Puppeteer

Medium construct, neutral

Armor Class 15
Hit Points 210 (28d8 + 84)
Speed 35 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
14 (+2)	20 (+5)	16 (+3)	17 (+3)	14 (+2)	19 (+4)

Saving Throws Dex +9, Wis +6
Skills Acrobatics +9, Performance +8, Sleight of Hand +9, Stealth +9
Damage Vulnerabilities fire
Damage Immunities poison; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned
Senses darkvision 30 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages Common
Challenge 11 (7,200 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +4

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Constructed Nature. The puppeteer doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.
• Legendary Resistance (5/Day): If the puppeteer fails a saving throw, it can choose to destroy one puppet it has animated using Attach Strings. If it does, it succeeds on the saving throw instead.

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The puppeteer makes two melee attacks or uses Manipulate Puppets twice.
• Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) bludgeoning damage.
• Wire. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d6 + 5) slashing damage. If the target is a Large or smaller creature, it must succeed on a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone.
• Manipulate Puppets. One puppet under the puppeteer’s control can move up to the puppeteer’s speed. It can then make a slam or wire attack, use a skill, or interact with an object, using the puppeteer’s statistics. The puppeteer can’t Manipulate a single puppet more than once per turn.
• Attach Strings (Recharge 6). The puppeteer ties invisible, intangible strings to up to five Medium or smaller puppets within 5 feet of it. As part of this action, the puppeteer can withdraw up to five puppets from its equipment or a bag of holding. Each puppet becomes an animate construct under the puppeteer’s control. It falls to the ground, lifeless, after 1 minute or if it is more than 120 feet from the puppeteer. The puppeteer can talk and sense through a puppet. If this puppeteer gives it no other commands, a puppet sways and dances in place. A puppet can’t take reactions. The puppeteer can control five puppets at a time and can end this effect at any time. Each puppet shares the puppeteer’s statistics except for its size. Any damage or effects targeted at a puppet affect the puppeteer instead. An area effect that includes multiple targets doesn’t affect the puppeteer more than once. Without the puppeteer’s attached strings, a puppet is an object with AC 11 and 30 hit points.

LEGENDARY ACTIONS

The puppeteer can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The puppeteer regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.

• Manipulate Puppets. The puppeteer uses Manipulate Puppets.
• Pull Taut. The puppeteer flings intangible marionette strings at a creature it can see within 30 feet. The creature must make a DC 14 Strength saving throw. On a failure, it is knocked prone, is pulled up to 10 feet towards the puppeteer, or drops a weapon or other held item (the puppeteer’s choice).

ABOUT

Many believe that puppeteers are mundane mannequins possessed by the evil spirit of a passionate performer’s ghost, but the truth is far stranger. Puppeteers result from a humanoid who spends years of obsessive toil honing their craft and manipulating puppets in the presence of weird occult energies. Either through the magic of their workshop, a visit from a trickster spirit, or a doomed pact with a devil causes these artists to turn into a wooden simulacrum of themselves. In exchange, this transformation gives them near-perfect control of their marionettes. Depending on the puppeteer, this transformation is either a blessing or a curse.

A puppeteer without a puppet is like a master sword-fighter without a blade, and puppeteers are fully aware of this fact. To ensure it is never without its precious toys, a puppeteer typically carries a bag of holding filled with such dolls-plus a few spares stuffed among its own clothing. The best way to strike a bargain or make a serious deal with a puppeteer is to corner it alone.