Mummy

"Before opening a sarcophagus, light a torch."

- X the Mystic's 7 rule of dungeon survival

A mummy was an undead creature created from a preserved corpse animated by the dark gods of the desert. These horrid creatures were often marked with symbols of the dire gods they served. While other undead often stank of carrion, the herbs and powders used to create a mummy gave off a sharp, pungent odor like that of a spice cabinet.

Mummies caused fear in the living on sight, and any creature they touched was affected by a rotting curse called mummy rot. Inhabiting great tombs or temple complexes, they maintained a timeless vigil and destroyed would-be grave robbers.

Mummies were the undead guardians of tombs and vaults of honored dead (such as kings or nobility of the ancient world). They patrolled 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 was a long and gruesome process, involving separating the internal organs of the prepared body. The body was then wrapped in expensive linens and anointed with sacred oils. When the tomb was finally sealed, the mummy awakened in an undead state.

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

Combat
Mummies were granted great strength. They also carried a virulent curse that acted as a disease. This affliction – known as mummy rot – caused 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 moved with a slow, shambling gait and groaned with the weight of the ages. They attacked intruders without pause or mercy. They never attempted to communicate with their enemies and never retreated. An encounter with a mummy usually ended only with the destruction of one combatant or the other.

Variants

 * Animal mummy: Also called creature mummies, they are made of corpses of animals and nonhumanoids, such as Centaurs.
 * 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.
 * Ka: A type of mummy of an ancient king, priest, or lord. Though much like a normal mummy, it inflicts no mummy rot, but curses.
 * 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.

Habitats
Beyond the Prime Material plane, mummies could be found in the Domains of Dread.

Notable Mummies

 * Kesefehon, an elven commander of Myth Drannor who died of an unknown disease that turned him into a mummy after his death. In 1369 DR he was trapped in his undead state inside his crypt in Myth Drannor's Polyandrium.

Appearances

 * Adventures:
 * Dungeon #19: "House of Cards" • Pool of Radiance: Attack on Myth Drannor • Shadowdale: The Scouring of the Land
 * Novels:
 * Canticle • Neverwinter
 * Video Games:
 * Pool of Radiance • Gateway to the Savage Frontier • Treasures of the Savage Frontier • Dungeon Hack • Al-Qadim: The Genie's Curse • Descent to Undermountain • Icewind Dale • Neverwinter Nights • Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark • Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear
 * Card Games:
 * AD&D Trading Cards • Dragonfire (Corruption in Calimshan)