Mummies

To you I speak, you who have found this place of rest. Disturb not one stone within, nor transgress upon it in any way. Recall the honored dead, who wax in strength each day in their reward, by whose beneficence you yet draw breath. Look for a worthy place to rest yourselves, that you not impose upon the dead to find your place for you.

To you I speak, you who would break this seal. Your spirit will recall the thousand agonies that await your intrusion as its last pleasant memory. The blood you weep upon your crumbling flesh will pour without end, and your name will weigh upon those unfortunates who recall it as a vile imprecation.

Mummy Template. A mummified creature has:

  • Creature Type Its creature type becomes undead
  • Alignment Its alignment becomes lawful evil.
  • Saving Throws Proficiency in Wisdom saving throws
  • Damage Vulnerabilities Vulnerable to Fire damage
  • Resistance to Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage from Nonmagical Attacks
  • Immunity to Necrotic and Poison damage
  • Immunity to the following conditions: Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned
  • Mummy Rot It's melee attacks cause Mummy Rot on a failed Constitution saving throw.

Mummy Lore

Arcana DC 10: Mummies and their tombs commonly have layers of charms and curses protecting them from desecration, including what is commonly called Mummy-rot, a cursed disease that prevents wounds from healing as the afflicted creature's flesh gradually crumbles to black sand.
History DC 15: The ancient linen, sacred oils, and perfumes involved in traditional forms of mummification are quite flamable, perhaps explaining why even the mundane parts of the process were typically performed by magic-users capable of producing flameless light.
Religion DC 15: Mummification is a process by which a corpse is preserved and entombed with its grave goods, ensuring its comfortable and speedy passage to its eternal reward and insulating it against the dangers of the fugue plane. If their tomb is desecrated, however; if their names are defaced and their treasures plundered, these honored dead must repeat the journey as common petitioners.
Religon DC 20: To guard against this fate, additional charms are placed upon the dead that their spirits might briefly return to guard their tombs against intrusion, though occasionally a risen mummy will linger to seek vengeance or enact its will upon the living.


Mummy Retainer

Medium undead, lawful evil


  • Armor Class 10 (Natural Armor)
  • Hit Points 16 (3d8 + 3)
  • Speed 15 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
14 (+2) 7 (-2) 13 (+1) 6 (-2) 10 (+0) 12 (+1)

  • Damage Vulnerabilities Fire
  • Damage Immunities Necrotic, Poison
  • Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned
  • Senses Darkvision 60 Ft., Passive Perception 10
  • Languages The languages it knew in life
  • Challenge M4 (220 XP)

To Dust. A creature that reduces the mummy to 0 hit points with a melee attack must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be unable to speak or breathe until the end of its next turn as the mummy bursts into a spray of dust and sand.

Minion. If the mummy takes damage from an attack or as the result of a failed saving throw, its hit points are reduced to 0. If the mummy takes damage from another effect, it dies if the damage equals or exceeds its hit point maximum, otherwise it takes no damage.

Actions

Trembling Grasp (Group Attack). Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 3 bludgeoning damage and the target must succeed on a DC 12 Strength saving throw or be grappled (escape DC 12). At the start of each of the creature's turns, it takes 1 necrotic damage for each Mummy Retainer grappling it.

Mummy Retainer Tactics

Typically servants mummified alive to serve their lords in death, mummy retainers move stiffly and with difficulty, as the animating enchantments on them are of a lower grade than those applied to those they serve. They clutch at the nearest creature, draining it with their Trembling Grasp and immobilizing it.

Mummy Rot. A creature infected with Mummy Rot can't regain hit points by resting, and its hit point maximum decreases by 10 (3d6) for every 24 hours that elapse. If this reduces the target's hit point maximum to 0, the target dies, and its body crumbles to dust. The disease can be cured by a Remove Curse, in addition to any magic that cures disease.


Mummy Guardian

Medium undead, lawful evil


  • Armor Class 11 (Natural Armor)
  • Hit Points 58 (9d8 + 18)
  • Speed 20 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
16 (+3) 8 (-1) 15 (+2) 6 (-2) 10 (+0) 12 (+1)

  • Saving Throws WIS +2
  • Damage Vulnerabilities Fire
  • Damage Resistances Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks
  • Damage Immunities Necrotic, Poison
  • Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned
  • Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 10
  • Languages The languages it knew in life
  • Challenge 3 (700 XP)

Final Curse. A creature that reduces the mummy to 0 hit points must succeed on a DC 12 Charisma saving throw or suffer a curse of wilting. While cursed in this way, any magical healing the creature receives is reduced by half.

Actions

Multiattack. The mummy attacks once with its Rotting Fist and uses its Dreadful Glare.

Rotting Fist. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage plus 4 (1d6) necrotic damage and the target must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be infected with mummy rot.

Dreadful Glare. One creature the mummy can see within 60 feet must succeed on a DC 11 Wisdom saving throw or be Frightened until the end of the mummy's next turn. A creature that fails this saving throw by 5 or more is additionally Paralyzed for the same duration.

Reactions

Warding Hex. When the mummy is hit with a melee attack, it can deal 7 (2d6) necrotic damage to the creature.

Mummy Guardian Tactics

Mummy guardians seek to afflict as many creatures as possible with Mummy Rot, prioritizing any creatures that had a direct hand in unsealing their tomb, though if ever a creature is Paralyzed by their Dreadful Glare they will shift to target it.


Salt Mummy

Medium undead, lawful evil


  • Armor Class 13 (Natural Armor)
  • Hit Points 153 (18d8 + 72)
  • Speed 20 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
17 (+3) 8 (-1) 18 (+4) 15 (+2) 10 (+0) 14 (+2)

  • Saving Throws CON +7, WIS +3
  • Damage Resistances Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks
  • Damage Immunities Necrotic, Poison
  • Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned
  • Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 10
  • Languages The languages it knew in life
  • Challenge 8 (3,900 XP)

Water Weakness. If the mummy is doused in water, it takes 7 (2d6) acid damage and is Blinded until the end of its next turn.

Final Curse. A creature that reduces the mummy to 0 hit points must succeed on a DC 13 Charisma saving throw or suffer a curse of wilting. While cursed in this way, any magical healing the creature receives is reduced by half.

Actions

Multiattack. The mummy makes two attacks with its Desiccating Slam and uses its Dreadful Glare.

Desiccating Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage plus 10 (3d6) necrotic damage.

On a critical hit, the target gains a point of Exhaustion that lasts for a minute.

Dreadful Glare. One creature the mummy can see within 60 feet must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or be Frightened until the end of the mummy's next turn. A creature that fails this saving throw by 5 or more is additionally Paralyzed fr the same duration.

Reactions

Warding Hex. When the mummy is hit with a melee attack, it can deal 7 (2d6) necrotic damage to the creature.

Salt Mummy Lore

Religion DC 15: Mummification is occasionally performed, not as an honor, but as a punishment. Such victims are packed living into salt and left to desiccate, sometimes with the process sped along by elemental forces, trapping their spirits eternally in their withered bodies.
Religion DC 20: The animating magics that impel salt mummies rely on the total dehydration of the suffering host, and can be disrupted if significant quantities of water are suddely introduced to their environment.

Salt Mummy Tactics

Salt mummies combine their Dreadful glare and Desiccating Slam to try and kill their foes with exhaustion, targeting whichever creature in their reach seems least reliant on mental acuity. Unlike ordinary mummies, salt mummies seek to kill out of maddened rage and confusion, and are unconcerned the desecration of their tombs.

Encounter Groups

CR 20 Encounter 9,100 XP

  • 2 Salt Mummies (CR 8)
  • 2 Desiccators (CR 2)
  • 4 Salt Mephits (CR 1/2)



Mummy Lord

Medium undead, lawful evil


  • Armor Class 17 (Natural Armor)
  • Hit Points 238 (28d8 + 112)
  • Speed 20 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
18 (+4) 10 (+0) 19 (+4) 11 (+0) 18 (+4) 16 (+3)

  • Saving Throws CON +8, INT +5, WIS +9, CHA +8
  • Skills History +5, Religion +5
  • Damage Resistances Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing
  • Damage Vulnerabilities Fire
  • Damage Immunities Necrotic, Poison
  • Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned
  • Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 14
  • Languages The languages it knew in life
  • Challenge 15 (13,000 XP)

Warding Hex. A creature within 30 feet of the mummy that hits it with an attack must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or take 7 (2d6) necrotic damage and be Stunned until the end of the mummy's next turn.

Final Curse. A creature that reduces the mummy to 0 hit points must succeed on a DC 16 Charisma saving throw or suffer a curse of wilting. While cursed in this way, any magical healing the creature receives is reduced by half.

Magic Resistance. The mummy lord has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Rejuvenation. A destroyed mummy lord gains a new body in 24 hours if its heart is intact, regaining all its hit points and becoming active again. The new body appears within 5 feet of the mummy lord's heart.

Actions

Multiattack. The mummy makes two attacks with its Rotting Fist and uses its Dreadful Glare.

Rotting Fist. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage plus 7 (2d6) necrotic damage and the target must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or be infected with Mummy Rot.

Dreadful Glare. One creature the mummy can see within 60 feet must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or be Frightened until the end of the mummy's next turn. A creature that fails this saving throw by 5 or more is additionally Paralyzed for the same duration.

A target that succeeds on the saving throw is immune to the Dreadful Glare of all mummies and mummy lords for the next 24 hours.

Plague Chant (6th Level Spell, Recharges when the mummy uses its Grave Terror). Ranged Spell Attack: +9 to hit, reach 90 ft., one target. Hit 28 (8d6) necrotic damage. If this attack hits, the plague chant leaps to another creature within 15 feet of the previous target.

The mummy lord makes a new attack roll against the new target, which could cause this ability to leap again. A creature can be targeted no more than once with each casting of this spell.

Grave Terror (8th Level Spell, Recharge 5-6). One creature the mummy lord can see within 15 feet must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or take 99 (18d10) psychic damage and be dragged up to 15 feet toward the mummy, or take half as much damage on a success.

A creature that isn't Frightened may use its reaction to move 15 feet directly away from the mummy. If it does, it gains advantage on this saving throw.

Legendary Actions

The mummy lord can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below.

Attack. The mummy lord makes one attack with its rotting fist or uses its Dreadful Glare.

Whirlwind of Sand. The mummy lord magically transforms into a whirlwind of sand, moves up to 60 feet without provoking attacks of opportunity, and reverts to its normal form.

Blinding Dust. Blinding dust and sand swirls magically around the mummy lord. Each creature within 5 feet of the mummy lord must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or be Blinded until the end of the creature's next turn.

Blasphemous Word (Costs 2 Actions). The mummy lord utters a blasphemous word. Each non-undead creature within 10 feet of the mummy lord that can hear the magical utterance must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or be Blinded and Stunned until the end of the mummy lord's next turn.

Mummy Lord Lore

Religion DC 20: Mummy lords have their internal organs removed and preserved, often in canopic jars. The mummy's heart is the seat of its soul, and so long as it remains intact will restore the mummy to undeath within a day of the destruction of its body. These jars are typically kept nearby to the sarcophogus, though hidden.

Mummy Lord Tactics

The mummy lord alternates between its Plague Chant and Grave Terror when available, trying to first imobilize targets of its Grave Terror with its Blasphemous Word, Dreadful Glare, or Mummy Retainers. It prioritizes as a target any creature that broke the seal on its tomb, but will switch focus to any creature that deals fire damage to it.

Art Credits

  • Vengeful Pharaoh by Igor Kieryluk
  • Salt Mummy by Lucio Parrillo
  • Bisk, Goblin King by Rae Elderidge

I've Got a Subreddit!

Want more monsters like this? Come check
out r/bettermonsters, where I post all my
work. Don't see something there? Drop a
request and I'll usually get it to you
within a day if I've got something on
hand, and I'll shoot you a
message when it's
ready if not.

You Found the Free Books!

The Part Where I Shill My Patreon

Want to support the creation of content like this? I post new monsters with lore and tactics to my patreon five times a week, joining the more than 1300 already there, indexed in a big PDF along with                 formats for Foundry and 5eTools.