Monster ENCyclopedia: Scarecrow

[Ubiquitous]

Look away! Don’t meet its gaze! The scarecrow began as unintelligent
creation, animated by evil clerics. As it shambled through the
editions, it became a more complex construct. A spirit plucked from the
ether by a hag and bound inside a carefully crafted body. After
centuries as sentries, some scarecrows even awaken as independent
creatures. But no matter which edition’s scarecrow is after you, don’t
look into those glowing red eyes... too late! You have already been
paralyzed and forced to read this Monster ENCyclopedia entry.

Monster ENCyclopedia: Scarecrow
This is a series of posts about specific monsters from D&D's history.
Each entry takes a look at the origin of one D&D creature, and tracks
its appearances and evolution across different editions. We are now
more than two thirds of the way through a (slow, sorry!) tour of the
alphabet, and there hasn’t yet been an entry dedicated to a construct.
So, for the letter S, we are going to look at the humble scarecrow.

Origins
Farmers all over the world have used scarecrows to scare away birds for
centuries. Spooky stories about scarecrows coming to life have probably
been told for just as long. The oldest known story of an animated
scarecrow is in Kojiki, a Japanese book dating back to the year 712.
This tells the story of Keubiko, the god of knowledge and agriculture.
He has great knowledge, but has the body of a scarecrow, and is unable
to walk.

Comparatively recently by comparison, English literature includes an
animated scarecrow in the short story Feathertop, published in 1852,
and of course the Scarecrow in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. In the world
of comics, a more sinister Scarecrow has been fighting Batman since
1941. The D&D version, at least initially, has much less self-awareness
than any of these scarecrows, but as we’ll see, over time, D&D
scarecrows became far more conscious.


Dragon #150 (1989)

1st Edition
The D&D scarecrow first appears in the Fiend Folio, and is credited to
Roger Musson, who contributed eleven of the book’s monsters, including
the al-mi’raj which we’ve covered before in the Monster ENCylopedia
series.

The scarecrow is a 5HD creature and it inflicts 1-6 damage by striking
opponents with its arms. Although this is not a large amount of damage,
the scarecrow is also capable of charming opponents. Both the gaze and
touch of a scarecrow cause a target who fails a saving throw against
magic to become fascinated. A fascinated victim does nothing except
stand and gape (as if held), even as the scarecrow continues to strike
at him or her. Only if the scarecrow is killed or leaves the area is
the effect of the charm broken.

Scarecrows are non-intelligent and always of evil alignment. They
follow the orders of their creators literally. They are medium-sized
and shamble along half as fast as a human. They are usually encountered
in groups of 1-6. According to the Monster Manual II, they might be
found in hills and plains in civilized temperate regions.

The scarecrow makes scant further appearances in 1st Edition. An
adventure in Dragon #102 features scarecrows as random encounters.
There is one herding stench kine (not very well) in I8: Ravager of
Time, but it doesn’t interact with the adventurers unless they harm the
cattle. Of more interest is the fact that the scarecrow herder serves
an annis, foreshadowing the close relationship with hags that follows
in later editions.

The article If Looks Could Kill in Dragon #130 provides some
clarifications for gaze attacks in general and scarecrows in
particular. Notably, someone immobilized by a scarecrow is “subject to
double the usual number of attacks for automatic hits and maximum
damage”, implying that a scarecrow does 12 points of damage per round
to a charmed victim. The article gives a suggested range of 20 feet for
the scarecrow’s gaze attack, and notes that creatures with gaze
immunity will not be affected.

In Wards of Witching Ways (Dungeon #11) there is a warlock with two
scarecrows. One has a head made from squash, the other pumpkin.
Interestingly, the warlock is able to give them instructions and direct
their activities from afar using his homonculous.

Finally, the cover of Dragon #150 gives us the Larry Elmore painting of
a scarecrow that appears at the beginning of this Monster ENCyclopedia
article. Unfortunately, this artwork was used to mark a horror-themed
issue, and there isn’t any any scarecrow-related content inside the
magazine.

2nd Edition
The 2nd Edition scarecrow appears in the MC5: Monstrous Compendium
Greyhawk Appendix but that’s probably because TSR was short of
creatures for that appendix rather than because it has any particular
Greyhawk association. The stat block is nearly the same as in the Fiend
Folio, the only change being a reduction in the number appearing to
one, to match the scarecrow’s “solitary” organization.


MC5: Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Appendix (1991)

The full page description adds plenty of detail to the scarecrow. For
its composition, we learn that the body and limbs of a scarecrow must
be made with cut wood bound with hemp rope. Cloth -- usually rags --
covers the frame and is sometimes stuffed with grass or straw. Their
legs and arms bend in both directions, giving them an uneven, jerky
gait. They are light, but slow. A gourd carved with a face functions as
a head, which can spin freely to face any direction. Once the scarecrow
becomes animated, the eye sockets glow with a fiery light.

A scarecrow can obey only simple orders of one or two phrases. If
ordered to attack, it will do so until destroyed or ordered to stop.
Usually silent, in combat a scarecrow cackles like a hyena. It focusses
its physical blows on one victim at a time, while using its gaze
against other opponents. A scarecrow’s gaze is limited to one target
per round, and has a range of 40 feet. The effect of the gaze remains
the same; the target stands transfixed until the scarecrow is destroyed
or leaves.

Scarecrows are now vulnerable to fire, with fiery attacks gaining +1 to
attack and damage rolls. They are immune to cold, and the magic that
created them also protects them against decomposition. They are immune
to sleep, charm, hold and suggestion.


Monstrous Manual (1993)

The scarecrow is treated as a type of golem in the Monstrous Manual. It
shares a page with the necrophidius, so the text is edited down
slightly from the Monstrous Compendium version. The scarecrow’s
alignment is amended to neutral in the stat block, and it gets an
improved morale of fearless (19-20). In booster packs of the 1993 TSR
Collector Cards released the same month as the Monstrous Manual, the
scarecrow appears on card #182.


1993 TSR Collector Cards (1993)

The Complete Book of Necromancers notes that some death priests,
especially those serving gods of murder or revenge, are gifted with the
ability to create a scarecrow once they reach 9th level.

3rd Edition
For 3rd Edition, the scarecrow kept a lower profile, and appeared only
in the pages of Dungeon and Dragon magazines. The adventure The Dying
of the Light in Dungeon #84 includes a pair of scarecrows under the
control of a vampire. An abbreviated stat block presents a 6 HD
scarecrow with a +5 claw attack doing 1d6+1 damage. Both the
scarecrow’s gaze and touch require a Will save (DC 13) to avoid being
held. The gaze only works on intelligent humanoids of medium size or
smaller. The scarecrow remains slow (speed of 20 ft.) but gains
darkvision (60 ft). As creatures vulnerable to fire, scarecrows take
double damage from flames unless they make a save. This version of the
scarecrow has a Challenge Rating of 4.


Dragon #355 (2007)

There is a more substantial 3rd Edition version of the scarecrow in
Dragon #355, written by ENWorld’s Kevin Baase (@BOZ) and Eric Jansing
(@Shade). This is a reasonably faithful conversion of the 2nd Edition
scarecrow, but balanced for 3rd Edition. The scarecrow now has two claw
attacks in addition to its gaze. However, instead of permanent
fascination, a target who fails a save cowers for 1d4 rounds if
touched, or 2d4 rounds if gazed upon.

This scarecrow has an unsettling presence aura extending to 60 ft.
Those in this area must make a Will save (DC 12) or be shaken for 2d6
rounds. A successful save means the target will not be affected by aura
until a day passes. In addition to immunity to cold, the scarecrow is
resistant to slashing and bludgeoning damage. It is still vulnerable to
fire, although you wouldn’t guess that from the illustration.

A scarecrow is always neutral and is a CR 3 creature. It has all-around
vision, low-light vision and darkvision 60 ft. A scarecrow does not
speak or understand any languages except its creator’s orders. A
typical scarecrow is human sized (6 ft. tall) and weighs 50 pounds. The
lights in its eyes flare each time it uses its gaze attack. In 3rd
Edition, scarecrows are most commonly constructed by druids or cultists
to terrorize their neighbours, or created by evil clerics serving
Nerull or vengeful nature or agricultural deities to function as
guardians or assassins.


Dragon #154 (2008)

Published in the awkward gap between 3rd and 4th Edition, Dungeon #154
consisted of only two adventures. One of these is a short adventure for
1st level characters, who must protect the village priest from a
scarecrow during the celebration of a holiday ominously titled Day of
the Straw Men. The adventure is titled Night of the Straw Men and it
reprints the stats from Dragon #355, with the addition of a magic mouth
cast on the creature to allow it to shriek threats at the priest.

4th Edition
The first appearance of the scarecrow in 4th Edition wasn’t in a book,
but as part of the Monster Manual: Legendary Evils miniatures set,
which featured a scarecrow stalker. To promote the release of the
Dungeon Master’s Guide 2 in September 2009, a promotional Game Day
adventure titled A Passage into Mystery was sent to game stores. It
included a selection of miniatures from the Legendary Evils set, and a
copy of the card for the scarecrow stalker was included with the
adventure.

From this card we learn that a scarecrow stalker is level 6 fey animate
(construct). It has 62 hit points and razor claws which do 1d8+6
damage. It has three special attacks: a frightening gaze which slows
and does 1d4+6 psychic damage to those in a five square blast range, a
disemboweling strike which does 2d8+6 damage against slowed targets,
and the delightful restuff healing ability, where the scarecrow uses a
minor action to grab debris and stuff itself or another scarecrow to
regain hit points.

This 4th Edition scarecrow is immune to disease, poison and sleep, but
vulnerable (5) fire. It has an intelligence score for the first time
and can also now speak common. The scarecrow stalker is unaligned, and
moves as fast as a human. Curiously, the minis card included in A
Passage into Mystery gives the Monster Manual 2 as a reference, perhaps
indicating that the scarecrow was a last minute cut from that book, as
it doesn’t appear there. Instead, the Monster Manual 3 has three new
variations of scarecrow, none of which is the scarecrow stalker.


Monster Manual 3 (2010)

The three variants presented are the scarecrow shambler (a level 10
minion), a scarecrow guardian (a level 13 soldier), and a scarecrow
haunter (a level 13 lurker). Consistent with the earlier stalker, these
scarecrows are immune to disease, poison and sleep. They move at human
speed, are unaligned, and are intelligent enough to speak Common. They
also have low-light vision.

The first of the three, the shambler, is a cheap and shoddy variant.
Instead of a single carefully crafted construct, the creator makes a
large number of crude constructions. As minions, these scarecrows have
one hit point, and a single claw attack doing 11 points of damage. Upon
death they burst into a toxic zone which inflicts 10 poison damage for
the rest of the encounter. This toxin is a poisonous mold that grows on
the straw used to stuff the shambler.

The second variation, the scarecrow guardian, looks like normal
scarecrow, except for two glowing red eyes in the burlap sack which
covers its head. These scarecrows hang on trees, posts and ruins and
tear themselves down to attack intruders. This is a combative
scarecrow. In addition to 107 hit point and a claw attack inflicting
2d6+9 hit points, it has two different gaze attacks. A long distance
luring gaze, which does psychic damage and draws the target closer, and
a shorter distance horrid gaze which immobilizes nearby targets as a
minor action. The insides of the scarecrow move around during battle to
lessen the impact of blows, reducing most damage, except fire, to which
they are vulnerable.

The third type of scarecrow in the Monster Manual 3 is the scarecrow
haunter. This variation has a slasher movie vibe to it. To make one
requires that the heart of someone killed by a scarecrow be stitched
inside the construct’s torso. The fear felt by the dying owner of the
heart is projected as an offensive attack by the scarecrow haunter. It
blasts its enemies and makes them flee. The scarecrow can turn into
fluttering straw to become invisible and insubstantial. It does extra
damage against a creature that cannot see it. Perhaps the most
insidious attack it has is haunting echoes, which erode the sanity of
the scarecrow’s enemies causing them to turn on each other.

The lore for 4th Edition scarecrows gives them a new home in the
Feywild. First created by hags many years ago, they are now used as
sentinels by many Feywild inhabitants, including eladrin, gnomes,
fomorians and hags. They are much smarter and cleverer than scarecrows
in previous editions, and have a special bond with their creators. The
creator of a scarecrow knows when it spots enemies, and gets a mental
image of any creature the scarecrow successfully attacks, as well as
its location. A scarecrow survives the death of its creator, continuing
to execute the last command it was given. Over time, scarecrows have
become common in the Feywild. In remote woods and ruins large numbers
of scarecrows hold endless vigil. Dungeon #183 later notes that they
favour the company of undead with whom they share a connection to both
the realms of the living and the dead.

The Monster Manual 3 gives the components for a scarecrow’s
construction as straw stolen from a farmer at midnight, clothes taken
from a fresh corpse, and thread made from the hair of a nightmare’s
mane.

The scarecrow holds the record for the longest gap between first
appearance and an Ecology of... article, with 29 years and 3 months
passing between its Fiend Folio introduction and the eight-page Ecology
of the Scarecrow in Dungeon #183. It’s also an example of 4th Edition
taking a slightly obscure creature, and expanding it with a lot of new
lore. For the scarecrow, this happened quite late in the edition’s
lifespan, but it shows up in several more Dungeon adventures,
indicating that it was popular monster choice for designers. Steve
Townshend pens a comprehensive Ecology, including an origin story,
several variants, some interesting discussion of scarecrow culture,
and, as befits a construct, a lot of information on making scarecrows.
Fully half the article is dedicated to a discussion of scarecrow
components.

Since most scarecrows are built to function as frightening guardians,
the physical components are chosen to enhance this appearance;
asymmetrical, crude and macabre. The Monster Manual 3 includes clothes
from a fresh corpse as one of these components, and the choice of cloth
influences the type of spirit attracted. Crude sackcloth may bind the
spirit of a peasant or serf, while one made of finest velvet might
attract the spirit of a noble. Hags made the first scarecrows with the
clothes of those they had killed, so that their victims’ spirits would
be drawn back to animate the constructs.


Dungeon #183 (2010)

The inside of the scarecrow -- its stuffing -- is of particular
importance, because it is where the animating spirit is bound. The
material used as stuffing may vary. Scarecrows made of straw might have
sticks and bones mixed in, perhaps even some feathers from stray birds,
or the straw might be infested with vermin. Instead of straw, a
scarecrow might be stuffed with knotted cloth rags, bags of sand, or
magical parchments. Some creatures, such as fomorians and oni have even
been known to stuff scarecrows with the insides of other creatures.
Whatever the stuffing is, it always has a special quality. Instead of
ordinary straw, straw stolen from a farmer’s field on the night of a
harvest moon must be used. Instead of ordinary sand, sand taken from a
necromancer’s hourglass.

Some types of stuffing can give a scarecrow alternative powers. A
scarecrow stuffed with magical papers and writings gains the ability to
teleport a short distance. One stuffed with cloth rags soaked in the
blood of a murder victim is frightening enough to penalise an attacker.
A sand-stuffed scarecrow is able to take the form of an insubstantial
cloud of sand when damaged. The choice of stuffing also influences the
behaviour and appearance of the scarecrow. A scarecrow stuffed with
pages of arcana has the confidence of a powerful wizard in battle, and
blue lightning crackles in its carved eye sockets. A scarecrow stuffed
with sand remains eerily silent in combat, while one stuffed with
bloody rags is impulsive and obsessive when it fights.

It is possible to instead store the scarecrow’s spirit in an implement
connected to the body, such as a hat, a pipe or a weapon. In these
cases, if the scarecrow’s body is destroyed, the spirit retreats to the
implement and will reanimate if the implement comes in contact with
another scarecrow body. The scarecrow’s spirit can be freed by
destroying the item it is bound to.

The Monster Manual 3 specifies that a scarecrow must be woven together
using thread made with the hair from a nightmare’s mane. The Ecology
article notes that hags use a special form of this thread, woven by
night hags from the mane of a nightmare and terrors plucked from the
minds of sleeping mortals. These psychic terrors add to the scarecrow’s
aura of terror and suppress the inhabiting spirit’s personality, making
the scarecrow less likely to act independently of its hag creator.

A scarecrow’s head is the most obvious reflection of its intended
purpose -- to scare! A coarsely stitched face and demented, jagged
features reflect the uncanny presence animating the scarecrow, and to
meet its gaze is to glimpse the otherworldly entity bound within. Cloth
heads with stitched or painted features are most common, with jack o’
lantern variations possible. Some horrific scarecrows even have the
stitched-on-faces of dead victims.

For the haunter variety of scarecrow detailed in the Monster Manual 3,
the type of heart stitched into the construct determines the strength
of the spirit attracted. The location the scarecrow is mounted to stand
vigil is also of importance in determining the success of the binding
ritual. The vertical stand on which the scarecrow is hung acts as a
conduit for wandering spirits, and a good location needs to both be
within the area to be guarded and as close as possible to a transition
point for spirits, such as a shadow crossing or the site of a
significant death.

Once all of the components have been assembled, a ritual is used to
complete the process. This ritual is jealously guarded by the hags, and
the components are expensive. This ritual is covered in more detail in
the section on creating scarecrows below.

The origins of constructed scarecrows may begin with hags, but the
first hag to create one was inspired by seeing naturally occurring
scarecrows leading a dance of the dead. As the story goes, long ago,
when the Shadowfell was closer to the world, the dead would sometimes
rise from the ground during harvest time to walk the world once more.
To discourage the risen from bothering them, mortals carved pumpkins
into ghastly faces and placed them on scarecrows. Sometimes this would
backfire, and a wandering spirit would instead possess the scarecrow
and lead the procession of the dead as the Harvest King, to instil
terror in mortals. An ancient hag -- the article suggests this may have
been Baba Yaga, Morgan or Iggvilv -- witnessed this and petitioned the
powers of darkness to reveal the secrets of stitching spirits into
bodies of cloth and straw. It is strongly implied that the voice from
the darkness that shared these secrets with the hag was Vecna’s.

Scarecrows in 4th Edition are neither living nor undead. They are
spirits or vestiges of souls snatched from the ether and bound to the
construct’s material form. Sages debate the exact nature of these
spirits, but they have the capacity to learn and gain new memories, and
if a scarecrow is released from its creator, it may go on to build its
own unique identity. Although the scarecrow has none of the memories of
its animating spirit’s life, it will come to reflect the spirit’s
personality if allowed to do so. During the long periods of time a
scarecrow spends standing sentry, it contemplates its existence in a
dream-like state. If abandoned or left by a deceased creator for long
enough -- perhaps a century -- a scarecrow might awaken with a sense of
independence. It will begin to explore the world, searching for clues
of past lives or forgotten desires. Such a scarecrow might even ally
with adventurers able to assist it in its quest for an identity.

The adventure Killing Ground, in Dungeon #189 includes a couple of
random encounters with scarecrows, one with firbolg hunters and another
with sirens and a hungry hag. The 4th Edition reimagining of Baba
Yaga’s Dancing Hut (in Dungeon #196) includes an encounter with a pair
of scarecrow guardians under the control of a piscodemon. The
scarecrows have been magically transformed to resemble empty, rough
bookshelves and they only reveal their scarecrow forms when the
piscodemon animates them.

The scarecrow’s last 4th Edition appearance was in the pages of the
second last issue of Dungeon (#220). The adventure Children of Ardore
features a group of witches who command nearly a dozen scarecrows. Most
of these are scarecrow shamblers, but there are also four scarecrow
horrors, a variant from the Ecology article which is covered in more
detail below. According to the adventure, the witches have specifically
summoned demons to inhabit these scarecrows. Confusingly, this
conflicts with the Ecology of the Scarecrow, which treats demon
scarecrows as a completely different type to scarecrow horrors.

5th Edition
The latest incarnation of the humble scarecrow appears in the 5th
Edition Monster Manual, the earliest appearance in any edition so far.
This scarecrow draws heavily on 4th Edition lore, but with much less
detail. Usually created by hags and witches, scarecrows are
specifically the spirits of slain evil creatures bound to the crafted
forms. Spirits of demons are preferred, but not necessary. The
scarecrow has no memories, but may manifest personality traits of the
bound spirit. A scarecrow is focussed solely on serving its creator. If
that creator dies, the scarecrow will either continue to do as last
instructed, seek vengeance, or destroy itself. There is no indication
that 5th Edition scarecrows can ever become independent.


Monster Manual (2014)

A little more powerful than its 1st, 2nd or 3rd Edition ancestors, this
scarecrow is a 8HD creature (36 hp). It enjoys a wide range of
immunities (poison, charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed,
unconscious) and resistances (bludgeon, piercing and slashing from
non-magical weapons). Like most previous scarecrows, it is vulnerable
to fire. Although the scarecrow remains intelligence in 5th Edition, it
can no longer speak. It can understand the languages spoken by its
creator, and also has darkvision (60 ft.). As a construct, a scarecrow
does not breathe, eat, drink or sleep.

The scarecrow has a weak claw attack which does 2d4+1 slashing damage,
but a successful touch may cause the target to become frightened. The
5th Edition scarecrow has the traditional terrifying gaze. Here, a
single nearby creature is targeted, and on a failed save, becomes
magically frightened and paralyzed. In appearance, the 5th Edition
scarecrow resembles the sackcloth-faced 4th Edition scarecrows rather
than the pumpkin-heads of earlier editions.

In Tome of Annihilation there is coven of night hags known as the Sewn
Sisters working for Acererak. They have a scarecrow named Mister
Threadneedle, who serves as their butler, and who is disguised by magic
to appear human.

Creating scarecrows
According to the Fiend Folio, a scarecrow can be created from a variety
of materials, but wooden bodies with turnip heads are common. The
materials cost only 1 gp per hit point of the scarecrow and the
construction process takes three weeks. To enchant the scarecrow, a
cleric requires either a special manual, or must be able to cast
animate object, quest, prayer and command. Once created, a scarecrow
will follow its creator’s orders literally.

In MC5: Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Appendix, the creation process
remains the same, still requiring a high-level priest or a lower level
priest with a manual. One additional detail mentioned is that the final
step of the creation process -- the casting of the quest spell -- must
be done during a new moon. In the Monstrous Manual, the scarecrow is
treated as a type of golem. The golem creation table indicates that the
creator of a scarecrow must be a priest of at least 9th level, and a
scarecrow is only created if a god answers the priest’s plea once the
final quest spell is cast. A scarecrow made using a manual does not
require deific intervention. The creation process takes 21 days and
costs 100 gp. This makes the scarecrow the cheapest and most accessible
construct on the list, and second quickest to construct (after the
necrophidius).

The original Dungeon Masters Guide details the manual of golems which
can be used as an instruction manual by a magic-user or cleric to
create a golem. Once the golem is completed, the manual is consumed in
flames, and the ashes used to animate the golem. (Shouldn’t it just be
the manual of golem, if it can only be used to make one?) The Dungeon
Masters Guide lists only four types of golem manual: clay, flesh, iron
and stone.

The 2nd Edition Encyclopedia Magica updates the list of possible
manuals to include the scarecrow, but it incorrectly appropriates a
table from the Monstrous Manual to indicate that only a priest of at
least ninth level can use a scarecrow manual, where the table was
actually intended to give the minimum level priest who can create a
scarecrow without a manual. A priest below 10th level using a manual of
golems has a 10% chance of misunderstanding the text for every level
below 10th. If this happens, the created scarecrow falls apart within a
few minutes.

The Shakespearean adventure Dark Thane Macbeth in Dungeon #54 has a
rare example of a manual of golems (scarecrow) in play. It is located
in the library of a recently deceased elven Thane.

The 3rd Edition construction requirements differ from 2nd Edition.
Materials cost 500 gp, and include two continual flame candles fastened
inside the head. The creator can outsource the physical construction to
someone capable of making a DC 15 Craft (weaving) or DC 15 Craft
(woodworking) check. To animate the construct requires a caster of at
least 7th level with the Craft Construct feat. He or she must cast
cause fear, lesser geas and mending. The creation costs, in addition to
the material components, are 2,750 gp and 180 XP.

The 4th Edition scarecrow has its own dedicated create scarecrow ritual
(level 14), and the associated price tag is substantially higher. The
market price for a copy of the ritual is listed as 22,500 gp, with an
additional 5,000 gp required for the components. These prices reflect
the difficulty in creating a scarecrow without the assistance of a hag.
The ritual takes an hour to cast and can either be used to bind a
scarecrow to specific haunting grounds, or to create a free-willed
scarecrow who may or may not ally with its creator. A successful Arcana
check (DC 25) means the scarecrow is animated at the end of the ritual,
failure instead creates a small number of less scarecrow shamblers.
Whatever type of scarecrow is created, its creator is able to see
through its eyes, each time the construct strikes a foe.

Scarecrow variations
The MC5: Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Appendix introduces two variant
scarecrows. One variant is a scarecrow created to kill a specific
person. Such a quested scarecrow must be created using clothes worn by
the target. Once animated, the creator need say only the word “quest”
and the scarecrow will begin moving directly towards its target, no
matter how distant. It ignores all others, and will not stop until it
is destroyed or the target is dead, at which point the scarecrow turns
to dust.

Conscious scarecrows are created when the creator of a scarecrow dies
before his or her creation. In such cases, the scarecrow usually
disintegrates, but in 10% of cases, it becomes conscious instead. A
conscious scarecrow is cunning and evil. It gains a low intelligence,
and an elite (13-14) morale. The scarecrow will kill anyone it
encounters during the night, and hides during the day. Because they are
immune to cold and vulnerable to fire, conscious scarecrows gravitate
towards colder climes. The Monstrous Manual specifies that a conscious
scarecrow is evil in alignment and gives it average (8-10)
intelligence. This variation of the scarecrow foreshadows the
intelligent 4th Edition scarecrow.

Both the quested and conscious scarecrows are updated to 3rd Edition in
Dragon #355. The notes for the quested scarecrow indicate that for
non-humanoid targets, scraps of fur, scales or skin of the victim can
be substituted for clothes during the creation process. A caster of at
least 11th level is needed to create a quested scarecrow, and
geas/quest replaces lesser geas as a required spell. The scarecrow
gains a continuous locate creature power to detect the target.

In 3rd Edition, the creation of conscious scarecrows no longer occurs
randomly upon the death of a creator, but occurs when the gourd used
for the scarecrow’s head grew on unhallowed ground. Such a scarecrow
may spontaneously become conscious even while its creator lives, and
will then no long automatically obey commands. Conscious scarecrows can
be deliberately constructed by the addition of an unhallow spell during
the creation process.


Dungeon #62 (1996)

In a short Side Trek adventure in Dungeon #62, a conscious scarecrow
has taken the place of an ordinary scarecrow, and has begun to pick off
the farm hands and residents one at a time. The tattered remains of the
replaced scarecrow might be just the clue the adventurers need to
uncover the killer.


Dungeon #57 (1996)

There are two early examples of scarecrows which are animated by
spirits. Dungeon #57 has an adventure featuring an arsonist scarecrow.
This is not a construct, but rather an ordinary scarecrow inhabited and
animated by a restless spirit. The animated scarecrow is a 2 HD
monster, with a single attack doing 1-4 damage. It moves much faster
than a constructed scarecrow at nearly twice the speed of a human.


Dungeon #65 (1997)

Another spirit haunts a farmer’s scarecrow in the pages of Dungeon #65.
Mr Gaunt is a unique being, and his stat block combines features of the
Ravenloft scarecrow (see below) with a wizard. He can cast a variety of
spells, and at one point in the adventure polymorphs a boy into jack-
o’-lantern and then uses him to create a “fake” scarecrow. The only
clue to this scarecrow’s real identity is the look of abject terror
frozen into his carved face.

The 4th Edition Ecology of the Scarecrow article includes a number of
new scarecrow variants. A demon scarecrow is one animated by the spirit
of a dretch, mane, rutterkin or similar minor demon. Once the spirit
takes possession, the eyes of the scarecrow’s head light up with fiery
abyssal radiance and the creature begins a quest to sever souls from
living bodies. A demon scarecrow feeds on fear, and particularly enjoys
hunting down anyone who flees from it in terror. The animating spirit
gains strength with each soul the scarecrow claims, and it will
eventually depart to the Abyss, far more powerful than when it left.
One of these spirits is also able to bind itself to the weapon the
scarecrow uses to kill, allowing it to survive the destruction of the
construct’s body. A scythe is a favoured weapon of demon scarecrows,
and the stat block for this level 14 brute includes some soul-themed
powers, including soul-freezing gaze (which immobilizes) and soul
slayer which gives the scarecrow a free attack each time it drops a foe
to zero hit points.

Although it is listed in the variants section of the Ecology of the
Scarecrow, the harvest king scarecrow is one of the naturally occurring
scarecrows first observed by ancient hags. It has a carved jack
o’lantern as a head and arises during the harvest season’s dance of the
dead. The jerky movements of the participants in the danse macabre are
boosted by the presence of the scarecrow . The scarecrow has a fear-
based gaze attack and can hurl the fire from within the jack o’lantern
as a once-off offensive attack. It is a level 8 controller (leader)
according to its stat block.

First made by an oni, the scarecrow horror is constructed from the
remains of a person. Stuffed with decaying innards, the scarecrow has
the victim’s face attached to it with metal hooks. Buttons are sewn on
to replace the eyes and the mouth is sewn shut to prevent the horror
from ripping itself apart. They exist only to destroy the living, which
they do relentlessly. A scarecrow horror is a level 10 soldier. It has
an aura of decay, a claim the doomed melee attack which causes psychic
damage, and a dazing horrific countenance gaze attack.

The last variation mentioned in the Ecology is the wicker. This doesn’t
get a stat block, but is described as a colossal titan made of wicker,
stuffed with living mortals caged inside. A dark creation of hags, the
wicker is set alight and, fuelled by the fear from those burning within
it, creates a wide path of destruction before eventually burning to
ashes.

Dungeon #195 includes the adventure The Five Deadly Shadows, in which
one of the opponents has used protective magic to turn stone minotaur
“scarecrows” into animated creatures. Mechanically, the adventure
treats these as elementals rather than scarecrows.

Scarecrows and magic
Dragon #171 expands on the possible contents of a bag of beans with one
bean that results in an instant patch of pumpkins. The pumpkins rapidly
ripen, rot, and burst open releasing a disease-causing stinking cloud.
In addition, 1-6 of the pumpkins don’t explode, but turn into angry
scarecrows. This is not a fun bean.

The early 3rd Edition supplement Masters of the Wild introduces a 0th-
level druid spell called scarecrow. Other than the name, this has
nothing to do with the construct and can only be used to cause an
animal to become shaken.

The nightmare thread used by hags to make 4th Edition scarecrows can be
used as a consumable magic item. According to Dungeon #183, when
burned, this thread causes one creature to become terrified and unable
to approach you.

Player’s Option: Heroes of the Feywild lists a range of feywild
adventuring gear, which includes a “screaming scarecrow” with a 50 gp
price tag. This is a magical device created by gnomes to mimic true
scarecrows. Screaming scarecrows are programmed to make a loud noise if
some triggering event takes place. Each scarecrow also sets off any
other nearby screaming scarecrows. They are used by many fey as
efficient alarm systems.

Screaming scarecrows can be found lining the path to the hag Rotten
Ethel’s cottage in the adventure Glitterdust in Dungeon #211. In that
same issue, another adventure (Fall of the Gray Veil) details a child
scarecrow which is 3-foot child scarecrow attached to a explosive
device. This is essentially a mechanical trap, and not a magical
construct.

Heroes of the Feywild also includes a number of fey magic gifts as
alternative rewards. The speak with sentinels gift grants the ability
to speak to statues and scarecrows, and to question them about their
recent experiences.

Eberron
The article Explore Taer Lian Doresh: Villains and Vendettas in Dungeon
#184 details the eladrin feyspire which exists in both Eberron and the
plane of Dal Quor. When Taer Lian Doresh returned to Eberron on the Day
of Mourning, a number of scarecrows were placed in a ring around the
spire. These scarecrows were in storage while the feyspire was in exile
in Dal Quor, and they have been infused with madness and strange
desires. Led by Ladyrook, a scarecrow constructed thousands of years
ago, the scarecrows have begun to rebel against their creators. The
hags who made them can no longer see through their eyes, and the
scarecrows have become increasingly hostile to other residents of the
feyspire.

Secretly, Ladyrook has learned the secret to making more scarecrows,
and her growing band has been abducting victims to use as materials for
new constructions. She can only make scarecrow shamblers, but is
improving her craft and will soon be able to make more dangerous
creations. Ladyrook has a representative named Mawkin (a scarecrow
guardian), whom she sends to nearby towns and hamlets. Mawkin has been
collecting a very specific list of body parts for Ladryrook. Rather
gruesomely, she has been sewing all of these collected parts into
herself as part of some warped dream of becoming something truly alive.

Forgotten Realms
Scarecrows seem to be scarce in Faerűn. FRC2: Curse of the Azure Bonds
lists 1-4 scarecrows on the random encounter tables for the wilderness
east of Desertmouth. Volo’s Guide to Monsters lists 1d6 scarecrows on
the Random Hag Minions tables.

Dungeon #67 has an adventure set in the High Forest region, in which
the antagonist is a witch, Morda. She possesses a special cauldron of
brewing, with many powers. Once per month it can cause an ordinary
scarecrow to animate under Morda’s control. Much like the warlock in
Dungeon #11, Morda can target any scarecrow she or her familiar sees.
She has been using one to terrorise the local townsfolk.


Dungeon #67 (1998)

Greyhawk
Prior to MC5: Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Appendix the only mention
of scarecrows in Greyhawk was in WG7: Castle Greyhawk where adventurers
might find a dead scarecrow (along with the remains of a lion and a tin
golem) on a road to nowhere, or on the plane of Silly and Unused
Monsters. There was a good reason we decided back in the flumph article
that WG7: Castle Greyhawk shouldn’t count as a source of monster
appearances.

After MC5: Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Appendix, scarecrows appeared
in WGR2: Treasures of Greyhawk, where one guards the abandoned lair of
a wizard on the southern shore of the Nyr Dyv, and in the Crypt of
Lyzandred the Mad, where a trio of scarecrows are arguing (vocally,
somehow) over whether a barrel is half-empty or half-full.

Magic: The Gathering
Plane Shift: Innistrad lists scarecrows as one of the many creature
plaguing humanity on Innistrad. They might be animated by necro-
alchemists or witches, or given life by spirits or malignant forces.

Mystara
Although Mystara doesn’t appear to be home to any scarecrows, AC11: The
Book of Wondrous Inventions spends two full pages detailing a distantly
related construct, Borgora’s Inflatable Scare-Dragon. It has no attacks
and only 10 hit point, but once inflated, a Scare-Dragon provides
protection to an adventuring party by causing fear in approaching
monsters. It explodes if punctured, which, frankly, seems almost
inevitable as soon as there is combat nearby. The Scare-Dragon would
not feel out of place had it appeared in WG7: Castle Greyhawk.


Borgora’s Inflatable Scare-Dragon, AC11: The Book of Wondrous
Inventions (1987)

Ravenloft
The Ravenloft: Realm of Terror boxed set notes that the scarecrow from
MC5: Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Appendix is found in the setting,
but confusingly also includes the construct in a list of undead that
cannot be turned. The MC10: Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix
then introduces a new type of scarecrow that could perhaps be
considered undead, because it does involve spirit possession, but its
description notes that while it is similar to undead creatures it also
cannot be turned.


Ravenloft scarecrow, MC10: Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix
(1991)

The new creature is called a Ravenloft scarecrow, although later
sources would refer to it as a dread scarecrow. Instead of being
constructed, this is an ordinary scarecrow animated by the influence of
an evil force, often the restless spirit of a farmer. The scarecrow is
only interested in vengeance against those it believes wronged it in
life, and avoids conflict with anyone else. The scarecrow can speak any
languages the animating spirit knew, and there is even a 10% change
that someone who knew the owner of the spirit in life will recognise
the scarecrow’s voice.

Ravenloft scarecrows only do 1-4 damage with their flailing arms, but
have been know to use farm implements such as scythes as weapons, for
more damage. They do not have a gaze attack, but their touch inflicts a
nasty curse. A failed save against death magic causes the target to
give off a magical odour that attracts insects. The curse escalates
quickly; on the first round, the victim takes 1d4 points of damage from
stinging and biting insects and suffers a -1 penalty to die rolls. On
the second round the number of insects swells, and the damage and
penalty escalates to 2d4 and -2, the third round 3d4 and -3, etc. This
escalation only ends once the victim dies, or if remove curse is cast.

These scarecrows are more resistant than their cousins. They are immune
to cold, take half damage from lightning or electricity, and take only
a single point of damage from any non-magical weapon blows. Even
magical weapons only do half damage. Non-magical fire attacks do normal
damage and magical fire attacks gain +1 on both attacks and damage
rolls. This type of scarecrow moves slightly faster (movement 9), has 3
HD and is of neutral evil alignment. It is more likely to be active at
night.

The uncertainty about whether scarecrows are technically undead is
compounded further by RR5: Van Richten’s Guide to Ghosts, which
suggests that some animated scarecrows are actually inhabited by
ghosts. Van Richten’s Guide to the Created on the other hand, goes out
of its way to differentiate scarecrows from straw golems. Unlike the
scarecrow, a straw golem is immune to fire and summons ravens instead
of insects.


Dread scarecrow, Denizens of Darkness (2002)

White Wolf published two licensed Ravenloft monster collections under
its Sword & Sorcery Studios imprint: Denizens of Darkness for 3rd
Edition and an updated Denizens of Dread for 3.5 Edition. These
eliminate any doubt about the undead nature of a dread scarecrow by
classifying it clearly as a construct. Both the stats and description
are very similar to the 2nd Edition version. The curse is now called a
stinging curse but escalates just as quickly. The scarecrow benefits
from all of the immunities associated with the construct type in 3rd
Edition and now moves just as fast as a human.

The late 3rd Edition update of the scarecrow in Dragon #355 also deals
with the dread variant. Created here by binding an undead spirit to a
scarecrow, it has a curse of pestilence special ability which is just
the use of summon swarm three times per day. Summon swarm is also an
additional requirement for the construction of this type of scarecrow.

Scarecrows do not appear much in Ravenloft adventures, but one does
appear on the random encounter tables for Kartakass during a minor
conjuction in RM1: Roots of Evil.

The 2011 Free RPG Day supplement Domain of Dread: Histaven mentions
that scarecrows inhabit the outer farms of Histaven, but given the
publication date, these are most likely 4th Edition scarecrows.

The 5th Edition adventure Curse of Strahd includes a number of
scarecrows, although most of them are just innocent bird-scaring
devices. However, the crone Baba Lysaga regularly sends her constructed
scarecrows on raids against the winery belonging to her wereraven
neighbors.


The Straw God, Children of the Night (2003)

It is perhaps not strictly a canonical source, but in the early 3rd
Edition era, Wizards of the Coast granted a number of fan websites
“official” status. The Kargatane was the home of the official Ravenloft
site, and a number of polished supplements were published there. One of
these, Children of the Night, details the Straw God. Although it
appears to be a scarecrow, the Straw God is actually a dryad-like fey
creature with a bond to a specific ancient tree.

Miniatures
There have been two official D&D scarecrow miniatures, both pre-painted
plastic. Wizards of the Coast produced a scarecrow stalker as part of
the Monster Manual: Legendary Evils set for 4th Edition.


Monster Manual: Legendary Evils #32 (2009)

More recently, WizKids included a scarecrow in the Icons of the Realms:
Storm King’s Thunder set for 5th Edition.


Icons of the Realms: Storm King’s Thunder #9 (2016)

Scarecrow names
Ladyrook, Mawkin, Mister Threadneedle, Mr Gaunt.

Comparative statistics
For 4th Edition, the scarecrow guardian was used for comparison
purposes.


Afterword
Eric Jansing (@Shade), one of the co-authors of the 3rd Edition
scarecrow in Dragon, was also one of the custodians of the Creature
Catalog here at ENWorld. The Creature Catalog is essentially a project
to update all D&D creatures -- no matter how obscure -- to 3rd Edition.
Back in 2002, this project was a good match for my years-long attempt
to index every published D&D creature, and I subsequently spent a lot
of time on the forums following the monster conversions and
occasionally assisting with source material and references. For a
while, I didn’t realise there was anything more to ENWorld than the
Creature Catalog!

Shade was a friendly and welcoming presence on the forums, and the
Creature Catalog has definitely been one of the major inspirations for
the Monster ENCyclopedia series. Sadly, Eric passed away suddenly in
2012, two years before I started the series. It was pleasing to stumble
across one of Shade’s many contributions to official D&D lore in the
process of researching the scarecrow. Shade, I wish you were still here
to critique and comment on each monster. I hope you’d enjoy the Monster
ENCyclopedia. You are missed!

References
Dungeon Masters Guide, p149 (August 1979)
Fiend Folio, p77 (July 1981)
Monster Manual II, p144, 145 (August 1983)
Dragon #102, “Valley of the Earth Mother”, p45, 49 (October 1985)
I8: Ravager of Time, p18 (April 1986)
AC11: The Book of Wondrous Inventions, p15-16 (November 1987)
WG7: Castle Greyhawk, p58, 78 (January 1988)
Dragon #130, “If Looks Could Kill”, p71-72, 78 (February 1988)
Dungeon #11, “Wards of Witching Ways”, p48, 52-53 (May 1988)
FRC2: Curse of the Azure Bonds, p92 (March 1989)
Dragon #150, cover, p4 (October 1989)
MC5: Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Appendix (April 1990)
Ravenloft: Realm of Terror (June 1990)
MC10: Monstrous Compendium Ravenloft Appendix (February 1991)
Dragon #171, “101 Surprises in a Bag of Beans”, p118 (July 1991)
RR5: Van Richten’s Guide to Ghosts, p42-43 (May 1992)
WGR2: Treasures of Greyhawk, p83-84 (June 1992)
RM1: Roots of Evil (April 1993)
Monstrous Manual, p164-165, 170 (June 1993)
1993 TSR Collector Cards, #182/495 (June 1993)
Van Richten’s Guide to the Created, p54-55 (January 1994)
Encyclopedia Magica Volume I: A-D, p188 (November 1994)
DMGR7: The Complete Book of Necromancers, p93 (March 1995)
Dungeon #54, Dark Thane Macbeth, p60 (July 1995)
Dungeon #57, “The Murder of Maury Miller”, p50-51, 53-55 (January 1996)
Dungeon #62, “Side Trek: Blood on the Plow”, p32-33, 59 (November 1996)
Dungeon #65, “The Unkindness of Ravens”, p52-53, (November 1997)
Dungeon #67, “Witches’ Brew”, p18-19, 25 (March 1998)
Crypt of Lyzandred the Mad, p8-9 (October 1998)
Dungeon #84, “The Dying of the Light”, p87-88 (January 2001)
Masters of the Wild, p93 (February 2002)
Denizens of Darkness, p132-133 (April 2002)
Children of the Night, p74-82 (October 2003)
Denizens of Dread, p180 (January 2004)
Dragon #355, “Creature Catalog VI”, p49-51 (May 2007)
Dungeon #154, “Night of the Straw Men” (May 2008)
Monster Manual: Legendary Evils #34 (August 2009)
A Passage Into Mystery (September 2009)
Monster Manual 3, p168-169 (June 2010)
Dungeon #183, “Ecology of the Scarecrow”, p38-46 (October 2010)
Dungeon #184, “Explore Taer Lian Doresh: Villains and Vendettas”, p49-
51 (November 2010)
Dungeon #189, “Killing Ground” (April 2011)
Domain of Dread: Histaven, p9 (June 2011)
Dungeon #195, “The Five Deadly Shadows” (October 2011)
Dungeon #196, “Baba Yaga’s Dancing Hut”, p37 (November 2011)
Player’s Option: Heroes of the Feywild, p133, 135, 143 (November 2011)
Dungeon #211, “Glitterdust”, p11, 16-17 and “Fall of the Gray Veil, p37
(February 2013)
Dungeon #220, “Children of Ardore”, p18-30 (November 2013)
Monster Manual, p268 (September 2014)
Curse of Strahd, p29m 162 (March 2016)
Plane Shift: Innistrad, p25 (July 2016)
Icons of the Realms: Storm King’s Thunder #9 (September 2016)
Volo’s Guide to Monsters, p62 (November 2016)
Tome of Annihilation, p183 (September 2017)

Other ENCyclopedia entries
Visit the Monster ENCyclopedia index for links to other entries in this
series.

--
Dems & the media want Trump to be more like Obama, but then he'd
have to audit liberals & wire tap reporters' phones.