Really, any class could work. It would be somewhat strange for a Barbarian, as they aren't usually the city type, but it's workable. I can't picture a Wizard or Sorcerer in that role, they fair better as the more cerebral type. That's your Sherlock Homes kind of jam. A Monk might be interesting, though coming from a long away and isolated monastery to living a life on the mean streets is weird. At least Monks are great at the rough and tumble part and when someone is going to get kicked around, it ain't gonna be the Monk.
I have to say...Matt Mercer's "Cobalt Soul" Monk is an incredible choice for a private detective archetype: it provides expertise in skills for investigative social play, a means to extract truth from suspects (with your FISTS)...all while providing the fisticuffs a rough-and-tumble detective might require.
If I was going to go Monk for a detective...it would definitely be that subclass.
Yep, the Holmes/Moriarty duel over Reichenbach Falls was a pretty brutal slugfest, Sherlock Holmes was definitely not an Agatha Christie Cozy sleuth.
I'm also trying to imagine Bardified (I think that's what they call it) Harlem Nocturn.
Kotath also introduced a clear distinction of Insight from Perception/Investigation. I wouldn't use Perception for say "tells" or microexpressions when interviewing, that's firmly in Insight's wheelhouse. In actual investigative work, looking over a scene and assessing a collection of facts and interviewing a subject are very different skillsets. Now the findings from an interview (motivation, strong hunch that the person, later corroborated by an investigation into facts refuting the person's story) could be used as one of the factors for an investigation check putting it all together. However if you're at that point of the game it's more fun for the players to work out the case with a bulletin board and notecards or IMB's I2 Analyst's Notebook (that's a joke, don't buy that for your game, you can actually mimic it through Excel and I think powerpoint anyway), and use the checks for areas where the players _should_ have the plot.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
TL DR but pretty much any class can work, Barbarian could work for a angry-at-life, tough-as-nails, hard-boiled detective, and Bloodhound Bruiser is made for this type of thing.
Another class I haven't really seen come up much in this thread is Warlock. It's a bitharder narratively than just going rogue, as you have to explain why your patron cares about you solving cases. But that's not too difficult really. GOO warlock: your patron is obsessed with finding out other people's secrets, and greatly encourages you seeking out any truth. Fiend: Your patron wants to harvest the souls of the criminals you catch. Undead: Your lich patron wants you to feed them souls, and don't really care how they get them.
Warlocks are great cause of invocations. Mask of many faces lets you get into places you normally can't, Eldritch Sight lets you get all supernatural in your investigations, Devil's sight lets you see god damn color in darkness. At higher levels, you can cast invisibility at will, alter self at will, you can see through any and all shapechangers and illusions, you can literally just go up to your murder victim and go "Hey so, who killed you?" with speak with dead AT WILL. It being Charisma based means you can focus on soft stats without really needing your physical stats to be too super high. It doesn't lend itself to the rough and tumble punch people in the face detective, sure, but it makes for a great private investigator for both normal and paranormal crimes alike.
I think order cleric is better for the roll and multiclassing into rouge would be a nice touch and then have the rouge be inquisitive it makes a nice combo esspecially for interigations.
I have an abjuration wizard that I setup to be like Sherlock Holmes. Took one level of Rogue for expertise as well as observant so his passive investigation is over 30. Legend lore is an underrated spell but spectacular as well as detect thoughts as there is no save to see surface thoughts. Divination would probably be a better fit than abjuration, but as he was my first Wizard I wanted to have more survivability especially in AL games when who knows what party comp and skill level you have when you sit down to a table.
wait...
Sherlock Tomes!
I think you mean Madame Cher Locke - Pact of the Tome warlock / Roque Inquisitive
Adventurers of all stripes and classes can make great investigators. Sure the private investigator is an archetype (though you're missing the fact that in real life and fictional genre despite their independent or mercenary dependent means, they're still licensed for the most part), but really adventurers could have a number of reasons to be employed as investigators either directly for the powers that be, or in a capacity available to private individuals. Inquisitors are a type of investigator as well.
I have done an Artificer/ inquisitive rogue and I am now playing around with rogue/ divination wizard. Intelligence is key for knowledge based skills like history and religion, etc,. knowing things in general helps to solve things and that is all intel based skills, to know things. Divination spells for finding anyone. Rogue for expertise in investigation and perception. investigator feat. observant feat. skilled feat and skill expert feat. human variant for an additional feat. forget combat. That won't be you. I stack wisdom second for high perception.
Ranger, especially an “urban” style ranger also makes for a good PI build. Most of the fictional noir types are to a large extent fighters and gunslingers so a ranger works nicely for this. Don’t take nature and survival but do get perception and investigation as well as intuition/persuasion/deception. Or maybe intimidation
I have to say...Matt Mercer's "Cobalt Soul" Monk is an incredible choice for a private detective archetype: it provides expertise in skills for investigative social play, a means to extract truth from suspects (with your FISTS)...all while providing the fisticuffs a rough-and-tumble detective might require.
If I was going to go Monk for a detective...it would definitely be that subclass.
Yes. I mentioned him. He's just not a hard boiled noir type, and that's what I was talking about.
<Insert clever signature here>
Yep, the Holmes/Moriarty duel over Reichenbach Falls was a pretty brutal slugfest, Sherlock Holmes was definitely not an Agatha Christie Cozy sleuth.
I'm also trying to imagine Bardified (I think that's what they call it) Harlem Nocturn.
Kotath also introduced a clear distinction of Insight from Perception/Investigation. I wouldn't use Perception for say "tells" or microexpressions when interviewing, that's firmly in Insight's wheelhouse. In actual investigative work, looking over a scene and assessing a collection of facts and interviewing a subject are very different skillsets. Now the findings from an interview (motivation, strong hunch that the person, later corroborated by an investigation into facts refuting the person's story) could be used as one of the factors for an investigation check putting it all together. However if you're at that point of the game it's more fun for the players to work out the case with a bulletin board and notecards or IMB's I2 Analyst's Notebook (that's a joke, don't buy that for your game, you can actually mimic it through Excel and I think powerpoint anyway), and use the checks for areas where the players _should_ have the plot.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
TL DR but pretty much any class can work, Barbarian could work for a angry-at-life, tough-as-nails, hard-boiled detective, and Bloodhound Bruiser is made for this type of thing.
Mystic v3 should be official, nuff said.
Another class I haven't really seen come up much in this thread is Warlock. It's a bit harder narratively than just going rogue, as you have to explain why your patron cares about you solving cases. But that's not too difficult really. GOO warlock: your patron is obsessed with finding out other people's secrets, and greatly encourages you seeking out any truth. Fiend: Your patron wants to harvest the souls of the criminals you catch. Undead: Your lich patron wants you to feed them souls, and don't really care how they get them.
Warlocks are great cause of invocations. Mask of many faces lets you get into places you normally can't, Eldritch Sight lets you get all supernatural in your investigations, Devil's sight lets you see god damn color in darkness. At higher levels, you can cast invisibility at will, alter self at will, you can see through any and all shapechangers and illusions, you can literally just go up to your murder victim and go "Hey so, who killed you?" with speak with dead AT WILL. It being Charisma based means you can focus on soft stats without really needing your physical stats to be too super high. It doesn't lend itself to the rough and tumble punch people in the face detective, sure, but it makes for a great private investigator for both normal and paranormal crimes alike.
I think order cleric is better for the roll and multiclassing into rouge would be a nice touch and then have the rouge be inquisitive it makes a nice combo esspecially for interigations.
I think you mean Madame Cher Locke - Pact of the Tome warlock / Roque Inquisitive
Sigh, goddamnit
I have done an Artificer/ inquisitive rogue and I am now playing around with rogue/ divination wizard. Intelligence is key for knowledge based skills like history and religion, etc,. knowing things in general helps to solve things and that is all intel based skills, to know things. Divination spells for finding anyone. Rogue for expertise in investigation and perception. investigator feat. observant feat. skilled feat and skill expert feat. human variant for an additional feat. forget combat. That won't be you. I stack wisdom second for high perception.
Ranger, especially an “urban” style ranger also makes for a good PI build. Most of the fictional noir types are to a large extent fighters and gunslingers so a ranger works nicely for this. Don’t take nature and survival but do get perception and investigation as well as intuition/persuasion/deception. Or maybe intimidation
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.