Core only Bard

[prufock]

Animate rope seems not too great?

Entangled is a good condition to impose on enemies. Animate Rope is a save vs entagled. However, it's a bit more action-expensive than some other ways, so you'll need to get your monk buddy to throw it, but for a first level spell is not bad. Not as good as Grease, but has other uses besides combat.