Arcanist Inquisitor, Hunter

Medium humanoid (any race), any

Armor Class 15 (chain shirt)
Hit Points 26 (4d8 + 8)
Speed 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
13 (+1)	15 (+2)	14 (+2)	12 (+1)	13 (+1)	10 (+0)

Skills Investigation +3, Perception +3, Religion +3, Survival +3
Senses passive Perception 13
Languages any two languages
Challenge 1 (200 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +2

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Inquisitor’s Awareness. The inquisitor hunter can expend a 1st-level ranger spell slot to sense for 1 minute whether arcane or innate spellcasters, aberrations, fey, and fiends are within 1 mile. This trait doesn’t reveal the creatures’ locations or numbers.
• Spellcasting. The inquisitor hunter is a 3rd-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Wisdom. The hunter knows the following ranger spells:
• 1st level (3 slots): detect magic, hunter’s mark, protection from evil and good

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The inquisitor hunter makes two shortsword attacks, provided it has a shortsword in each hand.
• Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage and 2 (1d4) psychic damage, or 5 (2d4) psychic damage if the target is concentrating on a spell.
• Longbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, ranged 150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) piercing damage and 2 (1d4) psychic damage, or 5 (2d4) psychic damage if the target is concentrating on a spell.

ABOUT

Radical Measures. The Arcanist Inquisition exists to detain and destroy arcane spellcasters. Inquisitors believe that arcane magic is inherently corrupting and that even the best intentioned spellcaster can succumb to dangerous behavior and moral ruin. At first, the inquisition’s masters sought to monitor spellcasters, with detainment reserved for those who abused their magical gifts. Over time, the ideology became more hardline.

Now, inquisitors put spellcasters whom they don’t imprison indefinitely to the fire.

Inquisitors train to discover mages, but they don’t rely only on their acumen. Folks fearful of being accused are happy to point a finger at a suspicious neighbor if doing so focuses the inquisition’s interest elsewhere.

Dogma Bound. The Arcanist Inquisition is known for its ongoing efforts to eradicate arcane magic and its practitioners. However, it also investigates other crimes against the edicts of the Arch Seraphs. Inquisitors carry a book of dogma derived from the words of Empyreus as spoken to Sagrado Valieda, the Inquisition’s founder. The book identifies moral crimes that call for punishments, ranging from public humiliation to death. Initiates apply a strict and literal reading to the crimes and consequences detailed within the book. High-ranking inquisitors have more leeway in how they choose to interpret the edicts.

Inquisitors claim that if they set an innocent afire, Empyreus would douse the flames. That he has never done so is proof, adherents say, that no one has been wrongfully condemned.

Inquisitor Hierarchy. Inquisitor ranks vary from location to location. Sometimes, initiates give themselves grand titles, whereas powerful and stealthy mage-hunters might take no title at all. Certain areas have motley bands of inquisitors, some little more than thugs extorting the population. Other areas have organized detachment of inquisitors, some highly honorable and bound to their duty. The inquisition includes paladins and priests, but many members are soldiers or hunters with divine talents.

Lord Inquisitor Crevax. Lord Inquisitor Crevax is the master of the Cathedral of Embers, the headquarters of the Arcanist Inquisition and the largest prison in Etharis. She is an imposing dragonborn, covered in golden scales and rarely seen without her flaming longsword, Heretic’s End. She has a stern demeanor and an unflinching faith in the ideology and goals of the Arcanist Inquisition. Once an accused has come under her authority as warden of the cathedral, she considers it her personal duty to ensure they never threaten others with their corruption again.

• DC 10 Intelligence (Religion): The founder of the Arcanist Inquisition claims that the Arch Seraph Empyreus said that magic is dangerous, corrupt, and corrupting. People of the Castinellan Provinces hold this belief to be true, and the sentiment has spread beyond that region. The majority of the Arcanist Inquisition comprises soldiers from the Castinellan provinces, including many dragonborn. Their task is to seek out and punish magic-users.
• DC 15 Intelligence (History): Any suspected arcanist or associate of a suspected mage who publicly declares allegiance to Empyreus and confesses to crimes against the divine order can request judgment from a speaker for the Arch Seraph. If they do so, inquisitors are obligated to take the individual to the Cathedral of Embers for trial rather than passing judgment and meting out punishment as they normally would.
• DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana): The Cathedral of Embers, headquarters of the Arcanist Inquisition, is a well-known prison for suspected arcanists awaiting trial or serving a sentence. Less known is that the complex also contains an enormous collection of magic items, kept locked away. The inquisition is concerned as much with keeping the items safe as sequestering their potential influence.
• DC 20 Intelligence (Religion): Trained to root out secrets, some inquisitors have special blessings that allow them to pierce illusions and uncover deceit. Their devotion leads them to pursue their foes despite personal risk, making them difficult to evade.