New Plague

File:Anewplague.jpg

The new plague is the Forsaken's altered version of the powerful Plague of Undeath that led to the creation of the Undead Scourge. The Plague of Undeath had the effect of transforming normal humans into mindless undead in the service of the tyrannical Lich King. Some members of the Forsaken, including their queen Sylvanas Windrunner, were once pawns of the Lich King, but were later freed. The Forsaken's aim is to create a new plague that would annihilate the Scourge itself, and perhaps later their living enemies as well - and raise them to replenish and expand their own numbers.

The Royal Apothecary Society, the alchemical experts of the Forsaken, have been working on various ways to use various parts from creatures living in their sphere of control as well as agriculture grown in the Tirisfal Glades and the Hillsbrad Foothills to create powerful toxins. The nearest brush with success yet seen involved pumpkins from the Solliden Farmstead in Tirisfal. When tested on a Scarlet Crusader held captive in the Brill Inn, it brought about transformation into a ghoul, only to cause true death seconds later.

The use of the new plague on humans has thus far been only partially successful. While it kills the victim, it doesn't bring the human back after death as a new Forsaken. Other problems remaining include distribution; the Royal Apothecary Society is searching for a way to effectively spread their new plague, so that no living thing remains on the entire planet...leaving all of Azeroth as one big Plagueland, ruled by the Forsaken. Sylvanas' initial plan is to wipe out her immediate enemies - the Scourge and then the Alliance, and raise them again to her cause.

The Royal Apothecary Society, a sect of Forsaken alchemists, are fanatically loyal to the Dark Lady. Recently, the alchemists were assigned by Sylvanas to a project to create a master plague, similar to Ner’zhul’s, to wipe out the living races as well as the Scourge. The apothecary Faranell heads the project, constructing a new plague to wipe out all of humanity and the Forsaken’s nemesis, the Scourge. So far, the Society has not yet produced results. Since the world at large refuses to accept them as people instead of undead, they will continue their dark designs to eliminate all non-Forsaken life forms on Azeroth. However, at this point their plague kills only humans, and doesn’t affect the Scourge at all. The Royal Apothecary Society believes that their usefulness to the Dark Lady may be coming to an end. If they cannot finish their master plague soon, they may find their Society disbanded. Due to repeated failures by the society to make a new plague of undeath, Sylvanas has recruited necromancers to find other means of raising slain enemies, into her cause.Template:Cite

Quests that refer to the new plague

• Battle of Hillsbrad
• A New Plague
• Hints of a New Plague?
• Delivery to Silverpine Forest
• A Recipe For Death
• Journey to Hillsbrad Foothills
• Elixir of Pain

In Wrath of the Lich King

The Forsaken are now close to perfecting it, and will soon use it against the Scourge, the Vrykul, the Alliance, and anyone else that gets in the way of them, to be used to completely disintegrate the infected person or creature. It might be a racial ability in a further expansion.^{[citation needed]}