way, but it seems like I'll be needing wisdom more. Still...heretic adds my wisdom to things so that's nice.

[Duncan_Ruadrik]

sounds like you want to focus on melee. cool.

Inquisitors can only use their Bane ability on a single melee weapon. You can spend a feat to dual wield, but you are gonna be feat lite already. So...

I would roll with a longsword or a greatsword, your choice. I prefer longsword, because you can use it 1 handed if you must. also gives you the option of a shield, if you like.

If you want to fall back on a bow... your strength base will provide a good damage bonus, and you can use a judgement to increase your accuracy. Bam, no longer need to DEX if you absolutely HAVE to hit something at range.

so, roll with that longsword. Usual THF feats, power attack cleave, maybe Furious Focus.

grab a rod of Extend, use GMW and magic Vestments on your sword and armor/shield respectively. You should have a good AC score for the majority of the day, and an accuracy increasing weapon. just get a +1 whatever longsword, use Greater Magic Weapon to boost the +X.

I dunno, its a start.

[Major]

What would you recommend for a 20 point buy?

I went with Iomedae as my deity for both longsword and fitting the character. Power attack can't be taken until level 2 due to medium BAB.

[gartius]

this is what i've found from playing an inquisitor they do melee brilliantly. That is all.

But seriously judgement is an awesome ability that keeps on getting stronger with leveling. Things to think about though:

1) deities. so you want a sword, gorum or iomedae will be the best choice-but do you really want a domain as they are considered weaker for a inquisitor compared to cleric since they don't get the bonus spells that the cleric would get. Instead look at inquisitions-for gorum, anger or tactics are good ones and for iomedae, persistance, truth or heresy

2) here are three stat lines i would use as human
STR: 18 DEX: 12 CON: 14 INT: 8 WIS: 14 CHA: 10
STR: 18 DEX: 12 CON: 14 INT: 10 WIS: 15 CHA: 7
STR: 16 DEX: 13 CON: 15 INT: 8 WIS: 15 CHA: 10
the first/second have more power but the third is the one i would more likely choose as i can put my ability points at lvl 4 and 8 into con and wis.

i'm not sure how best to incorporate a dex based melee though as you need the strength for the damage.

3)power attack, instant judgement, Judgment Surge,Divine Interference are all good feat choices

[Major]

this is what i've found from playing an inquisitor they do melee brilliantly. That is all.

But seriously judgement is an awesome ability that keeps on getting stronger with leveling. Things to think about though:

1) deities. so you want a sword, gorum or iomedae will be the best choice-but do you really want a domain as they are considered weaker for a inquisitor compared to cleric since they don't get the bonus spells that the cleric would get. Instead look at inquisitions-for gorum, anger or tactics are good ones and for iomedae, persistance, truth or heresy

2) here are three stat lines i would use as human
STR: 18 DEX: 12 CON: 14 INT: 8 WIS: 14 CHA: 10
STR: 18 DEX: 12 CON: 14 INT: 10 WIS: 15 CHA: 7
STR: 16 DEX: 13 CON: 15 INT: 8 WIS: 15 CHA: 10
the first/second have more power but the third is the one i would more likely choose as i can put my ability points at lvl 4 and 8 into con and wis.

i'm not sure how best to incorporate a dex based melee though as you need the strength for the damage.

3)power attack, instant judgement, Judgment Surge,Divine Interference are all good feat choices

I went with Iomedae. I was thinking either the heresy or Conversion Inquisition.

Power attack will have to wait, the others I'll look up (don't recognize them).

Stats, thanks. Whew...all are rough choices. I hate having low intelligence (skill points) and charisma (I like charisma), but since I use wisdom for most charisma skills as a heretic (and with heretic or conversion inquisition) I guess it balances out.

I'm thinking either the second or the first with the int and cha switched.

I do like those as ideas though.

Edit: and I realized dex melee won't work out very well. So I guess strength+wis will be my mains with con as a secondary.

[GoatBoy]

Not adding much to the discussion here... but isn't there a spell or feat or alternate class ability that lets the inquisitor use bane on more than one weapon simultaneously?

[RndmNumGen]

I went with Iomedae. I was thinking either the heresy or Conversion Inquisition.

[...]

Edit: and I realized dex melee won't work out very well. So I guess strength+wis will be my mains with con as a secondary.

If you're not set on Iomedae, consider worshipping Sarenrae (http://www.pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Sarenrae) instead. The Dawnflower has both the healing aspect as well as the crushing evil aspect, and perhaps more interestingly, her favored weapon is the scimitar. Now look at this feat (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/dervish-dance-combat):


Prerequisites: Dexterity 13, Weapon Finesse, Perform (dance) 2 ranks, proficient with scimitar.

Benefit: When wielding a scimitar with one hand, you can use your Dexterity modifier instead of your Strength modifier on melee attack and damage rolls. You treat the scimitar as a one-handed piercing weapon for all feats and class abilities that require such a weapon (such as a duelist’s precise strike ability). The scimitar must be for a creature of your size. You cannot use this feat if you are carrying a weapon or shield in your off hand.

That lets you focus only on DEX and WIS, reducing your MAD by quite a bit. Throw in some mobility feats like Following Step and Step-Up and Strike, and you can use the Inquisitor's Teamwork Feat with Outflank to great effect.

[Duncan_Ruadrik]

Not adding much to the discussion here... but isn't there a spell or feat or alternate class ability that lets the inquisitor use bane on more than one weapon simultaneously?

yes, a feat. but inquisitor is a bit feat starved already, so it isnt really recommended.

[MukkTB]

It also chews through your bane/day. So the feat doesn't give you extra bullets. It just lets you fire the ones you got twice as fast. Sometimes nice but you're already paying penalties for two weapon fighting.

[Major]

If you're not set on Iomedae, consider worshipping Sarenrae (http://www.pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Sarenrae) instead. The Dawnflower has both the healing aspect as well as the crushing evil aspect, and perhaps more interestingly, her favored weapon is the scimitar. Now look at this feat (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/dervish-dance-combat):



That lets you focus only on DEX and WIS, reducing your MAD by quite a bit. Throw in some mobility feats like Following Step and Step-Up and Strike, and you can use the Inquisitor's Teamwork Feat with Outflank to great effect.

Eh, it's ok, but unless something changed in Pathfinder isn't two-weapon fighting bad? Wouldn't two-hand fighting be better?

[Krazzman]

Eh, it's ok, but unless something changed in Pathfinder isn't two-weapon fighting bad? Wouldn't two-hand fighting be better?

Yes it is superior. But you now have your offhand free for anything you want.

TWFing is cooler/more badass but crunchwise too far off the reality that it s*cks...

[Bhaakon]

Eh, it's ok, but unless something changed in Pathfinder isn't two-weapon fighting bad? Wouldn't two-hand fighting be better?

Yes, but TWF becomes more useful for classes with damage boosting class features beyond strength and power attack. If you're getting a significant amount of bonus damage on each hit, like from the bane ability, destruction judgement, and precise strike feat, then maximizing attacks with TWF is a sound(er) strategy. Unfortunately, as noted above, you need to burn a feat to get bane on your off-hand weapon, and TWF itself requires some heavy feat investment, so it's still not terribly optimal.

[Blyte]

if you were to use a double weapon do you still have to bane both sides?

might save you the feat, perhaps go staff or double blade?

[Menteith]

if you were to use a double weapon do you still have to bane both sides?

might save you the feat, perhaps go staff or double blade?

FAQ/Errata
Does an inquisitor's bane ability affect both ends of a double weapon?
No. In general, the game treats double weapons as if they were two different weapons, and an ability, spell, or effect that changes or augments "a weapon" only applies to one end of a double weapon.

source - http://paizo.com/paizo/faq/v5748nruor1fn#v5748eaic9o9g

[cZak]

What level are you starting at and how high do you expect the campaign to go?

Consider worshiping Calistria: goddess of vengeance for your hunting evil fluff
This provides you with proficiency in whip (15' reach), which includes scorpion whip (1d6). Yea, yea, yea... whip provokes when used next to threats. If you absolutely cannot take that 5' step, wear a spiked gauntlet.

Feats:
(1) Power attack
(H) Cleave - provides an additional attack to anyone standing next to the 1st guy you hit; since you don't get an iterative attack until 8th level basically a free extra attack
(3) Furious focus (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/furious-focus-combat) - removes PA penalty on 1st attack, which you only have one of until 8th level

Whirlwind attack is a long road of feats, but picture hitting every opponent w/i 15' of you with a Bane weapon, Power attack and Vital strike (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/vital-strike-combat) (x2 weapon damage). Throw in some Cornugan (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/cornugon-smash-combat)smash to use that bonus to intimidate the Inquisitor gets, and you're going to be a terror on the field