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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next The Inquisitor: A Roguish Archetype



Michael7123
2019-01-28, 11:59 AM
So it's been a while since I came up with any homebrew content, but I figure that now is as good a time as any to give it another try.



The Inquisitor

https://i.imgur.com/8pbpNg7.png?1

Link to the Archetype on a fancy GM Binder Page (https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-LXANh2fKaUQhWzi70_T)


What this archetype is:
In a nutshell, take the arcane trickster, but replace the arcane magic flavor with divine magic. You get some cleric spells and work as a divine operative. At the end of the day, you're still able to do all the other stuff you would expect a rogue to do, but have a bit of divine magic and holy purpose to your actions.




Spellcasting



You get third casting just like the arcane trickster in the player's handbook. Your spells use wisdom, not intelligence Resistance is your bonus can trip instead of mage hand. You can select any cleric cantrips. The spells you select normally must be from the Abjuration, Divination, and Enchantment schools (and of course be of an appropriate level). A few spells are forbidden for you, even when you can select any cleric spell of your choice at levels 3, 8, 14 and 20. I've posted the spell list you can use in the following spoiler:


player's handbook.

Cantrips (0 Level)
All Cleric Cantrips from the Player's Handbook can be selected.

1st Level

- Bane (enchantment)
- Bless (enchantment)
- Command (enchantment)
- Detect Evil and Good (divination)
- Detect Magic (divination)
- Detect Poison and Disease (divination)
- Protection from Evil and Good (abjuration)
- Sanctuary (abjuration)
- Shield of Faith (abjuration)

2nd Level
- Aid (abjuration)
- Augury (divination)
- Clam Emotions (enchantment)
- Find Traps (divination)
- Hold Person (enchantment)
- Lesser Restoration (abjuration)
- Locate Object (divination)
- Protection from Poison (abjuration)
- Warding Bond (abjuration)
- Zone of Truth (enchantment)

3rd Level
- Clairvoyance (divination)
- Dispel Magic (abjuration)
- Glyph of Warding (abjuration)
- Magic Circle (abjuration)
- Protection from Energy (abjuration)
- Remove Curse (abjuration)
- Tongues (divination)

4th Level
- Banishment (abjuration)
- Death Ward (abjuration)
- Divination (divination)
- Freedom of Movement (abjuration)
- Locate Creature (divination)


And here are the choices you cannot make, even for the free spells.



- Beacon of Hope

- Cure Wounds

- Healing Word

- Mass Healing Word

- Prayer of Healing

- Revivify






When you reach 3rd level, you augment your martial prowess with the ability to cast spells.

Cantrips
You learn three cantrips: Resistance and two other cantrips of your choice from the cleric spell list. You learn another cleric cantrip of your choice at 10th level.

Spell Slots
The Inquisitor Spellcasting table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

For example, if you know the 1st-level spell Bane and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast Bane using either slot.

Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher
You know three 1st level cleric spells of your choice, two of which you must choose from the abjuration, divination, and enchantment spells on the cleric spell list. You may not select any spell which causes a creature to regain hitpoints.

The Spells Known column of the Inquisitor Spellcasting table shows when you learn more cleric spells of 1st level or higher. Each of these spells must be an abjuration, divination, or enchantment spell of your choice, and must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 7th level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level.

The spells you learn at 8th, 14th, and 20th level can come from any school of magic. You may not learn any spell which causes a creature to regain hitpoints, or that returns a dead creature back to life.

Whenever you gain a level in this class, you can replace one of the cleric spells you know with another spell of your choice from the cleric spell list. The new spell must be of a level for which you have spell slots, and it must be an abjuration, divination, or spell, unless you're replacing the spell you gained at 3rd, 8th, 14th, or 20th level from any school of magic. The new spell cannot cause a creature to regain hitpoints, or that returns a dead creature back to life.

Spellcasting Ability
Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your cleric spells, since the power of your spells comes from your devotion to your deity. You use your Wisdom whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Wisdom modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a Wisdom spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier

Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier

Spellcasting Focus
You can use a holy symbol as a spellcasting focus for your cleric spells.

Forbidden Lore
At third level, your privileged access to the archives, oral traditions, and other bodies of knowledge of your religion grant you special knowledge on how to deal with the foes of your faith. You gain proficiency in Intelligence (Religion) checks. You also can choose one of the following two abilities:

Bane of the Unholy
You've undertaken an extensive study on the nature, mannerisms, and natural vulnerabilities of a certain sort of creature that is traditionally opposed by your faith. Choose one of the following creature types: aberrations, beasts, celestials, constructs, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, giants, monstrosities, oozes, plants, or undead. Alternatively, you can select two races of humanoid (such as gnolls and orcs) as favored enemies.

You have advantage on Wisdom (Insight) checks to determine if creatures of this type are lying to you, as well as on Intelligence checks to recall information about them.

When you gain this feature, you also learn one language of your choice that is spoken by your favored enemies, if they speak one at all.

Hexenhammer:
You've studied many tomes explaining the nature of arcane magic. Inquisitors typically undergo this study to hunt down dangerous arcane spellcasters, but might also take it to understand the benefits (and dangers) of magical artifacts, or to be a more capable servant or guardian of mages who wield their power with the authority of the inquisitor's faith. You gain proficiency in Intelligence (Arcana) checks.


Defender of the Faith
Starting at 9th level, you can recite the tenets of your faith to inspire either yourself or others to resist the temptations offered by your foes. When you or any creature within 60 feet of you is the target of an effect that can give them the charmed or frightened condition on a failed saving throw, you can recite the scripture of your faith as a reaction to grant yourself or that creature advantage on their saving throw against the effect. You must finish a short or long rest to use Defender of the Faith again.

Brand the Unfaithful
Starting at 13th level, the purity of your faith allows you to burn a sign of your deity into the enemies of your faith. When you deal sneak attack damage to a creature under the effects of a spell that you've cast, you can use a bonus action to mark the creature with a Brand of the Unfaithful. This brand manifests as a painful burn on their flesh, which appears on the face of the creature. If the creature does not have a face, the brand manifests on an easily visible part of the body. Anyone who makes a DC 15 Intelligence (religion) check or who is a member of the clergy of your faith automatically recognizes the branded creature as either a heretic, heathen, or apostate of your faith (as is appropriate for the given creature) upon seeing the brand.

While branded in this way, a creature can’t take the Hide action, become invisible, or conceal its appearance using an illusion. If the creature changes it’s form, the brand remains visible on the new form. Furthermore, if you sneak attack a creature with this brand, the sneak attack damage becomes either radiant or necrotic damage, the choice of which is up to the player. Furthermore, you are unable

The brand lasts until either the creature is reduced to 0 hitpoints, or the inquisitor removes it as a standard action. It may also be removed by a casting of Remove Curse on the branded creature.

You may only have one creature branded in this way at any time. If you use Brand the Unfaithful ability on a different creature than the one you have branded, the brand on the initial creature goes away.

This ability does not work on any creature who is a truly faithful adherent of your deity, subject to the discretion of the dungeon master.

Final Judgment
Starting at 17th level, your magic is filled with the fervor of righteous indignation at all those that would deny the will of your deity. When making an attack roll against any creature which is under the effects of a spell that you've cast, you have advantage on that attack roll.

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For anyone interested, I've set up a blog for my homebrew. In this post, I explain some of my reasoning for my design decisions over there. (https://archive-of-anomalies.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-inquisitor-roguish-archetype.html)

I'd be happy to get any sort of feedback on this; I'm rusty at homebrew making, after all.

Hope you enjoyed the subclass!

nickl_2000
2019-01-29, 09:22 AM
Bane of the Unholy
I think this needs to be buffed a little bit. If you run into the creature type that you chose you get advantage on learning if they are lying and remembering about them.

The first part if fairly moot with several of the options (constructs, beasts, elementals, plants, and oozes aren't going to be talking all that much and if they are they likely won't lie). I would do it somewhat differently.
You get:
If your deity is Good alignment - Undead and Fiends
If your deity is Evil alignment - Celestials and Constructs
If your deity is Lawful alignment - Fey and Aberrations
If your deity is Chaotic alignment - Plants and Beasts

If the deity is neutral you choose.

Maybe this is overpowered since I'm spit-balling here, but it does buff the power of a pretty ribbon ability.


Defender of the Faith
Starting at 9th level, you can recite the tenets of your faith to inspire either yourself or others to resist the temptations offered by your foes. When you or any creature within 60 feet of you is the target of an effect that can give them the charmed or frightened condition on a failed saving throw, you can recite the scripture of your faith as a reaction to grant yourself or that creature advantage on their saving throw against the effect. You must finish a short or long rest to use Defender of the Faith again.

I actually feel this in underpowered for a level 9 ability. Once per short rest, you can use a reaction to give for one creatiure advantage against charm or frighten. I would give it a buff so that all allies within 60 feet get advantage verses on the save. Mechanically it is better verses a fear aura or fear spell, and fluffwise it makes sense since all creatures can hear you not just one.


Brand the Unfaithful
From a fluff perspective here, I would actually put in a minimum intelligence requirement for the brand to work. The ability is marking someone as not being faithful to a deity. I don't think any deity is going to be angry about a beast with intelligence 3 not being faithful when they don't have the mental capacity to be faithful.

Michael7123
2019-02-01, 05:44 PM
Bane of the Unholy
I think this needs to be buffed a little bit. If you run into the creature type that you chose you get advantage on learning if they are lying and remembering about them.

The first part if fairly moot with several of the options (constructs, beasts, elementals, plants, and oozes aren't going to be talking all that much and if they are they likely won't lie). I would do it somewhat differently.
You get:
If your deity is Good alignment - Undead and Fiends
If your deity is Evil alignment - Celestials and Constructs
If your deity is Lawful alignment - Fey and Aberrations
If your deity is Chaotic alignment - Plants and Beasts

If the deity is neutral you choose.

Maybe this is overpowered since I'm spit-balling here, but it does buff the power of a pretty ribbon ability.


Defender of the Faith
Starting at 9th level, you can recite the tenets of your faith to inspire either yourself or others to resist the temptations offered by your foes. When you or any creature within 60 feet of you is the target of an effect that can give them the charmed or frightened condition on a failed saving throw, you can recite the scripture of your faith as a reaction to grant yourself or that creature advantage on their saving throw against the effect. You must finish a short or long rest to use Defender of the Faith again.

I actually feel this in underpowered for a level 9 ability. Once per short rest, you can use a reaction to give for one creatiure advantage against charm or frighten. I would give it a buff so that all allies within 60 feet get advantage verses on the save. Mechanically it is better verses a fear aura or fear spell, and fluffwise it makes sense since all creatures can hear you not just one.


Brand the Unfaithful
From a fluff perspective here, I would actually put in a minimum intelligence requirement for the brand to work. The ability is marking someone as not being faithful to a deity. I don't think any deity is going to be angry about a beast with intelligence 3 not being faithful when they don't have the mental capacity to be faithful.

Thanks for the feedback! To address your concerns a bit:


Bane What I had in mind for this was that if you want to play "monster hunter" you can. If you want your inquisitor to run around hunting vampires, take undead and you're off to the races. I also wanted to leave it as open ended as possible, so that players can take whatever class of creatures work best with their specific deity, as opposed to generalizing about alignment or domain. Sure, I doubt too many people will be lining up to take oozes or plants as their choice, but you never know.

As for it being under powered... well, I'm honestly not too bothered by that. You get spellcasting, which is a massive boost in it's own right. No need to make what is typically a ribbon more strong.

Defender

Level 9 rogue abilities also tend to be ribbons. The only exception to this is the ability of the arcane trickster, which IMHO is somewhat overpowered because of it. It being for allies within 60 feet.... eh, it might work better? I'll honestly just have to think on it.

Brand
If I set an intelligence minimum that would take out non intelligent undead from the list of creatures you can brand. And adding a general intelligence minimum and then specifically excluding the various sorts of exceptions would be too great of a hassle. Besides, the brand already has a decent amount of flavor to it, and I'm hesitant to add more.

noob
2019-02-02, 09:04 AM
From a fluff perspective here, I would actually put in a minimum intelligence requirement for the brand to work. The ability is marking someone as not being faithful to a deity. I don't think any deity is going to be angry about a beast with intelligence 3 not being faithful when they don't have the mental capacity to be faithful.

at 3 int you can read and write so you can probably be faithful too.
I think you meant 2 int.