F.A.Q. ~ Players ~ Powers ~ World ~ Main
Possibly the strangest variety of supernatural being, the mummy is both dead and alive, living and not -- trapped between both states by his or her powerful force of will. Most mummies are traditionally seen as figures wrapped in cloth shambling around the place and delivering curses. Hollywood aside, most of the original mummies were like that. They were often Egyptian, bodies prepared with special herbs and magical words inscribed on the wrappings to hold the spirit in the body which explained their reluctance to take them off. However, later Egyptian mythos removed the hearts and brains of the mummies, which made it rather difficult for them to return to their own body as anything more than a mindless drone guarding an area. Most Egyptian mummies that could come back have come and gone long before the pcs were born.
The second variety of mummy is a powerful spellcaster who finds a means to hold thier life force niside them at death andf changes their very body to be able to hold this essence. They are often referred to as Liches and tend to be extremely powerful foes. Most of them have learned a lot of magic since their death adn have changed their bodies further to resist damage from certain attacks that might slay them. However, they tend to be very stingy with regards to using magic fearing that since their energy comes from the spirit world, something there might take notice of their unnatural existence and try to end it.
The third variety of mummy is that of an animator who had enough time at the moment of their death or was strong willed enough to remain behind after they died and raised themselves from the dead. This is the most common variety of mummy in this day and age. They are unnaturally powerful animators and can walk between this world and the spirit world at will. Aside from unnatural strength and having no blood, they can pass as normal human beings.
There are also takes of mummies capable of assuming dark animal forms, such as a dire wolf, or great bear or demonic looking fox. While these takes have never been confirmed, they do lend credence to the belief that weres with a strong enough will could become a mummy after death, especially if they had a very strong healing power.
The actual power and strength of a mummy varies from one to the next -- some die very easily, others have been able to return to the world again and again and again. The accepted method of killing one is decapitation followed by reducing body to ashes. Even this isn't always successful so some methods have involved letting powerful spirits know this abombination exists and having them ensure the mummy never returns to the world.