Greetings to all,
Although this question is perhaps applicable to any of the Pathfinder First Edition Adventure Paths, I am posting this to the Rise of the Runelords forum as my group and I are in the midst of this AP currently. If there is another sub-forum where this could be cross-posted, please advise.
I am a first-time GM running the Anniversary Edition of ROTRL for two first-time players (my wife and son). They are each running two characters: a gnome Druid and a human Wizard (Evoker); and a half-Elf Fighter and a half-orc Invulnerable Rager Barbarian, respectively. We are having a great time with all the roleplay and I have added additional NPCs and interactions in Sandpoint to give it the feel of an Old West boomtown and really anchor the party’s attachment to the town and its people. The party has just hit level 6 and started the Misgivings last night (I prefer to have them level up between segments rather than during).
With the above said, I am somewhat out to see on how to guide the development of the caster characters (my wife’s). While I have played a lot of different RPGs over the years (homebrew AD&D, White Wolf, Chaosium, Shadowrun), I was always a player and never a GM, and I almost always played some type of fighter (duellist, paladin) or martial cleric and usually ended up being the party face based on personality and a willingness to grab onto or provide plot hooks. I never had to think (much) about spells per day, spell books, items to enhance casting abilities, etc.
I have what I think is a good handle on the Pathfinder 1E “feat tree” for the combat feats and rage powers, and I am comfortable suggesting new gear for the fighters, such as having the half-orc sacrifice three captured +1 weapons from Book One to Gorum to give his double axe three randomly rolled properties (+1 enhancement on each head plus keen). For my magic users, though, I am at a loss beyond suggesting preparation of potions or scrolls for single spells and the purchase (or now creation) of wands for favorite spells (a big thank you to all the folks on these boards who suggested making wands of cure light wounds available on the market in Sandpoint and Magnimar).
Now that the characters are hitting middle levels and their abilities are really blossoming, I want to make sure I don’t accidentally trap the casters with selections of feats, spells, and gear that will hurt their ability to contribute to the party and the story at higher levels in the later books. I have spoken with my wife about using her characters’ powers for battlefield control and buffs/de-buffs, so we are not just focused on fireballs and lightning bolts (although I have to admit those are fun), but any advice on specific progressions or gear would be greatly appreciated. I can read ahead in the AP and see when the party is set to acquire various loot or substantial cash, but if I don’t know what to tell her to look for in the market, her characters won’t be able to ask – an unknown unknown.
Thanks for reading this far and providing all the great resources already on these pages – I am making heavy use of several of the community created items for the Misgivings and I think they will be a big hit.
TL;DR: How does a first-time GM who never played a magic user guide a first-time player so her druid and wizard stay awesome through the whole AP?