first magic user

[C Overton]

So, I've played many trouble shooters (rogues, bards, ninjas and the like) in my days and have been known to roll in with a melee guy or a ranger every so often but I've decided it's time to take those first steps into the world of serious magic users.
What would people here suggest for a first timer like me? What classes would be relatively easy? Which should I stay away from? Any, "spells every mage needs?" (Other than read and detect magic, that is.)
Thanks for any help! It will be appreciated.

[Calas Dermain]

If you want to go full 9 levels- I would reccomend Druid and prepare some(1-2 per spell level) cure spells. When you get a wand of cure_wounds-prepare more offensive spells and just switch them out for summon nature's ally spells when needed. Also- it usually better to use SNA's to summon multiple weaker allies instead of big ones. Also Wild shape is incredibly useful with some imagination. The class is extremely flexible and should be viable in both melee and spellcasting.

Editted Somewhat.

[Create Mr. Pitt]

Simplest would probably be sorcerer. Witch wouldn't be bad either. Druid has some complexity, but is fun. Wizard is probably too complicated for the first time. Oracle is not bad. Do you want to cast arcane spells or divine? Take a look at their respect spell lists for flavor. Battlefield control is a fun role to fill.

[Axebeard]

I might tell someone who's never played pathfinder before to avoid wizard, but honestly, they're only as complicated as you decide to make them.

I recommend wizard and sorcerer because the arcane spell list is fantastic. The only spell you really must learn is Haste. My recent MVPs from each level:

1) Grease - cast on weapons, cast under enemies, no SR
2) Glitterdust - reveals invisible, blinds, targets will, no SR
3) Haste - hands down THE best bang-for-buck spell in the game.
4) Dimension Door - teleport yourself out of danger, the fighters within full attack range, the cleric to the fighter for a heal. Think tactically and this is a really powerful spell.
5) Wall of force - placed effectively, it basically temporarily kills several enemies by isolating them from the combat for several rounds.

Third level spells are the money spells for wiz/sor. Haste, Slow, and Stinking Cloud are really strong, and when combined with metamagic feats like persistent spell, will outmuscle almost all of your fifth level spells. Conjuration is a powerful school and generally avoids spell resistance, making it good on constructs and outsiders.
The "pit" line of spells is also very strong.

If you choose sorcerer, learn at MOST one damage spell per level. Damage is damage is damage, and knowing more than one damage spell per level is largely just sacrificing a spell known. If you must, take a feat to change your elements around to match the situation. The fighter will outdamage you, anyways, so the most efficient way to kill something is usually to cast Haste and just watch the party grind your foes into a pink mist.

[Ciaran Barnes]

To prepare yourself, look up the song "Always The First To Die".

[MattR1986]

Sorcerer means you don't have to sit and durrr in picking spells every morning. You have flexibility to choose as you go. I'd avoid getting too many mind-effect spells. There's a ton of monsters that are immune to such spells. As was said, make sure you have a decent damaging spell in your repertoire. It's not the most creative or necessarily the most efficient way to get rid of enemies, but it gives you a default go to of "I blast it!" when you don't have a better idea at the moment.

[Axebeard]

MattR1986 wrote:

Sorcerer means you don't have to sit and durrr in picking spells every morning. You have flexibility to choose as you go. I'd avoid getting too many mind-effect spells. There's a ton of monsters that are immune to such spells. As was said, make sure you have a decent damaging spell in your repertoire. It's not the most creative or necessarily the most efficient way to get rid of enemies, but it gives you a default go to of "I blast it!" when you don't have a better idea at the moment.

This brings up an interesting point. Sometimes, the most powerful thing a caster can do is wait. I played a wizard in a recent Carrion Crown campaign, and if I didn't have anything that directly put the party in a better position to win the fight more efficiently or at least in a safer fashion, I'd hold my action and just wait for the opportunity to ruin somebody's day or pull the fighter out of a tough spot.

It's nice to have a fallback, because damage will usually accelerate a fight, but many times I think the proper action is to delay and let the battle unfold for a few more turns before intervening.

[C Overton]

Thanks for the suggestions.
Battlefield control and debuffing with some damage is what I'm going to look into.

[nobu_the_bard]

The single most useful spell I found was Overland Flight. Take it if it's available. At level 10 (by which most of those who can learn it have it, I think) it allows 10 hours of 40-foot flight; that's usually enough time to cover the entire adventuring day. You probably won't need to recast it but I usually carried a magic item capable of casting it too as a precaution. You're effectively immune to pit traps and falling, can move out of range of melee enemies, etc.

Any fast teleporting spell is good; you need at least one if you can take it. Dimension Door is probably the best get-out-of-trouble one (you can use it escape grapples in addition to a mess of other things).

Some other more minor great ones: Prestidigitation (various stock "magic" stuff, great for roleplay), Resist Elements (for 24 hours ignore the weather), Create Water (all kinds of creative uses). Don't underestimate the utility of your level 0 spells for problem solving.

EDIT: Oh, and Find Traps, particularly if your party doesn't have a rogue.