Baldur's Gate : The Sword Coast Chronicles : NWN2 Persistent World

Not moral discussion causer. I just want an answer that's short, sweet and to the point.

On alignment, what would you label an inquisitor of the say Spanish inquisition? Good? Evil or neutral? Chaotic or lawful?

Now what would you call the alignment of say the Inquisition of Warhammer 40K?

I ask because I want to make an inquisitor like character who while not a mad lunatic bent on torture and killing, is not above say burning a whole village to the ground to kill one single infernalist cultist or necromancer or some other evil character.

Someone who, while certainly morally questionable and certainly walking a razor's edge, is not whole debased....yet anyway.

No discussions. Please, just a simple answer.

So Warhammer 40K inquisition and Spanish Inquisition alignment? What do you think?

Neutral evil.

Lawful Evil for the spanish inquisitor. Dont know warhammer 40k. But think lawful evil will fit all inquisitor types. Sticking to their own unjust laws makes them lawful and evil.

Hmmm.

What about a Hoarite inquisitor?

Or a witch hunter?

I think lawful certainly fits especially the inquisition type. As far as the good/evil axis I think an argument could be made for all three. I tend to think of them as Lawful Neutral. Lawful for the strict dogmatic adherence. Neutral as they do not let "morality" sway said adherence. As for the Warhammer universe I am unfamiliar.

http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Inquisition

Some info on Warhammer 40K inquisition.

For a simply version, they hunt down demons, witches, heretics, and the like and if necessary have the power to order a total orbital bombardment of a planet, killing the entire biosphere and any living thing on it if necessary.

And they do it with chainsaw swords.

I wish we hadthose

The 40k Imperium is basically a Banite utopia. Every governing branch of terra is arguably LE and the Inquisition is no exception. The spanish inquisition, I do not claim any extensive knowledge of, but I would also ascribe to them the LE label as a whole. That is not to say you can't find well meaning individuals in either of these organizations. However the means they use to achieve their goals are undeniably evil in d&d morals.

Whether your inquisitor/witch hunter is evil or not, will be determined by the lengths he is willing to go to pursue his quarry. If his goals mean more to him than the sanctity of life itself, then he should be considered evil.

Not exactly forgotten realms but look up silver flame, eberron. They are a good example of inquisition in a DnD setting.

I think it be fun to rp a mostly neutral guy who focuses on the quarry but is torn between how far he goes. Maybe chaotic Neutral in that he doesn't care one way or the other on good or evil as long as the hunt is done. But chaotic in that if he feels it is necessary, and diplomacy doesn't work, he can just burn the village down.

That be fun as well cause it be the knife edge I love.

Spanish Inquisition: Lawful Evil in D&D terms I'd think. You might have members who were Lawful Neutral. Also you might have had the nutjobs hiding behind an organisation who were Neutral or Chaotic.

Inquisition in 40k: Off the hip answer is LE, along with the rest of the Imperium. Although it might be better to consider the Imperium LN in objectives, LE in form, but with a bedrock of CE given how much the system is fragmenting

If you drill down into the lore, that organisation is at war with itself, feels unbound by many of the common beliefs that govern the rest of the Imperium, and there are factions that subvert many of the things they are meant to protect.

Its probably fair to say the classic puritans (EG Amalthians, Monodominants) are LE. Some Amalthians might be LN given the focus on order. I think it would be pushing it to find any LG, given the overall LE of the Imperium.

Radicals can probably go off of that approach. Eg, Recongregators and Istvaanians are arguably chaotic (some recongregators might even be concievably chaotic good!).

You can certainly find many "hunters of evil who might go too far" fodder in 40k, and in the inquisition. Indeed, that, written large, is basically the theme of the Imperium itself.

This might have been longer than you wanted. In recompense have a 40k video: