College of Puppeteers Bard

Puppet shows are a popular form of entertainment for the children in the capital cities of Chronan, but there are bards who take this art to the next level, bringing their puppets to life with magic. These puppets are used for tricks and subversion, but can also pack a punch in battle.

College of Puppeteers Features

3rd level: Puppet Play

6th level: Dress-Up Doll

14th level: Puppet Show

Puppet Play

When you first choose this subclass in 3rd level, you can bind a tiny nonmagical puppet , doll or other roughly humanoid-shaped toy with magic and bring it to life. Invisible and intangible strings of magic form between you and the doll. It has no will of its own and only does what you command it to do, and you need to see the puppet in order to command it. While you are bonded with it, the puppet is immune to all damage, but you can break the bond at will to bond with another puppet. If you die, the bond is broken instantly and the puppet becomes nonmagical again. You can only have one magical puppet under your control at a time.
By expending a use of a Bardic Die as a bonus action, you can apply several magical effects on the puppet, requiring no spell slots and only verbal components. Determine the amount of effects that can affect the puppet by rolling the Bardic Die, applying effects up to the number you roll. You can choose not to apply an effect. Unless otherwise stated, the effects last until you use a Bardic Die to roll the effects again or until you finish a long rest.

1. Walking Speed: The puppet gains a walking speed of 20 feet. As a bonus action, you can command the puppet to move up to its walking speed.
2. Ventriloquism: You can speak through the puppet as long as you remain silent.
3. Little Helper: You can use a bonus action to command the puppet to make an item interaction or take the help action.
4. Enlarge to Small: You can have the puppet grow to a small size. The puppet's walking speed grows to 25 feet.
5. Eavesdrop: You can use an action to shift your senses to see through your puppet's eyes and hear what it hears until the start of your next turn. During this time, you do not need to see the puppet to command it, but you are deaf and blind with regard to your own senses.
6. Sidekick: You can use a bonus action to command the puppet to make an attack against a target within 5 feet of it. The attack uses your strength or dexterity modifier plus your proficiency bonus, and on a hit, causes 1d6 bludgeoning damage. You do not add your attack modifier to the damage.
7. Enlarge to Medium: You can have the puppet grow to a medium size. The puppet's walking speed grows to 30 feet.
8. Impersonate: You can use an action to apply the effects of the disguise self spell to the puppet as an action. You can speak through the puppet with a voice other than yours that you have heard.
9. Voodoo Doll: You can use a bonus action to apply the effects of the bestow curse spell at a level equal to your highest spell slot to a target within 5 feet of the puppet.
10. Channel Magic: You can cast any spell through the puppet as if it was cast by you.
11. Enlarge to Large: You can have the puppet grow to a large size. The puppet's walking speed grows to 40 feet. The Sidekick damage made by the puppet grows to 2d6.
12. Helter-Skelter: You can use a bonus action to apply the effects of the confusion spell at a level equal to your highest spell slot in an area centered around the puppet.

Dress-Up Doll

Starting at 6th level, you can conjure magical clothes on your puppet that give it new properties. The bond between you and the puppet gives you protection as well. Whenever you finish a long rest, you can change the puppet's properties by choosing a new set of clothes:

Little Angel: The puppet is dressed in a cute angel dress. The puppet gains a flying speed equal to its walking speed and its Sidekick causes an additional 1d6 radiant damage. You gain resistance to radiant damage and temporary hit points equal to your level.

Little Imp: The puppet is dressed in a cute devil costume. The puppet gains a flying speed equal to its walking speed and its Sidekick causes an additional 1d6 fire damage. You gain resistance to fire damage and temporary access to the hellish rebuke spell.

Little Genie: The puppet is dressed in a cute djinn costume. The puppet gains a flying speed equal to its walking speed and its Sidekick causes an additional 1d6 lightning damage . You gain resistance to lightning damage and temporary access to the gust of wind spell.

Little Ghoul: The puppet is dressed in a cute undead costume. The puppet gains a burrowing speed equal to its walking speed and its Sidekick causes an additional 1d6 necrotic damage. You gain resistance to necrotic damage and advantage on saving throws against becoming frightened.

Little Pixie: The puppet is dressed in a cute fey dress. The puppet gains a flying speed equal to its walking speed. As a bonus action, you can force a creature within 30 feet of the puppet that hear the puppet talk succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC or become charmed by you for 1 minute. On a success, a creature is immune to this effect for 24 hours. You gain advantage on saving throws against becoming charmed and temporary access to the misty step spell.

Little Sailor: The puppet is dressed in a cute sailor uniform. The puppet gains a swimming speed equal to its walking speed and its Sidekick causes an additional 1d6 cold damage. You gain resistance to cold damage and the ability to breathe underwater.

Little Toadstool: The puppet is dressed in a cute mushroom costume. The puppet's Sidekick causes an additional 1d6 poison damage and the target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC or become poisoned for 1 minute. It can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns. You gain resistance to poison damage and advantage on saving throws against becoming poisoned.

Puppet Show

By 14th level, you have mastered the art of puppetry. You can use an action to make an impressive performance with your puppet, as long as the puppet has been activated with a Bardic Die. Roll a Performance check and choose a number of creatures equal to the result that you can see within 120 feet of you. Each of them must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw with a DC equal to the result of the check or spend their next turn following a one-word command from you akin to the effect of the command spell.
If there is a friendly audience to see your performance, at your DM's discretion you can earn gold up to ten times the result of the Performance check from them. Once you have used this feature, you cannot use it again until you finish a long rest.