The Inquisitor
A New Priest Class for Ravenloft

Introduction

s a young acolyte rapped politely on the Bishop's door, Inquisitor Grimsted waited patiently a measured distance away. A murmured reply came from within, and the door creaked open gently. With a visible nervousness, the acolyte bowed awkwardly and took his leave, walking away perhaps a bit too swiftly.

Inquisitor Grimsted drew himself up and veritably drifted into the Bishop's chambers. He was aware of the affect an Inquisitor could have even on a respected priest of the faith. Although he did not consider himself a manipulator by any stretch of the imagination, the Inquisitor felt that obtaining complete cooperation from a local temple sometimes necessitated playing the part that others expected. That meant being commanding and dramatic, but reserved. One had to have an aura, a fearful air of judgement. Sometimes, it made the difference between success and failure.

Glimpsing Bishop Molina for the first time in the dim light of his private chambers, Inquisitor Grimsted knew that he was not a man who was easily intimidated. The Bishop's eyes showed visible aggravation, but no fear, no guilt. The junior anchorite who was also present reacted more obviously. Her hands were trembling ever so slightly, and her dark eyes flicked to the silver sword amulet that the Inquisitor wore around his neck. Unlike the symbol that she and Molina wore, Grimsted's did not include a shield.

Grimsted bowed deeply before Molina. "Your Eminence. It is an honor to be in the presence of the esteemed Bishop of Karg." He stepped forward to kiss Molina's signet ring, and noted that the Bishop did not rise from his chair.

"I am likewise honored to be graced by your presence, Holy Inquisitor. Your reputation precedes you. This is Mother Lavaur. I am deeply sorry that our introduction had to be delayed until after Vespers. It was quite rude of me."

Grimsted bowed to Lavaur and raised a palm dismissively. "Think nothing of it, Your Eminence. It gave me a chance to become acclimated to the soul of the city. I have already gotten a sense of the dark shadow that has fallen over Karg."

The Bishop glanced at Mother Lavaur and then smiled very slightly at Grimsted. It was an expression of bemused condescension, like one might give a child who insists he has seen a dragon. "Indeed. But then Karg has always been plagued by shadow. The Kargat and the Eternal Order squeeze the people in a vise of terror. These recent murders have only compounded the problem, regardless of their possible cause." Molina said these last two words with thinly veiled contempt.

"Then you are aware of why I am here," replied the Inquisitor. "The presence of a nosferatu is not to be taken lightly. Its evil is far fouler than that of any corrupt enforcers or rival faith."

"Yes." Molina looked at Grimsted severely. "I take it you have a plan of action?"

"The prescribed measures, as usual." Grimsted spoke quietly, as if speaking of a great secret. "I will require the services of your scribes, and a personal assistant who knows the city well. However, your anchorites will not need to escort me as I go about my duties."

Molina raised an eyebrow, and Mother Lavaur spoke for the first time. "Oh? Do you plan to hunt this beast in his lair without steel?" Her tone was almost mocking, but a withering glance from Grimsted instantly made her regret that she had taken it.

"No. I have employed a group of adventurers with whom I have worked in the past in similar instances. They will provide all the protection to my person that I require, and they do it much more willingly at that."

Molina did not appear fazed by the remark. "Adventurers? How resourceful of you. Who are they?"

"Their band includes a warrior, mystic, gypsy, woodsman and scientist. Very capable. Experienced monster slayers." Grimsted noted that Molina had wanted to know their identities. He also noted that his own evasiveness had prompted a hint of irritation in the Bishop's eyes.

"It was an honor to finally meet you, Your Eminence," said the Inquisitor, "But I must be about my duties, and I imagine that you have your own responsibilities to attend to before Compline. If my guide could be at the temple gates at dawn?"

"Absolutely." Mother Lavaur rose to open the door for Grimsted as the Bishop asked, "And I trust you will keep me abreast of your progress, Holy Inquisitor?"

Grimsted smiled. "Absolutely." He briskly turned on his heel, and swept out of the room.

As the door shut, the Bishop glanced languidly at Mother Lavaur. She glared back at him fiercely. "He suspects, Samuel."

He chuckled dully at her expense. "He suspects nothing, Henriette. He's a fool on an equally foolish crusade. What were the Cardinals thinking, I wonder, when they decreed the Inquisition? That these priests would somehow better the Church? That it would emerge purer after their ministrations? I think not. They have silken tongues and nimble minds, these Inquisitors, true. But their vision is clouded by numb conviction and a preposterous belief in their own infallibility."

"What are we going to do?" Lavaur was pacing now, obviously shaken. "He may be foolish, but he's tenacious. I've heard stories about this one. And you know what they say about the Inquisition. They say they can see right through lies…"

"Calm yourself, my dear." Molina poured himself a drink from an earthenware carafe. "You become so easily agitated sometimes, honestly. Remember who you are. He is nothing to us. To react otherwise is to fall victim to the delusions of your lessers."

The Bishop sipped thoughtfully from his goblet as he gazed out the window at the winking stars. As he ran his tongue delicately over his crimson-stained fangs, Molina thought of how close Grimsted might get to the truth, and how soon the Inquisitor would have to die.

Inquisitors

Ability Requirements: Intelligence 13, Wisdom 13, Charisma 9
Prime Requisites: Wisdom
Races Allowed: Human (Ezra) or Half-Elf, Human (Bane)

An inquisitor is a priest who devotes himself to defending his church against its enemies. Like the cleric, the inquisitor is a generic class that is often represented in numerous faiths on numerous worlds. Unlike the militant cleric, however, the inquisitor's place is not the battlefield. Rather, the inquisitor must be an investigator, scholar and judge. Most of all, he must be an individual of supreme personal will.

Two of the most powerful faiths in the Land of Mists have inquisitor orders: the Church of Ezra and the Church of Bane. Typical responsibilities include rooting out heresy, investigating crimes, resolving internal problems, and destroying the creatures of the night. Service to the masses is the duty of the local priest; the inquisitor's responsibility is the integrity of the church as a whole. Depending on the circumstances, the common folk may feel elation or terror at an inquisitor's arrival in their village.

Ability Requirements

Perhaps more than ordinary priests, inquisitors are known for their sagacity. An inquisitor must have a Wisdom score of at least 13. An inquisitor with a Wisdom of 16 or better receives a 10% bonus to any experience points she earns. Additionally, an inquisitor must have a discerning and knowledgeable mind; many are well-versed in theology, politics, law, logic and the occult. To reflect this, an inquisitor must have an Intelligence of at least 13. And although they are not necessarily warm and friendly individuals, inquisitors must be able to deal smoothly with a variety of people and social situations. The success of their inquiries often depends on it. Therefore, inquisitors must have a Charisma of at least 9.

Alignment

Inquisitors believe that structure and adherence to standards are necessary for the survival of the faith. By definition, they are devoted to preventing the eruption of chaos in their church. As such, all inquisitors must be of lawful alignment. Inquisitor player characters must be either lawful good or lawful neutral. Ezrite inquisitors may be of either alignment, while Bane's inquisitors may only be lawful neutral. Lawful evil inquisitors do exist in both the Church of Ezra and the Church of Bane.

Arms and Armor

Unlike a cleric, an inquisitor is not a priest of the battlefield. This is not to say that an inquisitor cannot defend himself. On the contrary, many a creature of the night has found that an inquisitor can be quite deadly, for they combine a cunning knowledge of the supernatural with a willingness to die in the defense of their church. Still, compared to the cleric, the inquisitor is much more limited in his selection of weapons and armor. Inquisitors may only wear padded, leather or studded leather armor, and may not utilize shields. Weapons available to the inquisitor include the club, dagger, dart, knife, quarterstaff, scourge, sling and whip. Many inquisitors are proficient at hurling flasks and other grenade-type weapons as well, for holy water and burning oil can be invaluable in the fight against the minions of darkness.

Spells and Magical Items

Inquisitors have major access to the spheres of all, charm, divination, healing, law, protection, thought and wards. They have minor access to the spheres of necromantic, numbers and time. Inquisitors may utilize any magical items normally available to priests.

Turn Undead

Like many priests, inquisitors can exert power over the undead through their faith. An Ezrite inquisitor may turn undead, while a Bane inquisitor may command undead (see Table 91: Turning Undead on pg. 264 of Domains of Dread).

Worldly Knowledge

Inquisitors often must acquire a great deal of knowledge about a variety of topics. Besides being theological experts in their own faiths, they easily learn sinister or unusual skills. All inquisitors receive the religion nonweapon proficiency at character creation, without having to spend a slot on it. In addition, an inquisitor may purchase nonweapon proficiencies from the rogue group without paying the extra slot penalty for proficiencies outside their racial or class group.

Ecclesiastic Authority

Unlike clerics or other priests, inquisitors have inherent authority by virtue of their office. Their power comes directly from the highest authority in their church. In a sense, they exist in a separate order outside of the traditional clergy. This is not to say that an inquisitor outranks all the "ordinary" priests in his church; a 5th-level inquisitor is still considered the inferior of 7th-level anchorite in the Church of Ezra. Rather, local churches will always do whatever the inquisitor requires to make his holy mission easier. The inquisitor will be fed, clothed, healed and sheltered if needed. He can request that the temple's militant order assist in martial matters, or demand organizational tasks that the local temple might be able to perform better than he. The inquisitor will not be freely provided with equipment or wealth, which are his own responsibility.

In some instances, the local priests may even be secretly hostile to the inquisitor for political or theological reasons. However, an inquisitor who finds a temple uncooperative can inform the church's authorities of the friction, which will reflect poorly on the locals in time. Additionally, lying to an inquisitor is considered a grave offense. A priest (and sometimes a layperson) who is caught lying to an inquisitor is often punished quite severely, although rarely by the inquisitor himself.

Piercing Illusions

One of the most legendary abilities of inquisitors is their facility for seeing through illusions. The inquisitor's god grants them the ability to discern reality from deception. An inquisitor has a base 5% chance to see through any illusion, modified by +5% for each experience level of the inquisitor and -5% for each level of the spell in question. For example, an 8th-level inquisitor would have a 25% chance of piercing a 3rd-level illusion.

Level Advancement

Inquisitors advance in level as anchorites (see Table 89: Priest Level Advancement in Domains of Dread pg. 262)