Mystical Plague: Difference between revisions

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Perhaps a necromancer is summoning dark magic to bring about the [[Zombie Apocalypse]], worshippers of the God of Disease call upon their master to bring vengeance upon their enemies, or a shaman uses a forbidden curse in the vain hopes that it keeps his people from being wiped out. Whatever the reasons behind it, the use of disease-based magic is nearly always seen as an evil act for the sheer amount of suffering it can bring about.
 
[[Mystical Plague|'''Mystical Plagues]]''' need not be limited to just attacking the physical being of those who contract it, and thus are not limited to the standard vectors of transmission of common illnesses. A curse may be designed to infect the spiritual essence of a creature, or even to only [[Mage Killer|infect other magic users]] as they cast spells of their own. While this versatility may seem to make a magically created plague more reliable than other types, it is still not uncommon for the caster who created it to [[Hoist by His Own Petard|be killed as well]], either directly by being infected themselves, or in the aftermath that the disease's spread causes.
 
A subtrope of [[The Plague]]. Compare [[Synthetic Plague]], [[The Virus]], and [[Depopulation Bomb]]. Can overlap with [[Fisher King]], in cases where the [['''Mystical Plague]]''' is caused by the actions of a kingdom's ruler.
{{examples}}
 
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== Tabletop Games ==
* ''[[Dungeons and& Dragons]]''
** The Judges Guild adventure "Verbosh" had a new spell called "Plague" which causes 20-70% of the population in a 1 mile square area to be incapacitated for 1-41–4 weeks as well as killing many of them.
** The 2E supplement ''Tome of Magic''. The 7th level priest spell Breath of Death (reversed Breath of Life) affects an entire community. Anyone who fails a saving throw vs. death magic is infected with a disease that is fatal in 1-61–6 weeks.
** [[Forgotten Realms]] has a lot of canon examples. It "helps" that the place got followers of Talona - Goddess of Plague and Poison. Calimshan/Shoon Empire alone had several (not counting seemingly normal diseases):
**# c.-4,900 - The Warriors' Plague: berserk rages and battle madness in afflicted, spread by blood contact; death toll 40% of populace, mostly among military forces.
**# c.-4,770 - The Plague of Terror: mysteriously affects Calimport alone, driving many mad from imagined spectral foes and other fears. The entire waterfront and other inner parts of the city burn as a few dockworkers imagined great sea monsters attacking the city. Losses unknown, as it was followed by a normal plague, which left very few survivors and scared everyone away for nearly a century.
**# -599 - The Spider Plagues: sores filled with spider's eggs appear on people, victims consumed by hatching spiders; 41% in Calimport. "Coincidentally", happened while the Drow invaders were pushed out of the city.
**# 75 - The Fog Fever: clinging night fogs lead to raging fevers and delusions if breathed in; those who die of this fever exhale their last breaths as identical fog; 31% in Calimport.
**# 320 - The Infernal Death: mild fever and mania, noticeable heightened color in hair, eyes, and skin. Most assumed it was "healthy color" and that victims were in best of health - until sudden collapse and death; bodies combust upon death; 9%, in Calimport 4%, as it was contained, but also 6% in that area died of ensuing fires.
**# 755 - Crimson Death: magical curse/plague that effectively bleeds victims to death ''and transforms them into crimson deaths'',<ref>humanoid blood-draining mist, not considered undead</ref> which immediately seek to replace all blood lost; 41% total area's people.
*** 1370 - "Burning Plague" in Almraiven, with mists causing people to sponaneously combust; though it's not clear whether it truly propagated like a plague.
* ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'': Nurgle mages get these kinds of spells, as do the Skaven.
** ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]]'': see Nurgle above, except now the mages can also be seven feet tall and wearing [[Power Armor]].
* ''[[Exalted]]'' features, among many others, the Great Contagion. Dug out of a [[Eldritch Location|dimensional nexus that instills insanity in all those who view it without proper protection]] by one of the Deathlords, it killed about 90% of Creation on the first go. The only thing that stopped it from finishing the job was one of the other Deathlords inviting [[The Fair Folk]] in to finish the job; the chaotic energies of the Wyld that came with the invasion actually ''bolstered'' the immunities of the survivors.
** To clarify; not 90% of Creation's people. 90% of ''everything''. Plants, animals, spirits, gods... anything that could basically constitute "alive" in Creation was fair game. On top of that, the disease was so infectious that ''mystically observing it'' was capable of contracting it.
* One rise scenario from zombie game ''All Flesh Must Be Eaten'' has the PHADE virus, which is the zombie plague... as an STD. The whole thing started when a guy was so bereaved about the loss of his girlfriend, he used necromancy to bring her back for [[I Love the Dead|one last fling]]. And then he decided he wasn't that into her, and slept with someone else, and it just spread from there.
* ''[[Ars Magica]]''. The spell "Curse of the Unportended Plague" starts a plague in a city over a period of 6-126–12 months. It will kill 10% of the city's population over a period of a few months.
 
 
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:IndexitisMedical Tropes]]
[[Category:Speculative Fiction Tropes]]
[[Category:Magic and Powers]]
[[Category:MysticalApocalyptic PlagueIndex]]
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]