1,000 Abnormal Mummies
Undead creatures raised to guard the ancient tombs of the honoured dead, mummies are ever-vigilant for interlopers into their domain of death and dust. Created through a lengthy embalming process mummies have all their vital organs removed and replaced with sacred herbs, flowers and the like. Thus, they resist time’s remorseless onslaught well.
Physical Description
A standard mummy appears thusly:
Wrapped in strips of mouldering linen this humanoid creature shuffles slowly forward.
To this basic description, apply one of the entries below:
The creature’s eyes—one red and one blue—glimmer balefully.
Eldritch symbols cover the wrappings around the creature’s head—giving the impression of tattoos.
The wrappings around the creature’s left leg are loose, and unravel as the battle rages.
The creature’s blackened wrappings are ragged and—in a few places—scorched.
Dried blood covers the creature’s hands—as if it has bludgeoned more than one foe to death.
The heavy, cloying miasma of death radiates from the creature. (Investigation reveals, the mummy’s body is rotting from the inside out).
The creature’s eyes have been gouged out and it is blind; it has excellent hearing, however, and also sniffs the air like a hunting hound searching for prey.
Large and hulking, the creature lumbers about with no semblance of stealth.
The creature’s head lolls unnaturally on a broken neck.
The creature wear the ornate funeral mask of a priest.
Battle Tactics
In battle, some mummies fight differently to their brethren:
This mummy mournfully moans and groans as it enters combat. It bellows in anger, when damaged.
Driven mad by its mummification, this mummy cackles and capers in combat—sometimes wasting actions to do so.
Carrying an ornamental falchion into battle, this mummy hews mightily with the blade until reduced to half hps (at which point, it reverts to its natural attacks).
Every time it strikes a foe, the mummy lets out a deep, malevolent laugh.
If the mummy knocks a foe unconscious, it spends several rounds battering its helpless enemy to death.
Terrified by fire, the mummy cowers away from even the smallest flame.
The mummy was a tomb robber; it sneaks about trying to attack with surprise (preferably from behind or a flank).
The mummy hates followers of good gods, and attacks folk bearing such symbols before all other targets.
The mummy grapples its opponents, before beating them to death with its powerful fists.
Abnormally resistant to fire, flames do not scare this mummy.
Treasure
Sometimes, mummies yet have some small trinket or treasure about their person. Roll on the list below, if you determine the creature has a small item of personal treasure:
A gold bangle worth 50 gp encircles the mummy’s left leg.
One strip of the mummy’s wrappings radiates faint magic. It is a scroll of bless.
A +1 arrow fletched with silver feathers is lodged in a fold in the mummy’s wrappings.
The creature yet wears ancient tarnished silver earrings of a style not wrought for centuries. They are worth 100 gp, but are blasphemous things.
The mummy wears the unholy symbol of an evil god of death. Studded with small glittering blood-red rubies the thing is beautiful and terrible. It is worth 350 gp.
The mummy’s festering burial wrappings are stitched with silver wire. Removed and cleaned, the wire is worth 75 gp.
Ornate jade jars (worth 100 gp) hold the mummy’s shrivelled internal organs.
The mummy wears an ornate silver pendant adorned with a (now defaced) rising sun symbol. The pendant is only worth 50 gp, due to the damage.
The herbs replacing the mummy’s internal organs are rare and well preserved. They have a special connection to undeath.
Jagged shards of transparent dark green stones (bloodstones) replace several of the mummy’s teeth. The teeth glimmer in the light. Each bloodstone tooth enables the mummy to cast a minor cleric spell once per day.
Want More?
1,000 Abnormal Mummies appears in GM's Miscellany: 20 Things V.
GM's Miscellany: 20 Things V comprises over 70 pages crammed full with system neutral tables designed to help you add depth, detail and verisimilitude into your games with virtually no effort.
If you have alchemist's laboratories, archives and libraries, black dragon's lairs, ghasts, ghouls, green dragon's lairs, items most wondrous, local landmarks, mummies, ruined cities, ruined monasteries, ruined wizard's towers, skeletons, smugglers' villagers, vampires castles, wights or zombies in your campaign GM's Miscellany: 20 Things V has got you covered!
This System Neutral GM’s Resource can be used either before or during the game session.
A System Neutral Edition GM’s Resource by Creighton Broadhurst and Steve Hood.
About 20 Things
Are you a busy GM? Does session prep take too long? Do you never have time to work on the cool little details that can bring your session to life? Well fear not! That’s where the 20 Things line comes in. Compiled from the free 20 Things posts available at Raging Swan’s website, this short, focused compilation gives you, the time-crunched GM, the tools to effortlessly add verisimilitude and detail to your adventure. Use the material herein either before or during play and bask in your players' adulation.
