The Unfinished Troupe

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Medium Construct (animated troupe), Chaotic Neutral

Armor Class 15 (natural armor)

Hit Points 90 (12d8+36)

Speed 30 ft. climb 30 ft.

STR 16 (+3)

DEX 18 (+4)

CON 16 (+3)

INT 8 (-1)

WIS 12 (+1)

CHA 14 (+2)

Saving Throws Dex +7, Wis +4

Skills Stealth +7, Acrobatics +7, Performance +5

Damage Resistances bludgeoning from nonmagical attacks

Damage Immunities poison

Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, poisoned

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11

Languages Common, telepathy 30 ft.

Challenge 5 (1,800 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3

The Show Must Go On. The troupe is immune to effects that would cause it to fall unconscious. When reduced to 0 hit points, it collapses into a heap of wooden figures and tangled strings, but it can be repaired and restored to 1 hit point if at least three of its marionettes remain intact and a creature spends 10 minutes retying its strings.

Beloved in the Balcony. At the start of combat, the troupe chooses one creature it can see within 60 feet and mistakes that creature for Maribel Voss, its dead puppeteer's lost love. Until that creature damages the troupe or one of its marionettes, the troupe has disadvantage on attack rolls against it, and the chosen creature has advantage on Charisma checks made to command, calm, or deceive the troupe. The troupe will not willingly move farther than 30 feet from the chosen creature.

Many Hands, One Performance. The troupe can occupy another creature's space and move through openings as narrow as 1 inch without squeezing. It can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down across ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.

Actions

Multiattack. The troupe makes three Needle-Blade attacks. It can replace one attack with String Snare.

Needle-Blade. Melee weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6+4) slashing damage. A storm of painted wooden hands and hidden needles strikes as the troupe jerks its victims into the choreography.

String Snare. Ranged weapon Attack: +7 to hit, range 30/60 ft., one Large or smaller creature. Hit: 8 (1d8+4) piercing damage. The target is wrapped in nearly invisible puppet strings and must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or be restrained until the end of its next turn. A restrained creature can use its action to make a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check, ending the effect on a success.

Final Bow (Recharge 5-6). The troupe jerks every string at once and forces the scene into its violent conclusion. Each creature within 15 feet must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw, taking 18 (4d8) psychic damage and falling prone on a failed save, or taking half as much damage on a successful one. A creature that fails the save is also frightened of the troupe until the end of its next turn.

Reactions

Protect the Beloved. When the creature chosen by Beloved in the Balcony is hit by an attack while within 10 feet of the troupe, the troupe imposes disadvantage on that attack roll by violently yanking the target aside. The troupe can use this reaction after the attack roll is made but before the result is determined.

Environment Urban

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Do not leave before the curtain falls. Maribel has waited so very long. — scratched into the stage floor of the Candlewick Playhouse

Lore & Description

Appearance

The Unfinished Troupe is a knot of six wooden marionettes sharing one tangled mass of black control strings. Their painted faces are cracked and flaking: a smiling prince, a weeping queen, a red-cheeked fool, two identical children, and a pale heroine with one glass eye. Their lacquered limbs bend too far, their fingers end in sewing needles, and the invisible pull of a dead puppeteer's hands makes them bow, leap, and whirl even when no one stands above the stage. A tarnished silver locket hangs from the heroine's throat.

Behavior & Origins

The troupe once performed under the direction of the celebrated puppeteer Oren Vell, who wrote a romance called The Rose Behind the Curtain for his beloved Maribel Voss. During the final performance at the Candlewick Playhouse, Oren suffered a fatal seizure mid-scene, but the marionettes continued moving until dawn. They have repeated that unfinished show ever since, dragging travelers into the ruined theater as an audience and mistaking one person—usually someone with similar eyes or a gentle voice—for Maribel. The troupe wants only to finish the play and hear Maribel say the final line, but it cannot remember what that line was.

Running The Unfinished Troupe

Tactics

The troupe opens with String Snare against a distant threat while its other marionettes rush the nearest targets with Needle-Blades. It positions itself around the creature it mistakes for Maribel, using Protect the Beloved to spoil attacks and forcing enemies into a tight cluster before using Final Bow. If the chosen creature damages it, the troupe shrieks in betrayal and fights relentlessly; otherwise, it flees only when reduced to 15 hit points, dragging its beloved toward the stage.

DM Tips

Telegraph the troupe with muffled applause, rhythmic creaking from an empty theater, and footprints that stop beneath dangling strings.
Give the chosen character whispered lines from the unfinished play and have the troupe use affectionate names such as Maribel, darling, or my rose.
For a weaker party, remove Protect the Beloved and reduce the troupe to 72 hit points; for a stronger party, add two independent Needle-Blade attacks as legendary-style reactions once per round.
The encounter can end without combat if the characters discover Oren Vell's script and improvise a final line that satisfies the troupe.

Loot

Maribel's Silver Locket — A tarnished locket containing a painted portrait of Maribel Voss. It bears Oren Vell's initials and may identify the missing playwright's descendants.
The Rose Behind the Curtain — The incomplete puppet script, covered in stage directions and desperate notes. Completing its final scene can calm the troupe or reveal who arranged Oren's death.
Black Control Thread — A spool of unnaturally strong thread taken from the puppeteer's rig. Once per long rest, it can bind a Small or smaller object to a surface for 1 hour.

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Generation Info

Original prompt:
"CR 5: A troupe of marionettes whose puppeteer died mid-performance, still finishing the show. It mistakes one party member for someone it once loved."

Created: Sep 17, 2026
Modified: Oct 26, 2026

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