A life oracle and an Oradin...terrible group composition.
I say play a controller of some sort. Someone who can control the entire battlefield. Your double healers may hate you but usually, reactive healing still ends up getting people killed because creatures are still able to focus fire someone down. Having someone who can control the flow of battle will work wonderfully and be safer for the frontliners.
A wizard or full arcane caster classes would work beautifully.
I certainly agree that a good battlefield controller would probably benefit your group the most. The big caution I have on that though is that battlefield control is probably the most difficult role to play, it takes some skill in character building, but even more in effective play (I've seen controllers who inadvertently ended up shaping the battlefield to the benefit of the other team more than their own.)
Another option would be range based character, any sort of archer would be able to contribute without getting in the groups way. Alchemist might be an interesting option, as you can take some 'control' bombs and get a feel for that, while still having just a straight up damage choice. Personally I'm a fan of the grenadier archetype. Of course since you seem not to have enjoyed archery with your previous character, I can see that being an issue.
Lastly, with 2 or 3 (depending on what the Oradin actually does in combat) melee people, throwing some inspire courage around wouldn't go amiss. A bard would help make up for a not really having a lot of skills in the group.
Based on all of your advice. We are sorely missing both battlefield control and buffs, which I agree with. So I've decided to go draw up both a witch and bard then talk them through with the GM thanks everybody.
A witch is very good for a beginner as the Hexes can be spammed most the day and you can learn the ins and outs of prepared casting. If you want buffs then go with the Time Patron which gets Haste. Save haste for boss fights and Drop haste and fall back on Hexes.
For Hexes I recommend:
Slumber (Control)
Evil Eye (Debuff)
Cackle (Hex duration Extender)
Later Major Hex:
Ice Tomb
Then pick your spells on Battlefield control and Buffs in mind.
Make sure to pick up the spell Ill Omen as a 1st level spell.
Later take the feats Split hex and accursed Hex so you can slumber and evil eye 2 targets at a time.
Consider winter Witch / Rime
Having gone through part of this AP, I think a summoner would have been a really solid choice. Summons are almost always great, and you can burn summons for trap-springing. Better yet, an eidolon is a great beatstick and flank partner for other party members
An arcanist with the occultist archetype is a pretty good controller with a pretty easy learning curve.
I completely forgot the Arcanist existed. After reading it, it looks amazing just because of how they prepare and cast spells. I've already drawn up a time witch, but i'm going read further into Arcanist.
Arcanist is a good class.
I won't go into my personal reasons I always Pick Wizard over arcanist because the Phrase Your mileage may vary comes into play. I have always been good at preparing spells either Arcane or Divine and I tend to keep a nice scroll library of Utility spells so it seems to others like I have all the answers when needed.
So really it is up to your playstyle and what suits you and your style best. Arcanist I can make work but I get more satisfaction from Wizard and Witch.
Arcanist, sorcerer and wizard are all good classes for different kinds of people. But the arcanist is the most forgiving to the new spell player. You don't have to stress about picking the right spells, because your spell selection is fluid from day to day or round to round.
"What else burns? MAOR WITCHES!"
I think you should play a witch. Debuffs, control, minor healing, and fun.
I think you should play a witch. Debuffs, control, minor healing, and fun.
Witch is a fine class, but it sounds like his party already has two healers, so bringing extra heals isn't that important. And you can do debuffs and control with spells.
I'm assuming the oradin is a self-healing tank and the other Life oracle heals when needed, but what does the Life oracle do when s/he is not healing during a fight? Oracles get all the cures for free, so what other spells does s/he have and use? I'm thinking the best bet is to make a spellcaster that complements the pre-existing spellcaster and party make up.
A bard would really help your 3 melee guys. Does the Life oracle use summon monster spells at all? They would get buffed by your Inspire Courage too. A bard also helps with Knowledge checks and are often competent archers. Would a skald be useful too?
Witches are fun. You seem like the kind of player that would cackle in real life when your witch does! :-D You don't have to worry (much) about running out of spells because you can hex all day.
Druids are fun, but have lots of moving parts, especially if you get the animal companion. They have a really versatile spell list; they might not have all the battlefield control, blasting, buffing, de-buffing, summoning, divination, healing, etc., spells, but she has at least one per spell level, so she can fill lots and lots of magic roles--and change the role(s) each day. And you won't even have to prepare any cures if you don't want to since you already have two healers in the party. You don't NEED the animal companion since you have 3 warriors already, so you can pick a fun domain for more spells.
A Shaman might be interesting, but they have lots of moving parts, and you sound like you want a simple full caster to start out with.
Are there any bard archetypes that get hexes AND keep Inspire Courage?
Play a dwarf :)
Full arcane casting might be needed... but with the 2 healers, I think you are free to play what you want.
If you like ranged combat, you could always play a Fighter focusing on ranged or maybe a ranger with a fun pet.
In this party I might have rolled monk (tetori and sensei come to mind).
But I like playing monks and general melee classes without much care of spell casting :)