The Puppeteer

What was once but a small exercise meant for students of the school of necromancy, the simple art of controlling these arcane strings became easy enough to master that even those devoid of any magical talent could harness them with little help. And to help those people, so was the first puppet core created, a small metal frame built around a common blue salt stone.

With a single spark, a perfect catalyst is created to harness and augment the power of the arcane string. These cores quickly became an integral part of the puppeteer, some dedicating their entire lives in the pursuit of creating the perfect core.

Simple Living

You might find several puppeteers who have given up on the life of an adventurer, choosing instead to devote themselves to their craft as artisans, as performers, or taking up a life of hermitage with their creations as their only friends.

Because of that, you will never fail to find materials for your puppets, some may even hold secret tools of only their own creation. As honorable it is to live a simple and quiet life, it is equally honorable to be devoted to spreading the knowledge of puppetry through the world.

String of Many Worlds

Throughout the D&D multiverse, puppeteers tend to change. Whether through the puppets they use, the physical or magical aspect of their strings, or simply the repair tools available for them to use. Talk with your DM about how this class can be incorporated into the world.

Creating a Puppeteer

To create a puppeteer, consult the following subsections, which give you hit points, proficiencies, and starting equipment. Then look at the Puppeteer table to see which features you get at each level. The descriptions of those features appear in the "Class Features" section.

Quick Build

You can make a puppeteer quickly by following these suggestions. First, put your highest ability score in Intelligence, followed by Dexterity. Second, choose either the guild artisan or the entertainer background.

Part 1 | Introduction

• (a) two daggers or (b) a light crossbow and 20 bolts
• (a) carpenter's tools or (b) smith's tools
• (a) dungeoneer's pack or (b) explorer's pack
• a puppet and leather armor

After countless days of work, you have created your first puppet, linking yourself with its magical core and forming a bond for life. See its game statistics in the Arcane Puppet stat block, which uses your proficiency bonus (PB) in several places, along with your spellcasting ability. You use your Intelligence whenever your puppet refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for the puppet. You determine the puppet's appearance and material composition whenever you create one; your choice has no effect on its game statistics.

Using a bonus action with two free hands, you can activate your puppet. It remains active for 1 hour, until you dismiss it or you're incapacitated. While active, you can have the puppet use its actions, bonus actions, and reactions as if they were your own. Additionally, you can cast spells as though you were in the puppet's space, as long as you can see the target.

Your puppet's damage dice increase as you gain levels in this class, as shown in the Puppet Damage Dice column of the Puppeteer table.

At the end of a long rest, you can repair your puppet or create a new one as long as you have carpenter's tools or smith's tools with you. You can only have two puppets built at a time.

Strands of the Weave

5th level puppeteer feature

As speckles of magic begin to flow out from your puppet's core, its strikes also become more precise. Your puppet's attacks now count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage, in addition, after you use your puppet's Threaded Ram attack, you can use your bonus action to make another attack that cannot grapple the creature. If it hits, roll half the Puppeteer Damage dice for your level (rounded down).

Furthermore, as your core's power increases, your puppet can now be equipped with two armaments at a time.

Soul-Bonded Healing

7th level puppeteer feature

Part of your soul is infused with every puppet you create, and along with it, so does the healing properties of your core increase. You have healing charges equal to your proficiency modifier that you can expend to heal the same number of allies within 30 feet of you for 2d6 + your spell attack modifier. In addition, each Hit-Dice you use to heal yourself or your puppet during a short rest now heals for 2d6

Last Resort

9th level puppeteer feature

Charged with a will to win, your puppet can deliver an explosive charge with its dying breath. When your puppet is reduced to 0 hit points, you can use your reaction to detonate its core, forcing each creature in a 20-foot-radius to make a Dexterity saving throw, taking 8d6 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

The damage of the explosion increases to 12d6 fire damage at 15th level.

Puppet Enhancement

10th level puppeteer feature

You have finally achieved a new stage for your puppet and its core, gaining the following features:

• Your puppet gains a +2 bonus to Armor Class.
• Your puppet can now be up to 60 feet from you.
• You can equip your puppet with four armaments at a time.

Sudden Transposition

13th level puppeteer feature

The movement between you and your creation becomes like an effortless waltz. If an effect you can see forces you or an ally within 60 feet of you to make a saving throw and your puppet doesn't have to make a saving throw, you can use your reaction to switch locations with your puppet, and have it perform the saving throw instead.

Everlasting Creation

15th level puppeteer feature

Even as you fall, your puppet knows not to stop fighting until its body falls apart. If you fall unconscious while your puppet is active, you can still control it, and you do not have to make death saving throws until your puppet falls to 0 hit points. You suffer the normal effects of taking damage while at 0 hit points, and will die once you fail three death savings throws.

One with the String

18th level puppeteer feature

After many sleepless nights, you discover how to place a puppet core inside you, turning your body into a living construct. Your body no longer ages, and can't be magically aged, and you no longer need food or water.

You can now use your puppet's actions, bonus actions, and reactions as if they were your own, and you gain a base AC of 17 as long as you aren't wearing armor. (your Dexterity modifier doesn't affect this number)

Eternal Cage

20th level puppeteer feature

With your core's destructive power perfected, you have developed your greatest technique. As an action, you or your puppet can attempt to grab a Medium creature within 10 feet, forcing it to make a Strength saving throw. If they fail, your core emerges, swallowing them whole and killing them instantly. You can use this feature once per long rest.

A creature is immune to this effect if it has legendary actions. Such a creature instead takes 10d8 force damage from this feature instead, as the core pushes them 10 feet away from you.

Part 2 | The Puppeteer

Trampling Armament

Artisan's Armament. Whenever you hit a creature that's Large or smaller, that creature must make a Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.

Tightly-Wound String

3rd-level Armored-Core feature

Your control over your arcane strings increases further. As an action you can attempt to grapple any creature up to 30 feet away from you. You can use your Intelligence (Arcana) for the grapple check. You can grapple creatures up to two sizes larger than you using this feature, but can only grapple one creature at a time.

Optional Class Feature

After consulting with your DM, you may choose to take this feature at 1st level instead of the one in the Puppeteer table.

Any critical hit against your puppet becomes a normal hit.

Refractive Armaments

Prerequisite: 5th level