Character for Rise of the Runelord

[Sir_Andrew]

Hi everyone, so my brother is going to be running a Core only Rise of the Runelord campaign (no other books including APG with the exception of unchained classes) and i need a hand picking a character. another note is that we have a 25 point buy.

so far we have a
gnome fey bloodline sorcerer.
Human?...paladin or battle cleric
i don't know what the third person is playing but i think shes leaning towards a martial character.
originally i was going to play a human unchained rogue who does normal rogue stuff, but i just watched the warcraft movie (didn't like it) though i was inspired by the mage Khadgar, so how to you make a core sorcerer that's really good in combat, but still has good utility? and/or the best way to make Khadgar?

a few notes.
1) this would be my first caster in the whole 7 years i've played pathfinder/3.5 D&D
2) core only for now, but once we hint book 2 or 3, we are allowed to retrain with access to newer books (but for now core only)

any advice would be helpful.

[Darksol the Painbringer]

You have a full Arcane spellcaster. You also have a (potential) full Divine spellcaster.

The only thing I can say with the spellcasters is that lacking full progression will bite you, especially if you fail crucial Save/Die effects (which may take place within the first encounters, in fact, depending on how your GM plays the baddies), because the AP assumes you have Full Progression Arcane and Divine Spellcasters on your team (the classic Fighter/Rogue/Wizard/Cleric party).

Lacking those, you'll be pretty hardpressed to deal with some of the bad stuff that comes your way. While a Paladin can deal with most of it, that only works for the Paladin, whereas a Cleric can help the rest of the party (like the Sorcerer or other Martial), and on a much better scale. So, I'd suggest your Human party member be a Cleric.

You'll also find it difficult to have utility as a Sorcerer, since Wizards are infinitely more flexible, have the better progression, casting stat, and class features. Khadgar also makes more sense as a Wizard based on Warcraft lore, since he can cast extremely powerful magic that most nobody else would know (something that can be explained as having an extremely expansive spellbook).

Otherwise, focus on Summons. It's Core Only, requires little investment, and gives you infinitisemal utility, since anything you need, a summoned creature can provide, whether it's a specific spell (such as Cleric spells so the Cleric doesn't waste his slots), a meat shield (so the Martial doesn't have to play the Uncertainty Principle with his combat positioning), the list goes on...

Lastly, retraining after quite a few levels is a waste of time and gold if you're expected to be Core only; if you're building Core only, getting the option to retrain later at the cost of downtime (which can be better spent crafting powerful magic items) and money (which, again, can be spent on powerful magic items) sounds pointless.

[Just a Mort]

Party composition wise, I'd suggest slayer/urban ranger to cover trapfinding. If the human is going paladin, you may want to do Seeker Oracle(trapfinding + divine spell coverage).

Arcane bloodline probably works fine with Khadgar sorcerer. What would you define good at combat? Usually Sleep Spells/colour spray cleans up stuff fine. Utility, just grab summon monster, learn the elemental languages, and get invisibility.

Honestly if you do double arcane it's a bit...of a party inbalance.

[Ierox]

A sorcerer can fake being a wizard pretty well, if you know what you're doing.

Half-elf, take the human FCB.

By the time you have third level spells, you should have one will-based Save-or-suck, one reflex-based save-or-suck, and one fortitude-based save or suck. If you take heighten spell, this is all you'll really need for the rest of your carreer.

In addition, you want one blast spell for when you're bored, and from there on out the rest can be utility.

Buy some scrolls for when you need one-off solution style spells like Knock or Windwall, and take Paragon Surge so you can 1/d decide 1 spell you want to know for a few minutes. This is useful for picking up stuff like Scrying, Break Enchantment, Animate Dead or Stone to Flesh that you don't want cluttering up your list on a daily basis, but will want or need to cast eventually.

[GoldEdition42]

Sanctified Slayer. Dwarf or half-Orc. Fate's Favored trait for certain. Travel domain and a rapier for the crits.
Focus on a melee sword/board build. Once Bane kicks in.....you just murder everything.
Also, great skills outside combat.

[Create Mr. Pitt]

Void-touched sorcerer, which is the wildblooded archetype of starsoul. Strong spells, good bonus feats, but most importantly one of the finest caster assassinators in the game.

Any one creature that fails a save on an evocation is silenced for one round. It lacks in the versatility and pure power of the Arcane bloodline it makes up for in being a really nice bf control bloodline. Focus on conjuration and evocation and as suggested different spells that attack the three different saves. Conjuration mixes well because most of its best spells (glitterdust, stinking cloud, create pit) are not subject to spell resistance.

In addition, take the trait that makes Diplomacy a class skill and craft wondrous item as an early feat and you'll be in nice shape for RotRL.

[Menarses Esenay]

A wizard specialized in divination is one of the better Core arcane options, IMO. Also, Rise of the Runelords has widely varied challenges, so I second the notion that a wizard with a full spellbook will probably be more successful than a sorcerer. Especially a wizard who can know today what spells will be useful tomorrow. ;-)

Of the Core races, elves make the best wizards, unless you like the human bonus feat. You won't need the bonus skill points with your high Intelligence. And if traits are allowed, then consider Rich Parents. A scroll of a 1st-level spell costs 25 gp and scribing a 1st-level spell into a spellbook costs 10 gp. Buy twenty additional 1st-level spells for 700 gp (over the 3 + Int modifier that you automatically get) and your spellbook will be overflowing at first level.

But your party NEEDS a rogue. As rogues go, I'd suggest a dwarf rogue for three reasons. One, rogues are scouts and scouts benefit greatly from darkvision. Two, dwarves are tough-as-nails when it comes to saving against magic. Three, stonecunning combined with ranks in Perception and the trapfinding ability will result in you finding many traps before they find you. Even if you forget to say, "I search for traps."

Not that I'm trying to spoil anything for you by warning you in advance that you'll see a lot of saves against magic and traps or anything. I would never...

EDIT: Paladin? Good. Battle cleric? Great. Gnome fey sorcerer? Horrible and really not up to RotR's encounters. I'd strongly recommend that your friend reconsider.