Enter a general description for your monster here.

Ushapti are the guardians of long-forgotten cultures and kings, most often watching over ancient temples and burial sites. They are unique in their nature: each Ushapti has a mummy as its core, encased within an obsidian statue. These mummies were once devoted followers of the lost kingdom’s religion or warriors who swore powerful oaths to protect a sacred site or the king/queen they served in life for all eternity. These warriors often followed their ruler into death or were ritually slain in elaborate ceremonies of honor, then mummified and finally embedded into the stone bodies that would serve as their eternal resting place. Ushapti remain motionless, like statues, bound to their eternal vigil.

Throughout the ages and across worlds, many civilizations that view death as a natural cycle of life have developed methods to create Ushapti. Unlike other undead, Ushapti are not cursed beings nor were they raised from the dead out of selfishness or a thirst for power. On the contrary, they exist due to the highest form of dedication. They generally retain their memories and fundamental personality, making them sentient.

Their foremost concern is the protection and preservation of their vigil. They have no interest in harming mortals as long as they are met with respect and perceive no threat to themselves or their oath.

When it came to creating an eternal guardian for an especially sacred site or an important temple, the priests would choose from among their own ranks a particularly devout follower of their faith. This selection process almost always involved long phases of deep asceticism, accompanied by relentless tests of the chosen one's mental strength and devotion. In the final step, the chosen one was often expected to end their own life without hesitation before being embedded into the body of an Ushapti—most commonly one with the head of a serpent.

Serpent-headed Ushapti are rarely as dangerous in close combat as their kin, but they are often powerful sorcerers who devote themselves to their duty with unwavering religious zeal, even though their mortal lives ended millennia ago.

Of all Ushapti, they tend to retain the clearest memories of their past lives as well as a strong connection to their deity. This connection grants them the ability to wield magic or channel divine energy even in death. While they are still formidable, thanks to venomous fangs embedded in their stone bodies, they prefer to support the other constructs rather than engage in direct combat.

Though they remain bound to their deity, the spells and oaths they swore often make them mentally inflexible, limiting their ability to adapt their magic to changing circumstances. In some cases, they are the last remaining worshipers of their god, meaning their deity lacks the power to grant them new abilities.

Enter a description of your monster's lair here.

Lair Actions

On initiative count # (losing initiative ties), the [monster name] takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the [monster name] can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:

• Enter a description for a lair action.
• Enter a description for a lair action.

Regional Effects

The region containing a legendary [monster name]’s lair is [enter the effect description], which creates one or more of the following effects:

• Enter a regional effect description.
• Enter a regional effect description.

If the [monster name] dies, these effects fade over the course of #d# days.