Mummy Lord
In the tombs of the ancients, tyrannical monarchs and the high priests of dark gods lie in dreamless rest, waiting for the time when they might reclaim their thrones and reforge their ancient empires. The regalia of their terrible rule still adorns their linen-wrapped bodies, their moldering robes stitched with evil symbols and bronze armor etched with devices of dynasties that fell a thousand years before.
The most powerful of death priests can increase the potency of the rituals used to create mummies, thus allowing the creation of a terrible and extremely difficult-to-destroy mummy lord. The mummy lords created through such rituals retain their former memory and personality, with their ambitions undampened by the ages. Not only do mummy lords wield the magical abilities they had in life, but their enhanced undead state grants them deadly necromantic powers and control over the sands of their homeland. Few can stand against these deathless monarchs without being immediately withered away dust by their terrible power.
Heart of the Mummy Lord. As part of the ritual that creates a mummy lord, the creature's organs are removed from the corpse and placed in canopic jars. The most vital of these organs is its shriveled heart; for as long as it remains intact, the mummy lord can't be destroyed permanently. Instead, if the mummy lord is reduced to 0 hit points, it turns to dust and re-forms at full strength 24 hours later near the canopic jar containing its heart. A mummy lord can be destroyed or prevented from re-forming by burning its heart to ashes. Because of this, the mummy lord usually keeps its heart in a hidden location such as a tomb or vault.
The mummy lord's heart has AC 5, 25 hit points, and immunity to all damage except fire.
A Mummy Lord’s Lair
A mummy lord watches over an ancient temple or tomb that is protected by lesser undead and rigged with traps. Hidden in this temple is the sarcophagus where a mummy lord keeps its greatest treasures.
A mummy lord encountered in its lair has a challenge rating of 16 (15,000 XP).
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the mummy lord can take one lair action to cause one of the following effects, even while incapacitated; it can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:
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The mummy lord casts the wall of sand spell, targeting any area in its lair. The mummy lord doesn’t need to see the area and doesn’t need to concentrate on the spell, which ends on initiative count 20 of the next round. The wall doesn’t obstruct the mummy lord’s sight, and the mummy lord does not need to spend extra movement when moving through it.
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A swarm of beetles erupts from the ground at any point within the layer. The swarm acts on initiative count 20 just after the layer action. It has immunity to damage caused by the mummy lord’s spells and uses the mummy lord’s spell attack modifier for its attacks. The mummy lord can have up to three swarms summoned by this ability at a time.
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Until initiative count 20 on the next round, any non-undead creature that tries to cast a spell in the mummy lord’s lair is wracked with pain. The creature can choose another action, but if it tries to cast the spell, it must make a DC 17 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, it takes 1d6 necrotic damage per level of the spell, and the spell has no effect and is wasted.
Regional Effects
A mummy lord’s temple or tomb is warped in any of the following ways by the creature’s dark presence:
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Food instantly molders and water instantly evaporates when brought into the lair. Other nonmagical drinks are spoiled — wine turning to vinegar, for instance.
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Divination spells cast within the lair by creatures other than the mummy lord have a 25 percent chance to provide misleading results, as determined by the DM. If a divination spell already has a chance to fail or become unreliable when cast multiple times, that chance increases by 25 percent.
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A creature that takes treasure from the lair is cursed until the treasure is returned. The cursed target has disadvantage on all saving throws. The curse lasts until removed by a remove curse spell or other magic.
If the mummy lord is destroyed, these regional effects end immediately.
Mummy Lord Adventures
The following table provides some ways to introduce mummy lords into your games:
Mummy Lord Adventure Hooks
| d6 | Adventure Hook |
|---|---|
| 1 | The terrified tomb raider tasks the players with returning a rare artifact back to the ruin it was taken from and refuses to elaborate further. If the players take the artifact, they will be relentlessly hunted by a mummy lord until the treasure is returned to its home. |
| 2 | The aged high priestess of a mortuary cult has undergone a transformation into a mummy lord rather than pass on her mantle and now seeks to expand her power. |
| 3 | A vengeful mummy lord has risen and now hunts the descendants of those who brought about his original downfall. |
| 4 | While traveling through a seemingly empty desert, the players find a dying knight who only manages to tell them "It has awakened. . . " before crumbling to dust. |
| 5 | The players are overpaid with fabulous treasures by a normally greedy patron for their latest adventure. They soon learn the treasures carry a curse that draws the ire of a mummy lord. |
| 6 | An ancient kingdom that was quickly decaying into obscurity suddenly begins rising to power when its original founder rises as a mummy lord and begins a campaign of conquest to restore the kingdom to its former glory. |
Art Credit
- Lord of the Accursed - Grzegorz Rutkowski, Wizards of the Coast
- Mountain (Amonkhet) - Chris Rahn, Wizards of the Coast
Mummy Lord
Medium undead, unaligned
- Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
- Hit Points 228 (24d8 + 120)
- Speed 30 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 18 (+4) 14 (+2) 20 (+5) 14 (+2) 18 (+4) 16 (+3)
- Saving Throws Dex +7, Int +9, Wis +9, Cha +8
- Skills Arcana +7, History +7, Religion +7, Insight +9
- Damage Vulnerabilities fire
- Damage Resistance bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
- Damage Immunities necrotic, poison
- Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned
- Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 14
- Languages The languages it knew in life
- Challenge 15 (13,000 XP) Proficiency Bonus +5
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.
Vengeful Word (1/day). At the end of the mummy lord's turn, if it has less than half its hit points, it can choose to start concentrating on a dark ritual (as if concentrating on a spell) until the end of its next turn. On its next turn, if the mummy lord is still maintaining concentration on the ritual, it can end the ritual as an action and utter a vengeful word. Each non-undead creature within 120 feet of the mummy lord that can hear the magical utterance must succeed on a DC 17 Charisma saving throw or take 49 (14d6) psychic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. If the creature fails the saving throw by 5 or more, it is also stunned until the end of its next turn.
Actions
Multiattack. The mummy can use its Dreadful Glare and makes one attack with its Rotting Curse. The mummy can cast one spell of 3rd level or lower in place of a Rotting Curse.
Rotting Curse. Melee or Ranged Spell Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 60/90 ft. one target. Hit: 35 (10d6) necrotic damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or be cursed with mummy rot. The cursed target can't regain hit points, and its hit point maximum decreases by 10 (3d6) for every 24 hours that elapse. If the curse reduces the target's hit point maximum to 0, the target dies, and its body turns to dust. The curse lasts until removed by the remove curse spell or other magic.
Dreadful Glare. The mummy lord targets one creature it can see within 60 feet of it. If the target can see the mummy lord, it must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw against this magic or become frightened until the end of the mummy's next turn. If the target fails the saving throw by 5 or more, it is also 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.
Spellcasting. The mummy lord casts one of the following spells, requiring no components and using Wisdom as its spellcasting ability spell (spell save DC 17, +9 to hit with spell attacks):
3/Day: command (3rd-level version), dispel magic, silence, wall of sand
2/Day: blight, divination, guardian of faith
1/Day: destructive wave, insect plague
Legendary Actions
The mummy lord can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. The mummy lord regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Check. The mummy lord makes a skill check that would normally require an action.
Dreadful Glare. The mummy lord use its Dreadful Glare.
Empower Vassal The mummy lord targets one undead of CR 3 or lower within 60 feet of it that it is aware of and that is about to take its turn. The next attack roll that undead makes before the end of its next turn gets +5 to its next attack roll and deals additional 35 (10d6) necrotic damage on hit.
Raise Dead The mummy lord targets one undead of CR 3 or lower within 60 feet of it that it is aware of, and that has been reduced to 0 hit points. The target is revived with 30 hit points.
Tenacious Will. If the mummy lord is suffering an effect that requires it to make a saving throw at the beginning or end of its next turn, it may immediately make that save against the effect with advantage, ending the effect on a success. It can use this legendary action while incapacitated.
Rotting Curse (Costs 2 Actions). The mummy lord can make one attack with its rotting curse.
Whirlwind of Sand (Costs 2 Actions). The mummy lord magically transforms into a whirlwind of sand, moves up to 60 feet, and reverts to its normal form. While in this whirlwind form, the mummy lord is immune to all damage and under the effects of the gaseous form spell, and equipment worn or carried by the mummy lord remains in its possession. If it passes through another creature's space during this movement, that creature must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or be blinded until the end of its next turn.
Change Log
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