The Forwellian Inquisition

The Inquisition is primarily concerned with the eventual elimination of those who use magic that is not supplied by the native Gods of DR (Foret, Volai, Jhalla, Matrim, Guere and Viedre). The first Inquisition was originally started by the Temples, although since that time it has become a government organization.

Holy spells such as those used by Clerics and Paladins would not require water. The power for these spells are supplied by the deity, and in essence they are not even spells. They are miracles performed by the God (or his/her angelic agents) for the holy person. This is why holy power requires no water, and no knowledge of magic. It only requires purity, faith, and divine closeness with a God or Goddess. A mage has to understand magic and know the principles of spell-casting. A Cleric or Paladin only has to have faith and the favor of their God or Goddess.

This being the case, the different holy orders and churches in Forwell (and in most city states across DR) have a different view on "magic." They see magic as being a tool for the Gods and a temptation for mankind. Magic is powerful stuff, and the Gods only left it laying around to tempt the mortal races and to see if they would become wise enough and disciplined enough to keep themselves from using it. So far the Elven, Dwarven, and Dvorkinnian races have failed miserably at staying away from magic use. Only the humans and the orcs show any propensity to resist this lure of easy power.

In many ways, the churches and religious orders of the Desert Realm will support the Inquisition because it eliminates and restricts the use of magic (which they see as an abuse of godly power not meant for mortals). And most Inquisitions take advantage of this situation to enlist the aid of the churches in rooting out those who practice magic.

For this reason Priests and Priestesses are not required to register with the Forwellian Administration as "magic users." The churches and holy orders should be immune to the Inquisition and should actually be on the side of the Inquisition in their effort to root out those who are practicing magic. The churches and temples will not harbor or aid those seeking to avoid or hide from the persecution of the Inquisition. And they will actively share what knowledge they have of those who practice magic with the Inquisition (using their congregation as an impromptu spy network in some cases).

Additionally, Inquisitors requiring training in combat against magic users can expect to find such training amongst the Templars of the various orders. Particularly the Temple of Jhalla will teach JhaMakDuu (a Jhallan martial art) and the Temple of Guere will teach sword and blunt weapon combat techniques. Those playing Inquisitors can post about their training in these locations in their off time. These are great places to hone a character's skills and/or learn more about the enemy's locations and methods.

Important note:

The Lore of Hell and Hu lay outside that of the normal Gods of DR. They are not considered divine or holy, but rather exactly the opposite. Moreover, Hell Lore typically DOES consume water as it is standard magic bent by the forces of Hell. There are a few specific cases in which it does not, such as when a daemon is being directed to perform a specific task, but in the case of most Hell Lore, water is consumed as a result. And even more importantly to point out, the people who use this magic care less for the fact that they are consuming water than any other magic user. They are evil, why should they care if others suffer?

Both the Inquisition and the Temples all hate the followers of Hu and Hell even more than the mages. And in many cases they fail to recognize any difference between them (although they know there is one and exactly what it is).