Hey folks! I’ve been playing a kobold rogue with the Snarecrafter archetype in Pathfinder Society for the past couple of years (just hit level 8—woohoo!). I’ve spent a ton of Achievement Points unlocking exotic snares and their formulas, and my build is heavily invested in snares and stealth. I love the concept: sneak ahead, set traps, lure enemies into them, and laugh maniacally from the shadows. When it works, it’s awesome.
But… it rarely works.
As many of you know, most PFS scenarios are designed to be fast-paced and proactive. Snares, by contrast, are mostly defensive in nature. Even with all the feats and options that let you use them in combat, they’re often not action-efficient or as effective as just sneak attacking twice.
In practice, I often go multiple scenarios without using a single snare. It’s frustrating, especially when I’ve invested so heavily into them. A big part of the problem is tactical dissonance. I’ll drop a snare in a likely charge lane and wait for the enemy to blunder into it… but then another PC charges right past it to engage the enemy first, bypassing the trap entirely. I get it—they’re playing their characters—but it feels like I’m being penalized for trying to play mine.
Worse still, some GMs don’t really play along either. Enemies “coincidentally” avoid snare placements, even without line of sight or any reason to know they’re there (even mindless enemies seem to somehow wizen up to my schemes sometimes). When I’ve tried to adapt by scouting ahead and laying snares in advance in between encounters, I sometimes hear pushback from players:
For the record: I can set up a dozen snares in less time than it takes the party to heal themselves. And I never tell others how to play. I just try to coordinate like a tactician would. But that often doesn’t fly in PFS.
So, I turn to you fine people:
How do you make snares work in Pathfinder Society?
Have you found strategies, scenarios, or table behaviors that make snaring worthwhile? Are there archetype combos, social tricks, or table etiquette tips that help? I’m not looking to "win" fights solo—just to have *my* character's specialty feel useful and fun more than once in a blue moon.
Thanks for reading and for any advice you can offer. Kobolds everywhere will thank you.
PFS might be too easy for snares. I remember one instance when we were jumped in a 5' funnel by kinda tough monsters. A few of us retreated because the non-intelligent enemies should follow us to the previous room where we could flip the script and take them one by one. Two obstinate players (veteran regulars of mine at that) pushed forward alone...and handled it readily. Who needs cool tactics, eh?
I can just imagine you shining in one of those rare adventures where the party sets up defenses! But yeah, most scenarios the players simply push (or skill) their way forward with little regard for tactics, and high regard for mobility. Maybe because PFS has to cater to random parties & different player levels.
As for the GMing, that's atrocious. As ridiculously obvious as snares are described, they're actually hidden and you shouldn't have to remind them of that. Maybe track which GMs play fair and play a substitute for those that don't? Same for which players appreciate traps. Sorry.
Thanks for the heads up though! I was thinking a Hydrokineticist to push enemies into traps, the previous options being polearm crits or Athletics which are less reliable. But if I can't preset, those are costly rounds with no attacks. Hmm.
