[PF] What are the relative power scales of the different class spell lists?

[harpy]

One of the more nuanced elements of the system is that the class spell lists are not all created equal. Each class has a list that is tailored to the class, both in terms of content but also in quantity of spells.

In the core book the quantities are:

Bard 164
Cleric 233
Druid 169
Paladin 43
Ranger 51
Wizard/Sorcerer 388

And of course part of that is the difference in how many spell levels the class gets. The nine level casters have 388/233/169, while the six level caster gets 164, meanwhile the four level classes have 43/51.

However, just looking at the full casters there is a huge volume disparity, which is definitely going to be playing into the overall value of the class spell list.

I guess what I'm interested in hearing is less in the "quantity" factor, and more in the "quality" factor. Druid spells are focused on a specific theme, and tend towards buffing/controlling and less on raw attack power. Meanwhile the Wizard list has an abundance of ways to cause a bad day to someone.

Has anyone looked at this in detail?

[kestrel404]

I don't think anyone has done this extensively for pathfinder, but for 3.5 a lot of 'class X is better than class Y' is based off of the merits of the spell lists. Assuming that this comparison carries over (and it probably does, just based on the quantities you mentioned) I'm pretty sure that these are the commonly accepted generalizations:

Wizards have the best spells. Sorcerors get to cherry pick off that list, but Wizards are tier 1 purely on the strength of their spell selection.
Clerics have very, very nice spells as well, but they tend to get the nicer effects at later levels than wizards, while they get party buffs and other helpful spells earlier and in greater diversity.
Druid spells are nothing special. They're strongly tier 1 because the combination of Animal Companion + Wild Shape + Level 9 spells means they've got lots and lots of options to solve every problem.

All of the other classes have spell lists that help them solve a specific sub-set of problems well, with perhaps a few options for helping in other areas. No one but wizards get the specialized 'Spell X can deal with Situation Y' spells, but even clerics and druids have spells to deal with pretty much anything, or can get access to them. The other classes, not so much.

An exception to this may be the Summoner class, which may not get the same versatility in spell selection as a Sorceror, but they eventually get Gate as an SLA, which in and of itself means they've got multiple tier 1 entities on-tap for virutally no cost. On top of that, their spell list rivals or beats Cleric in terms of ability to buff things.

Hope that helps.