Arcane Spellcaster Necessary for RotRL?

[Gluttony]

Yeah, I'm joining the "you don't need a wizard to be successful" group.

You're almost certainly going to need some sort of caster, preferably with at least one arcane (the APs do all seem to assume you've got one) but there's really nothing specific in the adventure that absolutely can't be cleared without a wizard, or even a caster in general).

Nitpick: If the main advantage of wizards is the wizard loot, i.e. all the spellbooks, then they're hardly the only class that can be successful. Magi use spellbooks too after all.

[Gluttony]

Adun wrote:

So.

My players (5-6* depending on the week...) are as follows:

Half-Elf Magus
Elf Cleric of Shelyn
Aasimar Paladin
Gnome Druid
Teifling (Beast-Brood) Sorceror (Abyssal Bloodline)
Teifling (Beast-Brood) Gunslinger*

I feel that between the Magus and the Sorceror, they'll have little trouble with anything in book 5. It will take a little modding, but I'm certain they'll rise to the challenge, especially since both the Magus and the Sorceror are interested in Thassilon. How's the rest of the party's composition to you guys?

We've got:

Aasimar Paladin/Bard
Gnome-Changeling Witch
Human Barbarian/Sorcerer
Vanara Inquisitor/Monk/Fighter/Ninja

They've really only had trouble twice so far, once of which was at first level and entirely due to the dice, and the other time being due to an encounter that I felt was too tough for the majority of parties at the point in the adventure at which it was placed.

[Humphrey Boggard]

We're running with:

Human Samurai
Goblin Paladin (archer build)
Halfling Witch
Half elf Oracle
Halfling Rogue (now deceased)

Been going well so far - we've had a few character deaths (our GM doesn't pull any punches) but are generally enjoying that campaign and finding it balanced to the power level of our party.

[HangarFlying]

Don't forget, enemy spellbooks can be sold.

[diogenes84]

We are starting this AP soon with following party:

Human Ranger (Archer)
[Race undefined] Fighter (Archer)
Tiefling Magus
Human Bard

How necessary would those running or having run the AP say would it be to swap out loot? We are playing the Anniversary Edition, btw.

[ArgentumLupus]

I had a group that was still in part 1 when work schedules caused the game to collapse.
We had:

Elven Paladin (the gal was a very shy person, so she was little more then a fighter with some fancy abilities).

Dwarven Monk (He took a while to understand that monks were NOT front line characters).

Elven Druid (one of the 2 MVPs for the Burnt Offerings).

Human Sorcerer (My fiancee was playing Seoni. The second MVP of that game).

Half-Elf Ninja (I really need to stop letting ninjas into my games).

My players had a hard time, if anything, because they were lacking a real cleric. The hard time was only compounded when the Monk and Ninja were making things harder for everyone, including moving forward without caution and nearly getting into a fight with Sheriff Hemlock. Neither would back down when he was trying to arrest the group for suspicion of murder (Glass and Wrath).

I find that most people I have ever played with hate to choose a wizard character unless the campaign is starting above 1, so I often have none in the games I run.

[Wiggz]

ArgentumLupus wrote:

I find that most people I have ever played with hate to choose a wizard character unless the campaign is starting above 1, so I often have none in the games I run.

Sadly this is the case. Choosing to start from scratch as a wizard is basically saying 'I want to be a crappy crossbowman for the first 5 levels or so' and is rarely fun for anyone. Offensive cantrips are almost pointless for most Wizard characters past 2nd level.

[Mazra]

As noted all over these boards, Pathfinder has done a good job of making the Wizard better. But there is still a tendency for players to run toward other classes like the Sorcerer. Most players seem to prefer the ability to pull out any spell at will over having a large number of spells to choose from, and then trying to guess what they may need that day.

spoiler:

I tend to run an NPC with the party most of the time. And sometimes, though rarely, more than one NPC as is currently the case. In much of the first three books of my RotR campaign that NPC has been Shalelu. But I can see a point in the near future when Shalelu may venture elsewhere. Lyrie Akenja is now with the party. She is also raising levels as a Wizard. I could see her having a more prominent role in the later books. She has been fun to play as a DMs NPC, balancing her selfish ways with actually assisting the party. The conveniently timed Obscuring Mist will appear, or a well timed Magic Missile will land on target. The party will look back and then see Lyrie appearing uninterested, working on her nails. ;)

So if the party doesn't have a Wizard, there is no reason a DM can't have one handy to help out. And if Lyrie is dead, there is always the iconics, an Ezren or Seoni to bring aid.

Cheers,

Mazra