Investigator

Class Features

As an Investigator, you gain the following class features

Pursue a Lead

At 2nd level, you've learned to gather your suspicions into proper investigations. Once every 10 minutes, you can spend 1 minute examining the details of one potential clue, designating the subject related to that clue as the target of your active investigation. This subject is typically a single creature, item, or small location (such as a room or corridor), but the GM might allow a different scope for your investigation. You don't need to know the identity, purpose, or nature of the subject, but you do need to be aware of its existence. For instance, finding a footprint is enough to investigate the creature that left it, and seeing a hasty sketch of an item or location can be enough to start your investigation of that subject.

Whenever you attempt an ability check to investigate a designated subject, you gain a bonus to the check equal to your Intelligence modifier. The exact checks this applies to depend on the actions you use to investigate and are determined by the GM, but checks to investigate are typically ability checks that use Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma. You can also use your reaction to grant this bonus to an ally if they attempt a skill check that would apply to your investigation.

You can maintain two active investigations at a time. If you Pursue another Lead after that, the subject must be different from any of your current investigations (or rather, they must be different as far as you know), and you give up on a current subject of your choice. Once you've given up pursuit of a subject, you can't Pursue that Lead again until you finish a long rest.

Persistent Investigation

At 2nd level, you've learned to briefly shift your focus away from one of your suspects to focus on the task at hand. Once per long rest, when you would give up on the subject of a lead, you can choose to designate the lead you gave up on as your persistent lead. Your persistent lead does not grant you any bonuses, but you can choose to pursue it as one of your two leads again (no action required), and doing so does not remove this persistent lead. However, when you finish a long rest and have a persistent investigation, you must choose to either give up on your persistent lead, or continue pursuing it, giving up on one of your other leads instead.

Investigative Methodology

At 3rd level you choose a philosophy that you use to carry out your investigations, called a methodology. This choice grants you some initial features, and additional features at 7th, 11th, and 17th level.

Strategic Strikes

At 3rd level, you’ve learned to strike with your wits instead of your might or agility. When making an attack with a weapon you’re proficient with, you can use your Intelligence modifier instead of Strength or Dexterity for the attack roll and damage. You must use the same modifier for both rolls. The weapon must not have both the two-handed and heavy traits for you to use this feature.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Shared Stratagem

Starting at 5th level, you can call out to your allies and inform them of your strategies, improving their odds of success. When you deal your Stratagem damage to a creature, you can grant one ally of your choice within 60 feet of you advantage on their next attack against that creature before the start of your next turn (no action required).

Sharp Senses

At 5th level, you’ve honed your senses to catch even the slightest glint of a knife or flash of magic. When you are hit by an attack, you can substitute your passive Wisdom (Perception) score for your AC against all attacks made by that creature for the rest of the turn, including the triggering attack. To gain this benefit, you must be aware of the attacker.

Jack of All Trades

Starting at 6th level, the wide array of tasks you have to do for your investigations have started to pay off. You can add half your proficiency bonus, rounded down, to any ability check you make that doesn't already include your proficiency bonus.

Temporary Suspect

At 9th level, you’ve learned to compartmentalize your main lead and pursue a new one for your current predicament. When you roll initiative, you can Pursue a Lead against one enemy you are aware of (no action required), setting aside but not ending one of your currently active leads, if you have two leads. At the end of the combat encounter, you stop Pursuing the Lead against the chosen enemy and return to the original lead, if you have one.

Strong-Willed

At 10th level, you’ve honed your mind to resist all manner of influences. You gain proficiency in Wisdom saving throws. If you already have this proficiency, you instead gain proficiency in Intelligence or Charisma saving throws (your choice).

Didactic Strike

Starting at 13th level, you can factor more allies into your plots. You can now designate any number of allies within 60 feet to gain the benefits of your Shared Stratagem feature, instead of just one, and allies you choose now also add a d4 to their next attack roll against the creature in addition to gaining advantage.

Blindsense

Starting at 14th level, while you are able to hear, you have blindsight out to a range of 10 feet.

Uncanny Recollection

At 15th level, you gain the ability to reconstruct the scene of a crime almost as if you had been there yourself. You spend 1 minute surveying a small location (such as a single room) to get an impression of events that occurred there within the last three days. This involves moving about the area and studying footprints, the placement of objects, spilled drinks or blood, and so forth. You get a mental impression of significant events that happened there. This gives you clues and details of the past, including the overall events and their

time frame, however this isn't enough to identify who was involved in these events if you weren't already aware the person was there. As determined by the GM, you also pick out various seemingly small details that could serve as important clues, like a memorable weapon someone used for a murder or the type of cloak someone wore when passing through.

Threads of the World

At 18th level, you’ve learned to keep tabs on everyone and everything you encounter, even things that may seem innocuous at first. You can now have any number of active leads at a time. Additionally, whenever you’re pursuing the subject of a lead and you enter a new location that includes another clue toward solving the mystery, the GM informs you of the existence of the clue and its type: an object, person, spell effect, or the like. When you find the clue, the GM informs you that you've done so. If there is more than one clue in the location, the GM chooses one to inform you about. When you find any of the clues in that location, the GM informs you that you've done so, even if it wasn't the clue they'd chosen or there are other clues you haven't found.

Infallible Eyes

At 20th level, nothing can escape your watchful eye, not even under cover of magic. You gain truesight out to a range of 60 feet, and as long as you aren’t blinded you have advantage on all attack rolls and ability checks relying on sight, and cannot gain disadvantage on attack rolls or ability checks relying on sight.

Investigative Methodologies

Each investigator goes about their cases in different ways, which can vary greatly from one investigator to the next. This is usually determined by what they have have studied, though in some cases it can also just be a personal leaning towards one method over another. Regardless of how they came to it, an investigator in their element is truly a sight to behold.

Alchemical Tincture

3rd-Level Alchemical Sciences Methodology feature
You’ve learned to concoct various potions and elixirs to
assist you and your allies in your investigations.
Whenever you finish a long rest, you prepare a
number of tincture components equal to your level,
which last until the end of your next long rest. As an
action, you can expend one of these components to
create a tincture, choosing from the effects listed below. A creature can consume a tincture as a bonus action on their turn, gaining the listed effect. You can also consume a tincture immediately when you make it. If you consume a tincture while under the effects of another, the effects of the first tincture end and you gain the effects of the new one.

Creating an alchemical tincture requires you to have alchemist's supplies on your person, and any tincture you create with this feature lasts until it is consumed or until the end of your next long rest.

The tinctures available are listed at the end of this subclass description.

Workplace Hazard

7th-Level Alchemical Sciences Methodology feature
You gain resistance to poison damage and advantage on saving throws made to avoid or end the poisoned condition on yourself.

Additionally, you can lace your attacks with alchemical poisons. Whenever you deal your Stratagem damage to a creature, you can force that creature to make a Constitution saving throw with a DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Investigator level. On a failure, the creature takes poison damage equal to a roll of half your Stratagem damage dice (rounded up) and is poisoned for 1 minute. It may repeat this saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the condition on a success.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses on a long rest.

Empowered Tinctures

11th-Level Alchemical Sciences Methodology feature
Whenever a creature consumes one of your tinctures they gain temporary hit points equal to 2d6 + your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1 temporary hit point), which is added to any temporary hit points granted by the tincture itself. Additionally, whenever you finish a short or long rest, you can expend a number of tincture components to craft tinctures, creating two copies of the tincture per component expended instead of one.

Alchemical Mastery

17th-Level Alchemical Sciences Methodology feature
When you poison an attack with your Workplace Hazard, a creature takes half of the damage on a successful saving throw (though it suffers no other effects), and you can choose to coat your weapon in alchemical reagents instead of poison, changing the damage type from poison to acid (the rest of the effect is unchanged). Additionally, if you roll initiative and have no tinctures or tincture components remaining, you can immediately make 1 tincture of your choice (no action required), provided you have your alchemist’s supplies on your person.

Arcane Studies

Magic can often create many mysteries beyond normal understanding, and the only way to unravel them is often with magic of your own. Investigators that study the arcane are often apprentices of wizards or sages, though some learn magic all on their own. The combination of the arcane and an investigator's normal training creates a fascinating new way of mystery-solving that makes nigh impossible to keep things hidden for long.

Mystic Stratagem

3rd-Level Arcane Studies Methodology feature
You can use your Devise a Stratagem feature with the spell attack rolls of any spells you've learned from this class, in addition to attacks with weapons you are proficient with. You still may only use this substitution for one weapon or spell attack roll per turn (not both). If you use the replacement d20 for the spell attack roll of one of your Investigator cantrips, you deal additional damage equal to half of your Stratagem damage with the cantrip. You don't deal any additional damage if you use the replacement d20 for a non-cantrip spell or a cantrip learned from another class.

Magical Investigation

7th-Level Arcane Studies Methodology feature
As an action, you can cast one of the following spells without expending a spell slot: Detect Thoughts, Find Traps, or See Invisibility.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Detective's Readiness

7th-Level Arcane Studies Methodology feature
Whenever the subject of one of your leads forces you to make a saving throw against a spell or other magical effect, you get a bonus to your saving throw equal to your Intelligence modifier. You can also use your reaction to grant an ally this bonus if they are within 60 feet of you and are forced to make a saving throw against a spell or other magical effect by the subject of one of your leads.

Arcane Countermeasures

11th-Level Arcane Studies Methodology feature
You can cast Counterspell at 3rd level without expending a spell slot, and you can use your Arcana modifier instead of your spellcasting modifier if you are required to make an ability check as part of the spell.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Fabled Lead

17th-Level Arcane Studies Methodology feature
Once per long rest, you may cast Legend Lore, without expending a spell slot or requiring material components, but the target of the spell must be related to one of your leads, as far as you are aware.

Detective's Ace

17th-Level Arcane Studies Methodology feature
Once per day, you can cast the spell Contingency without expending a spell slot or requiring material components, but the spell only lasts 1 day instead of the normal duration, the maximum spell level you can use for this feature is 4th level instead of 5th, and the spell does not end if you do not have the material component on hand (since it does not require a material component for this casting).

Forensics

The field of forensics is perhaps the most well-known of the fields for investigators. When a murder or assault happens, forensics is often the first department called for so that facts like cause of death and strange substances found on the scene can be analyzed. Their knowledge of corpses can also prove remarkably useful in keeping others alive, making them often uniquely qualified as medical technicians as well.

Medicinal Recovery

7th-Level Forensic Methodology feature
As an action, you can attempt to cure a creature of certain debilitating effects. You administer medicine to the creature with the effects of the Lesser Restoration spell. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Additionally, you can now treat two creatures at the same time during a short rest with your Check Up feature.

Scalpel's Point

7th-Level Forensic Methodology feature
When you deal your Stratagem damage to a creature with a weapon that deals either slashing or piercing damage, you can choose to aim for a vital artery or other weak point. The creature must succeed on a Constitution saving throw with a DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier or begin bleeding profusely. While bleeding the creature takes 1d4 piercing or slashing damage at the start of its turn (whichever type of damage inflicted the wound). A creature can repeat this saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. Creatures that do not have blood, such as slimes, are immune to this effect.

This damage increases to 2d4 when you reach 11th level in this class, and to 3d4 when you reach 17th level in this class.

Forensic Examination

11th-Level Forensic Methodology feature
You can take 1 minute to examine a creature’s corpse and learn certain information about it:

• Any damage resistances, vulnerabilities, or immunities it had in life
• Any condition immunities it had in life
• Whether each of its ability scores was higher or lower than yours
• The names of any special actions or traits it had (you do not learn the specific effects of these actions or traits though)
• What was used to kill it (ie. a fire-based spell, a knife, a boulder, etc.)

Additionally, whenever you deal your Stratagem damage to a creature, you can immediately learn any and all damage vulnerabilities, resistances, and immunities it has (no action required).

That's "Doctor" to You

17th-Level Forensic Methodology feature
Your uses of Medicinal Recovery can now grant the effects of a Greater Restoration spell, instead of Lesser Restoration (you choose which to use each time). Additionally, whenever you use your Check Up feature, you may treat the result of your Wisdom (Medicine) check as a 30 if it would be lower.

You can now even restore a recently deceased creature to life. You can cast the spell Raise Dead once without expending a spell slot or requiring material components, as you expertly repair the creature's body and administer any other necessary treatment. Once you use this feature, you must finish a long rest before you can do so again.

Interrogation

Specializing in prying secrets from the lips of the living, interrogators are verbal tacticians, able to prod in just the right ways to get their subjects to talk. Some do it through sweet-talking and appealing to senses of honor, while other do it through fear and intimidation. Both ways are often proven quite effective, and ensure that no secret stays kept for long.

Manipulative Strategies

17th-Level Interrogation Methodology feature
Whenever you deal your Stratagem damage to a creature, you can force it to succeed on a Wisdom saving throw with a DC of 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier or be charmed or frightened by you (your choice) for 1 round. If charmed by you in this way, the creature cannot willingly move further away from you.

Vigilantism

Unconventional but certainly still effective, the vigilantism methodology turns many of the underhanded tactics criminals use back on them. Experts in taking their targets down with force and numbers and improvising a solution no matter what comes their way, being a vigilante's target is a terrifying prospect, and they will ensure that their cases are seen through regardless of who or what stands in their way.

Credits

This class is an adaptation of the Investigator class from Pathfinder 2nd Edition (which you can check out here ), so all credit for the concept of the class goes to Paizo and anyone else involved in the making of that system. The implementation of the class in 5e however, along with some of the features and subclasses, are of my own design and I would like to thank Tyler Machado and Daniel Abes for helping me work out the kinks of this class after I had the rough draft done, they were both a massive help.

None of this art is my own, and I do not claim credit for any of it. If you are curious as to the original sources, here is where I found each of them. If I used your art, and found it posted by someone else, who may have posted it without your consent, I apologize.

Changelog

2/11/22: Filled in Skill Proficiency options for base class, added Detective’s Readiness, Added Trickster’s Ace, added Takedown Expert

2/14/22: Changed Devise A Stratagem to count as one of the two dice for advantage/disadvantage (instead of rolling the substitution d20 with advantage/disadvantage), weapon proficiencies changed from all simple and ranged martials to all simple and all martial, Expertise changed from 1 option to 2 at 1st and 6th level, Strategic Strikes added at level 3, Sharp Senses changed from Barbarian’s Danger Sense to Perception for AC

2/15/22: Completely reworked tincture effects, added poison damage ability to Workplace Hazard, Added empowered tinctures and alchemical mastery

2/16/22: Empiricism methodology removed, learning on stratagem damage added to Forensic Examination, Scalpel’s Point damage changed from d6s to d4s, Check up healing finalized, Interrogation given the option of Persuasion or Intimidation, Manipulative Strategies added, Vigilante proficiency changed to Thieves’ Tools, Takedown expert changed from Devise a Stratagem on athletics rolls to a save to knock prone or grapple, Brutal Inquisitor damage changed from half of strategic strike dice (rounded up) to 3d6, Mystic Stratagem changed to only add Stratagem damage for cantrip spell attack rolls, Detective’s Readiness moved from Empiricism level 11 to Arcane level 7

2/16/22 (cont.): Arcane Countermeasures changed from “replicating the effects of a 3rd level counterspell” to casting counterspell at 3rd level without expending spell slots, Various assorted name changes, uncanny recollection changed from one day to three

2/17/22: Changed “Eyes in the Back of Your Head” (Rogue’s Elusive feature but only for enemies of lower CR than your level) to Shared Stratagem

3/7/22: Removed PB/Rest limitation on shared stratagem and changed from all allies to one ally of your choice, moved shared stratagem to 5th level (from 13th) and put Didactic strike at 13th level.

3/8/22: Altered wording of bonus proficiencies for Arcane Studies and Alchemical Sciences, added Prestidigitation Savant, specified that stratagem damage is not added to non-cantrip spells, added PB/long rest limitation on Vigilante’s Takedown Expert

3/9/22: Changed mystic stratagem to half stratagem damage and only working on investigator spells/cantrips, changed pointed question to a contested check, silvered tongue changed from a Reliable Talent mirror to the Archfey Warlock’s Beguiling Defenses