Sahu

Kvasir of Midgarth calls the sahu a mighty and relentless force among the undead, strong and clever, and warns that anyone who disturbs a sahu's crypt will live under the shadow of death from then on. Sahu are embalmed bodies brought back by powerful necromancers. They look like ordinary mummies, rotting corpses held together by cloth strips soaked in embalming fluid, though usually better preserved and still horrible to see.

Each is raised for a purpose: to patrol a great crypt against tomb robbers, to avenge a death, or most often to guard a treasured artifact. Such a sahu may lie dormant for millennia until the object is stolen, then wake and pursue it relentlessly to recover it and punish the thieves.

Sahu are enormously strong and like to throttle their victims. They are slow and seem easy to avoid, but anyone meeting their gaze is frozen with fear for a few moments, long enough to be seized. Ordinary weapons cannot hurt them and even magic weapons do only half damage, though some spells still work; fire in any form is their great weakness. Many carry ancient, virulent diseases, often cursed, so their wounds fester, heal slowly and may need magic to cure.

Being clever, they lurk and wait for the best moment rather than attack blindly. Daylight does not trouble them, and as they never rest or eat they cover long distances despite their clumsy gait. Sahu who were spell casters keep their magic, and some ancient cultures embalmed their magicians, sorcerers and necromancers for the afterlife, making for especially dangerous sahu.

Anyone meeting a sahu's gaze must save vs WILL or stand rooted with fright. Its touch has a 25% chance of passing on disease, and fire does it double damage. A sahu's level is usually about three-quarters of what it had in life.