My small party lacks arcane magic - what to do?

[Joshua Randall]

I run a homebrewed but pretty standard D&D game, with only two players. The small party consists of 2 PCs and 1 cohort; specifically, we have:

PC #1: dwarf Clr6/Ftr2 of the war-god
cohort: dwarf Ftr4/Pal2 of the war-god
PC #2: human Rog4/Rgr3, a stealthy scout-type

When it comes to dishing out the pain, this group can deliver. Both of the dwarves are pretty combat-optimized, and the rogue/ranger is adept at sniping and sneak-attacking. After a battle, the dwarf cleric/fighter is fine for keeping the group healthy. (I'm also relatively generous with healing potions. I make up for it by being stingy regarding other magic items.)

But the big issue here is lack of arcane magic. Neither of the players wanted to play an arcane spellcaster, and when PC #1 took his cohort, he specifically asked for a warrior-type. That means that, in situations that require arcane magic (and more and more of them do as the group advances in level), I have to insert an NPC mage.

I'm currently using an NPC sorcerer to provide some magical oomph. But that's not satisfactory. I find it too difficult to run the NPC as a realistic party member, and neither of the players has stepped up to take control. So the NPC mage ends up being a robotic cipher about whom nobody cares -- as an example, he bled out (to -10 hp) once because no one bothered to check his inventory for the two healing potions that could have saved him.

I tried to convince PC #2 to take the Leadership feat (at 6th level) and adopt the NPC sorcerer as his cohort, but the player didn't want to do that.

So I appeal to the collective wisdom of EN World for advice. Does my party even need arcane magic? Should I adjust the challenges they face to make them less magic-dependent? Is a personality-free NPC sorcerer okay, and I should just get over it? Help!

 

[Mouseferatu]

Should I adjust the challenges they face to make them less magic-dependent?

Bingo.

Despite what some would have you believe, no single class is required for a game of D&D if the DM is willing to modify the challenges accordingly.

Focus less on creatures with high damage reduction, or multiple long-distance magical attacks. (I'm not saying don't use them; they make for a good fight; just don't use them often.) Change the way magic-intensive monsters fight. Maybe in this setting, dragons prefer to get close up and personal, saving their magical abilities for emergency situations.

It's actually not that hard to do, honestly, so long as you're willing to put some thought into it in advance--and it sounds like you are, or you wouldn't have asked.

 

[BSF]

I would say stop worrying about it. Focus on providing them with a fun game. Especially with 2 players, you are going to have a hard time filling all the niches. So, don't try. Give them challenges that they can handle most of the time. Plan out scenarios where Arcane Magic would have been useful as special encounters. Not to teach them a lesson, but to highlight that weakness and to give them an opportunity to succeed despite that weakness. It will make their success hard-earned and all the more cherished. If they want to, they can then look at hiring an NPC spellcaster. Or taking a cohort. Or maybe even inviting a new player to the group, if that will work for you.

 

[Voadam]

Cleric magic is pretty similar to wizard magic, just 2 levels down in damage punches and a few less utility spells. Clerics can scry, clerics can heal, clerics can buff well, they can summon, and they have a few moderate direct attack spells.

What have you felt they needed arcane magic for? artillery? Transport? While a wizard can teleport, a cleric can plane shift.

I play an eldritch knight, and I don't think there really is anthing REQUIRED about my spells for the way our party works.

Plus you have a rogue who might pick up UMD and wands or scrolls if need be.

 

[Joshua Randall]

Thanks for the advice. On reflection, I think the real issue is not so much lack of arcane magic as it is lack of magic appropriate to their level. Because the divine caster has taken two levels of fighter, he's not casting at full spell power. (He could've been a Clr8 by now instead of a Clr6/Ftr2.)

And the player wants to enter the Warpriest PrC at 9th level - which only grants spellcasting progression every other level.

It should be interesting to see how clever my players can be in overcoming challenges without "enough" magic for their APL. Any other insights would be appreciated.

 

[Numion]

In our campaign we played to 11th level with no arcane caster, and fared very well. We had 2 clerics who could match fighters in combat and that made the group very robust. Nobody was a dead weight in combat, except the rogue if we faced undead or constructs.

So I'd say that the groups main weakness is the lack of a cleric with full caster levels (I mean equal to party level). You don't actually need an arcane caster, as far as I know. Almost everything can be done with clerics.

ps. Multiclassing cleric with more than one level of fighter might not be wise. Cleric gains spells that grant level-dependent bonuses to hit and damage, so fighter is not as good compared to cleric as it might seem.

 

[Simplicity]

Give 'em a necklace of fireballs, and maybe some weak wands. Inform
the rogue that Use Magic Item is a good skill...

 

[HellHound]

We are also shy an arcane caster in our primary Oathbound campaign, and the party has just gone Epic, so it is REALLY noticeable if you run any published high-level adventures.

It just comes down to running the game appropriately, reducing the number of situations that are winnable only through spellcasting.

 

[Norfleet]

Well, if you're concerned about their lack of arcane magic....imprint this need into them. They'll probably take the need for a caster more seriously if you kill one of them. Death, after all, is a character-building experience.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Yep, letting them have as much rope as they need for their own hangings is the way to go.

Have the sorcerer quit.

Let 'em suffer. It is after all their own choice.

However the best solution is just to get more players, it is very hard to create a balanced party with just two players. The game really is built around four main archtypes - fighter, rogue, wizard, cleric, missing any of them can put real limitations on what they can accomplish. (Though I lean toward the cleric as being the least dispensable - without his healing it's amazing how much down time a party needs.

Or abandon the standard D&D style for something that works better for a small party - mysteries, scouting for a patron, ghost hunting, etc.

The Auld Grump