Bard Colleges

The way of a bard is gregarious. Bards seek each other out to swap songs and stories, boast of their accomplishments, and share their knowledge. Bards form loose associations, which they call colleges, to facilitate their gatherings and preserve their traditions.

College of Marionettes

The College of Marionettes are a guild of puppeteers that turn the movement of their puppets into a masterpiece of magic. They use their nimble fingers and magic string, they can even control the bodies of the living and animate the dead to follow their precise instructions. Not only can they physically control the living, but they also excel in manipulating and persuading.

Spellcasting Focus

Those who join the College of Marionettes also gain the use of their puppet as a spellcasting focus for Bard spells as a substitution for an instrument.

Bonus Proficiencies

At 3rd level, when you join this college, you gain proficiency with two skills of your choice from: Performance, Deception, Sleight of Hand, and Persuasion. Additionally, you gain proficiency in a Puppeteer's Kit. (Detailed at the end)

Puppet Familiar

At 3rd level, you learn find familiar if you didn't already know it. This spell does not count against your number of spells known. The spirit of your familiar summoned with this spell can occupy your puppet or marionette doll, which in turn can move of its own volition as your familiar, using the Living Puppet stats found below.

Additionally, when you take the Attack action, you can forgo one of your own attacks to allow your familiar to make one attack of its own. When your familiar makes an attack, it uses your spell attack bonus instead of its own attack bonus on attack rolls, and you may add your proficiency bonus to its damage rolls.

When you communicate with your familiar telepathically, you can also take precise control of its actions, allowing your puppet to use your ability or skill modifier for an ability check and adding the die's result as a bonus on the check.

Soul Strings

At 6th level, you can expend a Bardic Inspiration die as an action, projecting from your fingertips barely noticeable (DC 25 in bright light) strands of energy which can attach to creatures. Choose a living creature you can see within 30 feet to make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, your strings attach to the creature for a number of rounds equal to the number rolled on the Bardic Inspiration die, after which the strings are broken and this effect ends. At the end of each of its turns, an affected creature can make a new saving throw against this effect, ending it on a success.

While your strings are attached to a creature, it is under your complete control. You can use your bonus action to take total and precise control of the target. It takes only the actions you choose, and doesn’t do anything that you don’t allow it to do. You cannot command an activity that would result in certain death. You can also cause the creature to use a reaction, but this requires you to use your own reaction as well.

While your strings are attached, you can take no actions or move further than 30 feet from your target creature without breaking the strings and ending the effect.

Master of Puppets

Beginning at 14th level, your soul strings can attach to the bodies of dead creatures and inanimate objects, turning them to your will. You can expend a Bardic Inspiration die to cast animate dead or animate objects, as appropriate, for a single target within 30 feet without expending a spell slot or spell components. The duration of this spell is a number of rounds equal to the number rolled on the Bardic Inspiration die and does not require concentration. Those animated take action on your turn You are able to have a total animated objects or dead animated at one time equal to 1 + Charisma modifier (Minimum 1).