Mummy curse
A mummy curse is a damage type that appears in dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, and can inflict various forms of damage or debuff depending on the level of the monster that uses it. Mummy curses use the AD_MROT damage type flag.
Description
The mummy curse is primarily seen as a form of on-death passive attack that occurs if a hero or another monster kills a mummy, and can also occur as passive attacks or active spellcasting attacks when fighting other non-mummy monsters.
Against a hero credited with killing a mummy, various adverse effects can occur, with stronger monsters inflicting more severe curses. Against a monster that is credited with killing a mummy, a mummy curse will inflict 2-60 damage.
Below is a table of mummy curses and the monsters that can use them:
| Mummies | Message | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| All generic mummies; the Stranger (spellcasting) | You feel intense pain! | Lose 1 HP per level of the mummy, but no more than half your current HP (rounded down, so never fatal). |
| Soldier mummy | You feel an ill fate swirl around you. | Lose 1 to 7 points of luck |
| Priest mummy; the Stranger (spellcasting) | You feel an ill fate settle over you. | Lose 26 points of luck (likely resulting in setting your luck to -10) |
| Soldier mummy; priest mummy; the Stranger (spellcasting) | You feel as if you need some help. | Some of your items are cursed or unblessed. |
| Soldier mummy; priest mummy | You <scream/shriek> from the pain! You writhe in pain! |
Lose 1/2 your current HP (rounded down, so never fatal). Scream for 2 (more) rounds. |
| Priest mummy; pharaoh | You are stung by a tiny insect! | Contract a fatal illness. |
| Priest mummy; pharaoh; ancient of the burning wastes (2 square reach attack) | You begin crumbling to dust! | You contract mummy rot, or lose 1-6 points of constitution or charisma if already suffering from mummy rot. |
| Pharaoh; Hmnyw-Pharaoh | You die! Your heart stops! When it finally beats again, it is weak and thready. |
If you have less than 100 current HP, you die—otherwise, you take 10d8 damage. |
| Hmnyw-Pharaoh | You feel a dire fate settle over you. | Your AC and intrinsic protection are reduced. |
| Hmnyw-Pharaoh; the Stranger (spellcasting) | You scream/shriek in agony! You writhe in agony! |
Your maximum HP is reduced and your current HP is set to 1⁄3 + 1 of its current value. Scream for 2 (more) rounds. |
| Kuo-toa; kuo-toa whip | Bright liquid sparks smite your head! | You take low water and shock damage. This wets your inventory and may damage your wands. |
| Kuo-toa whip; Blibdoolpoolp, graven-into-flesh (whenever struck) | A bright surging torrent pours down on your head! | You take significant water and shock damage. This wets your inventory and may damage your wands. |
Strategy
The presence of mummy curses makes fighting mummies much more dangerous compared to NetHack, and typically warrants a form of protection from curses among other defensive measures, such as preventative genocide of the more lethal mummies (e.g. pharaohs, soldier mummies and priest mummies).
Origin
There are stories going back to the 19th century of a "curse of the pharaohs" or "mummy's curse" that is alleged to be cast upon anyone who disturbs the mummy of an ancient Egyptian, especially a pharaoh. This curse does not differentiate between thieves and archaeologists, and is claimed to cause bad luck, illness, or death. The modern origins and development of Egyptian mummy curse tales primarily in European cultures—including a shift from magic to science as an explanation, and their changing uses from condemning disturbance of the dead to entertaining horror film audiences—suggest that Egyptian curses are primarily a cultural phenomenon.
Mummy curse stories multiplied after Howard Carter's discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun: despite popular misconceptions, no curse was found inscribed in the Pharaoh's tomb. There are occasional instances of genuine ancient curses appearing inside or on the façade of a tomb, as in the case of the mastaba tomb of Khentika Ikhekhi of the 6th Dynasty, found at Saqqara. These appear to be directed towards the ka priests to protect the tomb carefully and preserve its ritual purity, rather than as a warning for potential robbers.
The illness mummy curse is based on the death of the real-life Lord Carnarvon, who fell ill from an infected mosquito bite that was attributed to a curse of the pharaohs after the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb.
