Grimroot
Grimroot — The Encounter
The Scarecrow That Rose From the Harvest Field · a boss your table can run with almost no prep. SRD 5.1-compatible.
Who Is Grimroot
They say a scarecrow set too long in a field of the unquiet dead drinks in their leavings until it learns to walk. Grimroot was such a guardian, lashed to its post above a paupers' harvest where the buried and the burned were turned under the same earth. Season after season the straw man drank the field's grief, and on the night the lanterns were lit it tore free of its cross, took up a reaper's blade, and went looking for the warm. It hunts the edges of the fields still, where the corn stands tall and the light is thin, herding the lost toward the rows the way a farmer herds the harvest toward the scythe. It does not hate the living; it simply gathers them, as it was made to gather, and what it gathers does not return. Those who burn its hat and salt its straw say the field goes quiet again — for a season.
Run Grimroot in Sixty Seconds
- Hold reach. Grimroot's glaive hits at 10 ft. — keep it a step back so it strikes before melee PCs can, and let Field of Dread (DC 14 Wis or disadvantage on attacks) tax anyone who closes.
- Open clustered. Lead with Scattering Reap (15-ft cone, 6d6, prone on fail) only when two or more PCs are bunched; otherwise hold it and Multiattack the caster.
- Kill-priority: backline. It ignores fear and poison and shrugs off nonmagical hits, so point it at the squishiest spellcaster and chew through them while their attacks miss.
- When bloodied, remember the straw. The first nonmagical, non-crit killing blow only drops it to 1 HP (once per day) — warn the table it pops back up, and finish it with magic or a crit.
- Three ways to run it: a lone field-stalker ambushing travelers in the corn; a reaper-lieutenant beside a pumpkin-lord boss; or a relentless herder driving PCs toward a worse threat in the rows.
Grimroot
Medium undead, neutral evil
CR 6 · 2,300 XP · GUIDELINEField of Dread. A living creature that starts its turn within 10 feet of Grimroot must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or have disadvantage on attack rolls until the start of its next turn, as the harvest-stench and rustling straw gnaw at its nerve. A creature that succeeds is immune to this trait for 24 hours.
Straw-Stuffed. When Grimroot is reduced to 0 hit points by a nonmagical weapon attack that is not a critical hit, it instead drops to 1 hit point, spilling straw and chaff from its wounds. It can use this trait only once per day.
Actions
Multiattack. Grimroot makes two attacks with its Reaping Glaive.
Reaping Glaive. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage plus 7 (2d6) necrotic damage.
Scattering Reap (Recharge 5-6). Grimroot sweeps the glaive in a wide arc. Each creature in a 15-foot cone must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw, taking 21 (6d6) slashing damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success. A creature that fails is knocked prone.
Bonus Actions & Reactions
Harvest Step. Reaction — When a creature Grimroot can see ends a melee attack against it, Grimroot can move up to half its speed without provoking opportunity attacks from that creature.
A gaunt figure in a tattered witch's hat and field-leathers stands among the pumpkins, skull-faced and goggle-eyed, leveling an ornate reaping-blade like a duelist drawing on the living.
Grimroot, Bound
Companion · acts on your initiative
Bound · GUIDELINEWatcher in the Rows (signature). While Grimroot is within 10 feet of you, you have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks made to notice hidden creatures, and you cannot be surprised while it stands watch.
Actions
Reaping Glaive. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 3) slashing damage plus 3 (1d6) necrotic damage.
Reactions
Reaping Intercept. When an enemy moves within 10 feet of you, Grimroot can make one Reaping Glaive attack against it.
Salted, re-stitched, and made to swear on the lantern-flame, the risen scarecrow stalks at your shoulder — a silent reaper that mistakes your enemies for the harvest.
Guideline numbers — formula-tuned and read from the miniature's design, not yet table-proven. Tell us how it ran in the comments.
How It Fights — by Tier
Same creature, scaled threat. The traits never change; only the numbers move.
Open by closing to reach-10 and letting Field of Dread blunt the party's accuracy, then carve the nearest light-armored target. Save Scattering Reap for when two or more PCs bunch up at a doorway or campfire. Pair it with a witch or harvest-cultist who can keep the field dark.
Lead with Scattering Reap into a clustered front line, then Multiattack the squishiest caster while Field of Dread saps their hits. Use Harvest Step to peel off the moment a fighter commits, and lean on Straw-Stuffed to survive the first burst. Run it as a lieutenant beside a bigger flagship undead or a pumpkin-lord, not alone.
Treat it as a flanker amid a field of lesser risen and corn-stalk minions — never a solo boss, as a high-tier party out-acts a single reaper. Open with Scattering Reap, Harvest Step out of the danger zone, and use Field of Dread to cover the minions' approach. Pair it with a larger threat so the party can't simply focus it down.
Put Grimroot on the table
Download the presupported STL and run the fight tonight — the model, and the encounter that comes with it.
Get the STL on MyMiniFactory →Clay Cyanide Companion Rules v1
How a bound creature acts
- A companion acts on its owner's initiative, immediately after the owner.
- It uses the Companion block above — roughly ×0.6 HP and damage, no recharge abilities, and at most one reaction trait.
- It moves freely; it takes its Action only while its owner is conscious.
- At 0 HP a companion is broken, not dead — restored on a long rest unless your table rules otherwise.
Original Clay Cyanide material © Clay Cyanide LLC — explicitly not the non-SRD official sidekick rules.
Questions, Asked at the Table
What CR is Grimroot?
Grimroot is built as a Challenge Rating 6 undead (2,300 XP) at its native Tier 2, tuned for a party of levels 5-10. The stat record also provides scaled numbers for Tier 1 (levels 1-4) and Tier 3 (levels 11-15) so you can drop it into almost any table without changing its traits or tactics.
Can Grimroot be a companion or ally?
Yes. Salted, re-stitched, and bound to a lantern-oath, Grimroot serves as a Bound companion (AC 14, 76 HP) — a silent reaper that watches the rows for you, intercepts enemies that stray within 10 feet, and grants advantage on Perception while it stands guard.
How do I keep Grimroot from getting focused down too fast?
Use its reach and mobility. Strike from 10 feet, spend Harvest Step to slip away the instant a frontliner commits, and lean on Straw-Stuffed to survive the alpha strike. Field of Dread makes attackers who chase it less accurate, so it rewards hit-and-fade play around minions rather than standing toe-to-toe.
Tell Us How It Ran
This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 ("SRD 5.1") by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available at creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.
Clay Cyanide Miniatures is not affiliated with, endorsed, sponsored, or specifically approved by Wizards of the Coast LLC. This content is compatible with the fifth edition of the world's most popular fantasy roleplaying game. Companion rules, lore, names, and original mechanics © Clay Cyanide LLC.
Technical Specifications
32mm, 75mm
STL, Pre-supported STL
Standard or ABS-like resin, 0.05mm layer height
Yes — ready to print, optimized supports included
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