Oath of the Inquisitor

Paladin: The Inquisitor 

"As the light grows more radiant, so shall the shadows stretch deeper into the unbidden runnels and corridors, unscathed, unhindered, rooting out the dregs and the filth beyond the grasp of divine providence. That is what we are: shadows in service of the light's embrace."

— Kadavére the Unbothered, Inquisitor Paladin—Church of Gond

 

You are the Inquisitor, both a devout and pragmatic entity in service of the divine. Where some see holy men and women clad in their robes and finery, and think only of scriptures and worship, you know things differently. You have spent much of your life scouring prayerbooks, learning mantras and holy rites, all for it to culminate in the stark recognition of all the dark spaces cast into view of otherwise glorious splendor. You know your religious sect, church, or monastic society as a battlefield—a place where dark secrets stir, clandestine deals are struck by the cover of night, and salacious accords go often unnoticed by the clergy's inanity. That is why you, the Inquisitor, exist. 

You are one part holy figure, an auditor, and often at times, the blade of execution to foes both within and without your order. As an agent of internal affairs, you stick close by the ever-encompassing clutches of shadow, just a hair's breadth from both zealous fanaticism and devout skepticism. Your duty, as you've seen it, is to cleanse the unclean lurking within your midst, whether as an act of goodwill, mercy, extreme prejudice, or otherwise. That is your sworn oath; and you faithfully do so with an often righteous fervor, taking with you the tools of perceptive wit, keen interrogative sense, and just the faintest touches of cruelty and indifference. And you are so very good at what you do...

Inquisitors are a different breed of paladin; where so many like them employ the sheer force of will and charisma to do their god's work, Inquisitors draw from a wellspring of perceptive wisdom and attention to the finest details, reading between lines unspoken, tracking body language, and rooting falsehoods as though intuitively where others fail to percept. Oftentimes, the very title is akin to the word 'assassin' and Inquistors uphold this facet knowingly. You, as an enforcer of hallowed principles, are thereby trained and well-equipped to carry out these perilous tasks through the use of a simple yet capable weapon: the firearm.

Inquisitors are mentored in their use from their earliest days of training, often employing various magics—and the cover of nightfall—to snipe their marks beneath the hushed veneer of a well-placed silence spell. If not, Inquisitors perform routine audits within their religious order, employing often barbaric interrogative techniques akin to torture, all for the sake of truths and confessions. One thing is known for certain, if you are an Inquisitor, you will get what you seek. If you are not an Inquisitor, then you pray to your gods that you should never encounter one staring back at you with their ever-watchful eyes.

 

Oath Spells

An Inquisitor paladin learns to garner empowerment through their wisdom and perception of the world and others around them. You begin using Wisdom as your spellcasting ability modifier and you gain access to these spells at the levels specified in the oath description. Once you gain access to an oath spell, you always have it prepared. Oath spells don’t count against the number of spells you can prepare each day.

If you gain an oath spell that doesn’t appear on the paladin spell list, the spell is nonetheless a paladin spell for you.

Paladin Level	Spells
3rd	ceremony, compelled duel
5th	silence, zone of truth
9th	clairvoyance, crusader's mantle
13th	arcane eye, private sanctum
17th	commune, conjure volley

(You will have to manually add/edit these spells on your sheet due to site policies)

Divine Firearm

Starting at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with firearms. Whether through purchasing (if accessible), having a skilled artisan design one for you, or attempting to craft it yourself, you gain access to either a six-chamber handcannon or five-chamber longshot rifle. When making a ranged weapon attack, you can expend one spell slot to give yourself advantage on the attack roll and score a critical hit on a roll of 20 minus your Wisdom modifier or higher. When wielding a firearm it counts as a simple melee weapon with the finesse property that deals bludgeoning damage.

Simple Melee	Firearm
Club	Any one-handed firearm (1d4 bludgeoning damage)
Greatclub	Any two-handed firearm (1d8 bludgeoning damage)

(Add the equivalent item into your inventory and equip/re-flavor it as needed, ex: pistol whip, rifle bash, etc)

Channel Divinity

An Inquisitor paladin of 3rd level or higher gains the following two Channel Divinity options.

Repentance. As an action, the paladin targets one hostile humanoid or undead creature they can see within 30 feet. The target must make a Charisma saving throw. On a failed save, the target becomes charmed by you, and must repent their actions by following the paladin’s counsel for the next 24 hours, or until the paladin uses this Channel Divinity option again. A creature charmed in this way will follow your instructions to the best of its ability. The Channel Divinity option has no effect if the target is immune to the charmed condition, if it doesn't understand your language, or if your command is directly harmful to it, and the DM determines how the target behaves. A creature whose challenge rating is equal to or greater than the paladin’s level is immune to this effect.

Bending Benediction. As an action, the paladin channels their prayers and focuses them into a burst of divine accuracy, seeming as though projectiles bend their trajectories to reach their mark. Friendly creatures within 30 feet of the paladin gain advantage on ranged weapon attacks and ranged spell attacks for 3 rounds.

Aura of Rebuke

Starting at 7th level, the paladin gains a bonus to attack and damage rolls equal to the paladin’s Wisdom modifier (minimum of +1). Friendly creatures within 10 feet of you gain this bonus, halved (rounded down).  A creature can benefit from this feature from only one paladin at a time.

At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.

Holy Orders: Expertise

At 7th level, your devotion has rewarded your hard-earned effort. Choose one of your skill proficiencies. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that use of the chosen proficiency.

Supernatural Resistance

At 15th level, the paladin gains resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons.

Aura of Benevolence

At 20th level, the paladin can, as an action, surround themself with an aura of benevolence that lasts for 1 minute. The aura creates a bright light in a 30-foot radius around the paladin that leaves hostile creatures frightened. Whenever an enemy that is frightened by the paladin starts its turn in the aura, it takes 4d10 psychic damage. Hostile creatures that rely on sight have disadvantage on attack rolls while within the aura.

While the aura lasts, the paladin can use a bonus action on his or her turn to use the aura's providence to attack one creature. The paladin makes a melee spell attack against the target. If the attack hits, the target takes radiant damage equal to 3d10 + the paladin’s Wisdom modifier.

After activating the aura, the paladin can’t do so again until they finish a long rest.