Plaguechanged

Plaguechanged creatures were those which had been corrupted and warped by the terrible energies of the Spellplague. Plaguechanged creatures were sometimes referred to as plaguescarred.
As of the late 15 century DR, the term "plaguechanged" was generally used to describe a creature or individual warped by the Spellplague who showed a transformation more potent and twisted than a spellscar. However, the term more accurately referred only to a creature or individual mutated by the initial waves of the Spellplague that struck during the Wailing Years (as well as those creatures' true born descendants, if any), while those touched by later and less potent forms of the Spellplague were more appropriately called "spellscarred". In some cases, creatures exposed to the lingering Spellplague found in a plagueland would become truly plaguechanged. 
==Description==
Plaguechanged creatures were recognizable by their horrible mutations and the telltale manifestations of the Spellplague's blue fire. The Spellplague distorted everything from flesh to stone and even the spirit, meaning that just about any creature could be warped by its power, ranging from beasts to humanoids to illithids to demons to the undead. In some cases, humanoids exposed to the Spellplague could be further transformed into foulspawn. Even corpses of those killed by the Spellplague could rise as plaguechanged ghouls, and technically, plants could also become plaguechanged, such as in the case of plaguegrass.
Creatures affected by the Spellplague were transformed into aberrations, although every creature manifested those changes differently, and thus plaguechanged creatures differed greatly in form and abilities. Some were even merged together or fused into the landscape, although such extreme mutations were often fatal. The single attribute linking all plaguechanged creatures was the Spellplague's signature blue flames. 
==Behavior==
A plagechanged transformation entailed a warping of the mind as well as the body. Because of their violent transformations, all plaguechanged creatures lost their sanity and became horrifying monsters, regardless of their original form or species. They mewled, gibbered and burbled as they lashed out at everything around them, even devouring their own kin in some cases. The easiest way for a plaguechanged creature to express itself and manifest its powers was through violence.
==Abilities==
Every plaguechanged creature developed different abilities, although all of those abilities shared similar features: they were either fire-based powers—such as to burn or boil their foes, or even to eat fire for sustenance—or abilities that could warp or deform reality in some form—such as allowing them to teleport or fly. In most cases, the abilities displayed by a plaguechanged creature had both attributes at the same time.
A spellscar was a lesser form of the plaguechanged affliction, and it was generally the case that spellscarred creatures found themselves especially vulnerable to the powers of a fully plaguechanged monster. Only a spellscarred savant could turn the tables in their favor.
==History==
The term "plaguechanged" was originally coined to describe the first generation of creatures afflicted by the Spellplague of the . These creatures wielded terrible power and their bodies were disfigured in incomprehensible ways, and they laid waste to whole communities. While most of these creatures died in the following years—either from their extreme mutations or just from old age—some survived into the late years of the 15 century DR while others demonstrated an ability to breed and reproduce.
By the , plaguechanged creatures could be encountered almost anywhere in Faerûn or Laerakond, but were most plentiful in plaguelands. They could also be notably encountered in the Spires of Mir and the Plain of Stone Spiders of Calimshan, throughout the Vilhon Wilds, along the North Wall mountains between Halruaa and Elfharrow, in the countryside of Impiltur, throughout the Underdark, and in the Lake of Steam, which came to be known for plaguechanged sea monsters so horribly warped that it was not clear what creatures they had been originally. In the Deep Wastes, there existed a confederacy of plaguechanged goblinoids known as Brikklext, while plaguechanged orcs were said to fight in service to the Kingdom of Many-Arrows.
Plaguechanged creatures also began to emerge in great numbers from the Chasm of Neverwinter in the years following the Ruining. Unlike ordinary plaguechanged creatures, these were manufactured by the Abolethic Sovereignty, who used their Symphony of Madness in the Plaguechanged Warrens beneath the city to infuse and warp creatures with Spellplague.
Because of the horrors that plaguechanged creatures could wreck, many groups came to specialize in fighting them, including High Forest scouts, Impilturan demonslayers, and the fey eladrin of Myth Drannor and Evereska. The threats that these monsters posed had prompted many elves to curtail their natural wanderlust and to instead retreat to their homes to protect them from these monstrosities. In Neverwinter, the Neverwinter Guard who manned The Wall fought to protect the city from plaguechaged horrors from the Chasm, and driving plaguechanged creatures and people out of the city became a major objective of Dagult Neverember during the 1470s DR. Meanwhile, some in the Vilhon Wilds began to study the plaguechanged, and sought them out not to destroy them but to learn from them. These efforts were encouraged by the Order of Blue Flame, who also operated hospices where their members would provide treatment to plaguechanged and spellscarred individuals.
Following the Second Sundering, many of the mutations and changes experienced by plaguechanged individuals and creatures began to heal and fade, although only rarely did the disfigurement ever disappear completely. Some discovered that they lived up to two decades longer than most members of their race, and in rare instances, this longer lifespan also manifested in their offspring.
==Notable Plaguechanged Individuals==
* Cormanda
* King Toba
* The Masters of Absolute Accord
* The Mound King
* The Plaguechanged Thing
* Sadrach
* The Virushead
==Appendix==
===Appearances===
===References===
Category:Magic