Canopic jars were a type of container used across many parts of the Realms to store preserved internal organs.[1][2][3]
Description[]
A mummy standing next to canopic jars that classically have the likenesses of varied animals.
These jars were typically made from pottery,[4] like ceramics[5] or clay,[6] or carved from limestone.[4] Many canopic jars were made to have the likeness of some type of animal,[1][2][3][7] but some simply had religious hieroglyphs painted on or etched into them.[4]
Usages[]
Canopic jars were considered to be an essential item for the creation of mummies[3][8][9] and mummy lords.[4] After being used to store a mummy's internal organs, the jars had to be kept in the same tomb as it.[8][4][9] Some sages claimed that canopic jars stored the life force of a mummy, a relationship akin to a lich and their phylactery,[3][10] and that destroying the jars could in turn destroy the mummy whose organs they preserved.[1][8][10] Though others argued that this was not necessarily true of all mummies.[3]
Beyond mummification, some used canopic jars simply for the purposes of burial or keeping organs preserved for later magical research, as was the case with the ancient star elves.[11]
Notable Users[]
- Some kept canopic jars within decoy chambers of their tombs, holding the organs of the servants they had in life.[6][5] Such was the case with Brysis of Khaem[6] and Valin Sarnaster.[5]
Creatures & Sentient Races[]
- Canopic jars were used in the tombs of the ancient sarrukh[1] and later by their creations, the yuan-ti, in their own tombs,[12][13] such as in the Maze of Sseth.[12]
Individuals[]
Mystic Carrion's canopic jar.
- Mystic Carrion, a mummy lord in the late 15th century DR, who hid two of his canopic jars within the Undercity of Baldurs Gate and the third in the city's mortuary.[10]
Nations & Regions[]
- In the ancient city-state of Cursrah, canopic jars were kept by the kingdom's priests for the purposes of mummification.[7]
- As a burial practice, canopic jars were placed in the tombs of the ancient Mulhorandi rulers of Thay.[14]
- Beyond the Prime Material, canopic jars could be found in the Domain of Dread known as Har'Akir, often serving as mist talismans.[15] In the Shadowfell city of Evernight, they were used for decoration and could be purchased at the Corpse Market.[16]
Appendix[]
Appearances[]
Adventures
Novels & Short Stories
Video Games
Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
External Links[]
Canopic jar article at Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Jennell Jaquays (December 1988). “Mummies”. In Scott Martin Bowles ed. Lords of Darkness (TSR, Inc.), p. 38. ISBN 0-88038-622-3.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Jennifer Clarke-Wilkes, Bruce R. Cordell and JD Wiker (March 2005). Sandstorm. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 94. ISBN 0-7869-3655-X.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Terry Edwards (October 2002). “The Ecology of...: Shrouded in Death”. In Jesse Decker ed. Dragon #300 (Paizo Publishing, LLC), p. 78.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins (2014-09-30). Monster Manual 5th edition. Edited by Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 227. ISBN 978-0786965614.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Jennifer Kretchmer, Scott Fitzgerald Gray, Christopher Perkins (March 2021). “The Canopic Being”. In Scott Fitzgerald Gray, Christopher Perkins eds. Candlekeep Mysteries (Wizards of the Coast), p. 179. ISBN 978-0-7869-6722-3.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Christopher Perkins, Adam Lee, Richard Whitters (September 1, 2015). Out of the Abyss. Edited by Jeremy Crawford. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 38. ISBN 978-0-7869-6581-6.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Clayton Emery (January 1999). Star of Cursrah. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 4, p. ?. ISBN 0-7869-1322-3.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Jennell Jaquays (December 1988). “Mummies”. In Scott Martin Bowles ed. Lords of Darkness (TSR, Inc.), p. 41. ISBN 0-88038-622-3.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Doug Stewart (June 1993). Monstrous Manual. (TSR, Inc), p. 261. ISBN 1-5607-6619-0.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Larian Studios (October 2020). Designed by Swen Vincke, et al. Baldur's Gate III. Larian Studios.
- ↑ Greg A. Vaughan (September 2006). The Twilight Tomb. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 24. ISBN 0-7869-3947-8.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Template:Cite LFR/EAST2-1/Marauder's Spear
- ↑ Template:Cite LFR/SPEC2-1 P2/Scout's Honor
- ↑ Richard Lee Byers (February 2009). Unholy. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 10, p. ?. ISBN 978-0-7869-5021-8.
- ↑ F. Wesley Schneider, et al. (May 2021). Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft. Edited by Judy Bauer, Michele Carter, Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 106. ISBN 978-0-7869-6725-4.
- ↑ Amanda Hamon et al. (May 2024). Vecna: Eve of Ruin. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 31. ISBN 978-0-7869-6947-0.