Scarecrow Guardian — Rural Field Construct
The scarecrow in the barley field was tied to its pole yesterday. This morning the pole is empty, and the miller’s horse will not pass the gate. Someone has made a guardian out of old clothes, straw and wood—and its orders may be more dangerous than the thieves it was built to deter.
Appearance: Old clothes over a wooden frame, a sack or gourd for a head, straw spilling at the wrists: at rest, it looks like any other farm scarecrow. When it moves, its joints creak and its stuffing shifts. The first clue may be an empty pole where a farmer left it yesterday.
Behaviour: By day, it stands among ordinary scarecrows. After dusk, it may walk a furrow, block a gate or catch someone among the hedges. Its orders matter. One guardian drives off crop thieves; another attacks anyone who crosses the field, including children retrieving a lost animal. Not every farm has one, and not every guardian is evil by design.
Habitat and campaign range: Scarecrow guardians belong chiefly to worked rural land: grain fields, village allotments, orchards, hop gardens, vineyards, kitchen gardens, threshing yards and farmsteads beside country lanes. They can stand just beyond a hamlet’s last cottages or watch a barn, mill or isolated estate. They are made from farm materials and animated by a creator, not a naturally breeding species roaming every wilderness. A guardian can be carried elsewhere, but city streets, deep unworked forest and bare mountains are not its normal home.
Signs: The pole is empty at dawn; wet straw lies beside a locked field gate; a neat line of disturbed soil runs between the barley and the barn. Horses refuse a familiar path after sunset. A traveller can notice these clues before the construct reveals itself.
Purpose and creator: Someone made this guardian and gave it orders. A farmer may have commissioned protection against raiders, a hedge-witch may have bound it to a field boundary, or a landowner may use it to frighten tenants. Find out who made it and what it was told to defend. In Pathfinder 1e the creature is an unintelligent construct: it cannot bargain, improvise a political motive or promise safe passage.
Where Scarecrow Guardians Belong
Primary setting: rural farms and villages. A guardian is most useful where its maker can disguise it as farm equipment and give it something specific to protect. Look for one among standing grain, a vegetable plot, an orchard, an estate’s outlying fields or a lane leading to a mill. One could appear in cultivated parts of Lower Wear as an optional rural encounter; this does not establish that one is already present in Lambton Worm country.
Not a random wilderness encounter. If a scarecrow turns up far from fields or rural buildings, someone must have brought it there or given it a new task. Its position gives players a clue about the person behind it.
Three Rural Encounters
- The harvest path. A farmhand vanished crossing a wheat field at dusk. The guardian was ordered to drive off all intruders, but nobody told it to recognise the people harvesting the land. Its maker can change that order.
- The orchard fence. Children were warned not to pick fallen apples beyond a hedge. One returns with slashed sleeves. The party can trace the construct to its creator and stop further attacks before a child dies.
- The miller’s scarecrow. An animated guardian drove off crop thieves, then began blocking the road to the mill. Food deliveries are piling up. Find the owner, change the boundary it guards, or lure it away from the grain before fighting.
Rules and counterplay: Pathfinder 1e lists its environment as “any land”; that is a permissive rules category, not evidence of a wild breeding population. The creature’s fascinating gaze and fear touch make narrow field paths dangerous. Fire can damage its straw body, but setting a ripe crop or crowded barn alight may be worse than the construct itself. Pathfinder 1e scarecrow source.
Scarecrow Guardian Rules by Edition
Choose one game edition. The 2014 and 2024 guardians are custom rural variants; the Pathfinder block retains the published CR 4 creature; the 3.5e conversion has its own rules. Do not combine attacks or saving throws across panels.
Scarecrow Guardian — D&D 2024
Medium Construct, Neutral · CR 2 (450 XP), PB +2. Original rural-guardian conversion for the 2024 rules; not the official Monster Manual scarecrow.
Armour Class 14 (woven wards); Initiative +1 (11); Hit Points 52 (8d8 + 16); Speed 30 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 (+3) | 12 (+1) | 14 (+2) | 6 (−2) | 10 (+0) | 7 (−2) |
Skills Stealth +3; Damage Vulnerability Fire; Damage Resistance Bludgeoning, Piercing and Slashing from nonmagical attacks; Damage Immunity Poison; Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned; Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 10; Languages Understands its creator’s spoken commands but cannot speak.
Traits
False Appearance. While motionless, the guardian is indistinguishable from an ordinary field scarecrow.
Field Orders. The construct follows a creator-defined boundary or command. It does not make agreements, and cannot recognise authorised workers unless instructed how.
Actions
Multiattack. The guardian makes two Straw-Claw attacks.
Straw-Claw. Melee Attack Roll: +5, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) Slashing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or have the Frightened condition until the end of the guardian’s next turn.
Harvest Glare (Recharge 5–6). Wisdom Saving Throw: DC 12, one creature the guardian can see within 30 ft. that can also see it. Failure: Frightened until the end of its next turn, and its Speed becomes 0 for that duration. Success: No effect. This is magical fear, not a conversation or command.
Encounter Notes
It starts as a harmless-looking figure beside grain or a hedge, then tries to pin one intruder within reach. Burning it among ripe crops can endanger farmhands and buildings. Players can retreat beyond its defined patrol, distract it or find the maker who gave its orders.
Homebrew 2024-compatible version. The rating is provisional and differs from the 2014 guardian variant below.
Scarecrow Guardian — D&D 2014
Medium Construct, Chaotic Evil · CR 2 (450 XP), PB +2. Preserved and corrected earlier SpiralWorlds guardian variant; not the published 2014 Monster Manual CR 1 scarecrow.
Armour Class 14 (natural armour); Hit Points 52 (8d8 + 16); Speed 30 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 (+3) | 12 (+1) | 15 (+2) | 6 (−2) | 10 (+0) | 7 (−2) |
Skills Stealth +3; Damage Vulnerability Fire; Damage Resistances Bludgeoning, Piercing and Slashing from nonmagical attacks; Damage Immunity Poison; Condition Immunities Charmed, Frightened, Poisoned; Senses Darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10; Languages Understands its creator but cannot speak.
Traits
False Appearance. While motionless, the guardian is indistinguishable from an ordinary scarecrow.
Fear Aura. A creature other than the guardian starting its turn within 10 ft. must succeed on a DC 11 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of the guardian for 1 minute. It can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the condition on success. Creatures immune to being frightened are unaffected.
Keen Hearing. The guardian has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks relying on hearing.
Actions
Multiattack. It makes one Bite and one Claw attack.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) slashing damage.
Frightful Presence. One creature the guardian can see within 30 ft. that can see it must make a DC 11 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until the start of the guardian’s next turn. A creature that succeeds, or for which this effect ends, is immune to this particular Frightful Presence for 24 hours.
Encounter Notes
This edition keeps the older site’s bite-and-claw attacks and both fear effects. It is a stronger bespoke field guardian than the published 2014 CR 1 scarecrow; use these figures consistently rather than combining them with the official creature.
2014-style original site variant. Average damage corrected from 8/7 to 7/6 for the listed dice, without changing the dice.
Scarecrow — Pathfinder 1e
Neutral Medium Construct · CR 4 (XP 1,200). Pathfinder Bestiary 2 source creature; not the stronger D&D guardian variant.
Initiative +0; Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Low-Light Vision; Perception +0.
Defence
AC 16, touch 10, flat-footed 16 (+6 natural); hp 47 (5d10 + 20); Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +1; Immunities Cold and Construct traits; Weakness Vulnerability to fire.
Offence
Speed 20 ft.; Melee 2 slams +8 (1d8 + 3 plus Fear); Special Attacks Fascinating Gaze (see below).
Statistics
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 (+3) | 10 (+0) | — | — | 11 (+0) | 14 (+2) |
BAB +5; CMB +8; CMD 18; Skills None; Feats None; Languages None—cannot speak or reason; SQ Freeze.
Special Abilities
Fascinating Gaze (Su). At 30 ft., a creature meeting the guardian’s gaze must succeed on a DC 14 Will save or be fascinated. The effect lasts while the guardian remains within 300 ft.; an attack ends fascination. This is a mind-affecting effect, with a Charisma-based save DC.
Fear (Su). Its slam forces a DC 14 Will save. On failure the victim cowers and can attempt a new save at the end of the next round and every round thereafter to end the effect. On a successful initial save, the target is shaken for 1 round. This is a mind-affecting fear effect.
Freeze (Ex). While unmoving, it can pass for an ordinary scarecrow.
Ecology and Construction
Environment Any land (rural cultivated land is the usual story placement); Organisation Solitary, pair, or gang of 3–6; Treasure None.
Construction Wood and rope body stuffed with grass, old clothes or straw; unguents and powders worth 500 gp. CL 6th; Price 15,500 gp; Cost 8,000 gp. Requires Craft Construct, command, fear, geas/quest, hypnotic pattern, and DC 12 Craft (carpentry/sculpture) or Profession (farmer).
Pathfinder 1e Scarecrow, Bestiary 2 p.238. Figures retained from the published Pathfinder creature. Construction text summarised rather than duplicated from the old widget.
Scarecrow Guardian — D&D 3.5e
Neutral Medium Construct · CR 4. 3.5e conversion based on the credited Tome of Horrors scarecrow; not a Pathfinder rules import.
Hit Dice 5d10 + 20 (47 hp); Initiative +0; Speed 20 ft. (4 squares).
Armour Class 14 (+4 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 14; Base Attack/Grapple +3/+6; Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.
Attack and Full Attack
Melee Slam +6 (1d6 + 3 plus Fascination). One slam per full attack; this edition’s version does not gain Pathfinder’s two slam attacks.
Defence
Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +1; Special Qualities Construct traits, Darkvision 60 ft., Low-Light Vision, Immunity to Cold, Vulnerability to Fire.
Abilities
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 (+3) | 10 (+0) | — | — | 11 (+0) | 10 (+0) |
Skills None; Feats None; Environment Any land; Organisation Solitary; Treasure None; Advancement 6–9 HD (Medium), 10–15 HD (Large).
Special Attacks
Fascinating Gaze (Su). Creatures within 30 ft. meeting its gaze must succeed on a DC 12 Will save or become fascinated. The effect persists while the guardian remains within 300 ft., until broken by an obvious threat or attack. It is mind-affecting.
Fascination (Su). A creature struck by the slam must succeed on a DC 12 Will save or become fascinated. An attack on the victim allows a new Will save against the effect.
Construction
A wood-and-rope frame covered with clothes and stuffed with straw; materials include special oils and powders. CL 6th; Price 15,500 gp; Cost 8,000 gp + 600 XP. Requires Craft Construct, animate objects, command, geas/quest, hold person, and a capable creator. This 3.5e build has no Intelligence score, cannot speak, and does not leave its orders to make deals.
Third-edition reference: Tome of Horrors Revised, scarecrow by Scott Greene, based on material by Roger Musson (Frog God/Necromancer). This page paraphrases its mechanics as a distinct 3.5e conversion rather than copying Pathfinder’s CR 4 creature.
How It Changes After Dark
The same materials make different guardians. One keeps its stitched face; another has a hollow gourd head. Their appearance is a clue to who built them.
Using a Rural Guardian in Play
Place it where a farmer, estate, village or garden-keeper would have reason to leave a scarecrow. Show the pole, the fresh straw and the blocked gate before initiative is rolled. Players can learn who made it, which field boundary it guards and whether changing an order or safely burning an isolated construct is possible. Rural encounter ideas appear above the rules.
Rules provenance: The four blocks above are edition-specific. Pathfinder 1e details are checked against Archives of Nethys; 3.5e uses the credited Tome of Horrors Revised creature as a rules reference; fifth-edition variants are original site designs. Neither the original scarecrow art nor the older Pathfinder construction reference has been discarded.
Earlier video references
The older version of this entry included two video references. They are retained here separately from the creature’s rules.
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