"The nightmares of Khemri still haunt me. The curses cast by those long-dead tyrants have sealed my fate. I can only hope Morr can put a stop to the necromancy that rots my bones and blackens my heart."
- —Lady Estelle Hauptleiter, treasure hunter (Deceased)[2a]
Tomb Robber
Tomb robbers, also called treasure hunters, differ from grave robbers in that they are interested in the valuables to be found in burial sites rather than the bodies themselves. Although very few graves in the Old World include valuable goods these days, there are many ancient burial sites that contain priceless treasures.[1a]
Tomb robbers are experts in locating such sites and plundering their riches. Secret tombs are usually in dangerous and inaccessible areas. Those within the Empire's borders are revered and protected by local inhabitants, so accessing these sites can be just as dangerous. Clever traps and deceptions protect the richest tombs and skilled tomb robbers must learn to disarm or bypass them. Few survive long enough to raid more than one tomb.[1a]
Tomb robbers and treasure hunters enjoy a better reputation than their fellow grave robbers. After all, once you reach a certain status, once is not robbing the dead, one is "preserving the past." However, some still operate on the other side of the law, delving into the grand tombs of a city's elite.[3a]
For all their pleasant grand presence in the Gardens of Morr, these tombs are no less dangerous than other and far more ancient barrows. The rich guard their belongings in death as they did in life, and traps, curses, and dedicated night watchmen are not uncommon. That's not to mention the Ghouls, mutants, or other outcasts who make such places their lairs. And then, even if a tomb robber makes it out alive, they have to contend with the wronged dead's living descendants.[3a]
Tomb Robber Activity[]
Grey Mountain Cairns[]
In 2497 IC the Lichemaster Heinrich Kemmler opened cairns in the Grey Mountains to raise a force of Undead. Whilst he was thwarted in his ambitions by the Wood Elves of Athel Loren, he proved that the barrows on the mountainsides were more numerous than previously thought.[3a]
Some are rumoured to hold great treasures, such as flying chariots and magical cauldrons that could be used to brew up storms. Whatever the truth of these tales, the Empire's tomb-robbing community talk about the fact they may have an archaeological treasure house, comparable to that of the pyramids of Khemri, on their own doorstep.[3a]
Border Princes[]
The lands of the Border Princes offer rich pickings for treasure hunters. There are many ancient barrows within striking distance of the settlement of Akendorf, rumoured to contain fabulous wealth but also to be guarded by a skeletal horde of ancient Undead. The tenuous, febrile nature of life in the Border Princes means a treasure hunter may be called upon to investigate recent ruins as well as ancient ones.[3a]
Khemri[]
Of course, the archetypal destination for tomb robbers in the popular imagination are the crypt complexes and pyramids of ancient Khemri. The astonishing price that Khemrian artefacts fetch means that a constant trickle of hopeful hunters departs for that parched desert land.[3a]
This is despite Khemri's notorious reputation as a place where the dead do not rest easily, where hideous bas reliefs and statues of stone and bone spring to life and slaughter intruders, and where deadly traps and crippling curses afflict those who manage to survive the horrors of the deserts of that antique land.[3a]
Ancient Reikland Tombs[]
Ancient barrows, cairns, and portal tombs from the earliest Human inhabitants of the Old World can be found throughout the Reikland. They have a bad reputation, as many of them were constructed long before the rise of the Cult of Morr, and the rites of the Morrian priests that prevent the spirits and corpses of the dead from restlessness.[3b]
A typical ancient tomb consists of an entrance way, a narrow passageway 3 yards long, and a central chamber 10 yards square. Any loot or inhabitants in the tomb are likely to be in the central chamber.[3b]