Is it possible that in Pharazon's time gunpowder was, actually, legitimately, not invented yet? I mean, not invented at all? Are there references to it before Saruman's and Sauron's late Third Age battles?
As for the plagues, they could have just been plagues. Imagine living next-door to a place as filthy as Mordor or Angband. Every once in a while, epecially with Morgoth's/Sauron's guiding hand, some epidemic is bound to errupt. I do believe they have had a part to play in it by guiding/directing/enforcing it, but they did not have to overtax themselves with conjuring diseases.
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You passed from under darkened dome, you enter now the secret land. - Take me to Finrod's fabled home!... ~ Finrod: The Rock Opera
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