{"id":1222649,"date":"2026-02-23T21:41:52","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T21:41:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/?p=605034"},"modified":"2026-02-23T21:41:52","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T21:41:52","slug":"dd-5e-exclusive-reveal-inside-crooked-moons-new-scarecrow-and-plague-rat-pc-species","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/dd-5e-exclusive-reveal-inside-crooked-moons-new-scarecrow-and-plague-rat-pc-species\/","title":{"rendered":"D&D 5e exclusive reveal: Inside Crooked Moon\u2019s new scarecrow and plague rat PC species"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Crooked Moon<\/em><\/a>, Legends of Avantris\u2019 folk-horror setting for Dungeons & Dragons<\/a> 5th edition, became the game\u2019s most successful crowdfunding campaign to date, earning more than $4 million on Kickstarter<\/a>. Ahead of the book\u2019s June 16 release on D&D Beyond<\/a>, Polygon spoke with Legends of Avantris lead writer and creative director Mikey Gilder to get some exclusive details on two of the species the Crooked Moon<\/em> setting will introduce, and hear the latest track in a musical series focused on Crooked Moon<\/em>\u2019s villains.<\/p>\n

The most popular species among Crooked Moon <\/em>backers and early players <\/em>is the harvestborn \u2014 constructs crafted by the lords of the rustic province of Enoch to tend to their fertile farmlands.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of standard high-fantasy species options, so when we were going to do a folk-horror campaign, it had to get weird,\u201d Gilder told Polygon in a video call. \u201cTwo of the biggest themes and settings in folk horror are agrarian communities and the deep, dark woods, so you had to be able to play a scarecrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A harvestborn\u2019s glowing head might be made from a pumpkin, turnip, or burlap sack, and as constructs, they don\u2019t need to breathe, eat, drink, or sleep. The designers originally imagined them as dark creatures associated with fear, but as they developed the world, they instead opted to connect them more closely with harvests and the cycle of growth, death, and rebirth. That grants harvestborn both a culling power, which can do extra damage to creatures that are already seriously injured, and a healing power, drawing on the strength of the land.<\/p>\n

Another spooky option is the ratlike plagueborn from the province of Bubonia, which is covered in a pestilent haze and controlled by competing guilds.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really wanted to lean hard into the themes of plague and pestilence and medieval Dark Ages tropes,\u201d Gilder said. \u201cObviously, people love plague doctors. It\u2019s a classic [thing] that people cosplay as, and also ties into the Halloween vibes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plagueborn are both resistant to poison and able to inflict disease on those they attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis pestilence is part of their soul, and they are able to harness this magic,\u201d Gilder said. \u201cAll of these species can be quite dangerous. There\u2019s a lot of different options for plagueborn villains, just as there are for plagueborn heroes.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Villains are a huge focus for Crooked Moon<\/em>, which introduces 12 major antagonists for adventuring parties to face, including a group of twisted former heroes based on the player characters of Legends of Avantris\u2019 actual play game Edge of Midnight<\/em><\/a>. One of the many stretch goals unlocked by the wildly successful Kickstarter is a soundtrack composed by The Blasting Company<\/a>, the band that provided music for the animated miniseries Over the Garden Wall<\/em><\/a>. They\u2019ve put together a series of songs representing these fallen adventurers, each with distinct styles.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor [the twisted satyr] Gorthos, the Beast of Blight<\/a>, we went hard into Celtic folk music and classic folk instruments like the nyckelharpa<\/a>, hurdy-gurdy, and uilleann pipes,\u201d Gilder said. \u201cIt very much feels like this wailing song of tragedy. \u2018By the Lagoon<\/a>\u2019 for the magician and trickster Mr. Crossroads is equal parts Delta blues and New Orleans jazz. People make some comparisons to The Princess and the Frog<\/em><\/a> <\/em>and Dr. Facilier.\u201d<\/p>\n

The latest in the series of signature numbers for the villains is \u201cUnder Your Shadow,\u201d a haunting song from the perspective of Marius Renathyr, a knight who was tricked by a succubus and transformed into a vampire known as the Crimson Abbott. Performed by Tony nominee Ramin Karimloo, accompanied by a pipe organ and choir, it combines aspects of The Phantom of the Opera <\/em>and The Hunchback of Notre Dame<\/em>\u2019s<\/a> villain song \u201cHellfire.\u201d<\/p>\n

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