"Who has disturbed my slumber?!"
Curse of the Mummy is the 59th entry of the Fighting Fantasy series of gamebooks, and the final book to be published in the original 1982-95 run, written by Jonathan Green.
You're a mercenary swordsman hired by the archeologist adventurer Jerran Farr to help him in his expedition in the Desert of Skulls. Sounds easy right? Nope... you see, long ago, when Allansia was still one continent along with Khul and the Old World, a powerful Djarat pharaoh, follower of the Snake Goddess Sithera, ruled with an iron fist and necromantic arts. Upon his assassination, he swore revenge and threatened to return from the dead, bringing along a deadly curse on the world. And good old Jerren stumbled into some red-robed cultists whose long-term plans involve finding the resting place of Akharis and resurrect their master, which would bring the above-mentioned curse over Allansia. It's up to you to find the tomb of the mummy, brave the dark maze under the sands and stop the cult before they can bring Akharis back from the dead.
Curse of the Mummy is overall the standard Fighting Fantasy adventure: in addition to the three usual scores of SKILL, STAMINA and LUCK, you also have a POISON score, which starts at 0 but has a maximum limit, which makes you die if it reaches it. The plot is overall linear, making use of item-based progression and codes vital to success.
Curse of the Mummy provides examples of:
- Acquired Poison Immunity: You're noted to have developed an unusual resilience to poisons in all your past adventures, and the text often notes what effect a poison would have on a normal person. For you, it just racks up your POISON score instead.
- All Up to You: As is the case with most sidekick characters in this series, Jerran dies unavoidably early into the quest, leaving everything on your shoulders alone.
- Armor Is Useless: Averted with the Falcon Breastplate, though it's more because of the magical powers it holds.
- Big Bad: Akharis the mummy of the tyrannical Pharaoh, who threatens Allansia as a whole.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: Akharis is The Heavy and the Final Boss, but it is the High Priestess of the Cult of the Cobra who leads the baddies and does the villainous stuff.
- Build Like an Egyptian: Well, of course!
- Collapsing Lair: In the final battle against Akharis and the cult, the cavern is crumbling and if you don't get rid of the mummy in time, you're buried under the desert.
- Continuity Nod: The actor Cranno mentions playing a "Duke Merion of Kallamehr" as one of his most successful performances. Kallamehr was previously the setting of Slaves of the Abyss, Magehunter and The Riddling Reaver.
- Deadpan Snarker: The Dracon is so sarcastic and poignant he actually gives you a malus as he taunts you in combat.
- Demon Lords And Arch Devils: This time the villain is the third of the Snake Demons, Sith masquerading as the Djarat Goddess Sithera.
- Deus ex Machina: Just as the tomb is about to collapse and crush you, you use the nearby crystal orb to communicate with Lopar and have him teleport out of the tomb.
- Egyptian Mythology: The Djarat are the Titan counterpart to egyptian culture.
- Elaborate Underground Base: The Tomb of Akharis, which is composed of a multi-layered labyrinth of rooms and corridors under the sands, and beneath that, a cavern system big enough to host a lake and a whole Necropolis, which hosts the real tomb of Akharis.
- Evil Vizier: Amentut was one to Akharis in life and became a mummy to serve him in undeath. Though given that his master was a ruthless, demon-worshipping necromancer, he had to be evil.
- Expy: In the desert, you can meet a not-too-sane old warrior with a badly battered armor called Fernandez, who's clearly one to Don Quixote.
- The Great Serpent: Akharis' sarcophagus is guarded by a massive snake monsrer that coils around it, one appropriately named Great Serpent.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Sith the Snake Demon as Sithera the four-armed Snake Goddess of Djarat. She directly tries to stop you by animating her idol after you killed Akharis and the priestess.
- Kill It with Fire: You're going to face lots and lots of dried, bandaged-up mummies... fire is going to be your best friend.
- Luck-Based Mission: In the half-sunken maze you can find a way out manually, but if you wander too much you're given the chance of Testing your Luck and find the exit by sheer chance.
- MacGuffin Guardian: Given the type of dungeon you have to venture, you'll find plenty of guardians to overwhelm, usually guarding doors or important items. At least one of them, a giant, metal, crocodile-headed golem, is invincible unless you have the item he wants.
- Malevolent Masked Men: The Cult of the Cobra, as expected from the setting, wear turbans and silk masks covering the lower side of their faces.
- Mask Power: Akharis's funeral mask, which you can remove to weaken him.
- Mummy: Well... uhm.... a lot. Starting from the Big Bad Akharis, to the hordes of undead servants he summoned.
- Nepharious Pharaoh: Akharis was one when he was alive, worshipping a demon and reviving mummies on a whim. He also died at age 156, poisoned by one of his enemies.
- Never Smile at a Crocodile: One section of the semi-submerged maze contains huge crocodiles, which Akharis used as his personal patrol. If you pass through that section a second time, other crocodiles may reappear.
- Panthera Awesome: If you try to attack the actor in the abandoned theater, he will sic a saber-tooth tiger on you.
- Plot Coupon: A series of items and informations required to proceed into the depths of the tomb and fight Akharis and the High Priestess of the Cobra.
- Poisoned Weapon: Some of your enemies will have poisoned weapons, either natural or artificial, which obviously rises your Poison score.
- Raising the Steaks: Some enemies include undead animals, such as the mummies of a tiger, a jackal and a cobra that ambush you if you enter a certain room.
- Religion of Evil: Both the worshippers of Sithera and the Cult of the Cobra.
- Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Starting from the followers of the Snake Demon Sith, to the Cult of the Cobra and Snake Men ambushing you inside the temple of Akharis.
- Riddle Me This: Lopar only agrees to help you if you if you can solve his riddle.
- Riddling Sphinx: The last guardian of the tomb before the Necropolis. The answers are all informations about the Djarat mythology that you could have gathered along the way. If you cannot answer, you cannot proceed.
- Scary Scorpions: The Accursed are servants of Sith: essentially gigantic scorpions with a humanoid torso sprouting from the scorpion's head.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: Akharis is sealed in his tomb, and will unleash Hell on Earth if said can is opened. And the Cult of the Cobra wishes to open said can.
- Shout-Out: A few, and to some surprising places.
- The semi-deranged knight errant Don Huan Fernandez is an obvious nod to Don Quixote.
- The character Cranno is very similar to the character Ammon from Clash of the Titans, being a masked eccentric living out in a remote theatre with his cat. As well, the illustration of the giant cyclops accompanying section 372 looks very much to be in the style of Ray Harryhausen, who did the special effects to animate the movie's monsters.
- In the illustration accompanying section 149, the player's attacked by a horde of mummies. One of whom looks exactly like one of the mummy-robots from the classic Doctor Who serial "Pyramids of Mars".
- Soul Jar: Minor examples with the earthen jars which are actually Akharis canopic jars. For each jar you destroy, Akharis is weakened.
- Spiders Are Scary: The Death Spider, one of the strongest opponents you can face, and also one of the most dangerous ones, is a gigantic black tarantula with a grinning human face.
- Summon Magic: The high priestess summons a two-headed, snake-tailed jackal monster against you which you can dispel with the Falcon Breastplate.
- Wolfpack Boss: Before Akharis you have to wade your way through hordes of crazed cultists and undead mummies in the way. For the latter, you can decrease their numbers using, you guessed it, fire, and lots of it.
