A city as large as Sharn offers plenty of places to hide (see Hiding, page 21). Consequently, it also supports a sizable number of inquisitives who specialize in finding people who might prefer not to be found, or just people who don't know someone might be looking for them. There is no single district where inquisitives tend to set up shop; any given district can only support so many. Middle-class districts of a certain flavor are the most likely areas to find an inquisitive — places such as Underlook in Middle Dura, Deathsgate in Middle Tavick's Landing, and Warden Towers in Middle Menthis. The best inquisitives — particularly when it comes to finding what's lost — are those associated with the Finders' Guild of House Tharashk. Four Tharashk inquisitives with the lesser Mark of Finding head agencies in different parts of the city: Kurt Karr'Aashta's Investigations in Deathsgate, Information Acquisition in Underlook, Thuranne Velderan's Investigative Services in Warden Towers, and Globe Information Agency in Dragon Towers. The dragonmarked heads of these agencies generally work only on the most important or difficult cases, but their staffs are among the best inquisitives in the business.
Do-it-yourself types who don't want to (or can't) pay an inquisitive have other alternatives, ranging from amateur sleuthing to powerful magic. Gather Information might work to find a specific individual. However, it is usually only possible to learn the whereabouts of a person within a single district — asking around Highest Towers trying to find someone hiding in Precarious is doomed to failure. If the person sought is located in the same district as the person seeking, a successful check against DC 20 to 30 (depending on how noticeable the character is, how carefully he is hiding, and similar factors) can at least narrow down the hiding person's location. Naturally, spells such as locate creature and know location are the most effective means of finding people.
Hiring an Inquisitive
An inquisitive's rates vary from person to person. In general, they range from 10 sp to 20 sp per day, plus expenses. (This is comparable to the results of a Profession check.) For exceptionally difficult or dangerous cases, inquisitives usually increase their rates by as much as 100% and insist on receiving an advance for several days' work.
An inquisitive who brings magical resources to bear in the course of a case charges typical rates for spellcasting:
Spell Minimum Cost*
Clairaudience/clairvoyance 60 gp
Discern location 1,200 gp
Locate creature 280 gp
Locate object 60 gp
Scrying 280 gp
*The minimum cost assumes the lowest caster level that allows casting the spell. Higher-level casters produce better results and charge correspondingly more.
