College of Strings

As a puppeteer of the College of Strings, you are an expert at using puppets for their full potential, allowing you to animate them and use them in both performing and adventuring.

Puppet Parade

Starting at 3rd level, you gain the ability to manipulate puppets in a manner that allows them to be infused with magic and free roaming under your control. 

As a bonus action, you can expend a number of charges of your Bardic Inspiration up to your proficiency bonus to summon one of the following Puppets in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of you. The Puppets take their actions on your Initiative count, but after you take your turn. The Puppets cannot move more than 30 feet away from you, and if they are moved more than 30 feet away from you, they become inert objects. As an action, you can see through the eyes of one of your puppets and hear through its ears as if you were in its space. On your turn as a bonus action, you can switch from using its senses to using your own, or back again. While you are using its senses, you are blinded and deafened in regard to your own surroundings. A puppet can make attacks and hold items as if they were a normal creature, and their stats are displayed in the statblock below. 

Puppet

Medium or Small Construct, Unaligned

Armor Class 10 + Puppetmaster's Charisma Modifier

Hit Points 3 + your Charisma modifier x your Bard level

Speed 30 ft (60 ft at Level 6)

STR

10 (+0)

DEX

10 (+0)

CON

10 (+0)

INT

Puppetmaster's INT

WIS

Puppetmaster's WIS

CHA

Puppetmaster's CHA

Saving Throws None

Skills Perception Puppetmaster's WIS + their proficiency bonus, Stealth 0 + Puppetmaster's proficiency bonus

Senses Passive Perception (10 + Puppetmaster's WIS + their proficiency bonus)

Languages None

Challenge 1/4 

Proficiency Bonus The Puppetmaster's Proficiency bonus

Bear

As an action, once per summoning, the Bear can force a target within 5 feet of it to make a Strength saving throw against the Puppetmaster’s Spell Save DC or fall prone and take damage equal to a roll of a number of Bardic Inspiration dice equal to your proficiency bonus plus your Charisma modifier.

Devil

As an action, once per summoning, the Devil can raise a 15-foot circle of fire in an area within 45 feet of them, centered on a spot chosen within that 45 feet. Any creature within that 15-foot circle must make a Dexterity save against the Puppetmaster’s spell save DC or be lit on fire, taking damage equal to one roll of the puppetmaster’s Bardic Inspiration die for each turn the fire remains on the creature. The fire remains on the creature until a creature either pours water on it or uses an action to put out the fire.

Dog

As an action, once per summoning, the Dog can let out a ferocious howl, giving all creatures allied to the Puppetmaster that can hear the howl an extra 30 feet of movement.

Dragon

As an action, once per summoning, the Dragon can breathe a breath weapon in a 50 foot cone or line in front of them, forcing all creatures to make a Dexterity saving throw against the Puppetmaster’s Spell Save DC or take damage equal to a number of Bardic Inspiration Dice equal to the Puppetmaster’s proficiency bonus.

Knight

As an action, once per summoning, the Knight can let out a battle cry, giving all creatures allied to the Puppermaster within 30 feet of the Puppet advantage on saving throws against being Frightened or Charmed.

Mind Flayer

As an action, once per summoning, the Mind Flayer can hit a creature within 60 feet of them with a psionic blast, dealing damage equal to one roll of the Puppermaster’s Bardic Inspiration die plus their Charisma modifier and forcing the creature to make an Intelligence saving throw against the Puppetmaster’s Spell Save DC or be Incapacitated. If the target fails, they can repeat the saving throw at the beginning of their turn.

Raven

As an action, once per summoning, the Raven creates a volley of pitch black feathers that surround a target within 15 feet. The target must make a Constitution Saving Throw against the Puppetmaster’s Spell Save DC or be Blinded until the end of the Raven’s next turn.

Shield Guardian

 As an action, once per summoning, the Shield Guardian can emanate an aura in a five-foot radius around them, providing any allies of the Puppetmaster and/or the Puppetmaster a +1 bonus to AC. The Shield Guardian must concentrate on the Aura as they would on a spell. The aura lasts for up to a minute or until concentration is broken on the aura.

Spider

As an action, once per summoning, the Spider can shoot out a viscous web to a location within 30 feet of it. Any creatures within this 30 feet must make a Dexterity saving throw against the Puppetmaster’s Spell Save DC or be Restrained. On the restrained target’s turn, they can make a Strength check against the Puppetmaster’s Spell Save DC to break free.

Vampire

As an action, once per summoning, the Vampire can make an attack using the Puppetmaster’s spell attack modifier. If the attack hits, the Puppetmaster regains hit points equal to that of a number of Bardic Inspiration dice equal to your proficiency bonus plus your Charisma modifier. This effect does not work on Constructs or Undead.

String Switch

As a bonus action, you can teleport, magically swapping places with one of your Puppets at a cost of 15 feet of your movement, regardless of the distance between the two of you. This does not provoke opportunity attacks.

Also as a reaction in response to a creature making an attack on you that uses an attack roll, if there is a Puppet that is close enough that it can use it's movement to move itself in front of you, the Puppet can instead move up to that speed and take the hit instead.

String Range

At 6th level, your dexterity with controlling your strings has increased, allowing them to move further from you and grab things they couldn't before. As an action, if you have at least one free hand, you can shoot strings from your fingers, attempting to grab and control a creature within 60 feet of you. If the creature is of a CR equal to or lower than your level in this class, they must make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC or be puppeteered by you. As an action on following turns, you can force the creature to do one of the following as long as they have not succeeded a save against the effect.

• Take an action that you have seen them use and that is not on recharge
• Move to a distance within their movement speed
• Fulfil one of the commands detailed within the command

The creature can make another Dexterity save at the beginning of their turn, and on a success, the effect ends.

Your puppets can also now move up to 60 feet away from you.

Spell Strings

At 14th level, your control of your puppets has become so adept that you can even send your spells through the puppets. When you cast a spell, you can choose to either cast it from your position or from the position of one of your puppets. If you choose to cast it from the position of the puppet, it expends it's own Action, Bonus Action, or Reaction, whatever was used to cast the spell.