A Note on Why
Seeing as I'm sharing this, I thought it wise to include a short foreword. Firstly, this is the epic variant of the core Inquisitor class --- a much-evolved homebrew class whose D&D roots run back as far as early 2017. Since that time, the core class has undergone several significant changes, each time emerging stronger, cleaner and more defined.
It's still (probably) not the done deal, but it's now in a place where I'm pretty happy with it, hence why I've finally shared it publicly. I can attest that it's been through the mill, grinder and steam room, multiple times. It's been playtested in each of its incarnations --- an experience invaluable.
More lately, I've been fortunate enough to have several seasoned D&D folk and community content producers share their thoughts, which again, has only helped me refine it further. Please do give it a test drive!
Epic Play, Then
We all know D&D 5E stops at 20th level, officially. Unofficially, it kind of stops around 12th-14th level, in most cases. According to DnDBeyond, fewer than 5% of registered campaigns pass 14th level --- and just 1% (rounded up) make it through to 20th level.
I'm well aware of the niche audience of play post-20th level. I totally get it, too. In my experience, the sweet spot tends to be 5th to 11th level. All the same, as a DM first and foremost and player rather distant second, a good number of my campaigns run for 2+ years. During that time, it's expected that the PCs will end up high level.
However, I've also found that sometimes, either the campaign story, and/or the PCs' stories, can still have some gas left in the tank when things wrap. While the DMG's Epic Boons are a novel way of keeping progression simmering, they're not always the answer. Moreover, I've already covered Epic Boons as part of my homebrew.
So, I turned to Quill & Cauldron's Epic Characters product, over at DMs Guild. It's well-thought-out, consistent, high-quality and nicely-balanced.
As my main campaign approaches the midway mark, a year in, my players' characters are 20th and 21st level now. Whilst the players all lost characters during the last campaign, replacements have come and gone but the players remained. The current campaign is a direct sequel to the last, and as they step into epic tier play, so too must (some of) the NPCs --- and the opposition.
It made logical sense for me to have a go at extending my homebrew class into that arena, too. So here we are. The Epic Inquisitor. It's new, it's not fully-tested, it's doubtless in need of some refinement. I used the same methods and took the same approach, with the same principles, as Quill & Cauldron did with Epic Characters. In that sense, I'm fairly confident in its overall form and shape.
Realising so few adventures make it this far, I'm not expecting a mad rush. But, if your campaign, your character, your NPC does progress beyond 20th level, then this is for you.
I really hope you enjoy it. If you're of a mind, I'd love to hear your thoughts: Olster
The Epic Inquisitor
| Level | Elemental Points | Features | Motaro Techniques |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21st | 21 | Fighting Style (6), Ability Score Improvement | 16 |
| 22nd | 22 | Epic Power Capacity, Elemental Omniscience | 16 |
| 23rd | 23 | Elemblade Overload | 17 |
| 24th | 24 | Ambassador | 17 |
| 25th | 25 | Supreme Guard, Ability Score Improvement | 18 |
| 26th | 26 | Legendary Power Capacity, Fighting Style (7) | 18 |
| 27th | 27 | Inquisitor Archetype Feature | 19 |
| 28th | 28 | Extra Attack | 19 |
| 29th | 29 | Elemental Companion, Ability Score Improvement | 20 |
| 30th | 30 | Einvaldi | 20 |
Epic Flavour (Optional)
Consider adding some epic flavor to your inquisitor.
Elemental Sign
The bond between you and your essentia runs so deep it subconsciously manifests in your mere presence, for others to see, hear, feel or otherwise notice.
| d6 | Elemental Sign |
|---|---|
| 1 | Lingering Trace. When you walk, you leave momentary, harmless, traces of your essentia, as footprints |
| 2 | Windows to the Soul. Your eyes glow with elemental energy native to your essentia |
| 3 | Voice of the elements. When you speak, you can underscore your voice with elemental echoes native to your essentia, such as rolling thunder, or crashing waves |
| 4 | Chime of the Blade. Your elemblade sings as it's activated or deactivated |
| 5 | Element-touched Style. Your hair espouses a trait native to your essentia, such as ruffling even when there's no wind, or never being quite dry |
| 6 | Ego Sum. Your body radiates energy native to your essentia, such as causing harmless static, or generating more heat |
Ability Score Improvement
Upon reaching 21st level, and again at 25th and 29th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. Contrary to earlier levels, you can now improve your ability scores up to 24 using this feature.
Fighting Style
Upon reaching 21st level, and again at 29th level, you gain a heightened awareness of the elemblade's beautiful but deadly intricacies. Each time, you can either increase ranks in a Fighting Style you know by 1, or learn a new Form at 1st rank.
Epic Power Capacity
Beginning at 22nd level, each time you finish a long rest, you gain 5 temporary bonus elemental points. These points can only be spent on casting spells as powers. If you already have temporary bonus elemental points from another feature, these are combined.
Elemental Omniscience
Your senses are permanently attuned to the elements. Your Improved Elemental Awareness can now be used at will. In addition, as a bonus action, you can determine if a creature within 60 feet of you has resistance to cold, fire, force, lightning or thunder damage.
Elemblade Overload
Your elemental essentia suffuses your attacks with awesome potency. Beginning at 23rd level, whenever you spend 1 or more elemental points to augment your attacks with the power of your essentia, the extra damage dice you roll as elemental damage increases by one type. If you previously rolled d8s, you now roll d10s, and if you previously rolled d10s, you now roll d12s.
Ambassador
Your negotiation skills become even more effective. Beginning at 24th level, you gain proficiency in Deception, Intimidation, Performance, or Persuasion (your choice). If you are already proficient in them all, you can choose one to which you can add your proficiency twice.
Supreme Guard
You've honed your defences even further. Beginning at 25th level, each time you expend a use of the Guard feature, you can ignore the first 13 hit points of damage.
Legendary Power Capacity
Your elemental essentia reveals to you a secret new spell that you cast as a power. You learn a legendary spell, the exact nature of which depends on your essentia. Once you cast this spell as a power, you can't cast it again until you
finish a long long rest.
| Elemental Essentia | Legendary Spell |
|---|---|
| Brenna | Brenna's Wrath |
| Himinioðurr | Himinioðurr's Lightning |
| Jǫrð | Jǫrð's Protection |
| Ǫlfossá | Ǫlfossá's Grace |
Inquisitor Archetype Feature
You gain a feature from your inquisitor archetype, detailed at the end of the class description.
Extra Attack
Beginning at 28th level, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn, you can make one more attack than you could before. If your Fighting Style is dual-blader (Form II), you only gain one extra attack.
Elemental Companion
A fragment of your essentia's plane manifests to accompany you. Beginning at 29th level, as an action, you can conjure an elder elemental native to your essentia. The elder elemental appears in an unoccupied space of your choice you can see within 30 feet of you.
The elder elemental is friendly to you and your companions and obeys your commands. See the elder elemental’s game statistics in the stat block after the Legendary Elemental Powers section.
You give instructions to the elder elemental telepathically (no action required). There is no range restriction, though the elder elemental can't move further than 120 feet from you.
In the absence of instruction, the elder elemental defends itself from its location or in the absence of enemies, simply awaits command. The elder elemental remains for 1 hour, or until it is further than 120 feet from you, or is slain. You can dismiss the elder elemental as a bonus action. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
Einvaldi
Upon reaching 30th level, your essentia and its brethren recognise you as a living conjunction (einvaldi) --- a vessel because of and through which they are prepared to share their influence. After finishing a long rest, if you wish, you can switch your resistance or immunity to your essentia's native element, to one of the other types.
When you do this, your elemblade switches element types accordingly. If you cast your legendary spell as a power during this time, you can choose either the legendary spell you already know, or the legendary spell associated with your changed essentia.
These changes last until you finish a long or short rest.
Inquisitor Archetype Feature
Dervish
Guardmaster
You can now use Guard when hit by ranged weapon attacks. In addition, you take no damage if you roll a 3 or higher on the d6.
Elementalist
Transmutative Restoration
You can now switch the elemental damage type to any other elemental damage type without spending an elemental point. When you do this, you regain hit points equal to half of the additional damage dealt by using Elemblade Surge.
Fighting Styles
There are two additional Fighting Styles, available to learn when you gain Fighting Style (6) and (7).
You have accumulated enough knowledge and experience to become proficient in one of two ancient and rare Fighting Styles. Choose either Tvennrhjǫrr, or Hœttr. As usual, you begin at 1st rank in your choice.
Tvennrhjǫrr
Learning this impressive Form requires a twinblade. You must forge two elemblade handles into one, to create a long, central handle. The process is neither lengthy nor expensive and most blacksmiths can provide this service. The forging is permanent, however, so make sure you have a third elemblade handle as a spare for the other Forms you know!
Form IV, Tvennrhjǫrr
'One sword, two blades.' In combat, the mind tries to keep track of each blade separately, effectively doubling the number of possibilities. But with Tvennrhjǫrr, the two blades are connected: by knowing the location of one, you are automatically aware of the location of the other.
In actual practice, the twinblade is more limited than the traditional elemblade. It can inflict more damage, but it can be less precise. It requires longer, sweeping movements that don't transition well into a quick stab or thrust. Because the weapon is difficult to master, however, few understand it. They don't know how to attack or defend effectively against it. That gives those using it an advantage.
Furthermore, twinblades make excellent defensive weapons, providing greater surface area for deflecting and parrying and in addition to the practical benefits, the twinblade increases the visual impact, lending you a temporary psychological advantage as your targets intuitively attempt to track each blade separately, rather than a single weapon. This leaves them vulnerable to being overwhelmed. In your hands, this weapon’s benefits are felt more readily than in the hands of non-inquisitors.
Twinblade
This weapon has 2d4 (slashing) base damage and the finesse and two-handed properties. If you attack with the weapon as part of the attack action on your turn, you can use a bonus action immediately after to make a secondary melee weapon attack with it. Wielding it does however come with limitations, making the following Motaro techniques impossible to execute: Chance Attack; Elemblade Throw, Power Throw and Sentient Throw.
1st Rank
When you are wielding a twinblade using this Form, you gain a +2 bonus to your Armour Class and your reach is increased to 10 feet. When you take the Attack action, you can use a bonus action to make an additional attack. You also now have access to Synja and Unimpeachable Space when choosing Motaro techniques.
2nd Rank
When you are wielding a twinblade using this Form and there are two creatures within 5 feet of you and each other, you can choose to target both at once, provided you aren’t using a Motaro technique and don’t have disadvantage on attack rolls.
Each time you do this with an attack on your turn, make a single attack roll. If you hit the creature with the highest Armour Class, any non-critical damage you deal to this creature is also dealt to the second. If you hit only the creature with the lower Armour Class, you only deal damage to this creature. You also now have access to Lancing Gore when choosing Motaro techniques.
3rd rank
When you are wielding a twinblade using this Form, you gain a +1 bonus to your Armour Class and making a secondary melee weapon attack with your twinblade no longer requires a bonus action. This secondary attack is a free action for you.
Form V, Hœttr
'Dangerous attack.' Less than a handful of inquisitors have ever studied this Form. It is said by those who have witnessed it in action to be the most vicious Fighting Style Form and is famed for its unpredictability and ferocity – requiring significant internal focus from its practitioner. For this reason, overusing this Form can be disadvantageous. The order, when it existed, heavily restricted its use, owing to fears that its precepts would lead practitioners down the path of evil.
The rare inquisitor versed in Form V believes Hœttr to be a state of mind rather than a mere style of fighting; one which allows the wielder to channel his inner darkness into the duel and goad the fury of his opponent.
Paradoxical and unpredictable, Form V is said to be filled with unorthodox concepts that make it too difficult and unattractive to would-be learners. Filled with fury and malignant grace, no inquisitor in memory has attained 3rd rank in Hœttr. This Form permits the use of shortsword or longsword elemblades.
1st Rank
You seek to wrong-foot your enemy by opening yourself up as the moment before you strike. When making a melee weapon attack using this Form, you can expend one use of Guard and add 10 to your damage roll.
Furthermore, when using this Form, no creature can make more than one melee weapon attack against you on its turn, unless it succeeds on a Wisdom saving throw, using your elemental save DC. Once a creature has succeeded on this save, it need not attempt again for 24 hours. In addition, whilst using this Form, the internal battle being fought grants you immunity to being charmed or frightened.
Finally, each time you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack using this Form, you can choose to take psychic damage. Roll 2d12. You take the lower roll's damage.
The creature you hit takes the higher roll's damage, plus your Wisdom modifier, as psychic damage, in addition to your melee weapon attack’s damage. This psychic damage to either party can't be avoided or reduced in any way.
2nd Rank
You are able to harness the feared ferocity of this Form’s strikes. Once per turn, when you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack using this Form, you can add half your inquisitor level to the damage. This additional damage ignores any resistance.
Each time you hit an inquisitor and you rolled higher than 15 on the d20, you smash through its Guard – not only can Guard not absorb your attack’s damage, but the inquisitor also loses 1d4 Guard uses.
Furthermore, when you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack using this Form and choose to cause the creature to take psychic damage, you take only half of the 1d12 psychic damage yourself.
Finally, you now have access to the Atgangaskjótr Motaro technique when choosing from the list.
Epic Motaro Techniques
As you gain new Motaro techniques, the below highly-specialised Epic Motaro techniques become available to you. Some consume elemental points; others require you to have mastered other Motaro techniques. A small number are available to specific Fighting Style Forms, which must be active at the time of using the technique.
1st Rank
Synja (1)
Requires Form IV: Tvennrhjǫrr. 'Deny; refuse.' When you are hit by a critical attack, you can use your reaction to call upon your essentia to intervene for protection. The hit is not a critical hit for you.
Unimpeachable Space (1)
Requires Form IV: Tvennrhjǫrr. You whirl your twinblade around with formidable poise, making the most of its greater reach. You can spend 1 use of Guard to prevent any creature size Large or smaller moving within 5 feet of you.
2nd Rank
Atgangaskjótr (2/3*)
Requires Form IV: Hœttr. ‘Quick Attack.’ When taking the Attack action, you can spend 2 elemental points to make one additional attack. Immediately after, you can spend 3 elemental points to make another additional attack.
Lancing Gore (2)
Requires Form IV: Tvennrhjǫrr. You wrong-foot your enemy, using both ends of your twinblade to open up their defences, leaving them extremely vulnerable. If you hit a creature on your turn with three consecutive attacks, the third attack becomes a critical hit if it wasn’t already.
Steadfast Resolve (2/4)
You call on your elemental essentia to keep your head clear and help ward off threats. As an action, you spend 2 elemental points to gain 1 use of Indomitable. You can only have 1 use of Indomitable to use at any one time, and if you do not use it, you lose it when you finish a long rest.
Alternatively, as a reaction, which you take when you fail a saving throw, you can spend 4 elemental points to rapidly
draw upon your elemental essentia’s intervention and re-roll the save. You must use the new roll.
Superior Jump
Requires Empowered Jump. Your jumps harness the power of your elemental home plane even more effectively. Your standing jumping distances increase by another 5 feet and running jumps by another 10 feet.
Tireless Stamina
Your connection to your essentia has toughened you physically. Each day, when first gaining a level of exhaustion, you can choose not to.
3rd Rank
Expeditious Flurry (2)
When taking the Attack action, your movement avails of a dancing flow. Your speed increases on the same turn by 5 feet for each creature you hit. Any movement you make on this turn does not provoke opportunity attacks and ignores Sentinel.
Fiòrildisnara (2)
'Twisting butterly.' As a reaction, which you take when you are hit by an attack, you can spend 3 elemental points to perform a butterfly twist. Until the start of your next turn, you gain a +7 bonus to your Armour Class and have advantage on Dexterity saving throws. You can't use Guard whilst performing this manoeuvre.
Impregnable Fortress (3)
Requires Fortress. As an action, you can forgo making attacks and concentrate on total defence. Until the start of your next turn, you can’t make opportunity attacks and you can’t be hit by any melee or ranged attacks. This includes critical hits.
Til Móttöku (2)
‘Counter a defence.’ With additional instant guidance from your elemental essentia, your attack can dent your enemy’s Guard. When you hit a creature that has Guard, you can spend 2 elemental points and reduce its remaining Guard uses by 1d4 + 1, provided your attack deals at least 1 hit point of damage to the creature.
Legendary Elemental Powers
Brenna's Wrath
Legendary, evocation (inquisitor of Brenna)
- Casting Time: 1 action
- Range: 150 feet
- Components: V, S
- Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes
You call on Brenna, asking her to send her wrath to torch your enemies. A swirling cloud of smoke shot through with white-hot embers appears centred on a point within range. At the point of casting, you can choose a 20-foot, 30-foot or 60-foot radius sphere cloud.
The cloud spreads around corners and is heavily obscured. It lasts for the duration or until a wind of strong or greater speed (at least 20 miles per hour) disperses it. In such a wind, the cloud’s radius shrinks by increments of 10 feet for each turn the cloud is caught in the wind.
When the cloud appears, each creature in it must make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 12d8 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. The damage increases to 12d10 for a 30-foot radius cloud, and 12d12 for a 60-foot radius cloud. The fire ignores resistance. A creature must also make this saving throw when it enters the spell's area for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there.
On each of your next turns, as a bonus action, you can will the cloud move 15 feet in a direction that you choose, or you can end the spell early.
Himinioðurr’s Lightning
Legendary, evocation (inquisitor of Himinioðurr)
- Casting Time: 1 action
- Range: Self
- Components: V, S
- Duration: Up to 1 hour
You call upon Himinioðurr to cover the skies in rolling thunder, before discharging a blinding fork of lightning that harmlessly strikes you and surges through your form. You then channel this power and shape it into a wall of live electricity. The wall can be up to 300 feet wide, 20 feet high, and is 1-foot thick. The wall is not opaque.
Any creature passing through must make a Dexterity saving throw, taking 15d10 lightning damage on a fail, or half on success.
The wall disappears after 1 hour, or after it has dealt 500 hit points of damage. You can spend an action to end the wall early.
Jǫrð’s Protection
Legendary, abjuration (inquisitor of Jǫrð)
- Casting Time: 1 reaction, which you take upon taking damage
- Range: Self
- Components: V
- Duration: Until at least the end of your next turn
You call out Jǫrð’s name and an impenetrable shield of brilliant green light encases you and, if you wish, 5 feet all around you. For as long as the shield lasts, you and anyone else inside is immune to damage.
The shield is immobile and nothing outside it can enter, unless you permit it. At the start of each of your subsequent turns, you can use your action to maintain the shield, but you gain one level of exhaustion each turn you do so.
If a creature or object inside moves out of the shield, it can't re-enter.
Ǫlfossá’s Grace
Legendary, evocation (inquisitor of Ǫlfossá)
- Casting Time: 1 action
- Range: 30 feet
- Components: V
- Duration: Up to 8 hours
You call on Ǫlfossá to imbue her grace on one creature of your choice within range. When that creature’s hit points drop to 0, or it dies outright, Ǫlfossá’s healing waters wash over the creature, instantly restoring its body and its hit points it to half of their maximum. The spell then ends.
Air Elemental, Elder
Large elemental, neutral
- Armor Class 15
- Hit Points 180 (24d10 + 48)
- Speed 0 ft., fly 90 ft. (hover)
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 16 (+3) 20 (+5) 14 (+2) 6 (−2) 10 (+0) 6 (−2)
- Damage Resistances lightning, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
- Damage Immunities poison
- Condition Immunities exhaustion, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained, unconscious
- Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
- Languages Auran
- Challenge 7 (2,900 XP)
Air Form. The elemental can enter a hostile creature’s space and stop there. It can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing.
Actions
Multiattack. The elemental makes two slam attacks.
Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 24 (4d8 + 6) bludgeoning damage.
Whirlwind (Recharge 4–6). Each creature in the elemental’s space must make a DC 13 Strength saving throw. On a failure, a target takes 33 (6d8 + 6) bludgeoning damage and is flung up 20 feet away from the elemental in a random direction and knocked prone. If a thrown target strikes an object, such as a wall or floor, the target takes 3 (1d6) bludgeoning damage for every 10 feet it was thrown. If the target is thrown at another creature, that creature must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take the same damage and be knocked prone.
If the saving throw is successful, the target takes half the bludgeoning damage and isn’t flung away or knocked prone.
The above is one example of an elemental (air) taken from the MONSTER MANUAL. I took this as the base monster and beefed it up slightly to make it an elder variant. You can do the same for the earth, fire and water elementals --- it's easy! In converting it to an 'elder' version, all I've done is:
- doubled its hit points
- increased its damage output
- given it a minor increase to Strength (and attack bonus)
- given a slight increase accordingly to its save DC(s)
- and increased its CR (and XP) to reflect the above.
Fan Content Policy
Content is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.
Child
of the
Stars
The Epic version of The Inquisitor: a melee-caster infused with elemental power, is the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS incarnation of the Steórcildu order from the fantasy saga I've been writing for...far too many years now.
The concept first arose as a result of wondering what a Jedi might be like where the Force doesn't exist – but sentient elements do.
Now this Epic Character expansion, you can take your Inquisitor beyond 20th level to face even deadlier threats than before, in the world's greatest roleplaying game.
Based on the Inquisitor class.
Cover Art: Mac-Tire
The Legend of Olaeus
2002-2020
Versions
Version 2.0
- Ported to GM Binder
- Adapted following changes of Inquisitor class v4-4.6
Credits
- Class created by u/Olster20 and based on the Steórcild Symmetry, from The Legend of Olaeus series, written by the same author
- A small number of features in here are converted from abilities of various Player's Handbook classes
- Special thanks to GM Binder for allowing me to format this so nicely
- Very special thanks to Wizards of the Coast for the world's greatest roleplaying game
- Very, very special thanks to Mike Ellam for designing the Legend of Olaeus: War Child cover all those years ago.
Important. I aim to credit the artist behind all the incredible artwork. All artists have granted approval for use.
- Sword Magic by MacTire
- The Sword of Elseerian by Dallas Williams
- Warrior holding sword by kamrantariq1212
- The Legend of Olaeus: War Child by Mike Ellam