A party without an arcane caster- doable?

[King_Of_The_Crossroads]

I'm posting this for a friend of mine, who is currently in a game with no arcane casters. The party is composed of a fighter, a tempest druid, a cleric, and a dark tapestry oracle.

So the question is, can a group do well without any arcane caster controlling the battlefield and blasting? What advice would you give this group of players, because I'm convinced their lack of arcane will hurt them at some point. Right now, they're only 2nd level, so it hasn't really been that big of a deal.

Thoughts?

[Albatoonoe]

You have 3 full casters there. Whether they are arcane or divine doesn't really matter.

Hell, having casters doesn't really matter. You don't need any sort of class in Pathfinder. You just have to adjust your tactics according to what your group does have and any group can succeed.

Personally, I'm a fan of the all bard group that saves the world through the power of rock'n'roll.

[MrSin]

Its very possible. Its a little rough sometimes without battlefield control, but that isn't necessary. You still have 3 full casters so I'd more than anything be worried about that fighter at later levels being outshone feeling like he isn't that useful, but that varies from game to game.

[Nearyn]

Go-to advice for any adventurer is "research what you are heading into". Gathering intelligence can be the difference between life and death.

When a party is lacking in one of the major departments, this becomes more important. So I advice you friend and his party to visit libraries, question locals, scout, and prepare for their hardships. You can never be too careful when your life is on the line :)

In regards to the point about arcane casters, yes I believe it is doable. The arcane caster is a nice addition to almost any party, but I don't view him as necessary. I don't view any party role as completely necessary.

-Nearyn

[King_Of_The_Crossroads]

Thank you, all. I'll relay your thoughts on the matter. It will definitely change some tactics, and require more planning than normal, but it should be doable.

:)

[Atarlost]

It's not blasting or control that's your problem. It's invisibility. See Invisible is not on your lists. Faerie Fire is a poor substitute for Glitterdust, which is also not on your lists, because of its more stringent targeting requirements and vulnerability to spell resistance. A wizard can see and light up invisible creatures at level 3. A cleric will never see invisible creatures and while he gets invisibility purge at level 7 it's an emanation with limited extent in addition to being 4 levels later.

Don't worry about control or blasting. Druids are swimming in battlefield control and blasts.

[King_Of_The_Crossroads]

Atarlost wrote:

It's not blasting or control that's your problem. It's invisibility. See Invisible is not on your lists. Faerie Fire is a poor substitute for Glitterdust, which is also not on your lists because of its more stringent targeting requirements and vulnerability to spell resistance. A wizard can see and light up invisible creatures at level 3. A cleric will never see invisible creatures and while he gets invisibility purge at level 7 it's an emanation with limited extent in addition to being 4 levels later.

Don't worry about control or blasting. Druids are swimming in battlefield control and blasts.

No worries, from what I understand, the oracle has ranks in Use Magic Device, and plans on buying wands and scrolls with important things like See Invisibility.

[Totentanz]

You have enough spell slots sloshing around in that party to handle most issues. They just need to be aware of the potential holes and plug them.

All of them have Summon spells, so if nothing else a little research and some scrolls or designated slots can cover a lot of different roles.

They will sometimes run into something that expends more resources than normal, perhaps. If the DM finds that one thing they can't possibly do and utterly destroys them with it, then the problem is the DM, not the party composition.