Is the Magus based off Str or Dex? Because a Skald could be very useful with so much melee. Or a Bard of course.
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I've played in Emerald Spire quite a bit, and have also GMd some levels.
Let's look at this through the lens of the The Forge of Combat metaphor, since it was written to answer just this sort of question. This metaphor totally applies to Emerald Spire. Using this metaphor these are the three Pathfinder combat roles:
Arm = Support & Healing
Hammer = Inflict HP damage
Anvil = Battlefield control
A balanced group wants to cover all three roles. A group should have at least one Arm, at least one Anvil, and the rest Hammers.
This party has paladin, magus, bloodrager, brawler, and the OP.
paladin => Hammer , secondary Arm
magus => Hammer, possibly secondary Anvil
Bloodrager => Hammer
Brawler => Hammer
This party has two dedicated Hammers, and two more Hammers possibly able to help out with the Arm and Anvil roles. This party has four Hammers, but neither a dedicated Arm nor a dedicated Anvil.
The OP is inclined to go Full Caster, which probably means either an Arm (divine caster or bard) or Anvil (Wizard, Sorcerer, Witch). This inclination seems 100% right. Probably avoid a Blaster Caster, as that's just a fancy way to use spells to be a Hammer. Here are some suggestions:
* Heavens Oracle makes a terrific Anvil (crowd control with super-powered Color Spray) and, as a full divine caster, also makes a fine Arm.
* A Mystic Theurge is a natural to fill both the Anvil role and, to a lesser extent, the Arm role.
* An Evangelist archetype cleric would make a fantastic Arm, as Bardsong will greatly boost all those martial allies into being even better Hammers. Evangelists also make solid Anvils, because their Summoned Monsters are so effective.
* A Witch would make a really effective Anvil,and also a respectable Arm. Debuffs, buffs, and healing all in one package.
I have a Stone Spirit Shaman in my Emerald Spire campaign. He started off slow, but at level 5 he's really getting into gear. Crystal Sight hex is very fun in a dungeon that's 99% stone and dirt.
I agree that caster clerics can be a little dry, especially in the early levels. If you want a divine caster, how about a Druid, possibly with the Cave archetype?
This party isn't lacking in magic, which means that you can be any kind of caster you want, which is a fun freedom to have. At first I'd say Bard, but that's an arcane half caster overload. Inquisitor could be an interesting choice, throw a little divine might around, stand behind the big guys and be the glass cannon you were born to be? Then again a life oracle would make you everyone's best friend. Your team needs a toolbox character when it comes right down to it, so I'd recommend rolling a Cleric, Witch or Druid.
since your party doesn't have that much healing capacity( paladin only healer). but cleric do tend to be dry(and skill starved).
id say go with warpriest. youll get to heal nicly. and get the boosts to weapon and armor later on so even without good loot you cna do very well..
try and pick a weapon focus for something useful or uniqe.a dagger can be nice as ud do more and more damage with somehing most will consider the last harmful weapon(and you can throw them so range and melee combined). i had a warpriest with weapon focus on rocks which got lots of luaghs,since he also kept a pet rock(gm aproved rocks as weapon since i picekd them as the holy weapon as well so i had proficency in them).
Your first instinct is right, this party needs a full caster, preferably someone able to provide buffs and lay down battlefield control. My understanding is that Clerics are fairly dull until about level 8, so if you want to go divine I would recommend Oracle (who can get some fairly decent low level abilities).
However, to achieve both I think arcane is better. Brown-fur Arcanist would be my choice, your buffs just got better (Enlarge for +4 STR - your Hammer friends will love you), and you can still lay down Battlefield Control when necessary.
Alternatively, look to making a Mystic Theurge as Magda Luckbender has suggested. Depending on your tolerance for cheese, there is a fast track MT that can jump into it at 4th level; SLAs count as spells for the purposes of requirements for Prestige classes. You have to play Cleric with the trickery domain (Mirror Image as a 2nd level divine spell) and any race that gives a 2nd level arcane SLA (there are quite a few). That will give you the spell requirements, you need only add 1 level of arcane (to take advantage of the increasing arcane spell levels), 1 level of divine (Cleric with trickery domain) and 1 level of anything for the skill requirements. Empyreal Sorceror makes sense, as it is based off WIS.
since your party doesn't have that much healing capacity( paladin only healer). but cleric do tend to be dry(and skill starved).
id say go with warpriest. youll get to heal nicly. and get the boosts to weapon and armor later on so even without good loot you cna do very well..
try and pick a weapon focus for something useful or uniqe.a dagger can be nice as ud do more and more damage with somehing most will consider the last harmful weapon(and you can throw them so range and melee combined). i had a warpriest with weapon focus on rocks which got lots of luaghs,since he also kept a pet rock(gm aproved rocks as weapon since i picekd them as the holy weapon as well so i had proficency in them).
I really like Warpriests, but I would have to disagree. Warpriests are an excellent front line class, but their limited spells really need to be dedicated to self-buffing, which means they are virtually useless as a support class or a class for battlefield control. This group does not need another front-liner (or hammer as the thread has designated it). they will simply be getting in each others way. As regards healing, the Paladin should be enough (especially if they can be be persuaded to become an Oradin - the most awesome healing build ever) for the most part; all that is needed is a wand of CLW for healing between encounters. It would be useful for another to be able to use a wand of CLW in case the paladin is incapacitated, but the Bloodrager can pick up UMD (or the Magus if he gets the pragmatic activator trait).
yea. when i say healing i should have mantioned that i mean total healing. not just hp. restoration, posion desiese etc. a pally is nice. but smoetimes you just don't wnat to wait 3 days for him to finish getting every1 back after a strige swarm attack. (con dmage + option of difrent illneses)
Precisely, they need someone who can remove debuffs such as blindness. I strongly urge you to look at a Divine full caster.
Sylvan Sorcerers are great, and you should play one of those. The battlefield control potential on those is second to none. Also, don't forget to pick up boon companion to get a fully leveled up animal companion.