Ankhtepot
Ankhtepot is a villainous mummy lord from Ravenloft, the horror setting of Dungeons & Dragons. He is the darklord of the desert land of Har'Akir and he also appears as the main antagonist of the videogame Ravenloft: The Stone Prophet.
The desert of Har'Akir is ancient beyond belief. Not all of its past is marked with noble deeds and great rulers. The evil pharaoh Ankhtepot ruled Har'Akir both as a living human and as an undead mummy. Although he died a long time ago, his mummified corpse will occasionally rise from his sarcophagus to remind the people of his tyranny.
Appearance[]
Ankhtepot's body is wrapped in lines of white funeral linen. Originally his eyes were covered and his hands bound across his chest. He has since ripped the cloth from his eyes and torn his arms free. The torn, graying bandages dangles and flutters in the desert winds. His eyes are golden, tinged with orange. His uncovered skin is brown and withered.
His voice is a scratchy whisper, like sand on rock. A golden ankh hangs on a chain around his neck, and he wears the ceremonial gear of the pharaohs; he removed the rest of his funeral vestments.
History[]
Classic Ankhtepot with Nephyr
Ankhtepot ruled the nation of Har'Akir centuries ago. The pharaoh, like most of his culture, is focused on death. The religion of his people revolved around death, and the pharaoh was the link between mortals and the gods. Ankhtepot himself was a powerful priest of the sun god Ra.
Ankhtepot was obsessed with searching for a way to live forever. Many slaves and prisoners died in his gruesome experiments to obtain eternal life. Frustrated with the lack of success, the pharaoh had several temples destroyed. He stalked into the Kharn temple, the greatest in Har'Arakir, and cursed the gods for not granting his heart's desire. Ra, god of the sun and patron of the pharaohs, answered Ankhtepot. He told the arrogant pharaoh that he would live forever, even after death, but he might wish otherwise. Ra did not elaborate further.
Ankhtepot left the temple elated but confused by Ra's words. That night, every person he touched died. His wife, his son and several servants were dead. According to custom, all were mummified and entombed within great buildings in the desert. Soon Ankhtepot came to realize the nature of his curse. So long Ra's sun shone upon him, he was safe, but once night came, anyone he touched would die.
Shortly after the final ceremony of his wife's funeral, Ankhtepot had an unexpected visitor at night. A living mummy entered his chambers. By the vestments, he knew that the mummy was his wife Nephyr. He ran away from her down the long halls of the palace. Finally, Nephyr cornered him. Unable to talk, Nephyr tried to embrace Ankhtepot. Horrified, he screamed at the mummy to leave him forever. She turned and left, walking into the desert never to be seen again. Her tomb remained empty.
Ankhtepot was also visited by the mummies of the other people he killed with his touch. He came to understand that they were under his control. They did his every bidding. He used his new undead minions and his deadly touch to tighten the reins of his evil rule over Har'Akir. He killed many of the kingdom's priests and turned them into his mummified servants. The priests maintained their spellcasting ability as mummies.
One day, the surviving priests revolted against Ankhtepot and murdered the pharaoh in his sleep. The funeral lasted for a month. During it, Ankhtepot was awake and helpless, trapped in his own corpse. His mind screamed in agony as they mummified his body. He was almost insane when they entombed him.
As the sun set and Ra's power waned, the mists of Ravenloft seeped into the desert kingdom to take away the tomb of Ankhtepot and the nearby village of Muhar. When the priests returned to visit the tomb, all they have found was rocks and sand, as if Ankhtepot and Muhar never existed. Upon entering the world of Ravenloft, Ankhtepot discovered he can move again, and that he now rules a single village in the middle of a desert wasteland. It is a bitter existence for a man who once ruled a great nation and wasn't an hideous walking corpse.
Current Sketch[]
Ankhtepot spends years at a time dreaming in his sarcophagus. He can neither sleep nor die, but he can forget the world for a long time and dream of the pleasures of the flesh and ruling a great nation.
It takes a notable event to awaken the pharaoh mummy. Any adventurer entering his tomb may qualify as such an event. He can sense what happens Har'Akir through the people of Muhar. If they feel great anxiety, he might rise to investigate. Any excursion of Ankhtepot from his tomb results in the death of several people.
Ankhtepot's most fervent dream is to be human again. He would even take up the mantle of mortality and die a natural death if he could rule the world for a few years as a normal man. Of course, he does not envision himself as a mere paesant or commoner. He would only accept a station in life as great as he once held. He would rather die than not being able to rule.
In a cruel twist, the Dark Powers of Ravenloft granted him the power to be human again, but at a high cost. He can drain the life of a man at sunrise to restore his human form, although he becomes a weak normal human with none of his powers as a mummy. Should he die as a human, Ankhtepot stays dead unless he is mummified and entombed. In that case he rises as a mummy with all of his powers once again.
If Ankhtepot is in living human form and the sun sets, he returns to his mummified form, and he regains all of his supernatural powers. The body of the victim whose life he drained is completely dehydrated ans cannot be resurrected. It takes only one round to drain a man this way, but Ankhtepot has only a short amount of time to do it before the sun is completely risen.
He could be human again during daytime for a few months if he sacrifices all of the people in Muhar. Once they are dead he would be alone forever. Ankhtepot wisely chooses not to do this. Instead he awaits a time when he can rule a larger population.
Powers & abilities[]
The touch of Ankhtepot causes a rotting disease that kills the victim in 1d3 days. One day after the infection, the victim is bedridden with convulsions so severe that wielding weapons and casting spells becomes impossible. His skin begins to dry up and flake off. If the disease is not cured within one day of the infection, the victim loses strenght and constitution points. The losses are permanent and only a wish spell can restore them.
Any person mummified while infected becomes a Greater Mummy under Ankhtepot's control. The oldest of Har'Akir mummies might have a superior physicsl strength than Ankhtepot himself. Even so, Ankhtepot still controls them utterly.
Ankhtepot is resistant to a cleric's ability to turn undead. He is immune to damage from holy water but suffers damage from non-evil holy symbols. The Ankh he wears around his neck restores 2d6 of his hit points at each round, even after his hit points have been reduced to 0. Ankhtepot will rise again if his Ankh isn't removed after he is defeated. Ankhtepot is immune to charm, disease, paralysis, poison, cold based spells and non-magical weapons. He is vulnerable to fire though.
He has a powerful fear aura that causes all of his enemies to make a saving throw with penalties. Like most undead in Ravenloft, the sight of him also requires what is called a Horror Check.
In life, Ankhtepot was a 15th level cleric of Ra. He still retains his class levels. His ability to turn undead has been warped by the Dark Powers, he now controls undead. He has all the spell bonuses granted by his high wisdom score of 23.
As a Mummy Lord, Ankhtepot posseses the power to cause sand storms, channel negative energy and stun his enemies with a blasphemous word.