Information
Title / Office Grand Inquisitor of the Western Empire; Director of The Inquisitorial Synod; High Confessor to Rehobath Ylestos Faction The Inquisitorial Synod / The Imperial Rite Seat of Power The Holy Palace Annex, Temple District, Ptolus Ancestry Human Role / Class Level 12 Inquisitor & Warpriest of Aroden / Grand Inquisitor Primary Allies Holy Emperor Rehobath Ylestos, Knight-Commander Darien Tallhart (Order of the Dawn Old Blood), High Prelates of the Imperial Rite Key Rivals Lord Zavere, The Adventurers, Prince Kirian Ylestos, Shigmaa Wuntad, The Arcane Masters of the Inverted Pyramid
⚖️ Overview: The Iron Gaze of the Western Throne
QUOTE
“The First Throne is not vacant; it is merely waiting. True salvation is forged through stone, law, and absolute human discipline. Let the stars wander and the mountains isolate—civilization marches forward on our knees.”
— High Prelate Frederick Vane, Imperial Liturgy of the Throne
Grand Inquisitor Frederick Vane is the most feared, ruthless, and fanatically driven theocratic enforcer in the eastern Western Empire. As the supreme director of The Inquisitorial Synod and personal spiritual confessor to Holy Emperor Rehobath Ylestos, Vane embodies the cold, authoritarian heart of the Imperial Rite.
Gaunt, severe, and possessed of razor-sharp slate-gray eyes, Vane wears no glittering jewels or gold-embroidered vestments. He dresses in an austere, high-collared cassock of charcoal wool, over which he wears an adamantine pectoral stamped with the Winged Eye of Aroden. He sleeps on a bare stone slab, fasts three days out of every seven, and views mortal compassion as a spiritual weakness that imperils the manifest destiny of humanity.
During the catastrophic sack of Caer Itom in 702 IA, it was Vane’s cold decisiveness that saved Rehobath’s life: while dynastic nobles panicked, Vane executed dozens of suspect guards, seized the ancient Azlanti reliquaries from the imperial vaults, and forced the church caravan east through burning streets.
Since arriving in Ptolus, Vane has viewed the coastal boomtown with barely concealed disgust. He considers the city’s tolerance of independent arcane mages, non-human delvers, and rogue religions to be a cesspool of moral decay. In private war councils, he fiercely pushes Rehobath to crush dissent, seize control of civic institutions from Commissar Igor Urnst, and claim the ancient treasures buried beneath the earth.
🕳️ The Hunt for the Banewarrens
Vane’s primary obsession in Ptolus is the subterranean breach into the Banewarrens:
- The Theological Fallacy: Vane is utterly convinced by archaic, heavily redacted imperial prophecies that Danar’s primordial vaults contain the Spear of the First Sun and divine Azlanti regalia forged by Aroden. He genuinely believes that if the Synod can recover these artifacts, the relics will awaken Aroden from his slumber, turn the tide of the Three-way Civil War, and reclaim Caer Itom.
- The Intelligence Hunt: Frustrated by the death of Shilukar (which severed a crucial informant link into the undercity), Vane’s inquisitors have zeroed in on Pythoness House. When his diviners detected that a powerful, ancient key was recovered from the vault, Vane mobilized his snatch-squads to identify whoever took it.
- Collision with Castle Shard: Vane knows that Lord Zavere is protecting the adventuring party. He despises Zavere as a decadent apostate who turned his back on the Lion-Guarded Throne, and is actively seeking a legal pretext to raid Castle Shard or ambush the party in the undercity sewers.
⚔️ Pathfinder 2e Remaster Mechanics
Vane combines unyielding willpower, high-tier divine void and spirit spells, and an oppressive aura of truth:
GRAND INQUISITOR FREDERICK VANE CREATURE 12
UNIQUE | MEDIUM | HUMAN | HUMANOID
Perception +24; true seeing, discern lies (continuous)
Languages Common, Celestial, Imperial High Prustan, Undercommon
Skills Intimidation +26, Religion +25, Society +23, Legal Lore +24, Stealth +20, Athletics +21
Str +4, Dex +2, Con +3, Int +3, Wis +5, Cha +4
Items +2 Greater Resilient Adamantine Breastplate, +2 Greater Striking Crozius of Judgment, Synod Signet
AC 33; Fort +23, Ref +20, Will +25; +3 status bonus vs. mental, illusions, and divine spells
HP 215
Aura of Absolute Inquest (aura, divine) 20 feet. Creatures within the aura cannot intentionally speak a deliberate lie (DC 32 Will save). In addition, attempts to Feint or Create a Diversion against Vane automatically fail.
Punish Heresy (Reaction) Trigger: An enemy within 30 feet casts an occult or unholy spell; Effect: Vane lashes out with divine rebuke. The triggering creature takes 4d6 spirit damage and must succeed at a DC 32 Will save or lose the spell action.
Speed 25 feet
Melee [one-action] Crozius of Judgment +25 (magical, shove), Damage 3d8+10 bludgeoning plus 2d6 spirit and Inquisitor's Brand
Divine Prepared Spells (DC 32, attack +24)
6th—Blade Barrier, Spirit Blast, Divine Decree
5th—Flame Strike, Divine Wrath, Synesthesia, Command
4th—Discern Lies, Holy Light, Silence, Sound Burst
3rd—Crisis of Faith (x2), Dispel Magic, Sanctified Ground
2nd—Clear Mind, Dispel Magic, See the Unseen
1st—Sure Strike, Command, Sanctuary
Cantrips (6th)—Daze, Forbidding Ward, Light, Read Aura, Shield
Domain Spells (3 Focus Points, DC 32)
Touch of Law [one-action]
Word of Truth [one-action]
🎭 Persona & Roleplaying Guide
- Voice & Manner: Clipped, dry, and terrifyingly calm. He never shouts; his voice is a rasping whisper that commands immediate, frozen silence in any room. He speaks with the terrifying certainty of a man who believes he is the physical hand of divine law.
- Key Philosophy: “Mercy to a heretic is cruelty to the world. We shall tear the gold and stone from the earth until the Empire stands unbroken.”
- Tension with Prince Kirian: Vane treats Prince Kirian with formal deference, but privately considers Kirian a weak, compromised politician who has allowed Ptolus to become corrupted by foreign gods and secular merchants.
🧭 Directives for the Party
- The Interrogation Threat: If any member of the party is captured in the undercity or separated from Castle Shard’s aegis, Vane will personally oversee their interrogation in the subterranean cells of The Iron Tower, demanding the surrender of the Chaos Spirit Key.
- The Counter-Inquest: The party can use Vane’s mutual hatred of Shigmaa Wuntad to manipulate the Synod into clashing directly with the Cult of the Ebon Hand, allowing the adventurers to slip past both factions into the deep vaults of the Banewarrens.