College of Puppetry

Skulking from the shadows, a graduate of the College of Puppetry weaves their manipulative web over a mysterious marionette, laying vicious traps to ensnare their prey, and hold influence over battlefield manoeuvres. Puppeteers are oft greeted with warmth and caution; the tension they pull on a community’s heartstrings are just, for bards of this specialty have as many faces as they do fingers. They conceal their intentions as they conceal their identity, donning masked, black robes as to remain barely visible while on-stage performing, or fleeing the dangers of combat. Travelling far and wide with access to a diverse range of prestigious patrons, puppeteers are accustomed to side employment as agents of espionage and assassination, furthering the stigma to their name.

Puppet Performance

By 3rd level, at the end of a long rest, you can summon one wooden combat puppet from a hidden understage workshop. If you already have a combat puppet from this feature, the first one immediately perishes. The puppet also perishes if you die. It is friendly to you and your companions, and it obeys your commands. See this creature’s game statistics in the Combat Puppet stat block, which uses your proficiency bonus (PB) in several places. You determine the puppet’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 perform a somatic gesture, guiding your puppet to take one of the actions in its stat block or the Dash, Disengage, Help, Hide or Search action. If the Mending spell is cast upon the puppet, it regains 2d6 hit points.

If it has died within the last hour, you can use 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 combat puppet returns to life after 1 minute with all its hit points restored.

You can customise your puppet with two features from the Puppet Performance list. You gain access to two additional features of your choice at 6th level and again at 14th level in this class. You can swap these features for different options at the end of a long rest when you summon a new puppet.

A Familiar Familiar

The puppet is crafted in your likeness. It has a passive Deception of 10 + your Deception score. Creatures who cannot make a successful Investigation check against this score are unable to identify which of you is the puppet and which is the master.

If you are targeted by an attack and you are within 5 feet of this puppet you can use your reaction to expend a Bardic Inspiration and force your puppet to take the attack in your place. The creature who made the initial attack takes psychic damage equal to one roll of your Bardic Inspiration dice.

A Puppet's Perspective

Pre-requisite 6th level Bard

As an action, you can see and hear through your puppet's senses until the start of your next turn. During this time, you are deaf and blind with regard to your own senses but you are able to speak through the puppet in your own voice. You must be within 100 feet of your puppet to use this feature.

A Song of Searing Serpents

As an action on their turn, the Bard can expend a Bardic Inspiration dice to empower the puppet's weapons for one minute. The puppet's weapons become magical if they weren't already. The puppet's weapon deals additional fire or poison damage equal to one roll of your Bardic Inspiration dice.

Arcane Protection

Pre-requisite 6th level Bard

At the cost of a Bardic Inspiration, the puppet can use an action to project a magical barrier that covers friendly creatures within 10 feet until the start of the puppet's next turn. Friendly creatures within this barrier gain the benefits of half cover and reduce any damage taken during this turn by one roll of your Bardic Inspiration dice.

Blade Ward Barding

Pre-requisite 14th level Bard

Your puppet gains resistance to bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from weapon attacks. Your puppet's Armor Class increases by 1.

Chilling Performance

Your puppet learns the Ray of Frost cantrip and can cast it without verbal or somatic components.

Evasion

Pre-requisite 14th level Bard

If the puppet is subjected to an effect that allows it to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, it instead takes no damage if it succeeds on the saving throw, and only half damage if it fails. It can't use this trait if it's incapacitated.

Ironbark

Pre-requisite 6th level Bard

Your puppet is no longer vulnerable to fire damage and its Armor Class increases by 1. When you summon your puppet at the end of a long rest, you can choose it to be a Large sized construct.

Marionette Mockery

Your puppet learns the Vicious Mockery cantrip and can cast it without verbal components.

Martial Marionette

Your puppet gains proficiency with martial weapons and shields. You can replace the puppet's shortsword with a weapon of your choice. The puppet has only two limbs that can wield objects. When you reach 11th level, your puppet can make two attacks instead of one when it takes the attack action.

Mirror's Edge

Pre-requisite 6th level Bard

Your puppet gains the ability to cast Mirror Image on itself, at the cost of a Bardic Inspiration dice. When one of the images is destroyed, the creature who dealt the attack takes psychic damage equal to one roll of your Bardic Inspiration dice.

Rising Star

Pre-requisite 14th level Bard

Your puppet gains a flying speed equal to its movement speed.

Shhh!

Pre-requisite 14th level Bard

At the cost of a Bardic Inspiration, the puppet can use its action to cast the Silence spell without verbal or somatic components. The spell is centered on your puppet, and moves with it for the duration. Any creature within the area at the start of their turn, or moves through the area during their turn, takes psychic damage equal to one roll of your Bardic Inspiration dice.

Shock and Awe

Your puppet learns the Shocking Grasp cantrip and can cast it without verbal or somatic components.

Thunderous Applause

Pre-requisite 6th level Bard

Your puppet learns the Thunderclap cantrip and can cast it without verbal or somatic components.

Additionally, if you know the Thunderwave spell and cast it during your turn, your puppet can use its reaction to deliver the spell from its space.

Web Weaver

Pre-requisite 6th level Bard

The puppet can move up, down, and across vertical surfaces and upside down along ceilings, while leaving its hands free. It gains a climbing speed equal to its walking speed.

At the cost of a Bardic Inspiration, the puppet can use its action to cast the Web spell without verbal, somatic or material components. Any creature restrained by this spell takes acid damage equal to one roll of your Bardic Inspiration dice at the start of each of its turn.

Puppet Master's Mage Hand

Starting at 6th level, you gain Mage Hand as a Bard cantrip, which does not count toward the number of Cantrips Known on the Bard’s Table. Your Puppet Master’s Mage Hand gains the following features

- You can cast the spell as a Bonus Action and it remains summoned indefinitely until you dismiss it or become unconscious. In combat, you can move your Mage Hand up to half of your movement speed as a free action.

- Your Mage Hand can perform the somatic components of your spells on your behalf, while it is not holding items or otherwise occupied. When you Cast a Spell with a range of touch, your Mage Hand can deliver the spell from its space if it is within 30 feet of you.

- Your Mage Hand can hold a weapon that you are proficient with, which has the light and finesse properties. You can make melee weapon attacks with your Mage Hand as if you were holding the weapon.

- At 14th level, you can conjure an additional Mage Hand when you cast this spell. Both mage hands move independently from one another.

Curtain Call

Beginning at 14th level, the proximity of your puppet unnerves your foes, granting you windows of opportunity to catch them off-guard. Any creatures within 5 feet of your puppet have disadvantage on saving throws from spells that you cast. A creature who is immune to being frightened is not affected by this feature.

Additionally, healing spells that do not target constructs are now able to heal your combat puppet.