Grim Hollow Monster Grimoire: Arcanist Inquisitors
Nobody Expects the Arcanist Inquisition!
The Arcanist Inquisition is the military force of both the Castinellan Provinces and the Watchers of the Faithful. It is uncompromising and much like the Catholic Church of old, on the hunt for Heretics. The Inquisition is a fanatical organization that attracts those wishing both to do good and those wishing to use authority to engage in a perverse pleasure. It’s allies are those who seek the righteous punishment of others, fanatical organizations such as the Order of the Dawn in Ostoya, and those disaffected by Arcane magic. Their targets are many, and their resolve sharp.
The Arcanist Inquisition came to existence when Sagrado Valieda was approached by the Archangel Empyreus, and he wrote down their edicts later. His leadership has united the entire country in the cause: Destroying Arcane Magic. The Inquisition has evolved from a “guiding hand” approach to an “all evil must be destroyed” approach. This is likely due to the inherent nature of Arcane Magic in Etharis. The disappearance of Ulmyr’s Gate, the presence of The Great Beast, and numerous crimes committed by rogue Arcanists is a catalyst for extreme ideologues to gain prominence. The Arcanist Inquisition is also championing the cause of the most active Archangel on Etharis, and its’ ideas are ones of Righteousness. Easy pickings for manipulation and propaganda.
Leadership and Goals. The Arcanist Inquisition is ruled on high by a Church Official. The Arch Bishop or a group of Cardinals are the likely answers. The typical form is likely similar to that of the Catholic Church of Spain or England in the 1500s. It has absolute authority and promotes its’ ideals of Sanctity, Justice, and Discipline amongst the populace. This facet is particularly fascistic in nature, as the State, Church, and Populace as well the Economy of the Castinellan Provinces have all be wedded together. To go against the Inquisition is to go against your neighbors, your grocers, and the cause itself. This makes the entire nation an expansive Theocracy seeking to impose its’ will upon the entire world. It would have hostile relationships with most countries or tenuously cooperative relationships. It’s allies would be rebel groups in other nations, such as the Order of the Dawn (though not the mageocracy of Raevo), and of course it would support the peasant uprisings in The Burach Empire.
It’s leadership would fall into the following:
Inquisitorius. The Inquisitors are lead by Lord Inquisitor Crevax. She is the epitome of Discipline, scrupulousness, and piety. She would be the leading figure on lawfare against the Arcane and evils of the world. Her faction would be the dominant one amongst the Castinellan Provinces and would hold a high number of Dragonborn individuals that would be behind her at times. This is a possible point of Schism in the Castinellan Provinces as the Dragonborn could be seen as the most fanatical of the individuals in the Castinellan Provinces. Their sense of duty is unmatched. This means that highly ranked Inquisitors would be Dragonborn more likely than not. The Inquisitors are not however the Military leadership of the country, they’re the enforcers and soldiers. They view the material and are Judge, Jury, and Executioner to a situation. Inquisitors would be seen as absolute and, in the country, would be feared more than beloved by those not in the family of an inquisitor. They would be seen as “tools of the law” more than individuals. Their power is absolute. Individuals in this sect of the Watchers of the Faithful would likely be Knights, Inquisitor Judges, and Hunters. As well as normal soldiers who simply want to join the cause and may not have the talent to become such individuals.
Clergy. The Clergy is the ruling class of the Castinellan Provinces. They decide course of action according to Empyreus’ Will, though based upon the writing of the description, it’s dubious as to whether Empyreus actively participates with the highest of these individuals or not. He may just have a general eye on the place and is fighting against some other threat while the Castinellan Provinces are left to their own devices. In either case, as long as they serve his will (even tenuously), he is unconcerned with the course of actions they take on a Microscale. It’s up to you to decide how involved the Arch Angel Empyreus is with the Cardinals of the Castinellan Provinces, but my recommendation is a “voiceless” approach to foster as much Human Cruelty as possible. The Cardinals are the ruling class of the Clergy, their are a number of them ruling the country, and 3 is a typical amount, or 9. The point is that you have large number of ruling individuals pulling the country in a general direction while also maintaining order over many dozens of aspects of the empire that is the Castinellan Provinces. Let’s assume that 9 is the answer. Under them are the Speaker of the Arch Seraph, Bishops, Priests, and finally Acolytes and orphans. The Cardinals are what you’d call “High level Clerics” and are also capable of contacting Arch Angel Empyreus. The Speaker of the Arch Seraph are what you would see leading integral operations, and would use the Inquisitor Warder stat-block, the Bishops would also of course use this stat-block but are less likely to have magical equipment, and the Priests would use the Inquisitor Priest Stat-block or Priest stat-block from the Monster Manual. The acolytes already have a stat-block in the Monster Manual as well. While the Inquisitors are the enforcers, the Clergy are the creators of the law, dogma, and policy. These changes are of course hotly debated and due to the fanatical nature of the organization, advancement is garnered through understanding the dogma and manipulating it to gain support. The current Cardinals are the most silver-tongued, manipulative, and extortive individuals of the clergy. They rose to power through manipulating the hearts of others and stealing their positions. Their skills are also real though, they are skilled enough to challenge others to more than duels of wit thanks to their unwavering piety in Empyreus. Currently the Cardinals wish to gain access to Morencia and steal its’ plunder so that the economic situations of other countries are in peril. The Rich would have to go to Castinellan controlled waters to gain their money back or do business. It also grants the Castinellan Provinces the ability to purchase more armaments and other economic advantages that would provide it a huge edge in training, food production, and more. While the Inquisitors would be more feared in the streets, the Clergy would be more active in the hearts and minds of the people, able to garner faith and adulation.
Discipline and state of the Arcanist Inquisition. The Arcanist Inquisition is built upon fear and hatred as well as a protection of those loved ones you have. However, The Arcanist Inquisition is widespread amongst those not “officially” part of the provinces. It clearly states that their may be roving bands outside of the country.
Within Country. The Arcanist Inquisition within the Castinellan Provinces are highly organized and well disciplined. The Dragonborn would see to that particular fact of life. This means that loose interpretations and vigilantism, as well as breaches of conduct, would be far rarer than outside of the country. You can rely upon following the laws and Dogma of the inquisition to understand these individuals. However, the laws don’t often matter but the spirit of the situation does. Just because they are bound by dogma here more tightly doesn’t mean that you are safe because of it, having “suspicious behavior” would be a cause for concern and investigation by the inquisition. As well, reporting on neighbors or providing information leading to arrests would be a common fear. Zone of Truth would be helpful in dispelling the absolute horrors of a police state however, and so False Accusations amongst the populace would be much rarer and harder to pull off. This would mean that the Law is much more supported by the communities as ascertaining the truth of a matter is much easier. Reliance upon Police would be much higher in the Castinellan Provinces and more police power would be advocated upon by public support. Some common edicts to follow within the country:
Casting Spells of any kind are regulated, even Divine and Primal Casters must register and wear open identification as to their type of casting. Arcane Casting is therefore distinct in comparison and the signs of arcane casting are likely to be known by the general populace. Casting Arcane Magic in the country is a crime punishable by imprisonment for use, and if that use was an additional crime, you will either be tortured or burned at the stake for your heinous acts.
Failure to report the presence of an Arcanist is the same as being one.
Lying to an Inquisitor in the pursuit of an investigation is a crime punishable by public flogging. Most Inquisitors will tell their fellow countrymen of the investigation before asking questions. But, those outside of country how don’t show complete cooperation may be swindled into punishments.
“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.” Some of the more unscrupulous Inquisitors may declare that you didn’t say such words and execute you on the spot, however, this is a Severe violation of edict and would warrant execution of the Inquisitor lying in this instance.
Thievery warrants punishment through physical labor or imprisonment. The imprisonment would also include beatings, and if the item in question was expensive, losing your hand. The Castinellan Provinces are described as an extremely pious land, so thievery would be seen as a crime high on the list, harming your community is a terrible thing they would say.
Outside of the Castinellan Provinces. The reach of the Clergy becomes ever tenuous the farther it gets away from the country. There are likely hundreds or even thousands of Inquisitors roaming the lands of other countries spreading the faith and punishment of Empyreus. This also means that Churches to Empyreus have shown up in other countries by non-Castinellans. The people’s of these other countries may or may not want this church in the area and may be either completely ecstatic, indifferent, or hostile (violence on the table) against these pop-up establishments. However, many of these churches that would spring up are likely ran by Watchers of the Faithful. In the Burach Empire starting churches to other deities would be seen as a heinous act before the gods fell, but now the lack of faith has probably generated many converts to the religion. The Unterland and Nordenland provinces are likely to have sects of the religion, Abendland would likely be untouched by this feature largely, this is mainly due to the intense faith and love of Aurelia. Nordenland would be a hotly contested zone, though. The Magic in the region is seen as a major issue between the two factions of the land, and The Beast is a major issue there. The peasant uprisings there are a major issue as well, while the two magical factions are fighting each other politically, a third, ran by the Watchers of the Faithful could easily become a major issue.
The Order of the Dawn in Raevo is likely supported by the Watchers of the Faithful, and you could easily justify having Arcanist Inquisitors in that organization. It’s likely that should it gain Critical Mass, the Castinellan Provinces would use it as a lynchpin in strategies to destroy both Nov Ostoya and Castalore. The only issue is that the Black Mire prevents ground forces from storming into the nation, and the only other area is Nov Ostoya, a highly fortified area.
The Valikan Clans and the Charneault Kingdom are both direct enemies of the Castinellan Provinces. The Valikan clans due to the Coldfire Crisis going on, the only thing effective enough to stop coldfire in a wide scale engagement are spells, such as Fireball, though their reliance upon oil is just as high. The Charneault Kingdom helped Morencia to destroy the Castinellan fleet and is therefore At War with the Castinellan Provinces, though whether its’ a Total War or a limited on is unknown. Their culture also has a widely regard connection to magic both Arcane and Primal. It’s unlikely that they would support Empyreus largely, though certain factions of the Charneault Kingdom would want the support of the Castinellan Provinces. For example, The Severe Templars which swear by arms alone and despise both the Pact of the land and Arcane Magic, which they view as an Elven issue to resolve through force.
How to use the Arcanist Inquisitors in a Story. The Arcanist Inquisitors like to travel in packs and using them as a Diverse party of adventurers is appropriate. Though it would more be likely that they have a powerful commander served by lessers. You could have a party composition of 2 Inquisitor Knights, an Inquisitor Warder, and an Inquisitor Judge. Or you could have Lord Inquisitor Crevax flanked by 3 Inquisitor Judges. In any case, they work in the following stories very well:
Hunted. After saving the town from annihilation, using spell craft, the characters had to leave the town lest they be lynched for “causing the problem in the first place.” Their aid goes punished, and now a group of the Watchers of the Faithful is on their tail, willing to bring them to Justice at all costs. Afterall, their presence is what caused that evil event to happen in the first place. They’re hunted as they go on their journey, they either need to evade their hunters or face them in open combat. This is best used as a lower-level party against a much higher-level threat.
Hunters. After a recently famous prison escape of dozens of individuals in the Ember Cairn took place, the bounty for the Fiendish Mask (A wizard of powerful illusory magic sent by The Thaumaturge, most likely that is) doubled. The Inquisitors distribute an image of all prisoners, including the description of The Fiendish Mask. Will your party hunt him and bring him to “justice” as the Inquisition demands, or will you attempt to find him before the inquisition closes in on him?
Personal Duty. After the failed attempt to claim Morencia, the Naval battle has finally been lost, but the land war has just begun. Without cannon-fire support, its’ less likely that the provinces will feel such great losses, or so they think. The Charneault Kingdom is their next target, the wroth of their supporters will not be sated by anything less. This time, however, Lord Inquisitor Crevax is on the move with her personal guard of magically armed Inquisitor Judges. Her leadership and prowess are extremely unparalleled. But not only does she go herself at the order of the Cardinals, she goes with the aid of Empyreus himself. He has sent an Angel of Empyreus to fight on behalf of the forces. Use the following stat-block for Lord Inquisitor Crevax (This is an unofficial Stat-block):
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