Death and Decay

Template:Wotlk Death and Decay is a signature ability of both the Death Knights of Warcraft II and the Liches of Warcraft III. It is a necromancy spell.Template:Cite It appeared to be some kind of spell that saturated the air with acidic chemicals that ate through armor, stone and flesh. Teron Gorefiend - while he has possession of your body in Shadowmoon Valley - can cast this spell against his jailor Karsius the Ancient Watcher, and some mobs in Scourge-controlled areas such as Razorfen Downs utilize this spell.

Background

Death and Decay in action.

Teron Gorefiend using Death and Decay on his Jailer.

The aphotic, swirling clouds conjured by the Death Knights can cause anything within their path to rot and decompose. The vapor created by Decay can consume anything - flesh, bone, wood or even the strongest metal. Heavily laden with base substances, these clouds descend and quickly diffuse, leaving only suffering in their wake.Template:Cite

The swirling negative energies known as the Death And Decay spell are favored by the liches for their power to decompose, rot and destroy everything within them. Not even the strongest warriors or the most durable structures can stand the full effects of Death And Decay.Template:Cite

Negative energy infuses the area in visible puffs. Living creatures age rapidly, as skin sags and flesh sloughs off bones. Structures wither and collapse, suffering the effects of decades within a few seconds. All living creatures and non-natural structures in the area take damage from the negative energy. Since undead are powered by negative energy, this spell cures them a like amount of damage.Template:Cite

In World of Warcraft

Sunseeker Gene-Splicers in the Botanica satellite of Tempest Keep can utilize Death and Decay, as well as player-controlled Death Knights in World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, who have an additional chance to fear targets within the cloud of miasma. The Orc Warlock (Queen) piece in the chess event in Karazhan also possesses this ability, known as "Poison Cloud"; however, the chess piece has a more limited effect with the spell considering it was designed for use only in the chess event itself.