Mummy

"Before opening a sarcophagus, light a torch."

- X the Mystic's 7 rule of dungeon survival

A mummy is an undead creature, usually of lawful evil alignment, created from a preserved corpse that have been animated by the dark gods of the desert. These horrid creatures are often marked with symbols of the dire gods they serve. While other undead often stink of carrion, the herbs and powders used to create a mummy give off a sharp, pungent odor like that of a spice cabinet.

Mummies cause fear in the living on sight, and any creature they touch is affected by a rotting curse called mummy rot. Inhabiting great tombs or temple complexes they maintain a timeless vigil and destroying would-be grave robbers.

Mummies are the undead guardians of tombs and vaults of honored dead (such as kings or nobility of the ancient world). They patrol their homes with dedication, remaining alert for signs of tomb robbers or others who would desecrate their assigned lair.

Creation
The creation of a mummy is a long and gruesome process, involving separating the internal organs of the prepared body. The body is then wrapped in expensive linens and anointed with sacred oils. When the tomb is finally sealed, the mummy awakens in an undead state.

The spell mummy creation also animates a corpse into a mummy, but only for a short period of time.

Combat
Mummies are granted great strength. They also carry a virulent curse that acts as a disease. This affliction – known as mummy rot – causes the flesh of its victims to rot away, leaving gruesome scars and disfiguring the unfortunate soul before finally expiring from the wasting disease.

A mummy moves with a slow, shambling gait and groans with the weight of the ages and attacks intruders without pause or mercy. They never attempt to communicate with their enemies and never retreat. An encounter with a mummy usually ends only with the destruction of one combatant or the other.

Variants

 * Bog mummy: Corpses preserved through the natural action of bogs or swamps and animated through evil magic.
 * Clay mummy: Unlike standard mummies, clay mummies are vulnerable to bludgeoning weapons rather than fire.
 * Crawling apocalypse: A creature that resembles a giant mummified octopus.
 * Greater mummy: These are mummified priests of a god who, through being imbued with dark magic, becomes a creature of the undead.
 * Hunefer: These mummies of demigods whose power has not utterly departed to astral realms.
 * Huecuva: Huecuva are created from divine or oath-bound creatures who have failed in their vows.
 * Ice mummy: A creature that succumbs to an ice mummy's rot freezes and shatters, melting into nothing at the first thaw.
 * Mummy lord: Mummy lords are often potent spellcasters. They are found as guardians of the tombs of high lords, priests, and mages.
 * Resurrected mummy: These mummies are formed from the wrapped corpse of a dead body, the ashes of a dead creature, and a necromancer's stone.
 * Salt mummy: Ancient corpses of humanoids preserved by being buried in salt. Salt mummies were generally very evil when they were alive.
 * Swarm-shifter: These mummies appear like a normal undead until their body explodes into a swarm of smaller creatures.

Appearances

 * Adventure:
 * Lords of Darkness
 * House of Cards
 * Shadowdale: The Scouring of the Land
 * Computer Games:
 * Al-Qadim: The Genie's Curse
 * Descent to Undermountain
 * Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition
 * Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear
 * Gateway to the Savage Frontier
 * Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition
 * Neverwinter Nights
 * Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark
 * Pool of Radiance
 * Treasures of the Savage Frontier
 * Novels:
 * Canticle
 * Neverwinter