Scarecrow

SCARECROW

FREQUENCY: Very rare ([Temperate Civilized Hills], [Temperate Civilized Plains])
FREQUENCY: Very rare ([Dungeon Level IV])

NO. APPEARING: 1-6
ARMOR CLASS: 6
MOVE: 6"
HIT DICE: 5
% IN LAIR: Nil
TREASURE TYPE: Nil <nope: maybe a couple of pumpkin seeds :cf.dmg.221>
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-6 plus special
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Charm
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
INTELLIGENCE: Non-
ALIGNMENT: Evil (lawful, neutral or chaotic) <(malign)> <+1>
SIZE: M
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: IV | 165 + 5

Enchanted versions of regular scarecrows,
these creatures are created from a variety of materials --
wooden bodies && limbs,
turnip heads for instance --
and will vary in appearance.
They will always,
however,
appear evil and of malign intent.

Meeting the glance of the scarecrow causes any intelligent creature to become charmed unless they make their save vs. Magic. <>

The touch of a scarecrow, which requires a successful 'to hit' roll && also does 1-6 points of damage, has the identical effect.

Charm: The effect of the charm is one of fascination,
rather than the obeyance of instructions.
The victim will stand and gape,
rooted to the spot -- as if under the influence of a hold person spell --
allowing the creature to strike freely at him,
again && again.
If the scarecrow is killed,
or leaves the AREA,
all victims recover immediately from their charm.
<note: this actually might be closer to a hypnotism effect - see Necrophidius>
<as well, check fascinate in the UA>

Creation: To create a scarecrow,
either a special manual must be used or a high-level evil cleric must employ [animate object], [quest], [prayer] and [command].
Construction of a scarecrow requires 3 weeks but the cost of materials is only 1 gp per HP.
The scarecrow will obey its creator's simple instructions,
following orders literally so long as they require no interpretation on its part.

by Roger Musson