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Arcane Puppeteer

Arcane puppeteers are gifted sorcerers who channel their energy through another being, rather than through themselves. Some are afraid of confrontation, whilst others have the drive of a performer. A puppeteer sits quietly in the shrubbery, waiting for the opportunity to attack. The goblin troupe is slain in a devastating volley of arcane needles, raining down through the trees. The adventurers held onto their last breaths. The puppeteer's last-ditch effort sends his puppet to a farewell chattering end. The hoard cries out in a fiery blue flame. The heroes jump to their feet and finish off the few remaining foes. A large chattering figure in a cloak makes its way through the town center. Both fear and curiosity spark in the minds of the townsfolk as the puppeteer secretly sits inside of her construct, watching through the puppet's eyes.

Creating a Arcane Puppeteer

Quick Build

You can make a Arcane Puppeteer quickly by following these suggestions. First, Intelligence should be your highest ability score, followed by Dexterity. Secondly, choose the artisan background.

hit dice: 1d8

hit points at 1st level: 8 + Constitution modifier

hit points at higher levels: 1d8 (or 5) + Constitution modifier per Arcane Puppeteer level after 1st

armor proficiencies: light armor

weapon proficiencies: simple weapons, martial weapons

tools: tinker's tools

saving throws: Intelligence, Dexterity

skills: Arcana, and your choice of two from: Sleight of Hand, Acrobatics, Performance, Deception, Stealth, or Intimidation.

starting equipment:
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

padded armor

(a) 2 light hammers or (b) a spear

(a) a hand puppet or (b) a shadow puppet

(a) Scholar's pack or (b) Entertainer's pack

(a) Tinker's tools or (b) Thieves tools

If you are using starting wealth, you have 5d4 × 10 gp in funds.

spellcasting:
By the time you reach 2nd level, you have learned to cast arcane spells.

Cantrips

You know two cantrips of your choice from the arcane puppeteer spell list. The Cantrips Known column of the Arcane Puppeteer table shows when you learn more Arcane puppeteer cantrips of your choice. Cantrips do not require spell slots to cast.

Spell Slots

The Arcane Puppeteer table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level or higher. To cast one of these arcane puppeteer spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher

You know two 1st-level spells of your choice from the arcane puppeteer spell list. The Spells Known column of the Arcane Puppeteer table shows when you learn more arcane puppeteer spells of your choice. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spells slots. Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the arcane puppeteer spells you know and replace it with another spell from the arcane puppeteer spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

Cantrips: Blade Ward, Dancing Lights, Mage Hand, Prestidigitation, Minor Illusion, Resistance, True Strike, Eldritch Blast

1st level: Alarm, Expeditious Retreat, Feather Fall, Grease, Jump, Mage Armor,Sanctuary, Shield, Unseen Servant, Entangle, Illusory Script

2nd level: Barkskin, Blur, Cloud of Daggers, Cordon of Arrows, Enlarge/Reduce, Hold Person, Knock, Levitate, Magic Weapon, Rope Trick, Warding Bond, Pass without Trace

3rd level: Conjure Barrage, Counterspell, Dispel Magic, Fly, Glyph of Warding, Haste, Phantom Steed, Slow

4th level: Arcane Eye, Fabricate, Freedom of Movement, Faithful Hound, Stoneskin, Vitriolic Sphere

5th level: Animate Objects, Arcane Hand/Bigby's Hand, Awaken, Creation, Hold Monster, Telekinesis

Spellcasting Ability

Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your arcane puppeteer spells. You use your Intelligence whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for an arcane puppeteer spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

Spell save DC

= 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier

Spell attack modifier

= your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier

Puppet Somatics

If you are in control of a puppet, you can have your puppet perform the somatic component of a spell you cast. Thus you do not need an empty hand to cast such a spell, so long as you are using a set of strings to control a puppet.

class features:

Strings

Some of your class features require you to use a set of strings – threads of magical force used for controlling your puppets and other creatures. A set of strings comprises of five threads, attached from each of your fingers on one hand to the limbs and head of a target puppet or creature. You must have an empty hand to use one set of strings: thus if you have two empty hands you can control two sets of strings. Strings are intangible and invisible and cannot be severed by creatures within the Material Plane. Beings within the Ethereal Plane can see, manipulate, and sever these strings as if they were normal threads. At 1st level the length of your strings is 60 feet. You lose control of the subject of the strings if you are separated from it by a distance longer than the length of the strings. You can dismiss one or both sets of strings on your turn: this does not require an action. The strings also disappear if you fall unconscious.

Arcane Puppet

You can craft an arcane puppet as a using the "crafting a magic item" downtime activity (DMG p. 128). At 1st level you can craft a common puppet. If you begin play as an arcane puppeteer (but not when you multi-class into arcane puppeteer) you start with one common puppet. (At 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th level you can craft the next level of puppet respectively). An arcane puppet is a small animated object with the following statistics:

25 HP, AC 16, Str 6, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 3, Wis 3, Cha 1, speed 30 ft.

The size of this puppet, when unfolded, is small.

Gains as much HP as you do when you level up.

Unlike other animated objects, it does not have blindsight, instead sharing your senses.

It can make a slam (melee weapon) attack that deals 1d8 + your Dexterity Modifier in bludgeoning damage, with an attack modifier equal to your Dexterity modifier + your proficiency bonus. It does not roll for initiative, take its own turn, and cannot move or take actions or reactions on its own.

If the puppet falls to 0 hit points, it is destroyed.

It weighs 40 lbs. You can use an action to fold it up into Tiny size to be transported in a backpack, sack or basket; it takes another action to unfold it for use.

The Puppet is able to use items and weapons instead of its slam attack.

Puppet Saving Throw

Some features of your puppets require a target to make a saving throw against your puppet DC. This is equal to 8 + your Dexterity modifier + your proficiency bonus.

Puppet Manipulation

You control a Puppet using a set of strings. While you are controlling a Puppet, you can sense what it senses. If you are in control of a puppet, you can use your action to have the puppet take an Attack or Disengage action on your turn, or your reaction to have the puppet take a reaction. You can use your bonus action to allow the puppet to move on your turn.

Repairing Puppets

Puppets that have less than their maximum hit points but greater than 0 hit points can be repaired. This can be done during a long or short rest, and requires your tinker's tools. It also requires materials worth 5 cp per hit point recovered for a common puppet, 1 sp per hit point for an uncommon puppet, 5 sp per hit point for a rare puppet, 5 gp per hit point for a very rare puppet, and 50 gp per hit point for a legendary puppet. During a short rest, you can repair 2 hit points × your arcane puppeteer level. During a long rest you can repair all your puppets back to their maximum hit points. A destroyed puppet cannot be repaired, but can be salvaged for parts for building a new puppet. It provides materials equal to half its original value.

Unwilling Puppet

You can attach a set of strings to an unwilling creature within 30 feet if it is unconscious, incapacitated, paralyzed, or stunned. Otherwise, the creature must succeed on a DC 10 Intelligence saving throw, and can repeat this saving throw at end of each of its turns. On that creature's turn you can use your reaction to allow the target to move and make an action. If the creature is unconscious, you may use your bonus action during your turn to pull the creature equal to half your movement speed. The creature is still at risk of opportunity attacks.

Puppet School

Choose a puppet school: the School of Aegis, the School of Adroitness, the School of Simulacra, or the School of Furtiveness. Your choice of school grants you a benefit at 1st level, and again at 7th, 11th and 18th level.

Puppetry Expertise

From 3rd level onward, you can project your voice through a puppet you control. You can convince another creature that your puppet is talking by making an Charisma (Deception) contested by their Intelligence (Investigation) check. In addition, when you can make an Charisma (Performance) check to entertain others with a non-magical puppet (such as a hand puppet or shadow puppet). When you do so, you are considered proficient in the Performance skill and add double your proficiency bonus (instead of your normal proficiency bonus).

Travel Trunk

From 4th level onward, you can spend 1 hour preparing a nonmagical chest as an arcane travel trunk. You can only have one such trunk at a time: when you prepare a new trunk, the old trunk reverts to a nonmagical chest. puppets treat the interior of the trunk as nondimensional: you can place folded-up puppets into the trunk, up to its carry capacity of 300 lbs, regardless of the size of the puppets. If the trunk only contains puppets, it has a fixed weight of 25 lbs. If the trunk is destroyed, its contents spill out unharmed. It takes a full turn to retrieve one of your puppets.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Improved Control

At 6th level, one of your puppets can take a second attack action on your turn. In addition, the AC of all your puppets increases by 1.

Puppet Finesse

Starting at 10th level, you may take an extra action with your puppet. Also, One puppet you control may move on your turn without you having to use a bonus action.

Improved Travel Trunk

At 14th level, Once per turn, if you are within 60 feet of the trunk, you can call the name of one of your puppets. It will immediately spring out of the trunk and unfold.

Puppet Fusion

At 15th level, if you are in control of two puppets and they are within 5 feet of each other, you can use your bonus action to have them combine into a single puppet. Two Small puppets become a Medium object; two Medium puppets become a Large object. Combined puppets are treated as a single puppet, you still require one set of strings to control it. Its statistics are as follows:

It has hit points equal to the total of the component puppet's hit points.

Each ability score is the better of the component puppet's scores.

Its AC is the better of the two component puppet's ACs.

When it takes the Attack action, it may attack twice instead of once.

It has all the special features of the two component puppets.

They remain combined until you separate them with a bonus action or fold them up. When you do so, divide its remaining hit points between the two component puppets (up to that puppet's maximum hit points).

One with the strings

At 20th level, both puppets can move on their own and both puppets can act on your attack action. In addition, your puppets have resistance against bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from non-magical weapons.

subclass options:

Puppet Schools

School of Aegis

You have learned the perfect combination of puppet manipulation and spell casting to protect yourself and others.

The Show Must Go On

Your ability to stay focused while performing has translated into your arcane abilities. If you must make a Concentration check to maintain a spell, if you are controlling a puppet you have advantage on the saving throw.

Puppet Bond

At 1st level, you learn a ritual that creates a magical bond between yourself and a puppet. You perform the ritual over the course of 1 hour, which can be done during a short rest. The puppet must be within your reach throughout the ritual, at the conclusion of which you touch the puppet and forge the bond. If it is on the same plane of existence, you can summon that puppet as a bonus action on your turn, causing it to teleport instantly to an unoccupied space within 5 feet of you. You can have only one bonded puppet. If you attempt to bond with a second puppet, you must break the bond with the first one.

Bonded Strike

At 7th level, you learn how to make your puppet's weapon strikes undercut a creature’s resistance to your spells. When you hit a creature with a puppet's weapon attack, that creature has disadvantage on the next saving throw it makes against a spell you cast before the end of your next turn.

Arcane Charge

At 11th level, you gain the ability to teleport up to your puppet or magically switch places it. As an action you can do one of the following options. You can magically switch places with one of your controlled puppets that is within 60 feet of you, or you can use your strings to teleport to one of your puppets within 60 feet of you.

Improved Puppet Control

Starting at 18th level, when you control two puppets, you can use your action to make both puppets attack once. You can also allow one puppet to move without using your bonus action.

School of Adroitness

You have studied minutiae and fine construction of puppetry.

Mending

You know the mending cantrip. This allows you to fix puppets that haven't been destroyed. This also replaces the monetary repair requirement. In addition, you can repair 4 hit points × your arcane puppeteer level on a short rest.

Master Tinkerer

Starting at 7th level you gain the following benefits.

You craft puppets at a rate of 75 gp per day (instead of 25 gp).

You have the ability to craft rare puppets.

Master Craftsman

Starting at 11th level, when one of your puppets is broken in combat, but not destroyed (ex. destroyed in lava), you can spend your short rest restoring it to a half of its maximum hit points. Also, when you make a puppet you can choose one of the following benefits

You have learned to make puppets much stronger, infusing them with tougher materials. Your puppets have +1 to AC and an additional 15 hit points.

You choose the right materials to make the puppet resistant to only one form of damage (ex. slashing, or fire, or acid).

Puppet Master

Starting at 18th level you can build puppets of almost any size. When building your puppets you can following the rules in the Animated Object Statistics chart from the spell Animate Objects (Adjust AC and HP accordingly for the Master Craftsman Feat). The puppets you create with these statistics also have all of the benefits of the type of puppet they are.

School of Simulacra

You seek to perfect lifelike appearances and behavior in your puppets.

Disguise puppet

You can cast the disguise self on your puppet and it lasts indefinitely, molding the characteristics of the puppet to match the disguise. You must finish a long rest before you can cast it again.

Full-Sized puppets

From 4th level on-wards, when you construct a puppet, you can choose to make it Medium-sized instead of Small. A Medium puppet has the following base statistics: 40 HP, AC 14, Str 12, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 3, Wis 3, Cha 1, speed 30 ft. Its slam attack deals 2d6 + 3 bludgeoning damage. It weighs 80 lbs, and can fold up into a Small package when not in use.

Spell Mimicry

At 9th level, if you have one set of strings attached to your puppet, you may use the following benefit. When you cast a spell targeting yourself, you can also affect one puppet with the spell if it is attached to your strings.

Semi Autonomous Puppet

At 14th level, Your skills in puppet making have become so masterful, that you are able to create puppets that carry out basic commands and move in a life like manner on their own. These puppets can not fight and are not magical but are able to perform operations in similarity to the unseen servant spell. The cost of making one of these puppets is extreme and consumes a hefty amount of resources:

A gem worth at least 2000gp. It must be whole, undamaged and perfectly cut.

Depending on the size of the Puppet you need 500gp worth of base materials for tiny to 500000gp worth of materials for a Huge size. This cost also varies depending on the material being used.

The spell summon construct must be cast in to the gem each day for the course of a month before it can be used in construction.

The creation of the construct will take a minimum of two months from start to finish and must be reset if you miss a day during the cast of summon construct or if at any point the golem takes any damage.

Perfect Puppet

At 18th level, you have created a puppet that so uncannily mimics your own physical and emotional being, that your soul transfers to it. It is assumed that you have been working on the puppet during your downtime throughout your adventuring career, and that it is stored in your travel trunk. Once, at any point you choose, your original body dies, and you emerge from the trunk in your new form. Your statistics remain unchanged except for the following changes:

Your type changes to Construct. This makes you immune to certain spells, such as hold person or dominate person. You do not age, and you do not need to breathe. You still require food (although your new diet consists of oil, metal, ivory, gems and the like) and sleep.

You gain a +1 bonus to AC

Choose one feature from a puppet. You gain that feature.

School of Furtiveness

You cling to the shadows as your puppet strikes with deadly precision.

Sneak Attack

Beginning at 1st level, you know how to strike subtly and exploit a foe’s distraction caused by the connection you have with your puppet. Once per turn, you can deal an extra 1d6 damage to one creature you hit with an attack that is within 5 feet of your puppet. The attack must use a finesse or a ranged weapon and you must have control of your puppet at the time of attack. The sneak attack damage is negated if you have disadvantage on the attack roll. The amount of the extra damage increases as you gain levels in this class is as follows: lvl 5 - 2d6, lvl 9 - 3d6, lvl 13 - 4d6, lvl 17 - 5d6. Along with this you may take the Hide action as your bonus action if your puppet is engaged in combat.

Miniature Puppet

At 7th level, you can craft a finely detailed puppet only 3 inches in height. It is a Tiny construct with the following base statistics: 1 HP, AC 8, Str 2, Dex 18, Con 10, Int 3, Wis 3, Cha 1, speed 10 ft. It cannot make an attack. It weights 1 lb., and can fold up into a walnut-sized orb. It can squeeze through gaps as small as 1 inch. In addition, you have advantage on ability checks made to manipulate tiny, delicate objects if your miniature puppet has access to them. For example, if you control your miniature puppet and have it climb into a keyhole, you could have advantage on a Dexterity check made to pick the lock.

Assassinate

Starting at 11th level, you are at your deadliest when you get the drop on your enemies. Due to your deadly accurate control of your puppet, you have advantage on attack rolls against any creature that hasn’t taken a turn in the combat yet. In addition, any hit you score against a creature that is surprised is a critical hit.

Nimble Puppets

Starting at 18th level, your puppets have a Dexterity of 18, and AC of 18. A puppet you control has proficiency in Dexterity saving throws, and has a +2 bonus to damage rolls made with weapons.

Level	ProficiencyBonus	Spells Known	Cantrips Known	Features	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
1st	+2	—	—	Arcane Puppet, Unwilling Puppet, Puppet School	—	—	—	—	—
2nd	+2	2	2	Spellcasting	2	—	—	—	—
3rd	+2	3	2	Puppetry Expertise	3	—	—	—	—
4th	+2	3	2	Ability Score Improvement	3	—	—	—	—
5th	+3	4	3	—	4	2	—	—	—
6th	+3	4	3	Improved Control	4	2	—	—	—
7th	+3	5	3	Puppet School Feature	4	3	—	—	—
8th	+3	5	3	Ability Score Improvement	4	3	—	—	—
9th	+4	6	3	—	4	3	2	—	—
10th	+4	6	4	Puppet Finesse	4	3	2	—	—
11th	+4	7	4	Puppet School Feature	4	3	3	—	—
12th	+4	7	4	Ability Score Improvement	4	3	3	—	—
13th	+5	8	4	—	4	3	3	1	—
14th	+5	8	4	Travel Trunk	4	3	3	1	—
15th	+5	9	5	Puppet Fusion	4	3	3	2	—
16th	+5	9	5	Ability Score Improvement	4	3	3	2	—
17th	+6	10	5	—	4	3	3	3	1
18th	+6	10	5	Puppet School Feature	4	3	3	3	1
19th	+6	11	5	Ability Score Improvement	4	3	3	3	2
20th	+6	11	5	One with the strings	4	3	3	3	2

Created by

GMGizmo.

System

Dungeons & Dragons 5e

Statblock Type

Class Features

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Dungeons & Dragons 5e Class Features : Arcane Puppeteer