Spellscar

A spellscar was a physical mark or scar on an individual who was exposed to the Spellplague. It was a mild form of plaguechange that had the potential to grant unique magical powers to the afflicted individual. Such individuals were referred to as spellscarred, and some among them trained to master their powers.

Description
While spellscars could sometimes include physical abnormalities or injuries, they were not necessarily accompanied by the types of physical and mental deformities seen in other victims of the Spellplague. More commonly, they were invisible and intangible until activated, at which point they were characterized by a blue glow or blue flames. These flames might appear as jagged cracks on the skin, symbols or brands on the face, or even as halos or wings.

Spellscars were charged with powerful arcane energy. While there were some who strove to master their spellscars, activating them and using their power as they saw fit, others tried to conceal their scars and struggled to suppress unwanted activations, which might occur in times of stress. The activation of a spellscar could be painful, in some cases debilitatingly so, but the blue flames of a spellscar did not burn or seriously injure the afflicted individual.

Acquisition
Acquiring a spellscar was the result of coming into contact with the Spellplague, most often in the form of an extended period of exposure to a Plagueland Only some plaguechanged individuals acquired a spellscar: they generally occurred in about one in ten individuals exposed to the Spellplague, and more commonly in those who had come into contact with less virulent versions of the Spellplague's energies. In some cases, a spellscar could manifest even in people who had never been directly exposed to the Spellplague or whose parents or ancestors had been spellscarred.

While any creature could become spellscarred, humanoids were more likely than most to acquire one. They were also known to manifest in fey, giants, goblinoids, illithids, kobolds, lizardfolk, marine creatures, and some monsters, such as wyverns. It was possible to acquire more than one spellscar.

Abilities
Merely having a spellscar allowed afflicted individuals to sense the presence of the Spellplague nearby, but those spellscarred who wished to manifest more powerful, strange, and unique abilities had to train to do so. There were many ways to go about trying to wield or master a spellscar, and in many cases a spellscar's power would manifest in a way that was consistent or compatible with the afflicted individual's strengths.

While the powers bestowed by spellscars were generally beneficial to the afflicted individual, the use of a spellscar often came with a cost. Activation could be painful, and simply possessing a spellscar could attract the unwanted attention of abominations associated with the Spellplague, such as the Masters of Absolute Accord. Having a spellscar generally rendered the bearer more susceptible to the energies of the Spellplague, including the attacks of plaguechanged creatures and the powers of other spellscars. Even so, they also conferred protection against many of the most negative effects of Spellplague. Spellscarred individuals were not susceptible to the fatal consequences of prolonged exposure to a Plagueland, they were immune to Halruaan Consumption, and they were wholly unappetizing to plaguechanged ghouls. Some spellscarred individuals suffered from disturbing dreams or bizarre visions which sometimes conveyed obscure secrets about the nature of magic. Activating a spellscar within the confines of a mythal caused that mythal to treat the spellscarred individual as an intruder within its field.

Students of the Plague
More generally, those who devoted themselves to studying and training with their spellscar gained the ability to wield fire- and force-based based powers or energies that could wither both the body and mind. Some could grant themselves additional powers by focusing their spellscar's energies, such as by funneling the blue flames to their eyes to see invisibility or gain 360-degree darkvision, to their feet to gain extra speed, to their hands to extend their reach, or to their weapons to augment their strikes. Others manifested abilities that could warp or deform reality in some way, sometimes similar to polymorph spells or perhaps allowing them to teleport short distances, turn invisible, bend probability to their advantage, or disrupt magic altogether.

With sufficient training, so-called spellscarred savants could overcome many of the inherent limitations of their spellscars, and even tap into spellfire to heal themselves and energize or vaporize others as they saw fit. While potent, spellscars did not generally confer the types of monstrous power seen in creatures that had been plaguechanged in more extreme fashion.

History
Spellscars first appeared in the, as a consequence of the Spellplague. The initial wave of the Spellplague often caused more extreme mutations than just spellscars, but in the following years, the scars became more common among those exposed to pockets of the Spellplague, and spellscarred individuals could be encountered all across Toril and Abeir. Spellscars were particularly common among the tribes of Elfharrow, in Samarach, near the Plaguewrought Land in the Vilhon Wilds, and in the Underdark, such as in Ch'Chitl, the Deep Wastes, and Earthroot.

Spellscarred and plaguechanged individuals were often viewed as abominations, and as harbingers of fear and madness. Thus, they were often treated as outcasts, regardless of their own attitude toward their spellscar. In the North, High Forest scouts were specially trained to eliminate spellscarred targets, while in the cities, the spellscarred were often quarantined in some fashion: Waterdeep preferred them to stay in Skullport or the slums of Mistshore, while in Neverwinter, they were expelled from a Spellplague treatment center in the House of Knowledge to be exiled to Helm's Hold. Helm's Hold was the closest thing to a safe haven for spellscarred individuals, but even there they were not allowed in some taverns and faced a growing movement to expel them because of their "impurity". Elsewhere across Faerûn, they were hunted by the mighty demonslayers of Impiltur, they were seen as lesser members of society in Amn, and the Emerald Enclave of Turmish ruthlessly killed them, viewing the spellscarred as blights against the natural order. Meanwhile, as of the, the wizards of Deep Imaskar were experimenting on spellscarred individuals, and their research had produced wards that prevented people with spellscars from entering their city without a password and had also led them to develop a way to remove spellscars entirely.

Still, there were those who were proud of their spellscars, or at least driven to stand up for themselves, such as the Heirs of Azure in Helm's Hold. Furthermore, there were ordinary people who actually desired spellscars for themselves. In the century between the Wailing Years and the Second Sundering, some sought to obtain spellscars through "Scar Pilgrimages", in which they intentionally exposed themselves to a Plagueland in hopes of acquiring a spellscar. These were often facilitated by the Order of Blue Flame, an organization with hidden motives that was outwardly dedicated to treating, educating, and caring for their fellow spellscarred and plaguechanged individuals.

Notable Spellscarred Individuals

 * Beaugrat, a barbarian whose spellscar allowed him to fire blasts of blue flame.
 * Vansi Bloodscar, an orc of the Many-Arrows tribe whose spellscar manifested as a ridge of fiery bones and spikes extending from her skin.
 * Myrin Darkdance, a wizard whose spellscar manifested as blue runes on her skin, and which allowed her to absorb the memories and magical powers of those around her, including others' spellscars.
 * Kalen Dren, whose spellscar made him numb to pain and other sensations.
 * Durral, a half-orc bouncer at the Knight 'n' Shadow tavern whose fists were spellscarred, which magnified the power behind his punches.
 * Duvan, a rogue with a spellscar that made him immune to the effects of the Spellplague and of other spellscars.
 * Fox-at-Twilight, whose spellscar burned the flesh of others she touched.
 * Gregor, an alchemist whose spellscar bleached the area around his left ear and gave him the ability to immediately know the alchemical properties of any ingredient.
 * Narla Gulmaern, a tiefling tavernkeeper whose spellscar disrupted arcane magic and rituals.
 * Raidon Kane, a half-elf monk whose spellscar manifested as a blue tattoo and gave him advantages when fighting denizens of the Far Realm.
 * Madruen Morganoug, whose spellscar manifested as glowing skin and made him impervious to weapons.
 * Anusha Marhana, whose spellscar gave her a power similar to astral projection.
 * Moirah, whose spellscar manifested beneath her navel and gave her power over the passions of others.
 * Slanya, a monk whose spellscar manifested across her whole body and allowed her to enhance or suppress the spellscars of others.
 * Seldra Tylmarande, a half-elf with a physical spellscar on her arm that manifested as blue flames wreathing her arms and face. It gave her the ability to control plaguechanged monsters.
 * Vraith, an elven wizard with a spellscar on her chest, which enabled her to use the souls of others to enact the Ritual of the Border.

Notable Spellscarred Organizations

 * The Heirs of Azure were an oft-violent organization that fought to protect their fellow spellscarred in Helm's Hold.
 * The Order of Blue Flame was a pseudo-religious order that was ostensibly dedicated to helping people acquire and control their spellscars, but in truth they had sinister intentions to spread the Spellplague.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Gates of Neverdeath &bull; Lost Crown of Neverwinter
 * Halls of Undermountain &bull; Storm over Neverwinter
 * Novels
 * Abolethic Sovereignty series (Plague of Spells, City of Torment, Key of Stars) &bull; Shadowbane series (Downshadow, Shadowbane, Eye of Justice) &bull; The Edge of Chaos
 * Short Stories
 * "Heir of Shadowbane"
 * Video Games
 * Neverwinter
 * Neverwinter