Church Inquisitor Questions (RP)

[gibbo88]

Hey all, so I'm making a Church Inquisitor for an upcoming campaign (starting level 5, and have a couple of RP questions for the Brains Trust.

1) You need to be part of a Lawful Good church/religious order, however all i can find as that is Heironeous. Kinda also not sure what they mean with they differentiate between church and religious order. I was wondering what alternatives to the H-man people had?

2) Also was wondering if anyone had suggestions about the sorta corruption he could have found out?

Cheers

[BobVosh]

3 important questions: What books are allowed, what race are you, and what is the setting?

[gibbo88]

All the books, however I think the DM is sticking to the main pantheon, however if I present a good argument, I might get a few different ones around and a homemade world.

[Tsotha-lanti]

Deities, churches, and religious orders are all campaign-setting-specific, so you'll need your DM's help there.

The difference between a church and a religious order is the difference between the Church of Rome and the Knights Templar. That pretty much sums it up. Orders can also exist more firmly entrenched within a church - Franciscan monks and whatnot.

Church corruption in D&D is a tricky thing. How grim and gritty is the campaign? I don't have any conceptual problem with LG inquisitors inquisiting LG clerics, but some people do. Of course, this depends on your definition of "inquisition"; in reality, and in a LG church, it wouldn't be all fire and brimstone, iron maidens and thumbscrews, and stakes and fires. An inquisitor's duty is to root out and combat heresy, but that doesn't have to be violent. LG worshippers can still be heretics. The inquisitor would probably be set to question or interview such heretics, and then to argue a case against their heresy, seeking to persuade them to recant it. Find the English translation of the Malleus Maleficarum online (Wikipedia links it) and read a few questions and answers for ideas about heresy and combating it without injuring people. And check out The Name of the Rose - it's got a few flavors of inquisitor, and an actual inquisition (not the one involving the murder plot, but the one for which they've arrived at the monastery - to argue about scripture and "defeat" heretical interpretations).

Of course, you can also have full-on demon/devil/evil deity -worshipping cultists using spells and magic items to hide within a LG church and corrupt its works and teachings, misusing their power, and so on. Very theatrical and typical of D&D.

[Keld Denar]

By main pantheon, you mean just the gods in the PHB? Or any/all greyhawk gods? In just the PHB, its mostly the Big H, and the dwarven Moradin (dwarves make kickass CIs though). St. Cuthbert is LN with good tendancies in the PHB, but in the actual greyhawk setting hes more like LG with neutral tendancies, if there is such a thing. If you are using the whole greyhawk pantheon (which is bigger than whats listed in the PHB, check this out. Its a list of just about all greyhawk gods. There are a couple others, like Pholtus, that would have CIs. St. Cuthbert would actually work out rather well, as from reading this the Order of the Stars would fit the whole CI theme, except for the fact that most of them tend to be LN rather than LG. Still, it bleeds the flavor of a Church Inquisitor like a man in an iron maiden.

As far as what you discovered, I'd have it as something minor. Maybe someone within the church was misapproprating funds, making liberal teachings to a congregation, or even consorting with minor demons/devils like Imps or Quasits. This would represent something that your character could conceivably have performed before level 4, which is the earliest you can take your first CI level.

Since CI doesn't advance your turn undead abilities, you should look into something else to use them with. Common uses include Divine Spell Power and Divine Metamagic.

[gibbo88]

Yeah, the DM apparently has some pretty big ideas on making racial issues (read, xenophobia, prejudice etc) so we aren't too sure on the gods available, but i believe the minor gods from the elvish, dwarf etc pantheons would be available. Thanks for the advice so far guys!

[Prometheus]

St. Cuthbert has been a personal favorite of mine for religious authorities with a heavy handed emphasis on law. Since you can be within one step of you diety, you may be LG instead of LN

[Keld Denar]

The problem isn't with him being LG, the problem is with the church being LG, which is also a requirement of CI. Thats why it kind of matters if its greyhawk, or generic core. In the PHB, St Cuthbert is LN, but in the link I posted, which is based on LG cannon, St Cuthbert is widely regarded as LG.

[Curmudgeon]

Don't know how much this will help, but here are the LG-aligned from a list of the more common D&D deities, along with their favored weapons. Core deities are in bold. Forgotten Realms deities are in green. Eberron deities are in blue. Deities with the War domain in their portfolio have an asterisk (*). I'm sure searching for the names will provide additional information.

Al'Akbar LG falchion
Allitur LG spear
Arvoreen LG short sword *
Bahamut LG heavy pick/scimitar/claw
Berronar Truesilver LG heavy mace
Boldrei LG spear
Clangeddin Silverbeard LG battleaxe *
Cyrrollalee LG quarterstaff
Delleb LG dart
Dol Arrah LG halberd *
Gaerdal Ironhand LG warhammer *
Gorm Gulthyn LG battleaxe *
Heironeous LG longsword *
Ilmater LG unarmed strike
Mayaheine LG bastard sword + shield/mace/longbow *
Moradin LG warhammer
Nobanion LG heavy pick
Pholtus LG quarterstaff
Rao LG light mace
The Silver Flame LG longbow
Torm LG greatsword
Tyr LG longsword *
Yondalla LG short sword

[Fishy]

Yondalla

"This quiche is fabulous! You have -got- to give me that recipe."

[Cheesegear]

I like the corruption where a certain High(er)-ranking Priest of the Church is not actually worshiping the God he claims to worship. Works every time.

Or, hidden in the basement is a potion that turns you into a Vampire. Chaos Curse GO!

All the priests are Doppelgangers.

[SoD]

I like the corruption where a certain High(er)-ranking Priest of the Church is not actually worshiping the God he claims to worship. Works every time.

Or, hidden in the basement is a potion that turns you into a Vampire. Chaos Curse GO!

All the priests are Doppelgangers.

The high preist is an illusion.

[jcsw]

The high preist is an illusion.

And the cake they promised you was a lie. A LIE TO PROPEL THE LAYFOLK INTO AN ENDLESS CYCLE OF MATERIAL DESIRES AND GLUTTONY.

(Uh. It sounded cooler in my head.)