Mummy, Greater
Climate/Terrain:
| Any desert or subterranean |
|
Frequency:
| Very rare
|
Organization:
| Solitary
|
Activity Cycle:
| Night
|
Diet:
| Nil
|
Intelligence:
| Genius (17-18)
|
Treasure:
| V (Ax2)
|
Alignment:
| Lawful evil
|
No. Appearing:
| 1
|
Armor Class:
| 2
|
Movement:
| 9
|
Hit Dice:
| 8+3 (base)
|
THAC0:
| 11 (base)
|
No. of Attacks:
| 1
|
Damage/Attack:
| 3d6
|
Special Attacks:
| See below
|
Special Defenses:
| See below
|
Magic Resistance:
| Nil
|
Size:
| M (6' tall)
|
Morale:
| Fanatic (17-18)
|
XP Value:
| 8,000 See below
|
Also known as
Anhktepot's Children, greater mummies are a powerful form of undead created when a high-level
lawful evil priest of certain religions is mummified and charged with the guarding
of a burial place. It can survive for centuries as the steadfast protector of
its lair, killing all who would defile its holy resting place.
Greater mummies look just like their more common cousins save that they are
almost always adorned with (un)holy symbols and wear the vestments of their
religious order. They give off an odor that is said to be reminiscent of a spice
cupboard because of the herbs used in the embalming process that created them.
Greater mummies are keenly intelligent and are able to communicate just as
they did in life. Further, they have an inherent ability to telepathically command
all normal mummies created by them. They have the ability to control other
mummies, provided that they are not under the domination of another mummy, but
this is possible only when verbal orders can be given.
Combat: Greater mummies radiate an
aura of fear that causes all creatures who see them to make a fear check. A modifier is
applied to this fear check based on the age of the monster, as indicated on the
Age & Abilities table at the end of this section. The effects of failure on
those who miss their checks are doubled because of the enormous power and presence
of this creature. The mummy's aura can be defeated by a
remove fear, cloak of bravery, or similar spell.
In combat, greater mummies have the option of attacking with their own
physical powers or with the great magic granted to them by the gods they served in
life. In the former case, they may strike but once per round, inflicting 3d6
points of damage per attack.
Anyone struck by the mummy's attack suffers the required damage and becomes
infected with a horrible rotting disease that is even more sinister than that of
normal mummies for it manifests itself in a matter of days, not months. The
older the mummy, the faster this disease manifests itself (see the Age & Ability
table at the end of this entry for exact details). The disease causes the person
to die within a short time unless proper medical care can be obtained. Twenty
four hours after the infecting blow lands, the character loses 1 point from his
Strength and Constitution due to the effects of the virus on his body.
Further, they lose 2 points of Charisma as their skin begins to flake and whither like
old parchment. No normal healing is possible while the disease is spreading
through the body, and the shaking and convulsions that accompany it make spell
casting or memorization impossible for the character. Only one form of magical
healing has any effect -- a
regenerate spell will cure the disease and restore lost hit points, but not ability
scores. All others healing spells are wasted. A series of
cure disease spells (one for each day that has passed since the rotting was contracted)
will temporarily halt the infection until a complete cure can be affected.
Regaining lost ability score points is not possible through any means short of a
wish.
The body of a person who dies from mummy rot begins to crumble into dust as
soon as death occurs. The only way to
resurrect a character who dies in this way is to cast both a
cure disease and a
raise dead spell on the body within 6 turns (1 hour) of death. If this is not done, the
body (and the spirit within it) are lost forever.
Greater mummies can be turned by those who have the courage and conviction to
attempt this feat; however, the older the mummy, the harder it is to overcome
in this fashion. Once again, the details are provided on the Age & Abilities
Table. They are immune to damage from holy water, but contact with a holy symbol
from a non-evil faith inflicts 1d6 points of damage on them. Contact with a holy
symbol of their own faith actually
restores 1d6 hit points.
Perhaps the most horrible aspect of these creatures, however, is their spell
casting ability. All greater mummies were priests in their past lives and now
retain the spell casting abilities they had then. They will cast spells as if
they were of 16th through 20th level (see below) and will have the same spheres
available to them that they did in life. Greater mummies receive the same bonus
spells for high Wisdom scores that player characters do. Dungeon Masters are
advised to select spells for each greater mummy in an adventure before the
adventure starts. For those using
Legends & Lore in their games, greater mummies are most often priests of Osiris, Set, and
Nephythys. For those using
The Complete Priest's Handbook, they are usually associated with the worship of ancestors, darkness, death,
disease, evil, guardianship, and revenge. (If neither of these works is being
used in the campaign, simply assign the mummy powers as if it were a standard
high-level cleric.)
Greater mummies can be harmed only by magical weapons, with older ones being
harder to hit than younger ones. Even if a weapon can affect them, however, it
will inflict only half damage because of the magical nature of the creature's
body.
Spells are also less effective against greater mummies than they are against
other creatures. Those that rely on cold to inflict damage are useless against
the mummy, while those that depend on fire inflict normal damage. Unlike normal
mummies, these foul creatures are immune to non-magical fire. The enchanting
process that creates them, however, leaves them vulnerable to attacks involving
electricity; all spells of that nature inflict half again their normal damage.
In addition, older mummies develop a magic resistance that makes even those
spells unreliable.
Greater mummies, like vampires, become more powerful with the passing of time
in Ravenloft. The following table lists the applicable changes to the listed
statistics (which are for a newly created monster) brought on by the passing of
time:
Age & Ability Table
Age
| To Hit
| AC
| HD
| THAC0
|
99 or less
| +1
| 2
| 8+3
| 11
|
100-199
| +1
| 1
| 9+3
| 11
|
200-299
| +2
| 0
| 10+3
| 9
|
300-399
| +2
| -1
| 11+3
| 9
|
400-499
| +3
| -2
| 12+3
| 7
|
500 or more
| +4
| -3
| 13+3
| 7
|
Age
| Align
| Wis
| Magic
| Disease
|
99 or less
| LE
| 18
| Nil
| 1d12 days
|
100-199
| LE
| 19
| 5%
| 1d10 days
|
200-299
| LE or CE
| 20
| 10%
| 1d8 days
|
300-399
| CE or LE
| 21
| 15%
| 1d6 days
|
400-499
| CE
| 22
| 20%
| 1d4 days
|
500 or more
| CE
| 23
| 25%
| 1d3 days
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Age
| Level
| XP
| Fear
| Mummies
|
99 or less
| 16
| 18,000
| -1
| 1d4
|
100-199
| 17
| 10,000
| -2
| 2d4
|
200-299
| 18
| 12,000
| -2
| 3d4
|
300-399
| 19
| 14,000
| -3
| 5d4
|
400-499
| 20
| 16,000
| -3
| 6d4
|
500 or more
| 20
| 18,000
| -4
| 7d4
|
Notes:
To Hit indicates the magical plus that must be associated with a weapon before it
will inflict damage to the mummy.
AC is the Armor Class of the monster.
HD are the number of hit dice that the mummy has. Greater mummies are turned as
if they had one more Hit Die than they actually do, so a 250 year old (10+3) is
turned as if it had 11 Hit Dice. Any mummy 300 years old or older is turned as
a "special" undead.
THAC0 is listed for the various Hit Dice levels of the mummy to allow for easy
reference during play.
Alignment As the mummy grows older, it becomes darker and more evil. In cases where two
alignments are listed, there is a 75% chance that the mummy will be of the
first alignment and a 25% chance that it will be of the second. Thus, a 300 year
old mummy is 75% likely to be chaotic evil.
Wisdom is the creature's Wisdom score. When employing their spells, greater mummies
receive all of the bonus spells normally associated with a high Wisdom.
Further, as they pass into the higher ratings (19 and beyond) they gain an immunity to
certain magical spells as listed in the Player's Handbook
.
Magic is the creature's natural magic resistance. As can be seen from the table,
old mummies can be very deadly indeed.
Disease is the length of time it takes for a person infected with the mummy's rotting
disease to die.
Level indicates the creature's level as a priest. Older mummies have access to far
greater magics than younger ones and are thus more dangerous than younger ones.
XP lists the number of experience points awarded to a party for battling and
defeating a greater mummy of a given age.
Mummies indicates the number of normal mummies that the creature will have serving it
when encountered.
Fear indicates the penalty to those making fear checks due to the evil influence
of the greater mummy's foul aura.
Habitat/Society: Greater mummies are powerful undead creatures that are usually created from
the mummified remains of powerful, evil priests. This being the case, the greater
mummy now draws its mystical abilities from evil powers and darkness. In rare
cases, however, the mummified priests served non-evil god in life and are still
granted the powers they had in life from those gods.
Greater mummies often dwell in large temple complexes or tombs where they
guard the bodies of the dead from the disturbances of grave robbers. Unlike normal
mummies, however, they have been known to leave their tombs and strike out into
the world -- bringing a dreadful shroud of evil down upon every land they
touch.
When a greater mummy wishes to create normal mummies as servants, it does so
by mummifying persons infected with its rotting disease. This magical process
requires 12-18 hours (10+2d4) and cannot be disturbed without ruining the
enchantment. Persons to be mummified are normally
held or
charmed so that they cannot resist the mummification process. Once the process is
completed, victims are helpless to escape the bandages that bind them. If nothing
happens to free them, they will die of the mummy rot just as they would have
elsewhere. Upon their death, however, a strange transformation takes place.
Rather than crumbling away into dust, these poor souls rise again as normal mummies.
Obviously, this process is too time consuming to be used in actual combat, but
the greater mummy will often attack a potential target in hopes of capturing
and transforming it into a mummy. All mummies created by a greater mummy are
under its telepathic command.
Ecology: The first of these creatures is known to have been produced by Anhktepot, the
Lord of Har'akir, in the years before he became undead himself. It is believed
that most, if not all, of the greater mummies he created in his life were
either destroyed or drawn into Ravenloft with him when he was granted a domain. A
number of these creatures are believed to serve Anhktepot in his domain, acting
as his agents in other lands he wishes to learn what is transpiring in other
portions of Ravenloft.
The process by which a greater mummy is created remains a mystery to all but
Anhktepot. It is rumored that this process involves a great sacrifice to gain
the favor of the gods and an oath of eternal loyalty to the Lord of Har'akir. If
the latter is true, then it may lend credence to the claim of many sages that
Anhktepot can command every greater mummy in existence to do his bidding. If
this is indeed the case, it makes the power of this dark fiend far greater than is
generally supposed.
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