The Unfinished Troupe

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Small Construct (swarm of Tiny constructs), Chaotic Neutral

Armor Class 13 (wooden bodies)

Hit Points 27 (6d6+6)

Speed 25 ft. climb 25 ft.

STR 8 (-1)

DEX 16 (+3)

CON 12 (+1)

INT 6 (-2)

WIS 10 (+0)

CHA 14 (+2)

Skills Stealth +5, Acrobatics +5, Performance +4

Damage Vulnerabilities fire

Damage Resistances bludgeoning; piercing; slashing from nonmagical attacks

Damage Immunities poison, psychic

Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, poisoned

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10

Languages understands Common but can't speak

Challenge 1 (200 XP) Proficiency Bonus +2

Many Bodies, One Curtain Call. The Unfinished Troupe occupies another creature's space and can move through any opening large enough for one of its marionettes. It can occupy another creature's space, and vice versa. It can't regain hit points or be knocked prone.

Name in the Playbill. Whenever a creature within 60 feet speaks the troupe's name, "The Unfinished Troupe," aloud, the troupe gains one Encore die, a d4, for 1 minute. The troupe can have up to three Encore dice at a time. When it makes an attack roll or deals damage, it can expend any number of Encore dice to add the total rolled to the attack roll or damage roll. A creature that knows this effect can avoid triggering it by referring to the troupe as "the puppets," "the marionettes," or another name.

Last Performance. The troupe doesn't need to eat, drink, breathe, or sleep. If reduced to 0 hit points, it collapses into tangled strings and painted wooden faces. Unless all of its pieces are burned or buried separately, it reforms with 1 hit point at the next midnight in the place where its final performance began.

Actions

Multiattack. The troupe makes two String-Claw attacks.

String-Claw. Melee weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 5 (1d4+3) slashing damage. If both String-Claw attacks hit the same target on the troupe's turn, the target must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or be restrained by invisible stage strings until the end of the target's next turn.

Cue the Falling Scenery (Recharge 5-6). The troupe yanks unseen strings, causing a nearby object, curtain, sign, or piece of scenery to crash down. Each creature in a 10-foot-square area within 30 feet must make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw, taking 7 (2d6) bludgeoning damage and falling prone on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. The troupe must be able to see the area.

Encore (1/Day). The troupe repeats a line or movement from its dead puppeteer's final performance. Each creature of the troupe's choice within 15 feet that can hear it must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or be charmed until the end of the troupe's next turn. While charmed this way, a creature must use its movement to approach the troupe by the safest available route and can take either an action or a bonus action on its turn, not both.

Bonus Actions

Dance on the Strings. The troupe moves up to half its speed without provoking opportunity attacks, provided it ends this movement in dim light, darkness, or within 5 feet of an object at least as tall as it is.

Environment Urban, Forest

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"Ladies and gentlemen, do not applaud until the little ones have finished." — Master Orsino Vale's final playbill

Lore & Description

Appearance

A knot of six-inch wooden marionettes skitters and pirouettes as though suspended from invisible strings. Their bodies are painted in faded carnival colors: cracked vermilion cheeks, blue diamond patterns, chipped gold buttons, and tiny black boots. Each has a different carved expression—delight, grief, terror, and theatrical surprise—but all turn their heads in perfect unison toward anyone who speaks their name. A frayed length of crimson curtain cord trails from the mass, ending in the stiff, pale hand of their dead puppeteer.

Behavior & Origins

The troupe belonged to Master Orsino Vale, whose final show was performed in the abandoned Bellweather Playhouse. Vale suffered a fatal seizure during the closing scene, but his marionettes continued bowing, repeating the same unfinished performance night after night. They seek an audience above all else and interpret interruption as sabotage. The troupe grows bolder whenever named aloud, believing each spoken name is applause and a promise that the show must continue. A useful hook is the troupe's desire to recover the missing final page of Vale's script, now held by the undertaker Mara Venn, who refuses to return it because it contains the name of the thing Vale summoned to animate the puppets.

Running The Unfinished Troupe

Tactics

The troupe begins by hiding among curtains, rafters, or furniture and uses Dance on the Strings to surround the most isolated target. It opens with String-Claw attacks, attempting to restrain one creature while using Encore to draw another into the performance. It uses Cue the Falling Scenery when several foes cluster together, and it spends Encore dice only after a creature foolishly speaks its name or when a decisive hit could prevent escape. If reduced below 8 hit points, it flees toward the nearest stage or darkened room; it fights to the end if someone possesses Vale's missing script.

DM Tips

Telegraph the creature with tiny wooden footprints, the sound of an unseen audience applauding, and a playbill whose title has been scratched out.
Have the marionettes communicate through synchronized gestures, squeaking wooden voices, and silent bows rather than normal speech.
Remind players that naming the troupe aloud empowers it, but allow clever alternate names and descriptions to avoid making the hazard feel arbitrary.
For a weaker party, remove the troupe's damage resistance; for a stronger party, increase its maximum Encore dice to five and let Cue the Falling Scenery recharge on 4-6.

Loot

Vale's Crimson Control Cord — A frayed red cord ending in a carved wooden hand. When held, it can make one Tiny unattended object perform a simple dance for 1 minute once per day.
The Missing Final Page — A grease-stained page from Vale's script covered in stage directions and one redacted name. It points toward the Bellweather Playhouse's hidden cellar.
Painted Wooden Face — A spare marionette mask bearing an expression that changes when nobody is looking. It is a recognizable token of the troupe and may serve as proof that the haunting has ended.

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Generation Info

Original prompt:
"CR 1: A troupe of marionettes whose puppeteer died mid-performance, still finishing the show. It grows stronger each time it is named aloud."

Created: Oct 20, 2026
Modified: Oct 26, 2026

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