To the untrained eye every action an inquisitor takes seems to be muddied with evil or at least belligerent intent, but taking a closer look reveals the necessity of their actions. Submerged in a world full of creatures able, most even willing, to slaughter most of mortal kind and enslave the rest, there are those who would reason to delve into the heart of this corruption itself and rip it out with extreme zeal and passion. Not resting until a future without these horrors existing is ensured.

The makings of an Inquisitor are draped in trauma and sorrow, few who have lived a life separate from these horrors choose to go to the extremes that inquisitors do. Yet all who have suffered the wrath of chaotic powers at the least contemplate using these means. Each one has faced the tide and has allowed it to reshape themselves into the perfect machine made to hunt down corruption.

Inquisitors take great pains to make great pain. In more precise terms, while their fervor may seem like it could spill over into a berserk rage they train their entire lives to instead use their anger to fuel precise, focused, and powerful attacks, or to inspire methods of sadistic intimidation in the form of torture.

It is not uncommon for an inquisitor to go over the edge in spite of their training, but there is a line they draw between "going over the edge" and "making harsh but necessary judgments".

Inquisitors care not if the public likes them, but they do care if they fear them. Acts of overzealousness and open violence to their enemies are encouraged within inquisitorial orders, as long as the act is kept to nothing more than that, an act. Should the inquisitor truly begin to harm innocents and let paranoia drive them then they become useless in the eyes of their order, maybe even their next target of corruption.

An inquisitor fighting an inquisitor is a bloody and gruesome scene that should be kept away from all eyes, even those of the same order.

When creating an inquisitor, think about what sparked such hatred for corruption or a particular creature in your character. Talk with your DM about common tragic events in their world, and attach one of those events to your character. Maybe your character was born from an unholy union, and seeks to hunt down the unholy to prove their morality. Perhaps they were training for something else, until a cult destroyed their future and goals they worked hard for.

Why did you take your hunt out on the road? Do you have a lead on your enemy? Were you cast out from your order, or are you a celebrity within it? Is there even an inquisitorial order in your world, or are you one of the few who commits these extremes.

Class Features

As an inquisitor, you gain the following class features

Zealotry

Paragon of Authority

Archery

You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with ranged weapons.

Defense

While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.

Dueling

When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.

Great Weapon Fighting

When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.

Two-Weapon Fighting

When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.

Unarmed Fighting

Your unarmed strikes can deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier. If you aren't holding any weapons or a shield when you make the attack roll, the d6 becomes a d8.

At the start of your turn, you can deal 1d4 bludgeoning damage to one creature grappled by you.

Thrown Weapon Fighting

You can draw a weapon that has the thrown property as part of the attack you make with the weapon.

In addition, when you hit with a ranged attack using a thrown weapon, you gain a +2 bonus to the damage roll.

Zealous Actions

These zealous actions are presented in alphabetical order. More are listed at the end of the class description.

Don't Run! When making a melee weapon attack, you can expend 2 zeal points to make the following attack particularly painful, either by twisting your blade, aiming for a joint, or slicing a vulnerable body part. The creature hit by this attack must make a Constitution save against your Zeal Save DC or have its movement halved. It can repeat this saving throw at the end of its turn, ending the effect on a success.

No Mercy! No Respite! As a bonus action, you can expend 2 zeal points and bark a fearsome command at any willing creature of your choice within 60ft that can hear you. Until the end of your next turn that creature can take an action as a reaction, that action can be used only to take the Attack (one weapon attack only), Dash, Disengage, Hide, or Use an Object action.

Virulent Stance. As a bonus action, you can expend 2 zeal points, if you have not used your movement on your turn, to prepare for an incoming blow. Your movement speed is reduced to 0 for that turn and you gain resistance to all damage except force and cannot benefit from movement speed increases until the beginning of your next turn. If you are forced to move due to a spell effect you have advantage on any saving throw to not be moved. If you are forced to move due to being frightened, this zealous action ends.

First Zealotry Die = 1 zeal point

Second Zealotry Die = 2 zeal points

Third Zealotry Die = 3 zeal points

Zealous Actions (Continued)

This is a continued list of zealous actions that cannot be taken or prepared when first gaining the feature to do so, due to prerequisites such as increased zeal cost or race requirements.

Open Vein. When making a melee weapon attack that deals slashing damage, you can expend 2 zeal points to aim for an artery. The creature must make a Constitution save against your Zeal Save DC or take 2 (2d4) damage at the end of each of its turns as it bleeds profusely. After taking damage, it can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If the creature has no blood it is immune to this effect.

Cavalier's Bane. As an action, you can expend 2 zeal points and attempt to intimidate all beasts that can hear you. The creatures make a Wisdom (Insight) check against your Charisma (Intimidation) check or become frightened of you until the end of your next turn. Beasts that have an Intelligence higher than 4 or are immune to the fear condition are not affected by this feature.

Order of the Heretic Hunter

An inquisitor of the Order of the Heretic Hunter is sworn to a specific church, god, pantheon, or religious ideal. As is with all doctrines, when ideals become misconstrued and isolated lies become dogmatic truths and heretics claiming to be prophets and saviors climb from the woodwork. Upon their throne of lies, they ruin the holy name of deities and churches alike as they meet their despicable means to an end. It is this order's duty to hunt these heretics down, alongside anyone else who would besmirch their doctrine.

Doctrine and Domain

Beginning when you choose this order at 3rd level, you ascribe yourself to a specific clerical domain that represents your doctrine, philosophy, church, or deity to which you defend. Each different domain is provided below.

Life. You inherit the divine health of those you ascribe yourself. You become immune to disease.

War. You embody to unbreakable and far reaching truth of war. You become proficient with heavy armor.

Grave. You are an aid to your world's psychopomps and heralds of The End. You can no longer critically fail death saving throws.

Forge. You are a mere ember within the forge heart of your world. You gain two tool proficiencies.

Nature. You are sworn to defend the groves and natural world from its defilers. You can communicate with small and tiny beasts and plants.

Order. Though you yourself are above the law, your actions must allow it to stand forevermore. You gain expertise in Intimidation skill.

Peace. You are sworn to promote the wholesome qualities of civilization at any cost. You gain proficiency in the Persuasion skill, if you already had it you gain expertise in it.

Twilight. You brandish yourself as a guardian against those who go bump in the night. You gain 30ft of darkvision, if you already have darkvision add 30ft to it.

Knowledge. You are a guardian of scripture and logic in your world, keeping information from the world or sharing it out at your discretion. You gain proficiency, or expertise if you already are proficient, in one of the following skills: History, Religion, and Arcana.

Tempest. You are the storm that is approaching. You gain resistance to thunder damage and cannot be deafened.

Arcana. You dance and walk atop the delicate strands of the Weave. You gain a 1d4 when making saves against magical effects.

Trickery. You are an embodiment of mischief and often challenge order. You gain proficiency in either stealth, thieves' tools, or the disguise kit.

Light. You chase away the lies that would topple kingdoms and the darkness that would swallow souls. As an action, you can cause bright light to emanate 10ft outwards from you. This light breaks through magical darkness.

Death. You stared into the abyss and it welcomed you with open arms. You gain resistance to necrotic damage.

Once you pick a domain, you may only change it with your DM's permission. If you ever multiclass into cleric, you must choose the same divine domain that you've devoted yourself to here.

Burgeoning Fervor

At 3rd level, when you knock an undead, fiend, fey, or oathbreaker paladin to 0 hitpoints you gain 2 zeal points. These extra points can exceed your maximum, but only to an amount equal to your Charisma modifier, and the extra points fade away after 5 minutes.

Alternatively, if you picked the Death domain then replace fiends and undead with celestials in the feature above.

Divine Discipline

At 6th level, you've learned how to keep going where most would have fallen long ago. As an action, you can expend 3 zeal points to regain hitpoints equal to 3 times your class level. You can use this feature an amount of times equal to your Charisma modifier per long rest.

Witch Bane

Beginning at 3rd level when you pick this subclasss, whenever you force a creature to make a Constitution saving throw in order to maintain concentration on a spell, that creature must subtract a 1d4 from their roll.

In addition, whenever a creature you force to maintain concentration on a spell fails a saving throw or knock a creature that has spellcasting, other than innate casting, down to 0 hitpoints you gain 2 zeal points.

This can exceed your maximum, but only to an amount equal to your Charisma modifier, and the extra points fade away after 5 minutes.

Arcane Rebound

At 6th level, you've learned how to use your opponent's magic against them. Whenever attacking an enemy that is under the effect of a spell that increases their AC, such as shield or mage armor, you may spend zeal points equal to your target's AC bonus provided by the spell and increase your damage by double the amount of zeal point spent for that turn.

In addition, when being targeted by a leveled spell that deals fire, cold, acid, poison, force, necrotic, and radiant damage you can use your reaction to coat your weapon, or both fists, and deal extra damage equal to your proficiency bonus, that is of the same damage type dealt to you before, until the end of your next turn.

Vengeful Pursuit

At 9th level, whenever you succeed on a saving throw against a magical effect you can spend 3 zeal points to either increase your AC by 2, your bonus to all saving throws by 2, or your bonus to hit and damage by 2. These benefits last for 1 minute

You can only have one of these benefits active at a time and they do not stack.

Antimagic at Heart

At 15th level, your blatant stance towards magic is shown to all. As an action, you can spend 5 zeal points and create a 15ft sphere of antimagic around yourself for 1 minute as if you were concentrating on a spell.

The Jury Stands

Beginning at 3rd level, when you pick this subclass you gain proficiency with heavy armor. In addition, when you knock a chaotic or evil aligned humanoid to 0 hitpoints, you gain 2 zeal points.

These extra points can exceed your maximum, but only to an amount equal to your Charisma modifier, and the extra points fade away after 5 minutes.

Intrinsic Understanding

At 3rd level, you gain proficiency in one of the following skills: Insight, Investigation, or Deception. If you already had proficiency in the skill before then, your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make for that skill.

Criminal Awareness

At 6th level, you gain a moderate understanding of cyphers and secret codes. When reading script that you understand the language of, you can make an Intelligence (Investigation) check to find and decipher any secret messages hidden within and the creature that had written the script must make a contested Charisma (Deception) check against you. If the creature had written the script in Thieves' Cant, then it makes their Charisma (Deception) check at advantage.

On a success, you are able to read and understand the cypher. This does not mean you are able to read all cyphers of similar penmanship, however, just this one instance.

Vigilant Judge

At 6th level, you have advantage on attacks against a creature, you can see, who have attempted a stealth check in their last turn. In addition, you can make perception checks meant to discern the location of hidden creatures as a bonus action and you have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks made to uncover creatures hidden by stealth or invisibility. This advantage does not increase your Passive Perception.

Eternal Executioner

At 9th level, you are sworn to the law forever and all those who wish to force you off your path are met with an unrelenting pain. When knocked down to 0 hitpoints, and not killed outright, you can instead spend 3 zeal points and your reaction to drop to 1 hitpoint instead and make one attack against the creature who hit you, provided they are within range.

Guillotine

At 15th level, you've gained the ability to dole out an instantaneous and violent justice upon the worst of criminals. When you hit a creature with an attack, you can spend 5 zeal points and force the creature to make a Constitution saving throw against your Zeal Save DC or take damage equal to half the creature's hit dice, half as much on a success.