By Alan McCoy from Dungeons & Dragons: Fundamentals
How to build challenging encounters against a Mummy
Note: This has been prepared utilizing only the 5E Core Rules. The Mummy can be found in the Monster Manual pages 227 – 229. Additional and invaluable information (can be found in the 2E sourcebook:
Van Richten’s Monster Hunters Compendium Volume 2
The name MUMMY is misleading, it recalls far too many images from books and movies of a linen wrapped denizen of ancient Egypt come to punish those that violate its tomb. The Mummy Is just one variety of a type of creature best referred to as the Ancient Dead.
Why the Ancient Dead?
Given the power level of these creatures, and their general willingness to ignore mortal life, the question must be asked:
Why bother them!
First, the group may not believe that they exist, could just be a legend after all.
Next, the group may think they can get away will it, and the treasures within are too marvelous to pass up.
Last, the Ancient Dead are of course, Ancient. They know things that no mortal mind remembers, they remember the tales told before they were legends. Perhaps they have the answers you need, perhaps you need to prevent someone else from getting the answer they desire.
Psychology of the Ancient Dead
First, In order to properly utilize and role-play one of the Ancient Dead, you must realize that each of these monsters is a unique individual and that you will have to tailor its abilities to match the creature it has become rather than blindly following ‘the book’.
Second, when it comes to the ancient dead, setting is everything. Your monster must make sense in context of its location. After all, it had a hand in the design of its tomb, it knows the surrounding geography unless major changes have taken place, and it knows many secrets that have been long forgotten by modern civilization.
Finally, while some of the Ancient Dead are created by curse, most of the Ancient Dead become ancient dead by choice. This means that they took the time to prepare an elaborate tomb, they took steps to preserve their mortal remains, and they arranged for others to carry out the elaborate rituals necessary to bind their soul to their mortal remains rather than journey to the afterlife. This requires a very driven individual.
Transformation:
While there are many possible reasons to undergo the rituals of transformation, they can be generalized as Servitude, Restlessness, Recalled, and Dark Pacts.
Servitude: Ancient Dead who were in life the fanatical followers of an individual may follow them into undeath and continue to serve and in the afterlife.
Restlessness: Ancient Dead who have been thwarted in the accomplishment of some goal or achievement and are waiting for the time to be right for a new attempt. This can be as complex as waiting for an astronomical event to happen or for a sweetheart to be reincarnated into the world.
Recalled: In some cases, the Ancient Dead are part of a unliving security system that will seek out items stolen from the crypt and to punish the graverobbers. These Ancient Dead are a special type of Servitor and would happily slumber forever. Almost all crypts contain at least one of these recovery specialists.
Dark Pacts: While my bias declares these rituals to be Dark, the culture, society, and faith of the individual may indeed declare that these rituals are acceptable and even desirable, especially for those above a certain station in life. For whatever reason, a state of unlife is desired, pursued and ritually granted by the powers that control such things.
Awakenings
When your “unlife span” not just decades or centuries long, but instead spans eons, you will understandably remain dormant at least a part of that time. This is not a hibernation state, the Ancient Dead once Awakened are fully and completely functional.
Time: An Ancient Dead may choose to awaken on a regular schedule, daily, monthly, annually, per decade, per century. Regardless of the time frame, it will have a specific reason for doing so.
Action: An Ancient Dead will wake immediately when some event takes place, such as the seal on its lair being breeched, goods being disturbed, or some other act has taken place. Additionally, a servitor may awaken the master at need.
Event: An Ancient Dead will wake when some specific event occurs, it can be mundane, such as astronomical phenomena, or esoteric, such as the appearance or reincarnation of an enemy.
Physiology of the Ancient Dead
A thought to consider: While the vessel used to contain the soul must be their own, it is possible to ritually graft on body parts that did not belong to the original. While this will usually be a replacement hand or foot, imagine an animal head, such as wolf, crocodile, or hawk. Change the hands for the talons of a predatory bird. While this will not be done in all cases, it will inevitably be done in some.
Another thought to consider: Animals can become members of the Ancient Dead, they can assist in combat, in general they should be considered members of the Servitor type of Ancient Undead.
Finally, while this writing deals primarily with Humans that become members of the Ancient Dead, there is ample reason to believe that many of the “Monster” races and some of the Demi-Human races also take part in the practice. Imagine for a moment an Ancient Dead Fire Giant, or a Half-Elf that sought to match the span of his elven bride’s years.
Lair of the Ancient Dead
A Lord of the Ancient Dead will usually be found, at least initially in its lair. Servitors will be found with the Lord and may be sent out on missions by the Lord. It all comes back to the lair; however, it is the permanent home of the Lord and may not be abandoned.
A Lord of the Ancient Dead may take LAIR ACTIONS, these include: Allowing it’s servitors to locate intruders exactly within the lair; granting it’s servitors Advantage against “TURN UNDEAD” or similar effects; disrupt magical energies such that any non-undead attempting to cast a spell of under 4th level is wracked with agony, almost always losing the spell and potentially taking damage in the process.
While the above lair actions have been documented, there are potentially many others.
The Region of the Ancient Dead
When a Lord of the Ancient Dead has been awakened, this fact will be known by all who dwell nearby: Food will instantly molder, and Water will evaporate or become undrinkable. Divination spells will become unreliable and many will become cursed.
Step 1) Let’s Review what we know about the Ancient Dead:
The Stereotype: Strong, shambling, physically tough, not particularly bright, strong willed, Highly influential. Slower than average (20-foot Movement)
Your choice: Whatever fits the vision and the class choice you have made for your Ancient Dead.
The Ancient Dead are Vulnerable to Fire Damage
The Ancient Dead are Resistant to non-magical weapon damage.
The Ancient Dead are immune to Necrotic and Poison Damage.
The Ancient Dead are conditionally immune to: Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned.
The Ancient Dead have Darkvision of 60 feet and passive perception of 10*
The Ancient Dead know the languages it knew in life.
Lords are resistant to Magical Spells and Spell like affects.
A Lord can regenerate an entirely new body if not killed in its entirety.
Step 2) Determine the probable Strategy
The strategy, just like the lair of the Ancient Dead are specific to the individual. What do they want? What are they willing to do to get it?
It is important to remember that this creature has had eons to brood and plan, potentially to create as well. If it were a craftsman or artisan in life, then there is no reason, given materials that it could not continue those pursuits in death.
Assuming the primary strategy of defending the lair, there will be seals and traps. These will almost always be deadly rather than disabling. Servitors of the Lord will be chosen because of not only their fanatic loyalty, but also because they bring needed skills to the lair. Archers will be marksmen; Guards will be exceptional swordsmen and so on.
Minions within the lair are possible but will normally be skeletons or automatons though using previous invaders as zombie guardians might have an impact on potential invaders.
Not often used, and generally only when the specific skill set needed is found, an invader might be forced to undergo the ritual and be made into one of the Ancient Dead.
Step 3) Determine Tactics
While designing tactics for the Ancient Dead is near impossible given the variety of choices, however there are a few givens:
Some of the Ancient Dead Servitors will stay back and attempt to use their dreadful glare on a target. (Frightened or Paralyzed). Targets that are Paralyzed will become primary targets of melee combatant servitors and minions.
The Rotting Fist attack will be used as often as practical, especially on people not wearing heavy armor. These persons are often less hearty and thus are more susceptible to the rotting sickness/curse.
Legendary Actions:
The Legendary Actions listed in the Monster Manual are well suited to a stereotypical Egyptian Mummy but are not appropriate for many other members of the Ancient Dead.
OOC: There are legendary Ancient Dead in myths worldwide: Peat Bog from Northern Europe, Tibetan and Chinese Mummies from the Far East and Let’s not forget those from Central and South America.
Once again: Location is critical here, once you have it, decide how best to utilize this to the Lords advantage. Typically, something to incapacitate, something with which to interrupt, and something with which to move is a solid start.
Step 4) DM Tips and Observations
MM page 227: Mummy Lord: Paragraph two “Under the direction of the most powerful priests, the ritual that creates a mummy can be increased in potency. The mummy lord that arises from such a ritual retains the memories and personality of its former life and is gifted with supernatural resilience. Dead emperors wield the same infamous rune-scribed blades that they did in legend. Sorcerer lords work the forbidden magic that once controlled a fearful populace and dark gods reward dead priest-kings by awarding divine spells”.
Essentially this paragraph tells us that a Mummy Lord, or in my case a Lord of the Ancient Dead, can and should be unique, rather than cookie cutter, you substitute any appropriate class. For balance purposes I would Keep them to roughly 10thlevel of ability in their base class, adjust the characteristics to fit the new class. Rather than let the Lords have all the fun, I think Servitors of level 6 (CR 3) are appropriate.
The base AC of a CR 3 Servitor is far too low: AC 16 (BARKSKIN) describes it better. Allow higher if the creature can use a shield has armor that it can choose to utilize.
Darkvision of 60 feet but allow +30 feet if their base race had Darkvision (i.e. Half-Elf 90 feet), similarly, passive perception should be calculated based on Class/Race/Feat Combination.
Dreadful Glare Attack
The DC of a Servitors Dreadful Glare is too low. Based on CR 3, the average spell DC is 15 for the Wisdom Save. DC for a Lord should be 20. Immunity to Dreadful Glare after a successful save should be “to the end of the current combat” immune for 24 hours makes the ability a ONE AND DONE, and that effectively makes it worthless.
Rotting Fist Attack:
Once again, the DC of this Attack is too low, 14 for Servitors, 20 for Lords.
The Rotting Fist attack can be transmitted by touch, but in the event of weapon wielding Servitors or Lords, the attack can be transmitted via their weapon. If the damage of the “FIST” is greater than the damage of the weapon type, use the FIST damage, otherwise use the weapon. This can be especially useful in the event of REACH weapons such as polearms. It can not be used one RANGED weaponry.
The Rotting Caress: If a target paralyzed by the DREADFUL GLARE attack and no one else disturbs the Ancient Dead, the damage is calculated and determined normally vs a paralyzed opponent, but the Rotting Fist disease/curse saving throw is at disadvantage.