Puppeteer

Inspired by the performing arts, Puppeteers imbue inorganic facsimiles of life with magic to birth loyal comrades. Some Puppeteers begin their careers with bardic aspirations, but later find their true calling in the strive for perfection of the artisan craft. Others set out to create fierce soldiers, sturdier than beings of flesh and blood and more reliable than the standard golem.

Tool Proficiency

3rd-level Puppeteer feature

You gain proficiency with woodcarver's tools. If you already have this proficiency, you gain proficiency with one other type of artisan's tools of your choice.

Puppeteer Spells

3rd-level Puppeteer feature

You always have certain spells prepared after you reach particular levels in this class, as shown in the Puppeteer Spells table. These spells count as artificer spells for you, but they don’t count against the number of artificer spells you prepare.

Puppeteer Spells

Artificer Level	Spell
3rd	command, entangle
5th	hold person, magic mouth
9th	animate dead, sending
13th	compulsion, death ward
17th	dominate person, animate objects

Thespian Initiate

3rd-level Puppeteer feature

You have become well-versed in the practice of your art. Whenever you make a Charisma check, you gain a bonus to the check equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of +1).

In addition, you gain proficiency with one of the following skills of your choice: Deception or Performance.

Arcane Puppet

3rd-level Puppeteer feature

You've learned how to create a magical puppet. Using woodcarver's tools, you can take an action to magically create an arcane puppet in an unoccupied space on a horizontal surface within 30 feet of you. The puppet is tethered to your woodcarver's tools by intangible, invisible strings of arcane energy. If the puppet is more than 30 feet away from you, the magic strings break, and the puppet loses its magic and becomes a mundane, nonmagical object. You can use your woodcarver's tools as a bonus action to reanimate the puppet, provided you are within 30 feet of it and can see it, and it retains the same amount of hit points it had before it de-animated.

It is friendly to you and your companions, and it obeys your commands. See this creature's game statistics in the Arcane Puppet stat block, which uses your proficiency bonus (PB) in several places. You determine the creature's appearance and whether it has two legs or four; your choice has no effect on game statistics.

In combat, the puppet shares your initiative count. On your turn, you can command the puppet where to move (no action required by you). You can use your action to command it to take an action from its stat block or some other action. If you do not issue a command, the puppet takes the Dodge action. If you are incapacitated, the puppet can take any action of its choice, not just Dodge. It uses its reaction on its own.

Whenever you cast an artificer spell on your turn, you can cast it as if you were in the puppet's space, instead of your own, using its senses. You can do this a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

When you speak, you can choose the puppet as the point of origin for your voice.

If the mending spell is cast on it, it regains 2d6 hit points. If it has died within the last hour, you can use your woodcarver's as an action to revive it, provided you are within reach feet of it and you expend a spell slot of 1st level or higher. The puppet returns to life after 1 minute with all its hit points restored.

At the end of a long rest, you can create a new arcane puppet if you have your woodcarver's tools with you. If you already have an arcane puppet from this feature, the first one immediately becomes a mundane, nonmagical object. The puppet also becomes a nonmagical object if you die.

 

String Virtuoso

5th-level Puppeteer feature

You've improved the arcane strings that connect you to your puppet:

• Your arcane strings extend. The puppet can now be up to 60 feet away from you before losing its magic, and the range of your bonus action to reanimate the puppet becomes 60 feet.
• When you take the Dash action on your turn, your puppet can also takes the Dash action.
• If you do not use your action to command the puppet, you can use your bonus action to command the puppet to take the Search action.
• When a creature you can see within 15 feet of you hits you with an attack, you can tug on the strings to summon your puppet to retaliate. Using your reaction, the puppet can teleport to an unoccupied space within 10 feet of you. The puppet can then make one melee weapon attack against the attacker. If that attack hits, it deals an extra 2d6 force damage. You can do so a number of times per day equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Enhanced Tether

9th-level Puppeteer feature

You've learned new ways to channel magic through the strings for your puppet:

• The puppet can now be up to 120 feet away from you before losing its magic, and the range of your bonus action to reanimate the puppet becomes 120 feet.
• The puppet's damage rolls increase by 1d4.
• When you use your action to cast an artificer spell, you can use your bonus action to command the puppet to make one melee weapon attack.
• Whenever your puppet is forced to make a saving throw, you can choose to replace its ability modifier with your own.

Master Marionettist

15th-level Puppeteer feature

You've mastered your control over your arcane puppet:

• When you use your action to create your puppet, or when you roll initiative while the puppet is in reach, you become invisible. This effect lasts for 1 minute or until you cast a spell.
• When you target the puppet with a spell that has a range of Touch, you can make the range of the spell 60 feet.
• As long as you can see the puppet, it no longer loses its magic when it is more than 120 feet away from you.
• You can sacrifice your own life energy when your puppet falls in battle. When the puppet is reduced to 0 hit points, you can use your reaction to take 3d8 necrotic damage, and the puppet regains a number of hit points equal to the necrotic damage you take.