Image by Lucio Parrillo, © Wizards of the Coast. Accessed at the Monster Manual III Art Gallery here
[Monster Manual III had a number of monsters that were variants of core creatures. The salt mummy is my favorite because salt mummies are, you know, real. Although the real ones tend not to try to beat you to death.]
Salt Mummy
A withered humanoid shambles forth, its body
desiccated and studded with glittering white crystals. Its jaw gapes open
slackly, but its eyes are filled with malice, and it reaches forth with
grasping hands.
Salt mummies are
the preserved corpses of humanoids dehydrated by exposure to salt deposits.
Although many bodies can become preserved in this fashion, only those that died
with some unfinished business become salt mummies. Their restless souls remain
held in their bodies by a desire for revenge, now expanded vaguely to include
all living humanoids. They are stupid, recklessly violent creatures in their
natural state, carrying on subterranean rampages that end only when they are
slain or run out of victims. Some necromancers seek to control or create them,
favoring their toughness and single-minded dedication.
A salt mummy can
be made using a create undead spell
at caster level 15th. The body must be packed in salt and allowed to
dry for a year and a day before it is suitable for animation as a salt mummy.
Salt Mummy CR
8
XP 4,800
CE Medium undead
Init +3; Senses
darkvision 60 ft., Perception +14
Aura despair (30 ft., Will DC 19)
Defense
AC 22, touch 9, flat-footed 22 (-1 Dex, +13
natural)
hp 102 (12d8+48)
Fort +7, Ref
+3, Will +11; channel resistance
+2
DR 5/-; Immune
undead traits; Resist cold 10,
fire 10
Weakness vulnerable to water
Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee 2 slams +14 (2d6+5 plus dehydrating
strike)
Statistics
Str 20, Dex
9, Con -, Int 6, Wis 16, Cha 17
Base Atk +9; CMB
+14 (+16 bull rush); CMD 23 (25
vs. bull rush)
Feats Alertness, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Toughness,
Vital Strike
Skills Climb +14, Perception +14, Sense Motive +14, Stealth +8
Languages Common
Ecology
Environment any land or underground
Organization solitary, pair or cluster (3-9)
Treasure standard
Special Abilities
Dehydrating Strike (Su) A living creature
hit by a salt mummy’s slam attack takes an additional 2d6 damage and become
fatigued. A successful DC 19 Fortitude save halves this damage and negates the
fatigue. A creature that fails this save a second time becomes exhausted.
Plants, oozes and creatures with the water subtype are particularly vulnerable,
and take 2d8 points of damage instead. The save DC is Charisma based.
Despair Aura (Su) A creature within 30 feet of a
salt mummy that can see a salt mummy must succeed a DC 19 Will save or be
paralyzed with fear for 1d4 rounds. Regardless of whether it passes or fails
this save, it is immune to the despair of that salt mummy for the next 24
hours. This is a mind-influencing fear effect, and the save DC is Charisma
based.
Vulnerable to Water (Ex) Water damages a
salt mummy as if it were acid—it takes 1d6 points of damage whenever it is
splashed with water, and takes 10d6 points of damage a round from full
immersion.
The Creature Codex 