Arcane Puppets

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The fabled puppeteer is comparable to a golemancer, necromancer, conjurer, or any other minion-related magic user. Unlike them, however, a puppeteer exercises the finest of control over their creation, with the most delicate of manipulations, and from as great a distance as possible.

Mechanics behind Arcane Puppetry Arcane Puppetry is a subtle, masterful combination of telekinesis, enchantment and Soul puppetry. All three must be understood in one way or another to create a puppet. Before a mage starts, they need a puppet. It's material is special; made of carefully sculpted, heated clay (with exceptions to various gildings, clothes and metal joints). To be manipulated properly, its size cannot exceed more than twice the mage's weight.

Once a basic form is attained, the puppetmaster must heavily enchant their creation to make it function. A compact telekinetic enchantment is applied to each and every limb and joint on the puppet's body, allowing the puppet to bend and turn at the creator's will from afar. Next, the creation is given manufactured Senses, usually in the form of enchanted gemstones and gold fittings, ensorceled to send responses to the puppeteer through cognative magic. Most often, this comes in the form of basic sight, and hearing.

Finally, the mage must connect to the puppet, using the same methods Soul Puppeteers employ. The mage connects its mind to the inanimate puppet, and prompts it to lift from a distance. There is a tradeoff, however. In exchange for the ability to move with a puppet and sense with its enchantments, a puppeteer must temporarily give up the ability to do such things themselves. A puppeteer who moves his puppet cannot move himself, and if he sees through it, he will be unable to see through his natural eyes while he is doing so.

The connection itself takes at least an hour to attach and detach fully. Both the puppeteer and the puppet are incredibly vulnerable at such points in time.

The distance a puppet can travel, and the amount of time it can be connected with varies widely with puppet mage's skill. A novice can connect with a single puppet a few meters away for more than a few minutes, while a master can maintain a connection for hours, spanning distances hundreds and hundreds of meters away.

Strengths

   A master can even allow their creation to speak, but their mouths would end up looking far, far from a human's.
   Are able to hear, see, and smell (feel at master level) that which the puppet does, at the cost of being unable to use the same senses themselves while connecting.
   Puppets are more resilient than a human form, but cannot heal, nor bear the weight of metal armor.
   Puppets are incredibly versatile. Able to do very very complex motions at higher levels, and can be used effectively for espionage and other such acts.
   Puppets are disposable.

Weaknesses

   Cannot move while manipulating a puppet.
   Puppets can never seem fully alive. Sculpting and painting with clay can only do so much- and the joints must always be metal.
   Mages can easily be broken from their concentration at all tiers by being interrupted.
   Mages cannot use their Puppets to fight very effectively, a master having possibly the ability to take on 1 fully armored knight.
   The weight of the puppet cannot be more than thrice the mass of the Puppeteer.
   Puppets cannot float in water, as clay is too heavy.
   Even a tier 5 puppeteer cannot change the fact that if touched, the Puppet feels very rigid, no matter how much detailing and coloring is done to the outer clay.

Red Lines / Limitations

   Puppets will crack and break if exposed to intense heat like fire or lava, just as a mortal would.
   If a player's puppet dies while being channeled, the user loses ALL recollection of the events leading up to the puppet's destruction, just as they would have if they were there, and died normally.
   Arcane Puppetry can only be used on puppets made of clay (Metal being allowed for joints.) It is possible to gild their body with other material, or encrust various parts of the body with gems, but the basic construction must be clay.
   Puppets cannot fly, even if they take the form of a bird.
   While playing the puppet, the mage's location and that he is in concentration must be specified somehow, normally through a sign.