Kubo and the Two Strings

There are few in the land who have not heard tale of the legendary bard Kubo, who united the three pieces of a powerful collection of artifacts, and through love and loss triumphed in his quest, choosing mercy in the end.

Kubo is a young hero, but nonetheless extremely talented with his shamisen, a lute-like instrument stringed with one of his own hairs, one of his mother's, and the bowstring that had belonged to Beetle. He is treated as being a 10th-level college of lore bard. He could also be imagined as having the 'by popular demand' feature from the entertainer background.

Accompanying Kubo on his quest were loyal companions Monkey and Beetle, both as skilled in battle as they were in bickering. The stat blocks of each are detailed below.

These NPC's are designed with the intent of being used in D&D campaigns, and thus have some abilities that their cinematic counterparts lack, and vice versa.

Flavour Immeasurable. For purely-flavour purposes, one can imagine Kubo's various spells being performed with the aid of origami constructions. For example:

Mage hand becomes a floating paper construct.

Dancing lights become lanterns.

Feather fall involves paper folding under his feet.

Unseen servant becomes an origami samurai.

Cloud of daggers becomes a swarm of origami birds.

Locate object involves a paper samurai pointing toward the desired object.

Speak with dead involves the lantern ceremony.

Conjure animals conjures origami creatures.

Fly involves beetle wings sprouting from his tunic.

Hypnotic pattern involves a dazzling display of paper magic.

Conjure elemental conjures giant origami creatures.

Special thanks to reddit user /u/TheMightyBill for some of these ideas, and his recommendations on Kubo's spell list.

Variant: Artifact-Clad

If Kubo is in possession of all three parts of the legendary armour of his father, his stats are changed in the following ways, increasing his CR to 8 (3,900 XP):

His AC increases to 18.

He can cast the fly spell at will and without requiring concentration, causing ribbon-wings to sprout from the back of the breastplate impenetrable.

He learns the light cantrip, and can cast the daylight spell at will, centred on the helmet invulnerable.

He gains resistance to nonmagical damage.

He may take the following action option twice on his turn:

Sword Invulnerable. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) slashing damage or 7 (1d10 + 2) slashing damage if wielded in two hands, plus 11 (2d10) radiant damage.

Kubo Medium humanoid, chaotic good Armor Class 14 (studded leather)

14 (studded leather) Hit Points 55 (10d8 + 10)

55 (10d8 + 10) Speed 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 10 (+0) 14 (+2) 13 (+1) 14 (+2) 12 (+1) 20 (+5) Saving Throws Dex +6, Cha +9

Dex +6, Cha +9 Skills Acrobatics +6, Athletics +8, Deception +9, History +6, Performance +13, Persuasion +13

Acrobatics +6, Athletics +8, Deception +9, History +6, Performance +13, Persuasion +13 Senses passive Perception 11

passive Perception 11 Languages Common, Elvish

Common, Elvish Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)

Song of Rest. Kubo can perform a song while taking a short rest. Any ally, including himself, who hears the song regains an extra 1d10 hit points if it spends any Hit Dice to regain hit points at the end of that rest.

Spellcasting. Kubo is a 10th-level spellcaster. His spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 17). He has the following bard spells prepared, as well as those gained through magical secrets:

Cantrips (at will): mage hand, prestidigitation, dancing lights, mending

1st level (4 slots): animal friendship, feather fall, healing word, thunderwave, unseen servant

2nd level (3 slots): cloud of daggers, hold person, locate object, speak with dead

3rd level (3 slots): conjure animals, fly, hypnotic pattern

4th level (3 slots): hallucinatory terrain

5th level (2 slots): animate objects, awaken, conjure elemental, legend lore, modify memory

Taunt (3/Day). Kubo can use a bonus action on his turn to target one creature within 30 feet of him. If the target can hear Kubo, the target must succeed on a DC 17 Charisma saving throw or have disadvantage on ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws until the start of the Kubo's next turn.

Actions Shortbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 80/320 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage. Reactions