A Brief History of Scarecrows

Before I introduce scarecrow variants for lower- and higher-level play, from 'friendly' animated scarecrows in every farming village to serial killer scarecrows with scythes and flocks of birds of ill omen—and even scarecrows from different cultures, such as Japanese kakashi—I collected the history of scarecrows across every edition of Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder (with citations!) to give context to scarecrows in tabletop roleplaying games.

The scarecrow first appeared as a monster in the Fiend Folio for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (p. 77), and the elements established in this book show up in one way or another across editions. A scarecrow is a mindless construct, usually created by an evil priest or spellcaster, and it can use its gaze to fascinate one creature, who must then stand still—as if by a hold person spell—while the scarecrow kills them.

The Monster Manual for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (p. 170) adds that scarecrows are neutral by default, but ones that become conscious also become evil killers. Finally, scarecrows also become vulnerable to fire and immune to cold.

Scarecrows begin to diverge in Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition. The version printed in Dragon #355 (pp. 50-51) and again in Dungeon #154 (The Bigger the Sin..., pp. 5-7) cannot fascinate its victims, but its presence causes creatures to become shaken, and its gaze and touch causes them to cower. It also gained all-around vision, because scarecrows can't break their necks. On the other hand, The Tome of Horrors revised edition (p. 309) let a scarecrow fascinate with its touch as well as with its gaze. Both of them emphasized the scarecrow's role as a jumpscare by giving the scarecrow ways to blend in among 'normal' ones.

Dragon also introduced scarecrow variants beyond just 'mindless' and 'conscious.' A dread scarecrow wields a scythe and casts summon swarm spells, and a quested scarecrow pursues a specific victim as a constant locate creature spell.

Scarecrows in Pathfinder 1st edition and Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition diverged in a similar way. The scarecrow in Bestiary 2 (p. 238) keeps its fascinating gaze like the Tome of Horrors version, but because the fascinated condition breaks after the obvious threat of an attack, its attacks cause fear. The scarecrow in Monster Manual 3 (p. 168) instead splits into variants like the Dragon version—the shambler, the guardian, and the haunter—and gains many different abilities. Their straw filling can explode into mold or reduce damage, they can push or pull the target of their gaze, and the haunter can even make a target attack its own allies. The 4th edition scarecrow also became closely tied to hags and the Feywild.

With all of these changes in mind, it's strange to see Pathfinder 2nd edition and Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition swap places. The 5th edition scarecrow (Monster Manual, p. 268) frightens and paralyzes its target, but it hasn't inherited any of the fancy tricks or Feywild connections of its 4th edition ancestor. On the other hand, the new Pathfinder scarecrow (Bestiary 2, p. 232) has some new tricks, such as frightening every creature within its aura instead of one (and scaring birds more) or dealing more damage to frightened creatures.

Preacher of Poisons

Preacher of Poisons (CR 5)
XP 1,600
Human arcanist (spell specialist) 5/rogue (poisoner) 1 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Class Guide 8, 78; Advanced Player's Guide 134)
NE Medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Perception +10

Defense
AC 16, touch 12 (16 vs. incorporeal touch), flat-footed 14 (+4 armor, +2 Dex); +2 deflection vs. good creatures
hp 30 (6 HD; 5d6+1d8+5)
Fort +2, Ref +6, Will +6; +2 resistance vs. good creatures, +1 trait vs. divine spells

Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 battle aspergillum +2 (1d6 bludgeoning)
Offensive Abilities arcane reservoir (5/8, consume spells 1/day), arcanist exploits (potent magic), signature spells (dismiss, spell bender, spellwarp), sneak attack +1d6
Arcanist Spells Prepared (CL 5th; concentration +9)
2nd (4/day)—heightened toxic flareS (DC 18), pernicious poisonS, UM
1st (5/day)—heightened toxic flareS (DC 17), mage armor, obscuring mist, protection from good
0 (at will)—detect magic, detect poison, toxic flareS (DC 16), light, prestidigitation, read magic
S Signature spell

Tactics
Before Combat The preacher casts mage armor every day, and protection from good if he expects combat. If he has time to prepare, he also uses his scrolls of false life, fox's cunning, and mirror image. Note that a +4 enhancement bonus to the preacher's Intelligence score increases the his spells' save DC by 2 but not his poisons' save DC.

During Combat The preacher starts combat by casting a heightened toxic flare at the enemy who looks most frail, then he repeatedly casts normal toxic flare. If an enemy seems especially resistant to his ministrations, he casts pernicious poison. He freely spends points from his arcane reservoir to increase his signature spells' save DCs by 2, since he knows that it makes the subsequent poison that much more effective.

Because the preacher can replicate any contact, ingested, inhaled, or injury poison worth 100 gp or less through his unholy symbol, he can choose the poison that best suits his purposes. The following are examples of such poisons, as well as each poison's use and save DC adjusted for the preacher's abilities: bloodroot (Con and Wis damage, confusion; DC 14), drow poison (unconsciousness, DC 15), greenblood oil (Con damage, DC 15), small centipede poison (Dex damage, DC 13), and oil of taggit (unconsciousness, DC 17). Note that if the preacher spent a point from his arcane reservoir to increase a spell's save DC by 2, he also increases the poison's save DC by 2.

Morale If he is reduced to 15 hit points or fewer, if he is surrounded by enemies who are immune to poison, or if he loses his unholy symbol, the preacher attempts to cast obscuring mist and escape in the confusion. If fleeing is impossible, he begs for his life.

Statistics Without mage armor and protection from good, the preacher's statistics are AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10 (+2 Dex); Fort +2, Ref +6, Will +6; CMD 13.

Statistics
Str 8, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 18, Wis 12, Cha 13
Base Attack +2; CMB +1; CMD 13 (+2 deflection vs. good creatures)
Feats Additional TraitsAPG, False Focus1, Heighten Spell, Spell Focus (evocation), Toxic Spell2
Skills Bluff +10, Craft (poison) +13, Intimidate +10, Knowledge (religion) +13, Perception +10, Sense Motive +10, Spellcraft +13, Use Magic Device +10
Languages Common, Dwarven, Elven, Infernal
Special Abilities arcanist exploits (metamagic knowledge [Toxic Spell]), poison use
Traits history of heresyAPG, magical lineageAPG (flare)
Combat Gear potions of cure moderate wounds (2), scroll of false life, scroll of fox's cunning, scroll of mirror image; Other Gear +1 battle aspergillumUE filled with normal water, alchemist's kit, cleric's vestments, cloak of resistance +1, disguise kit, golden unholy symbolUE, mask worth 40 gp, spellbook, spell component pouch, 20 gp

Sources
1 False Focus Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Magic 10
2 Toxic Spell Pathfinder Player Companion: Dirty Tactics Toolbox 9

There are those who survive in apocalyptic wastelands by embracing the toxins all around them, coating their blades and minds with the same poison. Living in this inhospitable region leads those who feel abandoned by divine providence to regard priests and the gods as grifters, and worshippers as easy marks. When such a scoundrel learns to pass arcane magic off as divine, he joins the con as a preacher of poisons.

These preachers poison the minds of their followers with hatred and fear. If rhetoric and parlor tricks don't work on someone, that person begins to experience unexplained illnesses and flashes of light. The wayward disciple quickly finds themselves either back in the preacher's good graces, or dead. The jig is eventually up, and the preacher leaves a dwindling and distrustful settlement in his wake as he moves on to his next victims.

The preacher of poisons is a NPC built using the interaction between False Focus, Toxic Spell, magical lineage, and flare. You can change the preacher's race from human to drow and remove a rogue level to achieve similar results with a 5th-level NPC.

Wooden Protector

A humanoid figure rustles with the sound of leaves as it turns to reveal a wooden mask crowned with feathers, above a body of tangled vines. The creature raises a gnarly club that seems to be an extension of its arms. The same bright green light glows from the crystal embedded in the head of the creature's club and from the eyes behind its mask.

Wooden Protector (CR 3)
XP 800
N Medium plant
Init +1; Perception +8 (low-light vision)

Defense
AC 15, touch 11, flat-footed 14 (+1 Dex, +4 natural)
hp 30 (4d8+12); regeneration 5 (fire)
Fort +6, Ref +2, Will +2
Immune plant traits

Offense
Speed 30 ft. (woodland stride)
Melee two-handed shillelagh +6 (2d6+4 bludgeoning)
Ranged thrown shillelagh (range 10 ft.) +5 (2d6+3 bludgeoning)
Offensive Abilities grasping roots (DC 14), wooden weapon
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 4th; concentration +6)
Constant—shillelagh
At will—wood shape
1/day—warp wood (DC 14)

Statistics
Str 15, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 7, Wis 13, Cha 14
Base Attack +3; CMB +5; CMD 16
Feats Simple Weapon Proficiency, Toughness
Skills Perception +8, Stealth +1 (+9 in forests); Racial Modifiers +8 Stealth in forests
Languages Sylvan

Ecology
Environment any forest
Organization solitary, pair, or grove (1d4+2)
Treasure none (club or quarterstaff)

Special Abilities
Grasping Roots (Su) As a standard action, a wooden protector can animate a web of roots that bursts out of the ground around a creature within 30 feet. The target must make a DC 14 Reflex save. If it fails, the target is entangled and cannot move. The target can break free by making a successful DC 14 Strength or Escape Artist check as a standard action, or by dealing at least 3 points of slashing damage to the roots. The roots become brittle and break after 1d6 rounds. The save DC is Strength-based.

Wooden Weapon (Sp) A wooden protector can use its wood shape spell-like ability to fashion a wooden club or quarterstaff from its body, or to return such a weapon in its hands back to its body, as a free action. In addition, such a weapon wielded by a wooden protector is under the effects of a constant shillelagh spell. A wooden protector can wield such a club as a thrown weapon with a range increment of 10 feet as normal, but it takes 1d6 points of damage after it throws the club.

Woodland Stride (Ex) A wooden protector can move through any sort of undergrowth (such as natural thorns, briars, overgrown areas, and similar terrain) at its normal speed without taking damage or suffering any other impairment. Undergrowth that has been magically manipulated still affects it as normal.

The wooden protector appears for the first and only time in Into the Haunted Forest, the adventure for the beginner box before the Beginner Box back when Paizo wrote for Dungeons & Dragons. Here is a version for my Pathfinder games. I fixed some wonky interactions—for example, the original wields weapons that plants are not proficient with—and gave PCs a few more ways to overcome grasp of wood and natural movement.

Here are also some additional rules for using wooden protectors in your games.

Table: Knowledge (nature) Checks to Identify a Wooden Protector

DC	Information
13	This creature is a wooden protector. It is a plant, and it is immune to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms), paralysis, poison, polymorph, sleep, and stun due to its type.
+5	For every 5 points, describe one of the following special abilities: grasping roots, regeneration, wooden weapon, and woodland stride.

Summoning a Wooden Protector
A druid or ranger can use a summon nature's ally IV spell to summon a wooden protector.

Some stories describe a wooden protector that failed to keep its summoner safe and was so moved by their death that it outlasted the duration of the spell that summoned it. Such a wooden protector lingers near the remains of its summoner, observing their last wishes or defending their resting place until it is destroyed. Since this deed requires the death of a druid or ranger in a moment of great need, it is not easily replicated.

Growing a Wooden Protector
A wooden protector can be grown much like a leshy. The maker must plant a bush over three gems, a mask carved from dead wood, and an enchanted branch of living wood. As the ritual tangles the vines and branches together into a wooden protector, the protector's face gains the likeness of the mask and the gems become its eyes and its first weapon.

Wooden Protector
CL 7th; Price 8,000 gp

Ritual
Requirements Knowledge (nature) 5 ranks, plant growth, shillelagh, summon nature's ally IV, warp wood, wood shape; Skill Knowledge (nature) DC 19; Cost 4,000 gp (which includes a wooden +1 club or quarterstaff, a wooden mask, and three gems worth at least 50 gp each)