First things first: Any paizo material is allowed, and some non paizo if the gm deems it not broken. The following classes are banned: MONK, GUNSLINGER, SAMURAI, NINJA, PRIEST. Plate mail does NOT exist.
Magical items are abundant, however, we have literally never bought or sold a single item (not for lack of trying.)
The other main thing you need to know is: We do NOT get to choose our gear. Furthermore our gear is chosen RANDOMLY by the GM rolling.
My level 9 adventuring party is as follows
1: Sacred Shield paladin (Sword and board, also mounted combat. his horse is a special gm horse that smashes things
2:Oath of vengeance paladin (Archery, high damage, also casts lots of spells and summons an angel to help him out once a week not sure what sub that is)
3: Holy light Paladin (the character is mediocre, but the player rolls so well you'd think she's cheating(she isn't). Literally crits 6+ times a session without keen weapons)
4:Mobile fighter (two handed talwar user)
5:Theologan Cleric (our blaster, does a good job of metamagic fireballs/burning hands, does decent damage.)
6:Shield fighter (twf with shield bash and sword. really bad character but has an ac of 35ish)
7: Life oracle (a healing battery and occasional buffer)
That being said, the party has been begging for an arcane caster. My last character (A druid; the highest melee damage dealer by far) so i've decided to take this opportunity to make one.
My problem is i get very bored very easily. Whereas everyone else in the party has been on the same character since level three, I've gone through about four. (Retired some, put others in precarious positions that resulted in their demise.)
I know buffing the party would make encounters terribly easy. (Mass enlarge, fly, bulls strength, haste etc. but man, that is terribly boring. I have no problem buffing the party, but I want more. I was thinking of going with something like The God fireball
but I feel like i'd be encroaching on the theologen cleric's turf.
I'm leaning either towards either Foresight or Teleportation wizard.
Honestly, I'm at a loss. I've looked through most of the arcane class guides on the "guide to class guides". The Gish Eldritch knight looks interesting. Of course, wizard would be hard since spellbooks don't grow and I can't rely on buying scrolls.
I suppose I could always just be a conjuration or transmutation focused battlefield controller. Again though, i'm afraid of how bored I'll get with that.
Halp?
A Wizard? When you can't be certain you'll have a spellbook in your gear? That's rather daft, if you don't mind me saying so.
But anyway: be a Bard. Bards can seamlessly switch roles, and with such a big party of melee-ers you'll add more power than two Wizards!
Wizards get a spellbook for free at first level. So...don't worry about that.
I don't think OP's concern is having a spellbook to begin with; I think the concern is that it'll be unlikely for spellbooks to be found in the party loot, meaning less spells getting added into this wizard character's spellbook.
If you're not confident the DM will let you buy scrolls or loot spellbooks, why are you interested in a wizard over a sorcerer? Not that I necessarily believe sorcerer is the way to go, I'm just curious.
A Wizard? When you can't be certain you'll have a spellbook in your gear? That's rather daft, if you don't mind me saying so.
But anyway: be a Bard. Bards can seamlessly switch roles, and with such a big party of melee-ers you'll add more power than two Wizards!
Not particularly a fan of the bard. I know i didn't mention it in the OP but I prefer Full spellcasting or as close to it as I can get. Also from the PFSRD: A wizard begins play with a spellbook...
Wizards get a spellbook for free at first level. So...don't worry about that.
Bingo. I feel like people got sidetracked. :/ I probably could have been more specific with several posts, but didn't feel like spamming the board.
The only reason I mentioned the gear thing in the first place was so people could see what I was working with. (I can't just buy a metamagic rod, or a bunch of scrolls, etc.)
I don't think OP's concern is having a spellbook to begin with; I think the concern is that it'll be unlikely for spellbooks to be found in the party loot, meaning less spells getting added into this wizard character's spellbook.
If you're not confident the DM will let you buy scrolls or loot spellbooks, why are you interested in a wizard over a sorcerer? Not that I necessarily believe sorcerer is the way to go, I'm just curious.
Honestly, the only concern I had concerning the wizard spellbook was if I decided to PrC into Eldritch Knight, in which case I would probably decide to go sorcerer. I just think the wizard school abilities are really good.
If you get bored easily, a full caster with limited spell selection.... Well, you're going to get bored. You can only count on getting 2 spells a level, which means 4 spells max per level in this situation.
I'd run a magus honestly, yes it isn't full caster, but it also allows you to mix it up in combat. When you are done playing around, you can probably obliterate whatever you are fighting with with a powerful shocking grasp.
EDIT: Bladebound gives you a magic weapon of your choice (and with some customization) and Hexcrafter is amazing (considerable debuff at will).
If you get bored easily, a full caster with limited spell selection.... Well, you're going to get bored. You can only count on getting 2 spells a level, which means 4 spells max per level in this situation.
I'd run a magus honestly, yes it isn't full caster, but it also allows you to mix it up in combat. When you are done playing around, you can probably obliterate whatever you are fighting with with a powerful shocking grasp.
Starting with a spellbook doesn't mean you'll be able to get enough spells as you level up. Remember, after first level half of your new spells will be from your specialty school. If you're a diviner that's going to suck. Even as a conjurer there will be levels you're missing out on important spells because there's nowhere to buy them.
I'm taking a second look at blackblade magus, i'll get back to you. (Scorpion whip seems neat)
"Starting with a spellbook doesn't mean you'll be able to get enough spells as you level up.": I don't understand what you're saying. I've played wizards before and never had a problem with gaining two new spells every level.
" Remember, after first level half of your new spells will be from your specialty school.": "In addition, specialist wizards receive an additional spell slot of each spell level he can cast, from 1st on up. Each day, a wizard can prepare a spell from his specialty school in that slot. This spell must be in the wizard's spellbook." It's not as if I lose spell slots for having a specialty. Bonus slots are bonus slots.
If you get bored easily, a full caster with limited spell selection.... Well, you're going to get bored. You can only count on getting 2 spells a level, which means 4 spells max per level in this situation.
I'd run a magus honestly, yes it isn't full caster, but it also allows you to mix it up in combat. When you are done playing around, you can probably obliterate whatever you are fighting with with a powerful shocking grasp.
Starting with a spellbook doesn't mean you'll be able to get enough spells as you level up. Remember, after first level half of your new spells will be from your specialty school. If you're a diviner that's going to suck. Even as a conjurer there will be levels you're missing out on important spells because there's nowhere to buy them.I'm taking a second look at blackblade magus, i'll get back to you. (Scorpion whip seems neat)
"Starting with a spellbook doesn't mean you'll be able to get enough spells as you level up.": I don't understand what you're saying. I've played wizards before and never had a problem with gaining two new spells every level.
" Remember, after first level half of your new spells will be from your specialty school.": "In addition, specialist wizards receive an additional spell slot of each spell level he can cast, from 1st on up. Each day, a wizard can prepare a spell from his specialty school in that slot. This spell must be in the wizard's spellbook." It's not as if I lose spell slots for having a specialty. Bonus slots are bonus slots.
I think you are misunderstanding what they are saying. As a wizard, you only get spells a few ways: Starting spells (all 0 level, except forbidden schools, plus 3+INT MOD 1st level spells), 2 every new level, found spellbooks/scrolls, borrowing spellbooks, researching them yourself, and purchasing scrolls.
If your DM is stingy on scrolls and spellbooks or won't let you purchase magical gear, then you're limited to your starting spells and the 2 new spells every level.
Lets say you have 18 Int. That's +4, so you start the game with 7 first level and all 0 level (except your forbidden schools). By level nine, you'll have a total of 23 spells 1st and above.
9 1st level spells
4 2nd level spells
4 3rd level spells
4 4th level spells
2 5th level spells
That few of spells would be appalling to most wizards.
That assumes that your DM never gives you access to any other spellbooks or scrolls, and you can't borrow spellbooks from NPCs and you can't purchase scrolls. You can still research spells on your own, if given the time and money. Also, your own spellbook can be taken from you.
Alternatively, if you were to play a sorcerer, you'd have not only the same number of spells as our wizard here, but also they can't be taken from you and you can cast them more often. Combine that with UMD and all the other magic items your DM gives out, and you'll have access to all the wands utilizing other spell lists.
Or play a magus. :)