Thoughts on potency of potential NPC

[Axorfett12]

So I had a thought today while trying to build a Church Inquisitor (think 3.5 prestige class) NPC that my players might encounter. Seeker Kellan, Inquisitor of Pelor. Basic backstory they are in a desert setting, and an evil sun god has had his priests infiltrate the clergy of the area. Kellan was dispatched to investigate.

My original thought was to make him a Paladin with an Oath of Vengeance, but that didn't seem to fit, so I did some research. Turns out there is a new Rogue subclass called the Inquisitive that is pretty spectacular at Insight checks. The flavor of the Church Inquisitor from 3rd edition also had them resisting all manner of charm, illusions, and deceptions. They were specially trained to root out and destroy fiends and cultists among the ranks of the clergy.

I finally reached the conclusion that a build of Rogue (Inquisitive) 3 / Cleric (Arcana) 5 was best. This gives him the ideal mix of high insight and useful spells such as Friends (from domain), Protection from Evil and Good, Zone of Truth, and Speak with Dead. My concerns are how this may work out in play, and how functional this NPC might be against a party of level 5-6 adventurers. Seeker Kellan is far from the trusting sort, and a group of strange people appearing from nowhere asking all the wrong questions may draw his ire. I'd like to avoid having them duke it out, as they aren't evil by any means, they just have a tendency to say blasphemous things. (Mostly the tiefling bard)

To sum up: How viable would an Inquisitive 3/Arcana Cleric 5 be against 5 level 5 adventurers, if it came to that? What are some situations that can arise from a party encountering an Inquisitor, and how can I avoid the worst outcomes?

[indemnity]

At first glance your character would be in the easy-medium category for five 5th level adventurers. It is comparable to the Cult Fanatic from the monster manual.

Player characters generally make for poor NPC combatants. If I was building your char it would have these stats:

8th level (cleric 5 rogue 3)
AC 18 (breastplate+shield+2Dex)
HP 60 or so
+6 spell attack
+5 weapon to-hit
2 weapon attacks or 1 spell action/round
Sneak attack
Ear for Deceit (non-magical lie detection)
Lots and lots of spell selection
Spell slots: 6 1st, 4 2nd, 2 3rd
Save DC15

Compare to DMG quick stats for a CR5 monster it looks fine
AC 15
HP 131-145
+6 to-hit
1 resistance
Damage/round 33-38
Save DC15

Positives

Casting Spirit Guardians would be an interesting challenge for the melee fighters
Add two cult fanatics casting hold person if you want a medium-hard PC combat

Negatives

High AC monsters cause many missed attacks by the PCs, which is a boring fight
Most NPC spells and skills you mention don't affect combat or any PC encounters really
Much of the build is not as good as simply casting "Zone of Truth"

[Axorfett12]

My concept was a specialist in finding the truth. A very useful ally for the political setup of the area, but also very dangerous, as one wrong word could set the zealotry off. Cult Fanatics are a fantastic idea. I set out his stats, and Spirit Guardians is of course on it. First round of a fight most likely goes Spirit Guardians, Insightful Fighting on the front liners. From then on Spiritual Weapon and melee. By no means an easy fight, especially if he is prepared. If he thinks he might have to fight them that day.... Everybody thinks a cleric is a healbot, but clerics are scary. They have some really nasty spells. Any particular tips on strategy for him? I have never played a cleric, much less one this complex. He just has so many things to do all the time.

[Gastronomie]

Solo encounteers are rarely a good idea in 5e. Perhaps have him activate an alarm and call forth allies, if they were ever to fight?

[Axorfett12]

That's the plan. Now that I've gotten some feedback, he will have 2 cult Fanatics allies. He will be the High Seeker and they shall be his wards. Often found by his side or close by.

Thanks for the help! I'm just really bad at calculating the strength of npcs as enemies. The last time I thought I had a fair fight with an npc they almost tpk'd, so I'm a little more wary now.

[JackPhoenix]

Small flavor note: why does Pelor's inquisitor have domain better suited for a cleric of Boccob, Wee Jas or Vecna than the god of the sun?

Also, lore bards make for great investigators (lots of skills, magic that could help, including divinations from different classes), though they aren't very effective in combat on their own.

[Gtdead]

It will depend on the level of optimization, but expect that the party will completely trash your npc. Assuming a generic party with 2 melee and 3 ranged that will deal either 2 hits per turn with a greatsword, or throw a firebolt, with a +7 to hit,

Against 18 AC, without any resources spended, about 45~ dpr.

It's life expectancy is less than 2 rounds.
My suggestion would be to have your npc start with a Shield of Faith (make it an item) and cast a Sanctuary while calling for assistance. Then cast a spirit guardians, summon a spiritual weapon and join the battle.

From there on, if the party doesn't make short work of the mooks, you can create absolute chaos with command spell. Command the squishiest party members to approach, possibly taking attacks of opportunity from the mooks, and ending their turns into your SG zone.

Killing the mooks could be a soft encounter end. Once the last mook dies, the Inquisitor can ask for a cease fire. If the party accepts, the combat is over, if not, the inquisitor has a good fighting chance.

[Axorfett12]

Kellan is loosely based off of the Church Inquisitor prestige class from 3.5. That class specialized in dealing with extraplanar threats and piercing magic. Both Arcana and Knowledge seemed to fit. I'm on the ropes as to whether giving him a custom domain spells list for Arcana would be game breaking. Probably not. Guess that's what I'm doing. Fits his theme better.

I gave Kellan a significant boost in health, so as to match the expected hp of a CR 5 threat, and reduced his AC to also match. AC 15, HP 135. With his spells and buffs, any fight he is prepared for is going to be brutal. The tactics you suggested are most certainly going to be implemented. That Command trick with Spirit Guardians is nasty. I'll probably still give him one or two Cultists or Fanatics depending on the party's level. It's fairly easy to adjust as needed.