Mummy

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A member of the M mummy monster class, is simply an artificially preserved version of another monster and superficially similar to zombies. However, mummies tend to be stronger and faster than their corresponding zombies.

Although mummies have been preserved, their flesh is nonetheless pre-aged and thus unsuitable for sacrificing, except for same-race sacrifices. They are also very likely to be tainted, so consumption is only safe if their flesh is tinned first. You can eat corpses from mummies without tinning them, if you manage to cure yourself - using a unicorn horn, the cure sickness spell, or prayer - before you die of food poisoning, but this is a risky strategy, and any intrinsics you might gain from eating raw mummy could probably be obtained more easily and safely from another source; whether or not you managed to resist or cure the sickness, a tainted corpse will confer no intrinsics or nutrition. Note that nutritional values given for mummies are mostly irrelevant: on the off chance that their corpses aren't tainted, the nutrition gained is that of the "base" monster, not the mummy. The nutritional values are only relevant for polymorphed players who swallow mummies whole (e.g. as a purple worm).

All mummies are cold resistant.

If a player gets killed by a mummy, the bones file of that person will contain a mummy instead of a ghost. The character's items will then appear in the mummy's inventory rather than in a loot pile, so mummies in bones levels must usually be killed to get the late player's things. While they are unable to use the deceased player's weapons or attack wands, a well-armored player mummy can still be very difficult for low-level characters to hit.

Mummies are generated with, unsurprisingly, a mummy wrapping (86% chance).

Types of mummy

Kobold mummy

M kobold mummy
Difficulty	4
Attacks	Claw 1d4

M kobold mummy
Difficulty	4
Attacks	Claw 1d4
Base level	3
Base experience	28
Speed	8
Base AC	6
Base MR	20
Alignment	−2 (chaotic)
Frequency (by normal means)	1 (Very rare)
Genocidable	Yes
Weight	400
Nutritional value	50
Size	Small
Resistances	Cold, Sleep, Poison
Resistances conveyed	None
A kobold mummy: does not breathe. is mindless. has a head, a couple of arms, and a torso. is poisonous to eat. does not eat. (*) is undead. is normally generated hostile. has infravision. can leave an old kobold corpse.
Reference	monst.c#line1665

Gnome mummy

M gnome mummy
Difficulty	5
Attacks	Claw 1d6

M gnome mummy
Difficulty	5
Attacks	Claw 1d6
Base level	4
Base experience	41
Speed	10
Base AC	6
Base MR	20
Alignment	−3 (chaotic)
Frequency (by normal means)	1 (Very rare)
Genocidable	Yes
Weight	650
Nutritional value	50
Size	Small
Resistances	Cold, Sleep, Poison
Resistances conveyed	None
A gnome mummy: does not breathe. is mindless. has a head, a couple of arms, and a torso. is poisonous to eat. does not eat. (*) is undead. is a gnome. is normally generated hostile. has infravision. can leave an old gnome corpse.
Reference	monst.c#line1672

Orc mummy

M orc mummy
Difficulty	6
Attacks	Claw 1d6

M orc mummy
Difficulty	6
Attacks	Claw 1d6
Base level	5
Base experience	56
Speed	10
Base AC	5
Base MR	20
Alignment	−4 (chaotic)
Frequency (by normal means)	1 (Very rare)
Genocidable	Yes
Weight	850
Nutritional value	75
Size	Medium
Resistances	Cold, Sleep, Poison
Resistances conveyed	None
An orc mummy: does not breathe. is mindless. has a head, a couple of arms, and a torso. is poisonous to eat. does not eat. (*) is undead. is an orc. is normally generated hostile. likes gold. likes gems. has infravision. can leave an old orc corpse.
Reference	monst.c#line1679

Dwarf mummy

M dwarf mummy
Difficulty	6
Attacks	Claw 1d6

M dwarf mummy
Difficulty	6
Attacks	Claw 1d6
Base level	5
Base experience	56
Speed	10
Base AC	5
Base MR	20
Alignment	−4 (chaotic)
Frequency (by normal means)	1 (Very rare)
Genocidable	Yes
Weight	900
Nutritional value	150
Size	Medium
Resistances	Cold, Sleep, Poison
Resistances conveyed	None
A dwarf mummy: does not breathe. is mindless. has a head, a couple of arms, and a torso. is poisonous to eat. does not eat. (*) is undead. is a dwarf. is normally generated hostile. likes gold. likes gems. has infravision. can leave an old dwarf corpse.
Reference	monst.c#line1687

Elf mummy

M elf mummy
Difficulty	7
Attacks	Claw 2d4

M elf mummy
Difficulty	7
Attacks	Claw 2d4
Base level	6
Base experience	73
Speed	12
Base AC	4
Base MR	30
Alignment	−5 (chaotic)
Frequency (by normal means)	1 (Very rare)
Genocidable	Yes
Weight	800
Nutritional value	175
Size	Medium
Resistances	Cold, Sleep, Poison
Resistances conveyed	Sleep (67%)
An elf mummy: does not breathe. is mindless. has a head, a couple of arms, and a torso. is poisonous to eat. does not eat. (*) is undead. is an elf. is normally generated hostile. has infravision. can leave an old elf corpse.
Reference	monst.c#line1695

Elf mummies leave rotten elf corpses. These may be tinned and then eaten for the sleep resistance intrinsic. If desperate, you can try to eat them and then cure yourself.

Human mummy

M human mummy
Difficulty	7
Attacks	Claw 2d4, Claw 2d4

M human mummy
Difficulty	7
Attacks	Claw 2d4, Claw 2d4
Base level	6
Base experience	73
Speed	12
Base AC	4
Base MR	30
Alignment	−5 (chaotic)
Frequency (by normal means)	1 (Very rare)
Genocidable	Yes
Weight	1450
Nutritional value	200
Size	Medium
Resistances	Cold, Sleep, Poison
Resistances conveyed	None
A human mummy: does not breathe. is mindless. has a head, a couple of arms, and a torso. is poisonous to eat. does not eat. (*) is undead. is normally generated hostile. has infravision. can leave an old human corpse.
Reference	monst.c#line1703

If you are human, eating a human mummy is considered cannibalism.

Ettin mummy

M ettin mummy
Difficulty	8
Attacks	Claw 2d6, Claw 2d6

M ettin mummy
Difficulty	8
Attacks	Claw 2d6, Claw 2d6
Base level	7
Base experience	92
Speed	12
Base AC	4
Base MR	30
Alignment	−6 (chaotic)
Frequency (by normal means)	1 (Very rare)
Genocidable	Yes
Weight	1700
Nutritional value	250
Size	Huge
Resistances	Cold, Sleep, Poison
Resistances conveyed	None
An ettin mummy: does not breathe. is mindless. has a head, a couple of arms, and a torso. is poisonous to eat. does not eat. (*) is undead. is normally generated hostile. is strong. has infravision. can leave an old ettin corpse.
Reference	monst.c#line1711

Giant mummy

M giant mummy
Difficulty	10
Attacks	Claw 3d4, Claw 3d4

M giant mummy
Difficulty	10
Attacks	Claw 3d4, Claw 3d4
Base level	8
Base experience	116
Speed	14
Base AC	3
Base MR	30
Alignment	−7 (chaotic)
Frequency (by normal means)	1 (Very rare)
Genocidable	Yes
Weight	2050
Nutritional value	375
Size	Huge
Resistances	Cold, Sleep, Poison
Resistances conveyed	Strength
A giant mummy: does not breathe. is mindless. has a head, a couple of arms, and a torso. is poisonous to eat. does not eat. (*) is undead. is a giant. is normally generated hostile. is strong. likes gems. has infravision. can leave an old giant corpse.
Reference	monst.c#line1719

Giant mummies leave rotten giant corpses. These may be tinned and then eaten for the strength gain. Given their size, trying to eat the un-tinned corpse whole, expecting to have time to cure yourself afterward, is a bad idea.

Origin

A mummy is a corpse that has been preserved in some way, whether because of deliberate preparation (mummification) or because of environmental factors (such as low temperature or lack of moisture or oxygen) that prevented or slowed decomposition. The assumption that mummification rituals were intended to keep the body intact for eternity probably inspired the fictional concept of the undead mummy that can be reanimated because of the charms placed on it.

Mummies as a type of undead creature are sometimes only distinguishable from mindless zombies or fully sentient liches by being wrapped in cloth bandages. This image comes mainly from the mummies made by the ancient Egyptians, which were usually wrapped in linen. Not all cultures that practiced mummification used wrappings, however, and the term "mummy" is also applied to bodies that were preserved unintentionally, without preparations such as wrappings.

Mummies in NetHack are similar to Egyptian mummies in that they are wrapped, but they are probably not embalmed using strict Egyptian practices. NetHack mummies have brains that can be eaten by mind flayers; the Egyptian practice was to remove the brain before burial.

Encyclopedia entry

But for an account of the manner in which the body was
bandaged, and a list of the unguents and other materials
employed in the process, and the words of power which were
spoken as each bandage was laid in its place, we must have
recourse to a very interesting papyrus which has been edited
and translated by M. Maspero under the title of Le Rituel de
l'Embaumement. ...
Everything that could be done to preserve the body was now
done, and every member of it was, by means of the words of
power which changed perishable substances into imperishable,
protected to all eternity; when the final covering of purple
or white linen had been fastened upon it, the body was ready
for the tomb.

[ Egyptian Magic, by E.A. Wallis Budge ]

Variants

dNetHack

Drow mummy

M drow mummy
Difficulty	7
Attacks	Claw 2d4 physical, Passive 2d4 webbing

M drow mummy
Difficulty	7
Attacks	Claw 2d4 physical, Passive 2d4 webbing
Base level	6
Base experience	73
Speed	12
Base AC	4
Base MR	30
Alignment	−5 (chaotic)
Frequency (by normal means)	1 (Very rare)
Genocidable	Yes
Weight	800
Nutritional value	175
Size	medium
Resistances	cold, sleep, poison
A drow mummy: can survive underwater. does not breathe. is mindless. has a head, a couple of arms, and a torso. is poisonous to eat. does not eat. (*) is undead. is female. is normally generated hostile. has infravision. appears only in Gehennom. never leaves a corpse. resists death magic. cannot be tamed. does not naturally regenerate HP.

Drow mummies are wrapped in spiderwebs (droven cloaks) rather than normal mummy wrappings.

Half-dragon mummy

M half-dragon mummy (No tile)
Difficulty	8
Attacks	Claw 2d4 physical, Breath weapon 4d6 half-dragon breath

M half-dragon mummy (No tile)
Difficulty	8
Attacks	Claw 2d4 physical, Breath weapon 4d6 half-dragon breath
Base level	6
Base experience	82
Speed	12
Base AC	4
Base MR	30
Alignment	−5 (chaotic)
Frequency (by normal means)	1 (Very rare)
Genocidable	Yes
Weight	800
Nutritional value	175
Size	medium
Resistances	cold, sleep, poison
A half-dragon mummy: can survive underwater. does not breathe. is mindless. has a head, a couple of arms, and a torso. is poisonous to eat. does not eat. (*) is undead. is normally generated hostile. appears only in Gehennom. never leaves a corpse. resists death magic. cannot be tamed. does not naturally regenerate HP.

Half-dragon zombies retain their half-dragon breath weapons.

SpliceHack

In SpliceHack, all M-class monsters can cause withering. Giant mummies also gain the ability to knock the player back several spaces, similar to other giants in SpliceHack.

SpliceHack also adds a new mummy called the adherer, which can disarm enemies and has a sticky attack.

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It may contain text specific to NetHack 3.4.3. Information on this page may be out of date.

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