College of Puppets

Bards of the College of Puppets are theatrical manipulators who find poetry in control and performance in possession. With needle, thread, and uncanny charm, they craft eerie effigies and command the motions of others like marionettes on a macabre stage. To them, free will is pliable, and even the dead can be made to dance. Their magic is unsettling but mesmerizing, an art that straddles fascination and fear, turning every battlefield into a grotesque yet captivating puppet show.

Create Effigy (3rd Level)

You may create a magical effigy linked to a creature.

Creation:

  • Bonus action, spend 10 gp worth of materials and a personal item from a creature within 60 ft.

  • Target must make a Wisdom save (DC = 8 + PB + Cha mod). On failure, they are linked for 1 hour or until broken (500+ ft separation, destroyed, or you end it as a bonus action).

Effigy Stats:

  • HP = 10 + Bard level + PB; AC = 11.

  • Damage taken by the effigy is mirrored to the target.

  • Target auto-fails saves against effects that damage the effigy.

  • Each time this happens, the target may repeat the saving throw to break the link.

  • Disadvantage on this saving throw at 6th level.

  • Limit: 1 active effigy (2 at level 14).

Corpse Puppeteer (6th Level)

As an action, animate a Medium or smaller humanoid corpse as a puppet for 1 minute. The puppet acts on your turn, can move and take one simple action (Attack, Dash, Disengage). You do not need concentration but may only control one puppet at a time. The animation is mindless and cannot speak or cast spells.

Uses per long rest = Charisma modifier (min 1).

Willwoven Strings (10th Level)

Once per turn, when a creature fails a save against one of your enchantment or necromancy spells, you may use your reaction to:

  • Move them up to 15 feet in a direction of your choice without provoking opportunity attacks.

  • Or force them to repeat an action they just took (e.g. attack the same target again).

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your PB per long rest.

Manipulate Effigy (14th Level)

As an action, cause a creature linked to one of your effigies to mirror your next action as a reaction, if you can see them.

Examples:

  • You cast Firebolt → they cast it too (if they know it).

  • You move → they mirror your movement.

  • You drop an item → they drop theirs.

The creature makes a Wisdom saving throw after the action to break the link.

Uses per long rest = your Charisma modifier (minimum 1).