Description
The horrors of the Mummy Witchbreed originate with a foolish mistake made at the time of the initial Grand Coven invasion. As the Outlands began to fall before the Witches’ armies, the other nations were scarcely aware of the dangers. For them, their daily routines were untouched by the political instabilities in far off lands.
Consequently, the inhabitants of Mivarra continued to scheme against one another, in hopes of gaining ever greater control over the fertile land. It was part of this scheming that led to the creation of these Accursed—and proved an early turning point in the war.
Centuries before the Flight, Mivarra had been settled by an highly developed civilization the new settlers called the Akadi Empire that had made remarkable progress in controlling the forces both natural and unnatural. However, irresponsible magical excesses, poor agricultural practices, and a number of plagues with mysterious origin eventually spelled the ancients’ doom, a slow-motion collapse finally ending in a massive techno-magical event that destroyed much of what they had built and drove them to extinction. The land however in time recovered, once again a lush grassland—which is the reason the initial colonists chose to settle the location.
This was when a desperate scholar thought he was using a long-lost ritual to summon the a powerful being known as the Djinn. Legends recovered from inscriptions indicate that the Djinn had granted the ancient Akadi great knowledge and power, and seemed a key figure in their rise. This scholar had come into the possession of a remarkably preserved scroll that seemed to outline a ritual to summon a this Djinn and grant the summoner one wish if spoken aloud. Having spent his life studying any clues he could find to piece together the mysteries of the ancient Akadi, the scholar sought to return the land of to the state of glory it had known in the long past.
When the bureaucrat wished for the Djinn—whom he thought ostensibly under his control through the ritual—to restore that ancient majesty, the Witch chose to carefully interpret that exact wording. The Djinn chose to restore the majesty of the ancient Akadi nation. However, they did so in such a way that they became tools for their own use. Ruins of forgotten cities and lost temples emerged from beneath the nation’s very earth. The mummified remains of the ancient Akadi residents lived anew. Rather than resurrecting the nation and its inhabitants, they were restored to a hideous unlife. While they retained their memories and much of their personalities, the vast majority of these undead were completely under the sway of the Djinn. The exception to this control was the mummified remains of those burials that had incorporated a particular style of seal. When the power of the wish rolled through Mivarra, these ancient symbols magically reconfigured into Witchmarks. The mummies who bore them were restored to a state of unlife, but with a degree of freedom of thought and personality. Initially, they still had little choice but to obey the Witch’s direction, but after the time of the Coven’s retreat this became far less of an issue.
The major weakness of these undead is the fact that they must take their daily rest within the confines of their ancient sarcophagus. Consequently, the vast majority of Mummies have taken a novel approach to solving this weakness. Rather than having to stay near their tomb and its structure, the mummies have taken to wearing much of their sarcophagus. By constructing joints and straps into its very nature, the statue and coffin-like affair becomes a veritable suit of armor that protects their bandage-enshrouded corpse. With their minds restored, the Mummies have taken on a variety of different approaches to their new incarnations—and seeming immortality. Some have chosen to view this new chance as an opportunity to make up for past sins. It is these who have most frequently joined the Order of the Penitent and joined the fight to overthrow the remaining forces of the Witches. Others believe that this is their due, as they had believed that they were gods in life. It is Mummies of this faction, most of whom have given their allegiance to the false King Catarn, who now rules over the southern Palagia portion of Mivarra. Those who fight against the Witches have been forcibly banished from this land, and are sentenced to dismemberment should they return.
HISTORY OF THE CURSE
Most Witchmarked lived as mortals relatively recently. Many recall the time before the Witches invaded Morden. They long for the life they knew without their curse, particularly as daily life reminds them of what they have lost. With few exceptions, Mummies lived as mortals centuries ago. Except in the company of their fellows, they see a world that is hardly reminiscent of the one they experienced as mortals. While other Accursed long for the life of a mortal, Mummies often long for the peaceful return to the grave. They recognize that their time has passed, and they have no desire to live anew.
The exceptions are those who have more recently transformed into a Mummy. This, element speaks to the permanence of the curse, and the ingenuity of the Djinn. For even though they are not there to create new Accursed, their numbers have remained constant. Each time that a Mummy is destroyed, its curse is passed on to the one who eliminated the Accursed. This is because the Witchmark seal is seemingly indestructible. When a Mummy is slain, this marker somehow separates from the desiccated form of the undead, and bonds to the skin of the attacker. In short order, the person who had once attacked the Mummy becomes Witchmarked. In cases where a Mummy died through less direct courses, the seal seems to draw out new prey. On several occasions, one of these marks has been recovered under seemingly innocuous circumstances, and created a new Accursed.
Mummy Witchbreed Package
From the Tomb: Immune to Poison & Disease, No Vital Organs, Doesn’t Breathe
Hideous Visage: Hindrance: Major Ugly
Inveterate Pawn: Attribute Penalty (Spirit –1)
Sarcophagus: Armor +2, Armored skin attacks for Str + d4 damage, Never unarmed
Hindrance: Minor Weakness to Fire (+4 Damage suffered)
Edges
Multipurpose Sarcophagus
Requirements: Novice, Mummy, Repair d6+
The Mummy has become extremely familiar with his sarcophagus, and has constructed it to serve in many different ways. With a successful Repair test, the character can reconfigure it to serve as any non-weapon mechanical tool of man-size or smaller. While in this alternative configuration, the Mummy loses the benefits of the Sarcophagus Shell aspect of its racial package.
The full extent of these transformations are subject to Gamemaster discretion, but the options should be vast. The Sarcophagus might be used as a small boat, a complex pulley-system, a powerful lever, a drilling device, or even small cart. In essence, the wooden, metal, and fabric components are reshaped to serve some expanded purpose.
Royal Tradition
Requirements: Novice, Mummy, Spirit d8+
The Mummy’s sarcophagus and death mask are elaborately painted and articulated. The character is unlikely to pass for human, but is far less disturbing than most of his Witchbreed. The character receives a +2 bonus to Persuasion rolls.