Marionette

Marionettes are the cast-away, unwanted toys of children from the Human World that found their way into the Netherworld; via forbidden dark magic they gained life. Marionettes are capable of disassembling and reassembling their body parts, though they sometimes have trouble putting themselves back together. They often pretend to be ordinary toys and use their disarming appearance to surprise their targets and attack with their body parts and knives. They have a habit of targeting children.

**Type:** Construct (Monster, Demon, Outsider)

**Hit Die:** d8

**Class Skills** The creature's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are

Bluff (Cha), Slight of hand (Dex), Escape artist (Dex), Pilot (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Martial knowledge (Physical Monster weapon) (Int), Knowledge (All taken seperately) (Int), Stealth (Dex), Climb (Str), Acrobatics(Dex)

**Skill Ranks per Level:** 6+ Int modifier.

**Starting Wealth:** 3d6 × 10 hl (average 105hl.) In addition, each character begins play with an outfit worth 10 hl or less. Table:

**Role:** Marionettes tend to be sneaky and quiet, more often slipping into an area and taking care of it's business without alerting anyone than staying to confront someone.

**Alignment:** Marionettes are often wild cards when it comes to loyalties, preferring to follow the strongest creature in an area. As such they tend to be neutral and often have a lot of chaotic tendencies.

**Evilty:**

**EVILITY: Soulless Offset**

Once a day, as an instant action, whenever a creature within 5 feet of you is targeted by a mind effecting spell or ability, you can make the saving throw yourself. If you succeed, you negate the spell and gain a number of hit points equal to the spell's level. If you fail however, you take the ill effects of the spell for one round.

**Race:**

• +2 dexterity, +2 Charisma -2 Strength, no con mod.

• **Small size:** +1 bonus to Armor Class, +1 bonus on attack rolls, +4 bonus on Stealth checks, -1 penalty on CMB and CMD.

•**Speed:** 40

• Low Light Vision, Dark vision out to 60 feet

• +4 racial bonus to Stealth and slight of hand. +8 bonus on disguise checks and checks to pretend it’s a doll.

* No Constitution score. Any DCs or other Statistics that rely on a Constitution score treat a construct as having a score of 10 (no bonus or penalty).
* Immunity to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms).
* Immunity to bleed, disease, death effects, necromancy effects, paralysis, poison, sleep effects, and stunning.
* Cannot heal damage on its own, but often can be repaired via exposure to a certain kind of effect (see the creature’s description for details) or through the use of the Craft Construct feat. Constructs can also be healed through spells such as make whole. A construct with the fast healing special quality still benefits from that quality.
* Not subject to ability damage, ability drain, fatigue, exhaustion, energy drain, or nonlethal damage.
* Immunity to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects, or is harmless).
* Not at risk of death from massive damage. Immediately destroyed when reduced to 0 hit points or less. The Construct can still be repaired from this point, but will not recover naturally.
* A construct is hard to destroy, and gains bonus hit points based on size, as shown on the following table.
* Constructs do not breathe, eat, or sleep.

**Repairs:** The Marionette can be repaired using a Craft check that has to do with wood, stone, or metal. The craft check heals a number of hit points equal to the craft check and takes 1 hour for every 5 hit points recovered.

• **Automatic Languages:** Common and Japanese, depending on where they are sent.

•**Bonus Languages:** Any

**Monster Weapon Proficiency (Ex)** Marionettes are proficient and can only wield physical monster weapons, unless they have reincarnated from a previous body that had the ability to wield other weapons. A Marionette’s weapon always appears as a nasty little dagger. This little knife deals 1d4 damage, or the damage listed under the monster weapon, whichever is higher, and lands a critical hit at 19-20. This can be thrown at a range of 20 feet and will always re-materialize back in the Marionette’s hand.

**Magichange (Ex)** As a free action, a Marionette can change into a swift short bow. The Magichange lasts as many rounds as the Marionette’s Charisma Modifier, and when it ends, the creature returns to it's former self but is considered exhausted. The wielder must be unarmed and able to hold the bow when the Marionette transforms.

**Marionette Short Bow** Short Bow

**Damage:** 1d6 or Marionette’s monster weapon, whichever is higher.

**Critical:** x3

**Damage Type:** Bludgeoning and Piercing

**Weight:** 2 lbs.

**Range Increment:** 60 ft.

**Techniques (Su)** Just like all classes, Marionettes gain access to special techniques they can utilize to aid them in battle or day to day activities. At each level they gain 1 technique of any level they can perform.

At the levels designated, Marionettes also gain special Monster Techniques they can utilize to get an edge over their opponents. A Marionette Learns a monster technique at 3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th, 15th, 18th, and 20th level. These Techniques can be chosen from the Marionette's list of techniques highlighted with two (\*\*).

The Marionette must be able to perform techniques of the technique's level to learn it. There are many cases where a monster may not possess enough Monster techniques that they can aquire with this ability, when there are no other monster techniques the creature can take, it can just take a normal technique.

The marionette's relevant modifier is it's dexterity modifier.

**Ability Boost**

Creatures gain Ability buffs at levels 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14. The Ability boost is determined by what kind of creature it is.

Marionettes gain a bonus to Dexterity and Charisma scores.

**Soul Focus (Su)**

At 1st level, The soul bound to the Marionette lives within a focus integrated into the Marionette or its apparel, typically one of the Marionette’s eyes or a gem embedded into its neck or chest. As long as this soul focus remains intact, it can be used to animate another Marionette for 1,000 hl. Once bound into the soul focus, the soul continues to learn, and so if later it is put into a new Marionette body, the soul retains its personality and memories from its previous body or bodies. A soul focus has hardness 8+ twice your level, 12 hitpoints per level, and a Break DC of 15+twice your level.

At 5th level, the Soul Focus allows you to stay hidden from creatures that possess life sight or that can see souls. Your soul no longer appears to those with life sight, and you can appear as simply a doll. A creature must sense motive against your bluff check to be able to tell that you possess a soul.

**Sneak Attack (Ex)**

At 1st level, If a Marionette can catch an opponent when he is unable to defend himself effectively from her attack, she can strike a vital spot for extra damage.

The Marionette's attack deals extra damage (called "precision damage") anytime her target would be denied a Dexterity bonus to AC (whether the target actually has a Dexterity bonus or not), or when the Marionette flanks her target. This extra damage is 1d6 at 1st level, and increases by 1d6 every two Marionette levels thereafter. Should the Marionette score a critical hit with a sneak attack, this extra damage is not multiplied. Ranged attacks can count as sneak attacks only if the target is within 30 feet.

With a weapon that deals nonlethal damage (like a sap, whip, or an unarmed strike), a Marionette can make a sneak attack that deals nonlethal damage instead of lethal damage. She cannot use a weapon that deals lethal damage to deal nonlethal damage in a sneak attack, not even with the usual –4 penalty.

The Marionette must be able to see the target well enough to pick out a vital spot and must be able to reach such a spot. A Marionette cannot sneak attack while striking a creature with concealment.

**Puppet Tricks**

As a marionette gains experience, she learns a number of tricks that aid her and confound her foes. Starting at 2nd level, a marionette gains one puppet trick. She gains an additional puppet trick for every 2 levels of marionette attained after 2nd level. A marionette cannot select an individual talent more than once.

Talents marked with an asterisk add effects to a marionette’s sneak attack. Only one of these talents can be applied to an individual attack, and the decision must be made before the attack roll is made.

A marionette cannot choose a ninja trick with the same name as a puppet trick.

Puppet tricks can be selected from the list of Unchained Rogue Talents

Alternatively, the Marionette can select from the Simulacrum and Doppelganger Simulacrum Alchemist discoveries in place of a normal puppet trick.

**Debilitating Injury (Ex)**

At 4th level, whenever a marionette deals sneak attack damage to a foe, she can also debilitate the target of her attack, causing it to take a penalty for 1 round (this is in addition to any penalty caused by a Puppet Trick or other special ability). The marionette can choose to apply any one of the following penalties when the damage is dealt.

*Bewildered*: The target becomes bewildered, taking a –2 penalty to AC. The target takes an additional –2 penalty to AC against all attacks made by the marionette. At 10th level and 16th level, the penalty to AC against attacks made by the marionette increases by –2 (to a total maximum of –8).

*Disoriented*: The target takes a –2 penalty on attack rolls. In addition, the target takes an additional –2 penalty on all attack rolls it makes against the marionette. At 10th level and 16th level, the penalty on attack rolls made against the marionette increases by –2 (to a total maximum of –8).

*Hampered*: All of the target’s speeds are reduced by half (to a minimum of 5 feet). In addition, the target cannot take a 5-foot step.

These penalties do not stack with themselves, but additional attacks that deal sneak attack damage extend the duration by 1 round. A creature cannot suffer from more than one penalty from this ability at a time. If a new penalty is applied, the old penalty immediately ends. Any form of healing applied to a target suffering from one of these penalties also removes the penalty.

**Limp Body (Su)**

At 4th level The Marionette's body is floppy and easy to contort. The Marionette gains a bonus equal to his class level on Escape Artist checks, can squeeze through places as if he were one size category smaller, and can make a Reflex save (DC equal to 15 + 1 for every 10 feet fallen to a maximum of +20) to take half damage from falling.

**Natural armor (Ex)**

Marionettes gain bonuses to Natural armor as indicated on the above table.

**Increased Move Speed**

Marionettes gain a bonus to their base movement speed as indicated on the table above.

**Fire Weakness (Ex)** Marionettes are made of wood and cloth, they take 50% more damage from fire based sources.

**Fake Body (Su)** At 10th level, all falling damage is considered nonlethal damage, and the Marionette can squeeze through places as if he were two size categories smaller than his size. At 15th level, the Marionette becomes immune to any effect that would harm it’s soul such as trap the soul or an effect that would damn it’s soul if killed. Only if it’s Soul focus is destroyed can it be effected.

**Advanced Puppet Tricks**

At 10th level and every 2 levels thereafter, a Marionette can choose one of the following advanced talents in place of a rogue talent.

* A complete listing of rogue advanced talents can be found here: Advanced Rogue Talents

**Hell's crown (Su)**

At 20th level, a marionette becomes a true master of it's art. it can once per day, as a standard action, cast greater invisibility on herself. This Invisibility adds a +6 bonus to dexterity and charisma, as well as a +3 bonus to natural armor. While invisible in this way, she cannot be detected by any means, and not even invisibility purge, see invisibility, and true seeing can reveal her. She uses her marionette level as her caster level for this ability. In addition, whenever the marionette deals sneak attack damage, she can sacrifice additional damage dice to apply a penalty to one ability score of the target equal to the number of dice sacrificed for 1 minute. This penalty does not stack with itself and cannot reduce an ability score below 1. The Marionette can cast a Soul Switch Incantation spell as a free action any time it lands a critical hit on a creature. If the enemy fails a will saving throw DC:10+1/2 level+Dexterity modifier the creatures switch bodies. If the creature’s body dies, your soul returns to your own body and that soul is returned to their body, or possibly, if it puts up a fight and tries to keep your body, it is effected as if by a trap the soul spell every round until it cooperates with the same DC as above. This form one round per level.

### **Marionette Techniques**

**1st-Level Marionette Techniques—** Color Spray, Dazzling blade, Disguise self, illusion of calm, magic Aura, Negative Reaction, Shadow Weapon, Silent Image, Vanish, Ventriloquism, \*\*Optical Sight (MC)

**2nd-Level Marionette Techniques—**Blur, Disguise Other, Ghostly Disguise, Haunting Mists, Hypnotic Pattern, Invisibility, Mad Hallucination, Magic Mouth, Minor Image, Mirror Image, Misdirection, Phantom Trap, Symbol of Mirroring, \*\*Spin bomb

**3rd-Level Marionette Techniques—**Mass Dazzling Blade, Displacement, Illusory Poison, Illusory Script, Invisibility sphere, Loathsome Veil, Major Image, Vision of Hell, \*\*Dancing Knife

**4th-Level Marionette Techniques—**Hallucinatory Terrain, Illusory Wall, Greater Invisibility, Phantasmal Killer, Rainbow Pattern, Shadow Conjuration, Shadow Step, Shocking Image, Lesser Simulacrum, Wandering Star Motes, \*\*Magical Knife

**5th-Level Marionette Techniques—**Dream, False Vision, Mirage Arcana, Nightmare, Persistent Image, Phantasmal Web, Seeming, Shadow Evocation, Symbol of Striking

**6th-Level Marionette Techniques—**Mislead, Permanent Image, programmed Image, Shadow Walk, Unwilling Shield, Veil, \*\*PoisonPoison

**7th-Level Marionette Techniques—**Mass Invisibility, Lunar Veil, Phantasmal Revenge, Project Image, Greater Shadow Conjuration, Simulacrum, \*\*Spark Sphere

**8th-Level Marionette Techniques—**Scintillating Pattern, Screen, Greater Shadow Evocation, \*\*Puppet Bow (MC)

**9th-Level Marionette Techniques—**Shades, Weird, Power Word Kill, Time stop, Energy Drain, \*\*Illusion

# **Reincarnation**

If Reincarnating into this class after having already been this class, or a class with similar abilities, check the following page to see what ability you'll get instead at the levels you would normally gain an already achieved class ability.

Marionette Reincarnation