Mummy rot Mummy rot was a condition inflicted upon victims by the touch of a mummy . It was usually fatal unless cured . Mummy rot was a disease that occurred in various strains and could be natural or magical ( like a curse ) in nature , which required different methods to cure . Acquisition . The primary way to contract this disease was to be successfully touched by a mummy . There was also a necromancy spell called " mummy touch " that gave the caster the ability to bestow a form of the disease on a victim by touch , while rendering the caster immune to mummy rot for the duration of the spell . Effects . Mummy rot came in different strains . One version immediately prevented all magical " cure " spells and slowed normal healing , requiring a recuperative period ten times the normal duration for a wound to heal . As the disease progressed , it slowly rotted parts of the victim ' s body until they sloughed off or fell off , permanently disfiguring them , and it was ultimately fatal in one to six months . Upon death , either by mummy rot or by mummy violence , the victim completely rotted away in one hour . The form of mummy rot bestowed by the " mummy touch " spell was identical to this strain except that corpses did not rot away after death . A more virulent strain was caused by a magical curse delivered by a mummy ' s touch . One minute after succumbing to the curse , the victim ' s constitution was weakened and their appearance began to degrade . Healing spells cast with sufficient skill could overcome the curse and heal wounds , but unless the curse was removed , the victim would soon die as their constitution withered and they turned into a sandy dust , leaving nothing to " resurrect " . Another version of the disease attacked the lungs , slowly filling them with dust until the victim asphyxiated . Healing magic was only half as effective on a victim of this strain , and if their endurance was not up to the challenge , necrotic tissue damage ( immune to all types of healing ) started to spread . If the victim managed to fight off the disease , only then could the necrotic damage be healed ; otherwise death was swift . Prevention . The simplest way to prevent mummy rot was to stay away from mummies . Barring that , a " protection from evil " spell could increase the odds of avoiding a mummy attack . Ironically , casting " cure disease " on a mummy temporarily rendered it incapable of rotting its victims . The drawback to this tactic was that " cure disease " required the caster to successfully touch the mummy and possibly contract the disease . Curing . The cures were as varied as the strains of the disease . For the first strain mentioned above , the victim first had to imbibe an herbal tea made from the mothersleaf plant . Then a " cure disease " spell would completely remove the rot and allow healing magic to be fully effective . If a victim died of this strain , " cure disease " and " raise dead " had to be cast on the corpse , in that order , within an hour or the body rotted beyond hope . For the curse version of mummy rot , a " break enchantment " or " remove curse " spell had to be cast on the victim , and then a " cure disease " could rid their body of the rot . The last strain mentioned above could be fought off by particularly tough individuals without the aid of magic . Otherwise , a " cure disease ritual " could be used to cleanse the subject , but not without risk of injury or even death . The ornamental stone violine was known to be proof against at least one strain of mummy rot . The victim had merely to touch one of these gems and it would remove the disease completely , consuming the gem in the process . If held continuously against the skin , irtios crystals prevented mummy rot from decaying the flesh . A " water of Eldath " potion could also cure some forms of mummy rot . Of course , stronger magics like " wish " or " miracle " could also be used to cure a victim of mummy rot .