I'm planning to run RotRL (anniversary edition) soon. The party will probably consist of four players (as recommended by the book itself), all of them new to Pathfinder and possibly some new to tabletop RPGs in general, so I'll probably be giving them significant guidance in making their characters. I'm a fairly experienced player, and pretty familiar with the rules and character creation options (core rules and beyond), but an inexperienced GM. I've only had a chance to read the first two chapters in detail so far.
Could you please give me advice as to what sorts of characters, or what abilities, are necessary for this campaign? Which characters'/abilities' absence would make life cripplingly, or at least significantly, difficult for the party? And which, while they could be done without, would be likely to enhance the experience? I'm particularly (but not exclusively) interested in any thoughts on the following questions:
Could the party manage without an arcane full-caster?
Is it necessary to have a rogue or someone with certain rogue-ish abilities (e.g. to deal with traps and locks)?
Is it necessary to have a healer, and if so does it have to be a full-caster or would a paladin (or even a bard) do?
In a party of the recommended size of four, how many melee-focused or at least melee-capable characters are needed? How many archers, ranged support/utility types or other non-melee types is there room for in a party of that size?
Please let me know your thoughts on the above, and any other heplful thoughts you may have.
In case any of the following is relevant:
We'll probably be using 20-point buy for ability scores. As the players are new to the system I'll probably use only the core rulebook stuff as a starting point for helping them make their characters, but I'm open to introducing classes and archetypes from other sources if it fits their character concepts and/or the party's needs. Exception: I'd probably use the four Unchained classes over the core ones (for the PCs - NPCs will stay as written!), as I gather the consensus is that they're an improvement (but let me know if you think that's a bad idea). Definitely core races only.
No gunslingers, technology, Occult Adventures or non-Paizo stuff. I'd like to use the Background Skills rules from Unchained, and Skill Unlocks if there's a rogue, but I'm not thinking of using any other optional extra systems (e.g. Stamina, Hero Points) for fear of overwhelming the players (or myself!) - unless you think there are any whose exclusion would be a particular detriment?
Please excuse all that detail - it's not meant to suggest that I've made up my mind before listening to advice, merely to give you an indication of my current thoughts. All advice welcome!
