DEPARTMENTS

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Keep it Under Wraps - D30 Mummies


Mummies. Classically depicted as foot dragging, dry-throated mutes with a grudge against the living, these creatures have undergone some very interesting changed in the last couple of decades. Where as a quick step and a sharp eyes would have been enough to escape the mummy of the past, today's mummy is fast, dynamic and often not just a guy in bandages with a serious mobility impairment. In movies and TV, the mummy has become a force to be reckoned with. Possessed of immense power of magic, items of power or even innate natural abilities, the modern mummy sometimes bears little resemblance to his silver screen ancestors.

As a solute to this new breed of mummy, I thought it would be fun to do a D30 chart for it. This chart is designed to provide various abilities and modifiers that can be overlayed onto the classic mummy write-up found in most D&D and similar systems from the OSR era.

  1. Bestial. The mummy possesses physical characteristics of some sort of animal giving it appropriate natural attacks for that type of animal.
  2. Humanoid. The mummy is not human or demi-human but some form of humanoid (orc, bugbear, goblin).
  3. Giant. This mummy was created from some sort of giant humanoid and had physical modifiers and abilities consistent with that sort of creature. Regardless of special abilities, all giant mummies are +3 damage to all physical attacks.
  4. Multi-limbed. Possessing an additional set of limbs, this mummy gains +1 attack.
  5. Tauric. The lower body of this mummy is that of some sort of animal giving it appropriate abilities and movement for that that animal (burrowing, flying, swimming) as well as +1 attack.
  6. Internal swarm. Nestled within the body of the mummy is a swarm of insects, arachnids, worms or other vermin. These creatures can be controlled by the mummy over great distances, functioning as spies and messengers as well as being used to attack opponents.
  7. Built-in weapons. Those who made the mummy intended it as a guardian and as such bestowed upon it weapons made part of its body. All attacks made by the mummy now count as weapon attacks doing damage appropriate for the type of weapon.
  8. Independent body parts. This mummy can detach its body parts and still use them.
  9. Shapechanger. The mummy has the ability to change its shape at will as per the polymorph self spell.
  10. Warrior. The mummy was a warrior in life and counts as a fighter of a level equal to his hit dice.
  11. Wizard. The mummy is possessed of arcane skills giving him magic-user levels equal to his hit dice.
  12. Demonic/Diabolic. The mummy's body is also a prison for a creature from the lower planes. In addition to the mummy's normal powers, it also possesses the powers and spell-like abilities of the demonic/diabolic creature trapped within.
  13. Visage of vitality. Despite being a mummified corpse, the mummy has the appearance of life. This appearance is only skin deep however and wounds inflicted upon the mummy will reveal it's true nature.
  14. Hypnotic effect. Something about the mummy has a hypnotic effect. Whether it is its gaze, voice, perhaps the sparkle of a jewel in its attire it can mesmerize those it comes in close contact with.
  15. Animal control. The mummy has the natural ability to control the animals found in its environment.
  16. Weather control. The power of the elements is are at the command of the mummy. Wind, rain, freezing cold, roasting heat, etc all may be summoned up in the home region of the mummy.
  17. Life drain. This mummy possesses the same life level drain ability as a Wight.
  18. Shadow walk. The mummy may move between any two shadows as if using a dimension door spell.
  19. Mirror walk. The mummy may use mirrors and reflective surfaces to travel as if using a dimension door spell.
  20. Dust form. The mummy can change to dust and fly through the air at will.
  21. Arcane prison. The mummy's powers come from a supernatural being trapped within it. When the mummy is destroyed, the being is released.
  22. Slime or fungus infested. In addition to the mummy's usual abilities, it's physical form has also become home to some form of slime, jelly, ooze, or other form of dungeon fungus.
  23. Soul devourer. The mummy has the ability to pull the very soul from another being, trapping it within itself. This power works similar to a magic jar spell but the victim has no control over the fate of their soul. Destroying the mummy frees any trapped souls.
  24. Elemental. The mummy possess natural control over a particular element with spell-like abilities to match.
  25. Tomb control. The very walls and passages that entomb the mummy are at its command. The mummy may freely manipulate the structure that confines it, shifting passages, opening and closing doors, etc..
  26. Regeneration. The curse that binds the mummy is so powerful that it will not even allow the physical form to be destroyed. The mummy heals 1d6 hit points of damage every round.
  27. Toxic breath. The mummy may belch forth a cloud of poisonous gases that are lethal to the living.
  28. Warded mummification. Those who mummified the creature imbued its wrappings, body markings or other mummification treatments with spell wards and protections. 
  29. Eldritch ally. The mummy is the thrall of some ancient, otherworldly, cthonic force and may manifest powers appropriate for that alien intelligence. 
  30. God corpse. This mummy is no mere mummy. It is the entombed avatar of a god.

4 comments:

  1. Awesome table, I rolled a 23 for myself and got Soul devourer.

    Hmm...

    ReplyDelete
  2. LOL, glad you like it. I was starting to think that D30 tables had fallen out of vogue.

    -Eli

    ReplyDelete

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