Van Richten's Guide to Ancient Dead

Lo! Death has reared himself a throne
In a strange city, lying alone
Far down among the dim West,
Where the good and the bad and the worst and the best
Have gone to their eternal rest....
Go blend the turrets and shadows there
That all seem pendulous in air,
While from a proud tower in the town
Death looks gigantically down.

- Edgar Allan Poe
"The City in the Sea"

To bring about a mummy's ultimate defeat, it is often necessary to locate its lair, which is most frequently the tomb where its body was interred. From there, the intrepid hunter must play out the final battle on the creature's home ground.

In many cases, a mummy hunter's initial investigation requires a visit to the creature's abode, as this is the repository for many clues and records regarding the mummy's past. As with vampires, liches, ghosts - the entire gamut of undead creatures that prowl the night - one must almost inevitably seek out the monster where it is most powerful and destroy it there.

I pause to make one emphatic point: A successful mummy hunter is not a grave robber! It is often necessary to remove some item from a tomb for study or for destruction, but no matter how tempting they may be, it is best to leave all other treasures behind. Senselessly looting burial places can create or awaken all sorts of undead creaturesas anchored ghosts, slumbering mummies, and fledgling vampires, to name but a few. Grave robbers might find they earn the enmity of the living as well. As pointed out in Chapter Two, burial is a sacred rite not to be tampered with lightly.

Finally, a power is abroad in these lands of ours that visits doom upon the greedy and foolish. Through this power, the ancient dead become endlessly trapped in prisons of their own making. Take care not to join them.

Funerary architecture varies greatly from place to place, even today. Now, consider the simple fact that a mummy's tomb might date from a bygone era, built by hands long since withered to dust. The spectrum includes points not only widely spaced in geography, but also separated in time. As a consequence, a tomb only a few leagues from one's own home might be utterly alien in form - so much so that one might not recognize it as a tomb at all.

I have observed or documented mummies residing in the many types of tombs that follow. I have compiled this list to help prospective mummy hunters recognize a tomb when it is found, as well as to disseminate the methods typically used to enter one. The list, I am certain, is by no means exhaustive, and a wary eye and an active mind are the best tools for sniffing out a mummy's lair.

Grave: This term covers any sort of burial where a body or a coffin containing a body is completely covered with earth. A mummy that has risen from a grave usually does not lair inside it unless it has the passage power. The only way for a mummy hunter to enter a grave is to use magic or dig it up. The former method is quicker and safer.

Mound: The mound tomb is an earthen mound covering a chamber of logs, timber, or stone that contains a body and its grave goods. A mound can have a varied shape. A simple dome is typical, but a complex geometric or animal shape is not infrequent. To the untrained eye, even the most elaborate mound can look like a natural hill, especially if it is partially eroded or overgrown with trees and weeds. A careful look often reveals a mound's true contours. Also, no matter how completely obscured a burial mound has become, its contours are unmistakable when viewed from the air. Having a spellcaster with the magical ability to fly is a marvelous way to accomplish many types of reconnaissance.

A mound burial generally has no entryways, and a mummy must use the passage or shape change power to get in or out. A mound can be merely decorative and contain no body at all. Great care is needed when excavating a mound to avoid trouble with the locals. As with graves, a magical means of entry is the best.

Lithic: This tomb is made from huge slabs of stone, sometimes covered with earth. Frequently, several tombs are built in a row, forming a long gallery of burials. A mummy uses its great strength to move the slabs aside when getting in or out of the tomb itself.

Crypt: This type of burial is found almost everywhere. It consists of a small chamber or building constructed according to the local style. The crypt is often part of a larger structure, such as a temple or residence. Large crypts may contain multiple burials.

Horseshoe: This unusual style of tomb is found dug into hillsides, often at the base of the slope. The tomb is marked by a low, stone wall describing an open-ended ring or oval. A more elaborate tomb has walls with built-in tiers, and the wall might surround a pavement. A door opposite the opening in the ring leads to a crypt. The space encompassed by the wall often serves as a ceremonial area where relatives of the deceased perform various memorial rituals according to local custom. A mummy residing in this tomb might have an associated cult.

Cavern: A cave is sometimes used as a natural mausoleum and usually contains other types of tombs, most often simple burials or lithic tombs. Caverns sometimes conceal entrances to other types of tombs. A mummy's burial mound, for example, could be built over one entrance to a cavern, and another opening into the cave might allow access to the crypt.

Labyrinth/catacomb: A massive, mazelike, underground structure might be found near, in, or under a city. A large catacomb can contain miles of tunnels with literally thousands of burials; a mummy generally haunts only one section or level. A catacomb likely has many entrances which are likely to be locked, to be legally opened only at the behest of local priests. Many areas within a set of catacombs are completely walled off or secured by secret portals. A mummy's burial chambers are almost always hidden in this fashion.

Rock cut: This ancient tomb can be crude but is more frequently elaborate. The entrance may be hidden under or in a cliff and sealed with stone slabs that a mummy slides aside when going in or out. A very large rock-cut tomb might contain multiple burials.

In any case, exploring a rock-cut tomb requires great care and patience. The mummy's actual burial chamber and store of grave goods is usually hidden behind a secret door (or several secret doors, if one chamber houses the mummy and a second the goods buried with it). Often a false tomb contains an inanimate corpse or a weaker mummy.

Because a rock-cut tomb is expensive to build, the occupant - dead or undead - was probably wealthy in life. Consequently, the tomb is often filled with precious grave goods and is a prime target for tomb robbers. This makes the mummy hunter's task even more difficult, because tomb locations are jealously guarded.

Each chamber within the tomb likely has a sentinel or trap. The local government may patrol the area. Even worse, the civil penalty for tomb robbing in such areas is usually death, especially for outsiders. Further, the government might be eager to make an example of anyone accused of tomb robbing, which provides for swift, but not necessarily equitable, justice. Entering a tomb of any kind without carefully weighing the consequences is never a good idea, but the rock-cut tomb requires special consideration over and above weighing the physical hazards. If possible, win the support of the local priests.

Pyramid/ziggurat: This sort of huge structure is the most elaborate of all tombs. Traps, guardians, and curses abound within it. A pyramid has one or two entrances at most, always well concealed. The entrances can be located almost anywhere; sometimes a pyramid's entrance is in another structure nearby. A pyramid's burial chamber is often hidden underground or concealed high inside the structure. A pyramid likely contains multiple burials and is frequently part of a necropolis (city of the dead) containing many more burials. Within a pyramid, each burial has one or more nearby rooms to hold grave goods.

All of the cautions I mentioned in the section concerning rock-cut tombs apply to the pyramid or ziggurat, only more so. Such a wondrous monument often houses royalty, and trespassing within it can rouse local passions very quickly.

No matter what their outer style, mummies' tombs tend to be dark, cramped, dusty places on the inside. Whatever your reason for entering one, be prepared to fight in close quarters! Passages within a tomb are most often narrow (5 feet or less) and equally low. This creates opportunities for ambushes in which large adventuring weapons, such as swords and bows, are nearly useless.

Though battling the ancient dead is often a perilous exercise made even more dangerous by a lack of information, one pattern seems to hold true, especially in the case of a creature that has become undead voluntarily. The splendor of the tomb indicates the power of the mummy.

A powerful mummy's tomb is often a vast, sprawling affair riddled with secret passages. Indeed, the true extent of a major tomb is always hidden. Explorers might initially find only those chambers that cultists (discussed in detail below) visit regularly. Further investigation can establish the location of the inner lair, allowing hunters to vanquish the monster forever.

A mummy is not always the only fearsome resident of its tomb, and it may not even the most fearsome resident of its tomb. The more powerful the mummy, the better guarded its lair will be. The type of guardians a mummy employs varies greatly, but their nature usually reflects the mummy's powers and history.

The living: It is common for mummies to have human and demihuman allies. Most of these do not reside in the tomb itself, but live nearby. Perhaps the living unwittingly guard a mummy; priests, catacomb guards, and even grave robbers must be approached carefully, as they might be unaware that a mummy has wakened by their activities. Likewise, superstitious locals might resent a mummy hunter's well-intentioned intrusions into burial sites, either because they fear the mummy's wrath or because they believe the mummy hunter is being sacrilegious. When working in a populated area, gaining the trust of the locals is an important preliminary step in the hunt.

Even more dangerous to a mummy hunter are those folk who are firmly allied with a mummy. These individuals are usually part of a cult (see later); however, this is not always the case, especially if the mummy has the charm person ability. Some people who appear to be a mummy's allies might instead be its victims.

The dead: Frequently, other undead creatures guard a mummy's tomb. These can be servitor mummies created by the mummy itself or an allied cult, independent mummies who share the tomb or are interred nearby, lesser undead created through spells, or, as I once encountered, a fledgling vampire. A mummy need not command or create undead to employ undead guardians; it can forge alliances with intelligent undead beings or simply allow them as squatters in parts of its tomb. The tomb of a very powerful mummy is almost certainly steeped in evil, and the nature of the place will likely make it difficult for priests to wage spiritual combat with the undead.

Golems: Mummies with spellcasting powers or cults that include spellcasters often enjoy the protection of one or more golems. If present, golems are usually created when a tomb is built; most golems found in mummies' tombs are as old as the structures they guard. Guardian golems may be disguised to look like mummies or inanimate statues; indeed, it can be very difficult to tell if a belligerent statue is a golem or a figure brought to life by the mummy's animate object power.

Monsters: Unintelligent monsters are often allowed to lair in a tomb, so long as they pose no threat to the mummy or its grave goods. A mummy with the charm monster power seeks the most formidable monsters it can find.

Animals: A mummy with the charm animals power generally sees to it that a substantial number of the most dangerous local species live in or near the tomb (poisonous spiders, snakes, scorpions, giant insects, etc.). So, too, a mummy with the alter form power often contrives to keep animals in or near its own tomb. The ancient dead then uses its power to lurk undetected among the natural animals.

If one were to heed the tales of mummies' curses told by firelight on tempestuous nights, one might expect to be stricken afresh with a multitude of curses with each step taken within a tomb. Fortunately, the ancient dead do not employ curses so freely as that.

In many lands, however, tombs are thick with protective curses. It seems that most are warded with sweeping curses that visit afflictions upon all who steal from or damage them. These curses are rarely life threatening, and they seem intended more for marking grave robbers as enemies of the community. The rituals for constructing such curses are closely guarded secrets, and I have not been able to record them. Priests I have interviewed simply shake their heads and speak of powers beyond mortal comprehension.

Other tomb curses are evoked when trespassers commit a prohibited action or fail to perform one that is required. In Har'Akir, tombs are open and the living may visit them without fear - if they bring offerings of food and drink for the dead. To enter a Har'Akiri tomb with a disrespectful attitude is to invite disaster.

The particulars of a curse might be depicted in inscriptions found within the tomb. Typically, inscriptions warn trespassers against a prohibited action and hint at the consequences. It seems that curses are designed to discourage first, punishing only when warnings fail.

Whereas curses are apparently intended to provide ample warning to the foolish and the greedy, the traps found in tombs tend to be well-concealed, swift, and deadly, killing or maiming with no warning at all. A tomb might contain as many traps as it has chambers. The best advice I can give in this matter is to be alert - always. Beware of pits, deadfalls, tripwires, slides, and the like.

Keep in mind, however, that unless a mummy has the passage or weightlessness power, there will be at least one safe path through the tomb - or, at least, one path clear of the sorts of dangers that might harm or hinder a mummy. The "safe" path still might include deadly gases or other hazards that the ancient dead can safely ignore. Also be aware that these trap-free areas are frequently filled with guardian creatures.

The practice of burying goods with the dead is not restricted to those locales where mummification is the norm. In most places, one or two objects are interred with the deceased as a simple farewell gesture. In contrast, a mummy is buried with all the things it needs in the afterlife. This is no token demonstration of grief, but a serious and practical matter. As a general rule, cultures that mummify believe the dead have the same physical needs as the living, and who are we to gainsay them? To have a necessity withheld is to suffer eternal privation in the afterlife.

Not every deliberately interred mummy is buried with a vast treasure. The quality and quantity of the grave goods naturally varies with the wealth and status of the deceased, and with the intentions of the being that performs the embalming and burial. An ancient dead seeking undead servants might mummify its slain foes and provide them with no grave goods at all. A greedy embalmer might substitute inferior goods for family heirlooms that he hopes to resell for a profit. Still, one can surmise a great deal about a mummy by observing the contents of its tomb.

A mummy that enjoyed a respectable status in life would be buried with basic necessities such as clothing, tools, weapons, and the like. Food might be provided figuratively, in the form of frescoes or mosaics on the walls. If the mummy was higher up the social ladder, one might find actual furniture, cosmetics, inscriptions bearing the names of people important to the mummy in life, and perhaps a few statues to serve as servants. A mummy of the highest status might be interred with hundreds of undead and statues - both servants and guards - vehicles, extensive inscriptions and paintings relating the story of the mummy's life, books and scrolls, and many valuable artistic treasures.

A mummy of great station might be supplied with offerings of fresh food, beverages, and other perishable items. This is a sure sign that a mummy cult is associated with the tomb.

A mummy cult is typically a secret society of worshipers who attend or venerate an ancient dead being, usually an invoked mummy. If the mummy employs living monsters or natural animals as guardians, the cult is responsible for their care and feeding as well.

A mummy cult can consist of only one individual, usually one of the mummy's descendants or an evil priest, but a cult almost never numbers more than thirty. The relationship between a mummy and its cult is bizarre and difficult to understand. The mummy seems to be the central figure and is venerated as a kind of minor deity or earthly representative of a greater power. Nevertheless, cultists enjoy the power to call their mummy forth to render service (and sometimes vice versa). Often cultists are at the mummy's mercy, but a mummy that slays its own worshipers may suffer from diminished powers or cease to exist altogether. As with all unholy pacts, the alliance between a mummy and its cult is uneasy at best.

In some cases a mummy cult actually serves to keep a mummy at rest. Cultists often venerate the mummy, keep its memory alive; they might also bring offerings to the tomb on a regular basis. If deprived of this attention, a mummy may rouse itself to seek new worshipers or punish the old ones.

The worship of one's deceased ancestors is not a dark practice in all parts of the world, and the presence of a cult does not always indicate that an undead monster is present. Again, I remind the reader that disrupting a cult may prove to be the very act that wakes an otherwise inoffensive corpse.

Whatever the circumstances, one must be very careful dealing with locals while hunting a mummy. One's foe might have allies in unexpected places, and an inadvertent misstep might alienate potential informants who possess valuable knowledge.

The tomb of a mummy with a cult is equipped with a temple where offerings are brought. In most cases the temple is dedicated to deities of death or the underworld to which the mummy ultimately owes its existence. If the cult is benign, the temple may be dedicated to deities of renewal, protection, or knowledge.