Sanctified Slayer looks compelling at first, but you lose a lot of combat versatility. The typical case with judgments for Justice and Destruction match up unfavorably to Studied Target and Sneak Attack dice, but you lose the ability to apply armor, damage reduction, energy reduction, saving throws, etc. Studied Target also stacks pretty well, while Judgments of Justice/Destruction are sacred bonuses.
So, it comes down to role. You may want to go SS if:
- You are party face (for the bluff/perception/sense motive buffs)
- Your combat role is purely damage
- You're going to invest in ways to to get your sneak attack off (flanking, invisibility, blinds, cowers, stuns, Shattered Defenses, etc.)
You don't want to go SS if:
- You take on roles other than pure damage (i.e. front-line fighter, healer, utility/buffer/debuffer)
- You are a scout/tracker/other skill monkey instead of party face
- Your party doesn't have great flanking ability or other ways to land sneak attack
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Anyone have any thoughts on the Cold Iron Warden archetype from Demon Hunter's Handbook?
Sorry about the necromancy. Cold Iron Warden is one of my favorite narrow archetypes. In an AP like Wrath of the Righteous it's completely bananas, but otherwise it's occasionally good but mostly mediocre.
For best value, take a level of cleric and Channeling Scourge, RAW it gives you a pair of channel pools, one for only alignment channel and one for any channel based feat, which will stack levels for damage (so you can be effective against undead as well). It functionally makes your channel dice equal to your level minus 1, and your DC equal to 9+level+stat. Also with the level of Cleric, you have a Good Aura, and your 4th level spell Litany of Righteousness is online for your damage allowing for some powerful turns later in life. You also get an extra domain but depending on your GM's interpretation it will only have 1 level of advancement - pic something with a sweet first level power like Travel/Trade or Liberation.
The drawback is your stat array is often going to be limiting you to sword and board, and you get some decent MAD going.
My favorite way to play it is similar to a ranger build that doesn't want to max WIS, basically using your level increases to ensure you meet requirements to cast your highest level spells but otherwise using initial investments in stats to bulk up STR, CHA, CON - usually in that order.
It tends to get feat intensive, so don't plan on going too far down any individual feat chain. However, you can be a decent party buffer if you pick up the bless equipment chain and a deity with the Glory Domain//Heroism Subdomain. Picking up a sword and shield balances your defenses, and Channel Smite adds to your already impressive number of dice per attack when fighting creatures vulnerable to your channeling. Don't forget that the +3 DC from Consecrate only cares that your energy source is positive, not what that positive energy is being used for.
Happy hunting!
Bodhizen: I have really like both of your guides I have seen, this and the paladin guide. I was wondering if you have created any others and if so do you have a spot where I can look at them all. I like that when I read your guide I don't feel like I am reading something that just tells me how to min/max.
BloodAngel099,
Thank you very much for your input and your interest in the Guides! I would like to first point out that the Inquisitor Guide is not complete, and I have been remiss in working on it.
Secondly, there's only the two Guides at this point. My primary focus has been on the Paladin Guide, which is why the Inquisitor Guide hasn't even hit version 1.0, while the Paladin Guide is on version 4.0.
Thirdly, the goal of my Guides is to be an approachable way to enhance your enjoyment of this great game without steering you wrong. Min/maxing does not universally lead to the most optimal characters. In point of fact, min/maxing often results in exceptionally strong characters with glaring flaws that often manifest as exploitable weaknesses in those characters. The tale of Achilles is more than just a story about a powerful warrior with a bum heel. Why shouldn't my Guide be built on lessons learned from that story and so many others?
I don't have a centralised location where you can view my Guides, but Broken Zenith has a page where my Guides, and others, are collected for the good of the community. He links it frequently in the Guide to the Guides thread.
Best wishes!
I'd suggest that you make your guide able to be commented upon, so I need not make a post for minor corrections. Thanks for the guide though, it's great!
- 2nd Level Spells, "Bestow Insight": This spell should be tagged as "Human Only", as it's from Advanced Race Guide.
- 2nd Level Spells, "Death Candle": Same as above, except it's "Ifrit Only".
- 2nd Level Spells, "Escaping Ward": Same as above, except it's "Halfling Only".
- Intimidating Gaze feat: In your review of it you should mention it can only be used once per day. Otherwise people might get the impression that it works full time, just like Insightful Gaze does for Sense Motive. Probably also drops it from Blue.
Thanks again for the guide.
I'd suggest that you make your guide able to be commented upon, so I need not make a post for minor corrections. Thanks for the guide though, it's great!
- 2nd Level Spells, "Bestow Insight": This spell should be tagged as "Human Only", as it's from Advanced Race Guide.
- 2nd Level Spells, "Death Candle": Same as above, except it's "Ifrit Only".
- 2nd Level Spells, "Escaping Ward": Same as above, except it's "Halfling Only".
- Intimidating Gaze feat: In your review of it you should mention it can only be used once per day. Otherwise people might get the impression that it works full time, just like Insightful Gaze does for Sense Motive. Probably also drops it from Blue.
Thanks again for the guide.
I'd advise against allowing comments. Past actions with other guides (most notably Professor Q's) have shown that allowing comments seems to invite vandalism.
In the Devastator Inquisitor section, concerning Races, for Dwarves I'd mention also their Racial Weapon Familiarity. Dwarf is already a strong choice, but it comes with some great weapons baked in. Advanced Race guide gave them some wonderful weapons, like the Dwarven Longhammer and Dwarven Longaxe, which give them reach and 2d6 and 1d12 damage respectively. The Dwarven Double Waraxe gives them the original Dwarven Waraxe, except with a +1 on cleave attacks. While I don't tend to use anything outside of the PRD, Dwarves of Golarion gives them the Dwarven Dorn Dergar/Chain-flail that gives them a 1d10 and lets them choose to use reach or not as move (There's some feats for this, but meh).
There's some good options in there that'd save them a feat, albeit not as powerful as the half-elf's option to choose whatever weapon they want. Not sure on the other races and their weapon familiarity.
BeAuMaN,
Thank you for your interest in the Guide! First, I do not plan on allowing comments to the Guide directly to prevent vandalism. That, and there's a discussion thread for good reason.
As far as Dwarves go, their racial weapon familiarity is just icing on the cake, not meat and potatoes. It doesn't affect the rating, and the feat-saving wouldn't change the rating anyway. So... It's unnecessary bloat that would be easily noticed.
Best wishes!
A preview of things to come... Click here to see the work in-progress. It should be completed soon.
Looking good! May want to space it out a bit?
Would like to see:
- Goblin PC stuff (I swear by Fire Hand to improve my attack after taking Weapon Focus)
- Sanctified Slayer -- good for shield builds? Good for disabling builds for higher DCs?
Looking good! May want to space it out a bit?
Would like to see:
- Goblin PC stuff (I swear by Fire Hand to improve my attack after taking Weapon Focus)
- Sanctified Slayer -- good for shield builds? Good for disabling builds for higher DCs?
I may want to space what out a bit? The release of the .pdf?
As for the rest... We shall see. I wouldn't necessarily put the Sanctified Slayer as specifically prime for aegis builds.
Small point, but the Inquisitor is potentially one of the more functional classes for TWF since it can work some serious damage bonuses - bonuses that couldn't care less if they're on a two-handed weapon or an offhand. It's obviously not something to do on a whim, but with some careful planning it can pay off well enough. I'd say it's less a case of 'don't do this' and more 'don't do this unless you know what you're about'.
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Small point, but the Inquisitor is potentially one of the more functional classes for TWF since it can work some serious damage bonuses - bonuses that couldn't care less if they're on a two-handed weapon or an offhand. It's obviously not something to do on a whim, but with some careful planning it can pay off well enough. I'd say it's less a case of 'don't do this' and more 'don't do this unless you know what you're about'.
Especially as a sanctified slayer with access to ranger combat styles.
The only problem with TWF Inquisitors I've had was somatic components. Pre-buffing works fine, but every now and then you need a spell now and don't want to drop your weapons. I've considered going double weapon for that reason.
Anywho, I was also a bit bothered by not being able to use metamagic rods (I had planned on using Castigate with Persistent and Merciless Butchery for an executioner feeling).
Pre-buffing works fine, but every now and then you need a spell now and don't want to drop your weapons. I've considered going double weapon for that reason.
To me TWF Inquisitor just feels right with favored weapon / cestus. Very nice mechanically, and you're literally the sword and fist of your god...
Well, uh, metaphorically-literally.
Pre-buffing works fine, but every now and then you need a spell now and don't want to drop your weapons. I've considered going double weapon for that reason.To me TWF Inquisitor just feels right with favored weapon / cestus. Very nice mechanically, and you're literally the sword and fist of your god...
Well, uh, metaphorically-literally.
That's a good call. This was around the hype of Slashing Grace and I wanted to try a Dex-based Inquisitor. Next time around I'll probably go Strength and use Ranger Combat Styles for TWF feats anyways.
Small point, but the Inquisitor is potentially one of the more functional classes for TWF since it can work some serious damage bonuses - bonuses that couldn't care less if they're on a two-handed weapon or an offhand. It's obviously not something to do on a whim, but with some careful planning it can pay off well enough. I'd say it's less a case of 'don't do this' and more 'don't do this unless you know what you're about'.
BadBird,
Thank you for your feedback! So... Essentially, I agree with you. A flurry Inquisitor is definitely a "don't do this unless you know what you're about" build, hence why it's rated orange. It's got some additional drawbacks to it, such as the inability to apply your bane ability to both of your weapons without taking the Double Bane feat (explicitly stated in the Guide), which cuts your duration in half anyway. That, and fighting effectively with two weapons is feat intensive, something that is hindered by the Inquisitor class, not to mention the multiple ability dependent nature of two-weapon fighting in general. Can it work? Absolutely. Does it require some very specific building to get it to be effective? Absolutely. I'm not really in the business of building a mini-Guide to "Specific Build X" that demonstrates the one true way to get a Build to work. Flurry Inquisitors don't have one true way, but it's pretty narrow.
Best wishes!
A preview of things to come... Click here to see the work in-progress. It should be completed soon.
I like what I see. I think you'll have to do some more re-arranging (Page 3 for instance, with Useful Skills starting at the bottom) and you'll have to do a lot of fine tuning with the way your editor handles word wrapping around pictures (Page 2, "e v e n a m o n g", Page 5 around the tip of the sword) but this definitely looks great.
I'm really looking forward to seeing you finish this.
Also, are you deciding to keep the Page Number in the bottom right only since it's digital, rather than alternating left and right side as if it were a physical book?
A preview of things to come... Click here to see the work in-progress. It should be completed soon.I like what I see. I think you'll have to do some more re-arranging (Page 3 for instance, with Useful Skills starting at the bottom) and you'll have to do a lot of fine tuning with the way your editor handles word wrapping around pictures (Page 2, "e v e n a m o n g", Page 5 around the tip of the sword) but this definitely looks great.
I'm really looking forward to seeing you finish this.
Also, are you deciding to keep the Page Number in the bottom right only since it's digital, rather than alternating left and right side as if it were a physical book?
Ah, gotcha.
So... The issue with Useful Skills starting at the bottom of page 3 isn't a problem. I actually learned about this stuff from someone who does professional layout for a major publisher, and the concern isn't where things are starting, it's where things end.
The "even among" thing is another not-so-big issue, layout wise. It's just how the words clip around the picture. Same issue around the sword on page 5, but I appreciate the feedback. :)
Hey Bodhizen. First, thanks for the guide and work!
I wanted to ask if you had thought more on the Heretic's Judgement:
Escape (Su): Each time the inquisitor using this judgment hits an opponent with a melee or ranged attack, she can use a move action attempt to create a diversion to hide (see the Stealth skill).
And how it works -exactly-. It doesnt sound very exact.
I am mostly interested in this one because it could be the basis with a very strong Vital Strike build with the right Domain (Rage/Ferocity) and feats (Moonlight Stalker, Furious Focus Power Attack).
Does it work like Hide in Plain Sight?
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Errant Mercenary,
Thank you for your input, and for your question.
So, here are my thoughts.
The Escape judgment gives you the chance to create a diversion. That lets you attempt a Stealth check while people are aware of you. The "Hide in Plain Sight" skill says that you can use the Stealth skill even while being observed. So... The big difference is that you use a move action to do what Hide in Plain Sight lets you do without the move action. So it's inferior in terms of action economy.
Thank you for your feedback! So... Essentially, I agree with you. A flurry Inquisitor is definitely a "don't do this unless you know what you're about" build, hence why it's rated orange. Flurry Inquisitors don't have one true way, but it's pretty narrow.
Yeah, it's probably true that someone who has the wherewithal to build a two-weapon Inquisitor will probably go check it out for themselves anyhow if they really want to.
I do have to say, after fiddling around with possibilities for such a build, getting Destruction, Double Bane and maybe Divine Favor running on two weapons is savage - Double Slice is kind of an afterthought at that point. By level 9, a two-hander Inquisitor can be running around 75 damage over two attacks with Power Attack, while a two-weapon inquisitor can be running up around 120 over four with Power Attack or around 110 without it. Haste changes the equation, with two-weapon ahead by a smaller margin. Standard attacks are only marginally weaker at this point, or not all if using my favorite combo of weapon and cestus. The builds used were both Fate's Favored, with the two-weapon being Dual Talent Human 14/16+2STR and 15/17DEX, taking TWF, Power Attack (probably a waste), and Double Bane at 1/3/5, and then ITWF at 9.
I'm not saying any of this should be in the guide, just thought I'd post the numbers I found.
Would Sanctified Slayer be good for a disabling build? The ability to increase spell DC's might be pretty good for that.
To me TWF Inquisitor just feels right with favored weapon / cestus. Very nice mechanically...
Why do you like the cestus mechanically, if I might ask?
To me TWF Inquisitor just feels right with favored weapon / cestus. Very nice mechanically...Why do you like the cestus mechanically, if I might ask?
Because it's a simple weapon that gives you the same stats as a dagger but never needs to be drawn, and it allows you to wield another weapon with that hand. This means you can free up a hand by putting your weapon in your cestus hand as a free action, and you can switch between two-handing your weapon or fighting weapon-and-cestus as a free action. Complete versatility.
Anger inquisition with a combo of feats and ranger styles to focus on two weapon fighting.
The annoying thing about using Sanctified Slayer to grab Ranger TWF style feats is that you only get access to TWF at 8, and then wait until 16 to grab ITWF. If you could use the level 8 feat to grab ITWF it would be great, but technically you have to start from the ground floor.
I think Sanctified Slayer TWF works best if you use your Ranger Combat Style feats on Achaekek's favored combat style, since you get to pick up all the Two-Weapon Feint line without all the annoying prerequisites.
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Anger inquisition with a combo of feats and ranger styles to focus on two weapon fighting.The annoying thing about using Sanctified Slayer to grab Ranger TWF style feats is that you only get access to TWF at 8, and then wait until 16 to grab ITWF. If you could use the level 8 feat to grab ITWF it would be great, but technically you have to start from the ground floor.
Considering you can just get "Extra Slayer Talent" as a feat... So you can get TWF at 8, ITWF at 9 and GTWF at 11... ;)
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Considering you can just get "Extra Slayer Talent" as a feat... So you can get TWF at 8, ITWF at 9 and GTWF at 11... ;)Anger inquisition with a combo of feats and ranger styles to focus on two weapon fighting.The annoying thing about using Sanctified Slayer to grab Ranger TWF style feats is that you only get access to TWF at 8, and then wait until 16 to grab ITWF. If you could use the level 8 feat to grab ITWF it would be great, but technically you have to start from the ground floor.
GTWF is still a waste of a feat, even at 11.
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GTWF is still a waste of a feat, even at 11.Considering you can just get "Extra Slayer Talent" as a feat... So you can get TWF at 8, ITWF at 9 and GTWF at 11... ;)Anger inquisition with a combo of feats and ranger styles to focus on two weapon fighting.The annoying thing about using Sanctified Slayer to grab Ranger TWF style feats is that you only get access to TWF at 8, and then wait until 16 to grab ITWF. If you could use the level 8 feat to grab ITWF it would be great, but technically you have to start from the ground floor.
Actually, why do you have to start at the ground floor? You could grab TWF as a regular feat by qualifying for it, and then grab ranger twf combat stayle at 8, you're over 6th and therefore qualify for the 6th level feats, and take ITWF immediately.
Considering you can just get "Extra Slayer Talent" as a feat... So you can get TWF at 8, ITWF at 9 and GTWF at 11... ;)Anger inquisition with a combo of feats and ranger styles to focus on two weapon fighting.The annoying thing about using Sanctified Slayer to grab Ranger TWF style feats is that you only get access to TWF at 8, and then wait until 16 to grab ITWF. If you could use the level 8 feat to grab ITWF it would be great, but technically you have to start from the ground floor.
I do not believe Sanctified Slayers can take Extra Slayer Talent RAW. I believe there are threads regarding that particular topic, though, and a discussion regarding it should be based there. Just wanted to bring it up here for clarification.
Actually, why do you have to start at the ground floor? You could grab TWF as a regular feat by qualifying for it, and then grab ranger twf combat stayle at 8, you're over 6th and therefore qualify for the 6th level feats, and take ITWF immediately.GTWF is still a waste of a feat, even at 11.Considering you can just get "Extra Slayer Talent" as a feat... So you can get TWF at 8, ITWF at 9 and GTWF at 11... ;)Anger inquisition with a combo of feats and ranger styles to focus on two weapon fighting.The annoying thing about using Sanctified Slayer to grab Ranger TWF style feats is that you only get access to TWF at 8, and then wait until 16 to grab ITWF. If you could use the level 8 feat to grab ITWF it would be great, but technically you have to start from the ground floor.
I'd need to check the wording again, but I believe you do not add the 6th level ranger combat styles until taking the feat a second-time.
I think Sanctified Slayers are better off going Dex-based and using the combat style to qualify for Power Attack because of this. I'm sure there are other tasty feats to grab (like Two-Weapon Feint as Secret Wizard mentioned. I think. Also this depends on Agile being readily available.
Actually, why do you have to start at the ground floor? You could grab TWF as a regular feat by qualifying for it, and then grab ranger twf combat stayle at 8, you're over 6th and therefore qualify for the 6th level feats, and take ITWF immediately.
The wording is rather specific though...
"Ranger Combat Style (Ex): The slayer selects a ranger combat style (such as archery or two-weapon combat) and gains a combat feat from the first feat list of that style... he may select this talent again and add the 6th-level ranger combat feats from his chosen style to the list."
Technically there's also the problem of having to be a 6th level Slayer, but whatever. It's not really surprising that it's kind of a mess when using an Inquisitor archetype to take a Slayer talent to take a Ranger style feat.
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The new .pdf format of the Guide is available. Kindly revise your links or bookmarks to go to Bodhi's Guide to the Optimal Inquisitor.
Awesome-looking guide! Though one point of criticism: could you put the image on page 14 a bit more to the left? The text on the right gets really squeezed, and reading one word per line doesn't read all that well.
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What are your thoughts on the sacred huntmaster and sacred slayer? Any chance you would consider adding a build section for Animal Companion Inquisitors?
I understand that you aren't really mentioning archetypes, but I feel that the Sacred Huntmaster is actually the most optimized Inquisitor that can be made.
The full progression AC that you share teamwork feats with, can teach skirmisher tricks to, and add animal focus to is worth far more than Judgements, and you still have Bane.
Pack Flanking + Outflank + Paired Opportunists and you have an always on +4 to hit on every attack for you and your AC. If either one of you crit, you both gain AoOs that have an additional +4 to hit. You can then add additional effects such as Escape Route to never provoke AoOs for movement, or Precise Strike to layer on more damage.
Escape Route while mounted is an excellent use of your animal companion, I've seen it work. Never having to worry about provoking is a godsend.
Also, I'm currently playing a Sanctified Slayer in Society play. I feel like it's a great archetype, but action economy is difficult to manage. Studied Target as a move action is just such a waste of your actions, you really need to get that sneak attack off if you want it to work.
I do love Studied Target, though. It's less flexible than Judgments, but I get them at will, rather than an X amount of times per day. I feel it really pushes me close to a full-BAB class. The same can be said for Justice Judgment, but this isn't restricted to an X amount of uses per day. Even though it's tricky to use sometimes, I love how accessible it is.
Guide looks beautiful at the very least. I haven't given a read to it in quite some time, but I'm sure it's quite high quality.
Great job!
Awesome-looking guide! Though one point of criticism: could you put the image on page 14 a bit more to the left? The text on the right gets really squeezed, and reading one word per line doesn't read all that well.
Thank you very much for your interest in the Guide. I'm not really looking for layout criticisms unless there's something really glaring, and the image on page 13 looks quite fine where it is. Thanks for your comment, though!
What are your thoughts on the sacred huntmaster and sacred slayer? Any chance you would consider adding a build section for Animal Companion Inquisitors?I understand that you aren't really mentioning archetypes, but I feel that the Sacred Huntmaster is actually the most optimized Inquisitor that can be made.
The full progression AC that you share teamwork feats with, can teach skirmisher tricks to, and add animal focus to is worth far more than Judgements, and you still have Bane.
Pack Flanking + Outflank + Paired Opportunists and you have an always on +4 to hit on every attack for you and your AC. If either one of you crit, you both gain AoOs that have an additional +4 to hit. You can then add additional effects such as Escape Route to never provoke AoOs for movement, or Precise Strike to layer on more damage.
Thank you for your comments and your interest in the Guide!
So, I'm not really sure that I'd agree with you that the Sacred Huntsmaster is the "most optimized Inquisitor that can be made." First and foremost, Judgments are nothing to sneer at. They're actually a pretty solid feature for the Inquisitor. While a full progression Animal Companion is pretty powerful, your feat chain requires you to be Level 6 (technically, level 7 since you can't pick up Outflank at level 6 because you don't have a feat choice) before it comes online, but it doesn't always grant you a +4 to hit and a +4 to your Armour Class. You have to be adjacent or flanking to get the bonuses, so if you or your animal companion are not adjacent, or if you can't draw a line from you to your animal companion through to the opposite side of the creature you're both attacking, you don't get the bonuses. However, if you're not adjacent to your animal companion, then you do not gain the benefit of paired opportunists. Yes, I do understand that I'm being a little nitpicky about this, but these are the sorts of things that I consider when I'm writing a Guide.
However, your suggestion is duly noted, and I'm going to think on it more. I'm not dismissing it, but I'm not yet at the point where I'm going to say, "This needs to be fixed now!" Besides, it's an archetype that changes some of what you'd need or want to take, feat wise, so it's more of a sub-build (like the Virtuoso) than a full build.
Thank you!
Escape Route while mounted is an excellent use of your animal companion, I've seen it work. Never having to worry about provoking is a godsend.
Also, I'm currently playing a Sanctified Slayer in Society play. I feel like it's a great archetype, but action economy is difficult to manage. Studied Target as a move action is just such a waste of your actions, you really need to get that sneak attack off if you want it to work.
I do love Studied Target, though. It's less flexible than Judgments, but I get them at will, rather than an X amount of times per day. I feel it really pushes me close to a full-BAB class. The same can be said for Justice Judgment, but this isn't restricted to an X amount of uses per day. Even though it's tricky to use sometimes, I love how accessible it is.
Thank you for your comments, and for your interest in the Guide!
I was also concerned about the action economy regarding Studied Target. But, you're absolutely right. The Sanctified Slayer archetype is quite good, indeed!
Guide looks beautiful at the very least. I haven't given a read to it in quite some time, but I'm sure it's quite high quality.
Great job!
Thank you for your compliment! This is version 1.0, so I'm hopeful that it only keeps getting better and better. By contrast, my Paladin/Antipaladin Guide is on version 4.0.
Thank you!
You're welcome!
If a Sacred Huntmaster selects the Feather subdomain, does he gain a 2nd animal companion at 4th level or do the levels stack to (2x his Inquisitor level) -3?
If he gains two animal companions, would both of them benefit from hunter tactics and animal focus?
Anyways, nice guide.
I think this example is specifically called out in the Sacred Huntmaster entry. I believe you gain an extra feat on the animal or you get Boon Companion for free? Hm... Perhaps that was the domain Hunter archetype as I do not see it on the PRD.
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What are your thoughts on the sacred huntmaster and sacred slayer? Any chance you would consider adding a build section for Animal Companion Inquisitors?I understand that you aren't really mentioning archetypes, but I feel that the Sacred Huntmaster is actually the most optimized Inquisitor that can be made.
The full progression AC that you share teamwork feats with, can teach skirmisher tricks to, and add animal focus to is worth far more than Judgements, and you still have Bane.
Pack Flanking + Outflank + Paired Opportunists and you have an always on +4 to hit on every attack for you and your AC. If either one of you crit, you both gain AoOs that have an additional +4 to hit. You can then add additional effects such as Escape Route to never provoke AoOs for movement, or Precise Strike to layer on more damage.
Thank you for your comments and your interest in the Guide!
So, I'm not really sure that I'd agree with you that the Sacred Huntsmaster is the "most optimized Inquisitor that can be made." First and foremost, Judgments are nothing to sneer at. They're actually a pretty solid feature for the Inquisitor. While a full progression Animal Companion is pretty powerful, your feat chain requires you to be Level 6 (technically, level 7 since you can't pick up Outflank at level 6 because you don't have a feat choice) before it comes online, but it doesn't always grant you a +4 to hit and a +4 to your Armour Class. You have to be adjacent or flanking to get the bonuses, so if you or your animal companion are not adjacent, or if you can't draw a line from you to your animal companion through to the opposite side of the creature you're both attacking, you don't get the bonuses. However, if you're not adjacent to your animal companion, then you do not gain the benefit of paired opportunists. Yes, I do understand that I'm being a little nitpicky about this, but these are the sorts of things that I consider when I'm writing a Guide.
However, your suggestion is duly noted, and I'm going to think on it more. I'm not dismissing it, but I'm not yet at the point where I'm going to say, "This needs to be fixed now!" Besides, it's an archetype that changes some of what you'd need or want to take, feat wise, so it's more of a sub-build (like the Virtuoso) than a full build.
Thank you!
Fair enough, and I really to appreciate the guide, it's very well done.
I should have clarified that I was referring to being mounted on your AC, which will make pack flanking and other teamwork feats that require an adjacent ally to be active at all times while mounted.
With a small inquisitor on a medium flying or climbing mount, that is effectively "all the time".
You are right, the Divine Hunter does call out what happens if the hunter picks up animal domain (the old companion gains +1 to an ability score twice instead). So I guess applying that to the inquisitor would be a reasonable house rule if the GM doesn't want to allow a super-companion or a small army of fully leveled companions (assuming the Inquisitor takes Boon Companion).
Ah right, Divine Hunter was the name. I believe PFS restricts players to one animal companion, so it would be a GM-by-GM call on how to handle the Sacred Huntmaster outside of PFS. For PFS, I believe it would just do nothing, sadly.
Fair enough, and I really to appreciate the guide, it's very well done.
I should have clarified that I was referring to being mounted on your AC, which will make pack flanking and other teamwork feats that require an adjacent ally to be active at all times while mounted.
With a small inquisitor on a medium flying or climbing mount, that is effectively "all the time".
Once again, I thank you for your contribution!
So I think that I'm understanding your tack here, but it gives me a bit of cause for concern, as mounted feats are pretty much a must if we take that route. That's going to eat into your feats. This isn't a problem for Pack Attack, Outflank or Paired Opportunists, but there are some other non-teamwork feat choices that would be pushed off in favor of Mounted Combat or Ride-By Attack (and possibly Trick Riding and Mounted Skirmisher later on down the line). There really is more versatility in you and your animal companion being in different spaces at the same time.
Still, it's something I'm considering carefully, so if you've got any other input, feel free to add it.
Thanks!