Inquisitor (Pathfinder)
Inquisitors have become a favourite in many fantasy settings as they combine good reasons to travel and hunt down others although with enough grimness to their characters to make them interesting and give them intriguing backstories.
In the past Inquisitors were created by the Roman Catholic Church to seek out those who erred away from the Christian faith and to punish them for their blasphemy. They were given a wide range of powers and were combined the roles of investigator/judge, and at times, executioner. They had a tendency to love screaming 'It's a witch!' and trying to burn people at the stake, believing if it was a witch they would save themselves with their magic and prove their crimes and if the person was innocent...they would prove their innocence by burning alive.
They came back into popularity in recent times as the rise of gritty realism means the idea of relentless hunters of the faith and all the grimdark that goes with it is attractive. There are also near limitless possible stories to use them in. Look at GW for example; the Inquisitors and Inquisition of their setting has become such an integral part of 40k it is hard to imagine it without them.
Pathfinder
An Inquisitor is an agent to a particular deity who police enemies of their faith, seeking out them using guile and cunning and often bending the rules of their faith in doing so. This they have few qualms about doing, seeing themselves as loyal only to their deity and their own brand of justice, and using their actions as proof of their devotion.
They cast divine spells and get the same spell progression as a Bard, but bear no other resemblance to that class (for example, they are actually useful in a fight). They use a combination of pretty good weapon abilities, divine spellcasting, special curses, and the ability to make their weapons have the Bane property to fuck shit up as much as possible. Also they can choose either a cleric's domain, but without bonus spells, or an "inquisition" which grants them all kind of tricks ranging from proficiency with firearms and the ability to blow up wizards concentration (other than their squishy heads) by shooting'em, to run like a monk, heal themselves as a paladin, and rage hard as a barbarian, making Commissar Fuklaw proud of them.
Because of the need to find and destroy the enemies of their faith, Inquisitors need to travel and to be a member of a party even if just to disguise their presence. Their fellows should beware though as even they are not above suspicion (and may get a knife in the back if not careful in their words...)
Oh, and Horror Adventures has the Living Grimoire archetype, which gets to beat his enemies to death with a giant holy book. That is all you need to know.
| The Classes of Pathfinder 1st Edition | |
|---|---|
| Core Classes: | Barbarian - Bard - Cleric - Druid - Fighter - Monk Paladin - Ranger - Rogue - Sorcerer - Wizard |
| Advanced Player's Guide: |
Alchemist - Antipaladin - Cavalier Inquisitor - Oracle - Summoner - Witch |
| Advanced Class Guide: |
Arcanist - Bloodrager - Brawler - Hunter - Investigator Shaman - Skald - Slayer - Swashbuckler - Warpriest |
| Occult Adventures: |
Kineticist - Medium - Mesmerist Occultist - Psychic - Spiritualist |
| Ultimate X: | Gunslinger - Magus - Ninja - Samurai - Shifter - Vigilante |