[PF] entangle- am i missing something

[khachaturian]

My experience so far with entangle as a newbie druid seems to be less than overwhelming. while the range and area of effect are great, it seems that encounters start at a close enough range that either the party is affected or the monster is out in one or two rounds. usually what happens with me is that the melee types wade in and get pissed off, and i end up dismissing the spell.

my sense is that what is supposed to happen is that the targets are seen at range, like 100+ feet or so, i drop an entangle, and we plunk away with ranged weapons. if there are multiple enemies, the slow movement might separate them out a little bit and make them easier to manage. but in practice, the fact that even outdoor engagements tend to start at close range seems to negate some of the spell's usefulness. also, in pathfinder, for my current character, the reflex DC is a lackluster 14. any words of advice from the playground?

[Keneth]

It's clearly not useful in every encounter. You need a great deal of space, either between you and the enemy, or behind you and the enemy, to make it effective. Note that entangled enemies do not become unentangled as soon as they leave the area. Also, the entire area is difficult terrain, meaning each space costs 10 ft. to move in to, and for entangled enemies that's a 3/4 drop in speed. Your party must also be able to deal with enemies either at range or without being affected by the plants.

As a side note, if the plants in the area are hard enough (such as tree roots), the enemies who become entangled are held in place and cannot move at all.

[BowStreetRunner]

You pretty much nailed it. Of course, a good DM should mix up the encounters a bit more - at least a few should start at long range.

[Urpriest]

The encounters starting at close range is often just because your DM doesn't know you guys have long range capabilities. Next time you guys start at close range in an outdoor encounter, ask your DM if you would have seen the enemies from further off, so as to use long-range spells.

[EyethatBinds]

It an effective spell in keeping the monsters in the area when they try to flee, or limiting engagements to smaller groups when faced with a large group of enemies.

[ericgrau]

The encounters starting at close range is often just because your DM doesn't know you guys have long range capabilities. Next time you guys start at close range in an outdoor encounter, ask your DM if you would have seen the enemies from further off, so as to use long-range spells.

That's something to remember on my future archers: If you don't like the encounter range, just ask if another range is ok. So simple I never thought of it. I don't like to disrupt the game flow but when your whole character is built around it it seems important enough.

Entangle is a bit hit and miss. It gets complaint threads of OPness when it works perfectly, but it often doesn't. One of 70 reasons all creatures should have a ranged backup weapon too, and why druids should have fall back tactics as well.