Bardic College: College of Puppetry
Bards of the College of Puppetry learn how to best portray expression and movement in their performances with inanimate creations, knowing how to best bend and position their puppets to tell stories of wonder. With this knowledge, they learn how to not only apply this mimicry to larger, higher quality puppets, but to also command others to be able to move them as the puppeteer sees fit. The puppeteer can make all join in their dance of the puppets.
Dance of the Puppet
When you choose this subclass at 3rd level, you showcase your latest creature demostrating your puppetry craftsmanship and performance. You can use a bonus action to summon a puppet of your design in an unoccupied space you can see within 5 feet of you. It is friendly to you and your companions, and it obeys your commands. See the puppet's game statistics in the bard puppet stat block below. You determine the puppet’s appearance; your choice has no effect on its game statistics. While the puppet remains motionless and out of combat, it is indistinguishable from a normal puppet.
Your puppet an has of AC 14 + your proficiency bonus, 1 hit point, and immunity to all conditions. If it has to make a saving throw, it uses your saving throw bonus for the roll. You decide the size of the Puppet as Medium or smaller, and it occupies its space. A Medium or Small puppet occupies its own space, and a Tiny one can be held in one hand. On your turn, you can command the puppet to move up to 30 feet in any direction (no action required). If your puppet is ever more than 60 feet from you at the end of your turn, you summon another puppet, or you are incapacitated, it disappears. You can make it disappear as a bonus action at any time. You can use the puppet in the following ways:
• As a bonus action, you can make your puppet take the Dash, Disengage, Help, Hide, Search, or Use an Object action. Whenever you expend a use of your Bardic Inspiration as a bonus action, you can command your puppet in this way as part of the same bonus action.
• You can use your Bardic Inspiration feature as though you were in the puppet’s space
• When you gain your Countercharm feature at 6th level, you can use the feature as though you were in the puppet's space
Silk Strings
Also at 3rd level, you are able to move others in order to aid them or make them part of your performance. As a bonus action, you can expend a use of your Bardic Inspiration to manifest illusory strings around a creature you can see within 60 feet of you or your puppet. An unwilling creature must succeed on a Strength saving throw against your spell save DC or is held 5 feet off the ground, and you can move it up to 20 feet in any direction. You can not move the affected creature into obviously dangerous ground, such as fire or a pit. At the end of your turn, the creature is lowered gently to the nearest unoccupied space if it is still afloat.
The distance you can move a creature increases when you reach certain levels in this class: 30 feet at 5th level, 40 feet at 10th level, and 50 feet at 15th level.
Creepy Show
At 6th level, you imbue your Puppet with illusory magic in order to terrify creatures. Using your action, all creatures of your choice within 60 feet of the Puppet must succeed a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC or be frightened by the Puppet for 1 minute. A frightened creature repeats this saving throw whenever it takes damage and at the end of it's turn, ending the effect on a success. While frightened, you can choose if a creature must use its action to dash away from the Puppet, or its movement speed is reduced to 0 and can not take an action. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest
Magical Connection
Also at 6th level, your deeper connection to your puppet allows you to better control it for more awe inspiring shows. You can now cast spells as though you were in the puppet’s space.
Part of the Puppet’s Dance
At 14th level, your ability to control others with your puppetry skills is outmatched by no one. As an action, you can cast the compulsion spell without expending a spell slot. While cast this way, it doesn’t require concentration, and you can command the affected creatures without expending a bonus action. This feature can only be used once per long rest
Created by Hicks
Thanks to the wonderful editing of Jaek, SgtBriar, Blueisherp, Wugologist and the Discord of Many Things server
Art by Docatto and u/XioSimple