Puppeteer

Artificers who choose to become Puppeteers are typically master craftspeople, combining their love of and pride for creating works of art with an innate ability to control the battlefield. Puppeteers add new abilities and devices to their puppets like accessories, to make sure that, no matter what happens, they can perform a show no one will forget.

Credit to HicksDude at gmbinder.com for their 'Artificer Specialist: Puppeteer' subclass, upon which this subclass is based.

Credit to Docatto for their original artwork.

Tool Proficiency

3rd-level Puppeteer feature

When you adopt this specialisation at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with artisan's tools (carpenter'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

Starting at 3rd level, 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.

Artificer Level	Spell
3rd	command, false life
5th	shatter, suggestion
9th	call lightning, hypnotic pattern
13th	compulsion, dimension door
17th	awaken, dominate person (can target constructs)

Artisan Fighter

3rd-level Puppeteer feature

When you reach 3rd level, you use your vast experience as an artisan to improve your combat ability in two ways:

• You gain proficiency with martial ranged weapons, longswords, rapiers, shortswords, and scimitars.
• When you attack with a magic weapon, you can use your Intelligence modifier, instead of Strength or Dexterity modifier, for the attack and damage rolls.

Fine Craftsmanship

3rd-level Puppeteer feature

Starting at 3rd level, you can create a puppet companion that you can control to help defend you and your allies, and attack your enemies. It's friendly to you and your companions, and it obeys your commands. See its 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 its game statistics.

In combat, the puppet shares your initiative count, but it takes its turn immediately after yours. It can move and use its reaction on its own, but the only action it takes on its turn is the Dodge action, unless you take a bonus action on your turn to command it to take another action. That action can be one in its stat block or some other action.

If the mending spell is cast on the puppet, it regains 2d6 hit points. If it drops to 0 hit points, it ends its turn more than 30 feet away from you, or you are incapacitated, the puppet is incapacitated until it is healed to 1 or more hit points, it ends its turn within 30 feet of you, or you are no longer incapacitated. If it is hit with an attack while incapacitated, it is destroyed. If it was destroyed within the last hour, you can use your carpenter's tools as an action to revive it, provided you are within 5 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 carpenter's tools with you. If you already have a puppet from this feature, the first one immediately perishes. The puppet also perishes if you die.

Swift Show

5th-level Puppeteer feature

You have become increasingly adept at performing with your puppet. When you use your bonus action to command your puppet, you may have it take two actions instead of one.

Battle-Hardened Puppet

9th-level Puppeteer feature

You upgrade your puppet to make it an even deadlier performer on the battlefield. Each time you create a new Arcane Puppet using Fine Craftsmanship, you can add one additional action from the list below to the puppet's list of available actions. If the chosen action requires a saving throw, use your Spell Save DC.

The puppet can take these actions a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of once) per long rest.

Dummy's Bomb. The puppet sets down or throws a small explosive device at a point it chooses within range. The explosive has an AC of 10 and 1 hit point. If thrown, the explosive has a range of 30 feet and detonates immediately on impact; if set down, it can be detonated remotely from up to 60 feet away as a reaction. A Dummy's Bomb that has been set down can be seen with a successful DC 12 Wisdom (Perception) check. A successful DC 15 Dexterity check using thieves' tools disarms the device, rendering it harmless. A character without thieves' tools can attempt this check with disadvantage using any edged weapon or tool. On a failed check, the explosive detonates. The explosive also detonates if it is reduced to 0 hit points.

When detonated, each creature within a 10-foot radius of the explosive must make a Dexterity saving throw. A target takes 4d6 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. The puppet cannot set down more than one Dummy's Bomb at a time.

Piercing Barrage. The puppet hurls a flurry of piercing weapons in a 30-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a Dexterity saving throw, taking 3d6 magical piercing damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one.

Sharp Strings. You have made every part of your puppet a weapon, even its strings. Your puppet strikes each creature in 5-foot wide line between you and it. Each creature in the line must make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 2d6 + PB magical slashing damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. If a creature fails the saving throw, its movement speed is reduced by 10 feet until the beginning of the puppet's next turn.

Web of Strings. The puppet wraps your enemies in strings to entangle them. Each creature of your choice within 10 feet of the puppet must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or be restrained until the beginning of the puppet's next turn.

Superior Puppetry

15th-level Puppeteer feature

Your ability to make of the battlefield a stage for your puppets is unmatched. Whenever you create an Arcane Puppet using Fine Craftsmanship, you can create an additional puppet. Each puppet can have different additional actions from your Battle-Hardened Puppet feature, and you can issue a different command to each puppet using a bonus action each turn. Your puppets now also have an additional number of hit points equal to three times your proficiency bonus, and can move up to 60 feet away from you without being incapacitated.