Magic Resistance. Ankhtepot has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If Ankhtepot fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.
Rejuvenation. If Ankhtepot is destroyed, he gains a new body in 24 hours if his heart is intact, regaining all his hit points and becoming active again. The new body appears within 5 feet of Ankhtepot's heart.
Spellcasting. Ankhtepot is an 18th-level spellcaster. His spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 20, +12 to hit with spell attacks). Ankhtepot has the following cleric spells prepared:
Cantrips (at will): toll the dead, thaumaturgy, sacred flame
1st level (4 slots): command, guiding bolt, shield of faith, bane, false life
2nd level (3 slots): hold person, silence, spiritual weapon, ray of enfeeblement
3rd level (3 slots): animate dead, dispel magic, life transference, vampiric touch
4th level (3 slots): divination, guardian of faith, blight
5th level (3 slots): contagion, insect plague
6th level (1 slot): harm, create undead
7th level (1 slot): symbol, temple of the gods
8th level (1 slot): control weather, earthquake
9th level (1 slot): gate
Turn Resistance. Ankhtepot has advantage on saving throws against any effect that turns undead.
Multiattack. Ankhtepot can use his Dreadful Glare and makes one attack with his rotting fist.
Rotting Fist. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (3d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage plus 21 (6d6) necrotic damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or be cursed with mummy rot. The cursed target can't regain hit points, and its hit point maximum decreases by 10 (3d6) for every 24 hours that elapse. If the curse reduces the target's hit point maximum to 0, the target dies, and its body turns to dust. The curse lasts until removed by the remove curse spell or other magic.
Dreadful Glare. Ankhtepot targets one creature he can see within 60 feet of him. If the target can see Ankhtepot, it must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw against this magic or become frightened until the end of Ankhtepot's next turn. If the target fails the saving throw by 5 or more, it is also paralyzed for the same duration. A target that succeeds on the saving throw is immune to the Dreadful Glare of Ankhtepot, mummies and mummy lords for the next 24 hours.
Ankhtepot can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. Ankhtepot regains spent legendary actions at the start of his turn.
Attack. Ankhtepot makes one attack with his rotting fist or uses his Dreadful Glare.
Blinding Dust. Blinding dust and sand swirls magically around Ankhtepot. Each creature within 5 feet of Ankhtepot must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or be blinded until the end of the creature's next turn.
Blasphemous Word (Costs 2 Actions). Ankhtepot utters a blasphemous word. Each non-undead creature within 10 feet of Ankhtepot that can hear the magical utterance must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of Ankhtepot's next turn.
Channel Negative Energy (Costs 2 Actions). Ankhtepot magically unleashes negative energy. Creatures within 60 feet of Ankhtepot, including ones behind barriers and around corners, can't regain hit points until the end of Ankhtepot's next turn.
Whirlwind of Sand (Costs 2 Actions). Ankhtepot magically transforms into a whirlwind of sand, moves up to 60 feet, and reverts to his normal form. While in whirlwind form, Ankhtepot is immune to all damage, and it can't be grappled, petrified, knocked prone, restrained, or stunned. Equipment worn or carried by Ankhtepot remain in his possession.
Description
In an ancient country the inhabitants called the Land of Reeds and Lotuses, Ankhtepot served three generations of pharaohs as high priest. When the second pharaoh died, her unworthy son ascended to the throne. The new pharaoh quickly became unpopular among the people and priests. Seeking a remedy for this, Ankhtepot came to believe that the gods wanted another to take the pharaoh’s place, one with knowledge of rule and the deities’ blessing.
On the day of the ritual that would consecrate the pharaoh’s connection with the gods, Ankhtepot rallied his loyal priests and murdered their liege. He had misjudged the peoples’ loyalty, though, and they rose up and executed the traitorous priests.
Moreover, Ankhtepot had misjudged the will of his gods. As he stood before them in death, the immortals forsook him, cursing him and denying him entry to the afterlife. Instead, they returned him to the world, but stripped away a piece of his soul, his ka—the vital essence that inspires all living beings.
Ankhtepot reawakened, trapped and paralyzed within his corpse as he was mummified along with his treacherous followers. The murderous priest felt the pain of every cut and every organ removed as if he were alive. Then, within an unmarked crypt, he suffered and starved for what felt like an eternity.
Untold years passed, but on the day the last memory of Ankhtepot’s name faded from his homeland, a voice intruded on the priest’s prison, asking if he still felt he was worthy to rule. Through the ages, Ankhtepot’s arrogance hadn’t waned, and he answered with certainty. Granted new freedom by the Dark Powers, Ankhtepot emerged from his crypt into the domain of Har’Akir.
In this new land, Ankhtepot found a pious people devoted to the same gods he once served. Immediately he set to wiping out that religion, replacing it with new gods of his own imagining, false divinities for whom he alone spoke. Using blasphemous rites, Ankhtepot resurrected the priests once buried alongside him as powerful mummies, replacing their heads with those of beasts holy to his new faith. These Children of Ankhtepot served him as they did in life, and together the dead conquered the souls of Har’Akir.
The ages have marched ever on. Ankhtepot has known treachery and conquest. He has known divinity and rule. But now he knows only boredom and despair. His sole remaining desire is to recover his lost ka, which he knows remains somewhere in Har’Akir. With it, he hopes to become mortal again, die, and face his original gods’ judgment once more. Whether this means peace or oblivion is meaningless to him. Ankhtepot seeks only an end.
Lair and Lair Actions
Ankhtepot’s Lair
Ankhtepot watches over an ancient palace that is protected by lesser undead and rigged with traps. Hidden in this temple is the sarcophagus where Ankhtepot keeps his greatest treasures.
Ankhtepot encountered in his lair has a challenge rating of 22 (41,000 XP).
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), Ankhtepot takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; Ankhtepot can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row.
- Each undead creature in the lair can pinpoint the location of each living creature within 120 feet of it until initiative count 20 on the next round.
- Each undead in the lair has advantage on saving throws against effects that turn undead until initiative count 20 on the next round.
- Until initiative count 20 on the next round, any non-undead creature that tries to cast a spell of 5th level or lower in Ankhtepot’s lair is wracked with pain. The creature can choose another action, but if it tries to cast the spell, it must make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, it takes (1d6) necrotic damage per level of the spell, and the spell has no effect and is wasted.
Regional Effects
Ankhtepot’s palace is warped in any of the following ways by the creature’s dark presence:
- Food instantly molders and water instantly evaporates when brought into the lair. Other nonmagical drinks are spoiled — wine turning to vinegar, for instance.
- Divination spells cast within the lair by creatures other than Ankhtepot have a 25 percent chance to provide misleading results, as determined by the DM. If a divination spell already has a chance to fail or become unreliable when cast multiple times, that chance increases by 25 percent.
- A creature that takes treasure from the lair is cursed until the treasure is returned. The cursed target has disadvantage on all saving throws. The curse lasts until removed by a remove curse spell or other magic.
If Ankhtepot is destroyed, these regional effects end immediately.
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