Mummy

Version 0.30: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

This page covers the player species. For the monster, see Mummy (monster). For a list of all monstrous mummies, see List of mummies.

These are undead creatures who travel into the depths in search of revenge, redemption, or just because they want to. Mummies progress slowly in levels, half again as slowly as Humans in all skills except fighting, spellcasting and necromancy. As they increase in levels, they become increasingly in touch with the powers of death, but cannot use some types of necromancy which only affect living creatures. The side effects of necromantic magic tend to be relatively harmless to Mummies. However, their desiccated bodies are highly flammable. They also do not need to eat or drink and, in any case, are incapable of doing so. Like other undead, mummies are naturally immune to poisons, negative energy and torment; have little warmth left to be affected by cold; and are not susceptible to mutations.

Innate Abilities

• Mummies are undead creatures, and have the following innate traits:
  • Cold Resistance 1: Mummies are resistant to cold.
  • Life Protection 3: Mummies are resistant to negative energy.
  • Poison Immunity: Mummies are immune to poison.
  • Torment Immunity: Mummies cannot be tormented.
  • Mummies can not be mutated, and instead receive stat penalties.
  • Mummies are vulnerable to Dispel Undead, holy damage, and holy wrath-branded weapons (which they cannot wield).
  • Mummies cannot memorize any self-transformation spells (Beastly Appendage, Blade Hands, Dragon Form, Storm Form, Ice Form, Spider Form, Statue Form, Necromutation), nor can they memorize spells that only affect the living (Borgnjor's Revivification, Death's Door, and Sublimation of Blood). They also are unable to go berserk.
  • Mummies may not worship the good gods: The Shining One, Zin, or Elyvilon.
• Fire vulnerability: Mummies take extra damage from fire.
• Mummies are incapable of drinking potions of any kind.
• Faith: Mummies gain +25% piety from gods, and will receive divine gifts 33% more often. Does not stack with the amulet of faith.

Mummies have a base Strength of 11, Intelligence of 7 and Dexterity of 7 (before Background modifiers).

Preferred Backgrounds

• Zealots: Cinder Acolyte
• Mages: Hedge Wizard, Conjurer, Summoner, Necromancer, Ice Elementalist

Mummies are prohibited from becoming Transmuters, as they can't change form.

Level Bonuses

• +1 to a random stat every 5th level.
• Average HP.
• Average MP.
• +5 willpower per level.
• Gain boosts to Necromancy spell power at levels 3 and 13.

Starting Skills and Equipment

Mummies receive the skills and equipment listed for their background, with the following exceptions:

• Mummies start with no potions of any kind.

Difficulty of Play

Mummies are a very difficult species to play. First and foremost, they cannot quaff potions. This knocks out several survival tools, some of which are especially critical in the early game. Among other things, lack of potion use also means that confusion is in effect as bad as paralysis for Mummies. Beyond this major liability, Mummies also level up very slowly, their intrinsic rF- can cause unexpected (and lethal) spikes in damage until it is offset, and they have poor aptitudes at almost everything. They cannot use many useful spells, nor helpful tools such as berserk and the various forms one can access through Transmutations.

Mummies gain an intrinsic spellpower enhancement to Necromancy spells at level 3, and another stacking one at level 13. While many of the top level Necromancy spells don't have an effect on a mummy, spells like Animate Dead and Borgnjor's Vile Clutch still benefit.

Skill aptitudes

The higher the value, the better the aptitude.

Skill	Aptitude	Skill	Aptitude	Skill	Aptitude
Attack		Miscellaneous		Magic
Fighting	0	Armour	-2	Spellcasting	2
		Dodging	-2
Maces & Flails	-2	Shields	-2	Conjurations	-2
Axes	-2	Stealth	-1	Hexes	-1
Polearms	-2			Summonings	-2
Staves	-2	Invocations	-1	Necromancy	0
Unarmed Combat	-2	Evocations	-2	Translocations	-2
Throwing	-2	Shapeshifting	N/A	Alchemy	-2
				Fire Magic	-2
Short Blades	-2			Ice Magic	-2
Long Blades	-2			Air Magic	-2
Ranged Weapons	-2	Experience	-1	Earth Magic	-2

Strategy

Mummies should be considered a challenge species, but there are ways to play to their advantages (such as they are).

Necromancer is a decent start for Mummies, as it gives you access to allies so long as you can kill enemies. Mummies are also immune to many miscast effects of Necromancy.

Assuming you have managed to offset their rF-, high level Mummies fare well in the optional extended endgame. However, one has to survive all the non-optional parts first, during which time torment immunity barely helps, and all the disadvantages of Mummies are as salient as ever.

Mummies must always be careful of sources of confusion: other than Ru, they have absolutely no way to cure it, except to let it wear off naturally. This can make confusion almost as bad for them as paralysis is for all species. While confused, you cannot use spells or scrolls, and cannot accurately or effectively use melee, ranged weapons, wands, or movement. In a similar vein, petrification can't be canceled normally. Thus, Mummy characters should value extrinsic willpower and clarity even more highly than other species.

God Choice

Mummies have innate faith. While it makes sense to pick gods that benefit most from faith, it might not always be the best choice.

Many gods do not benefit from faith, but counteract many of mummy's innate weaknesses.

• Ashenzari provides immunity to confusion and provides a large increase to the mummy's normally poor skills. However, Ashenzari does not provide any new options for dangerous situations.
• Gozag's Potion Petition is a cheap emergency option that makes up for the lack of potions, and is stronger than using potions. Bribe Branch is also useful in the lategame to deal with troublesome floors.
• Ru's Draw Out Power heals you while curing confusion / petrification. Both it and the passive Aura of Power are reusable tools that help make mummies stronger at general combat. Meanwhile, Apocalypse is as strong as ever.

Other gods do benefit from faith, and also synergize with other mummy perks.

• Kikubaaqudgha provides the ability to Torment, which won't hurt a mummy. This god also provides a path into Necromancy.
• Okawaru is a good overall melee god. Heroism and Finesse can make up for mummy's worse skill aptitudes.

History

• Prior to 0.30, mummies did not have innate Faith.
• Prior to 0.29, mummies gained their Necromancy boosts at levels 13 and 26.
• Mummies were the species least affected by the removal of the hunger system in 0.26; for most of Crawl's history, they were notable as the one species that could truly ignore the food clock in its entirety. Also, mummies had rotting immunity.
• Prior to 0.24, Fedhas Madash did not allow mummies to worship them.
• In 0.20, mummies's Spellcasting aptitude was increased from -1 to +2.
• Prior to 0.19, mummies gained an ability at level 13 called Self-restoration, allowing them to sacrifice one point of max MP permanently to restore their Stats and a bit of Rotted HP.
• Prior to 0.17, mummies did not gain a stat every 5th level.
• Prior to 0.8, mummies gained 3 MR every level instead of 5.