The Oath of Inquisition binds a Paladin to a tenant of law and order. Those who would not practice what they preach are the greatest enemies of the Inquisition. A Paladin may take this oath in the light of a holy or unholy church, spending their days purging the land of Heretics who would misuse the grace of the church. A Paladin may take this oath on his/her own in order to rid the land of Heretics who would lead others to misfortune for their own gain. No matter what reason a Paladin took their oath of Inquisition, Heretics can be found everywhere and must be purged or converted by any means necessary. Inquisitors use many forms of charm magic to coax the truth out of those he/she is investigating. Once the truth is found, no matter how terrible it is, it is an Inquisitor's duty to bring it to light for all to know.

 

TENETS OF INQUISITION

A paladin who takes this oath has the tenets of Inquisition carved into their forearm. No Paladin of Inquisition can ever say they haven't bled for the cause.

Heresy is Everywhere. Anyone who would misuse the ideals of their own laws or doctrines are heretics who must be purged. They can be Heretics of faith, law, family, or magic. All the same they are an abomination to the civilized world. Find Heresy where it sleeps, understand it, then burn away the corruption until there is nothing left. Seek out more Heretics, repeat the cycle.

Guardian of Truth. You will protect the common folk from the corruption of Heresy. You would gladly fight and die for them, many will never know of your sacrifice. To the Inquisition, knowledge is for all people. Secrets must be brought to light even if they shake the foundations of all reality.

Tools of the Inquisition. Fear is your weapon, Charm is your poison, Truth is your armor. You will use these tools to further the goals of the Inquisition.

Oath Spells

You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed in the Oath of Inquisition Spells table. See the Sacred Oath class feature for how oath spells work.

Oath of Inquisition Spells

Channel Divinity

When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options. See the Sacred Oath class feature for how Channel Divinity works.

Face Your Heresy. You can use your Channel Divinity to punish heretics by forcing them to see their own horrific deeds in menacing detail. As an action, you force each creature of your choice that you can see within 15 feet of you to make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, a creature is subjected to a series of horrific images from their past and becomes blinded for 1 minute. The blinded creature can repeat this saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

Et Tu Brutis. You can use your Channel Divinity to strike against a creature which is charmed by you with violent compulsion. When you make an attack roll against a creature which is charmed by you, you may use your Channel Divinity to make the attack a critical hit. You make this choice after you see the roll, but before the DM says whether the attack hits or misses.

Aura of Inquisition

Starting at 7th level, you emanate an aura that guards against deception in a 10-foot-radius around you. Each creature that enters the spell's area for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there must make a Charisma saving throw. On a failed save, a creature can't speak a deliberate lie while in the radius. You know whether each creature succeeds or fails on its saving throw.

An affected creature can become aware of this effect and can thus avoid answering questions to which it would normally respond with a lie. Such a creature can be evasive in its answers as long as it remains within the boundaries of your aura.

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

Exalted of the Inquisition

Starting at 15th level, you have honed your skills as an Inquisitor to the highest degree and now have expertise in both the Insight and Intimidation skills. Additionally all creatures within 15 feet of you have disadvantage on saving throws against your charm spells.

Reaper of Heretics

At 20th level, you gain the ability to harness the power of ultimate judgement. As an action, you can magically become an avatar of inquisition, gaining the following benefits for 1 minute:

• You have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons.
• When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you may add your paladin level as Psychic damage once per turn.
• As a bonus action, you may siphon hit points equal to your Charisma modifier from each creature which is charmed by you. Affected creatures take damage equal to your CHA modifier as necrotic damage and are unaware of the effect leaving them under your charm. You regain hit points equal to the total number of hit points siphoned to a maximum of 20.

Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.