Descent. Exploring the Deep Paths
The addition is activated by performing a reconnaissance operation on the command headquarters table “Misfortune on the Deep Paths” for 16 influence points. After opening a new territory, you can hit the road. Before we had time to move away from the battle with the enraged Avvar god and to heal our wounds from frostbite, a new attack befell us. We quickly grab our emergency suitcase and rush headlong to help, in search of new adventures and troubles, on the hunt for ancient mysteries and secrets, forgotten and hidden for centuries.
Mugs from the Deep Paths
- Part 2 – 5:09
- Part 6 – 5:12
- Part 7 – 4:25
- Part 8 – 9:20
- Part 9 – 20:08 (after the completion of Operation “Bridge at the Bastion of the Unsullied”)
- Part 10 – 16:37
- Part 13 – 5:45 (after the completion of the operation “Excavation at the Bastion of the Unsullied”)
- Part 13 – 9:10 (after the completion of Operation “Bridge in the Underground Sea”)
- Part 15 - 21:35, 21:55
Gears in the Deep Roads
For ease of reference, part of the video walkthrough and approximate time are indicated:
Habitats of the creatures of darkness - 8 pieces
- Part 2 – 16:56, 17:09, 17:23, 17:33
- Part 3 – 2:27, 14:01
- Part 6 – 20:50 (after completion of the operation “Expedition: Upper Bridge of the Heydrun Teig”), 23:25 (after completion of the operation “Expedition: Upper Bridge of the Heydrun Teig”)
Ruins of the Heydrun teig - 22 pieces(some gears are buggy, there are more of them in the location than necessary, but the “extra” ones are not counted)
- Part 3 – 16:50, 17:37, 19:06, 21:15, 21:24, 22:02
- Part 4 – 00:09, 7:35, 10:45, 13:29, 14:35, 14:42, 14:50
- Part 6 – 1:10, 4:55, 5:12, 7:32, 7:50
- Part 7 – 9:00 (4 pieces), 15:20 (after completion of the operation “Expedition: Central Bridge of the Heydrun Teig”), 19:00 (after completion of the operation “Expedition: Lower Bridge of the Heydrun Teig”)
- Part 9 – 11:14, 13:10, 16:09
Forgotten caves - 12 pieces
- Part 8 – 23:45
- Part 9 – 1:40, 5:14, 5:25, 5:45, 6:15, 6:30, 6:40
- Part 10 – 1:00, 1:30, 17:10, 17:19
Bastion of the Unsullied - 12 pieces
- Part 10 – 7:30, 15:25, 16:07
- Part 11 – 11:10, 18:25, 23:45, 24:35
- Part 12 – 3:35, 13:10
- Part 13 – 4:15 (after completing Operation Unsullied Bastion Bridge), 4:30 (after completing Operation Immaculate Bastion Bridge), 7:30 (after completing Operation Unsullied Bastion Excavation)
Chronicles of Forgotten Wars
For ease of reference, part of the video walkthrough and approximate time are indicated:
- Part 8 – 24:15
- Part 10 – 1:18
- Part 10 - 16:22
- Part 11 - 17:49
- Part 13 – 5:53 (after the completion of the operation “Excavation at the Bastion of the Unsullied”)
Underground
The quest is activated automatically upon arrival at the rift on the Storm Coast. And as usual, scout Harding meets us there, we listen to her report, learn the details and begin the long descent into the fault on the built lift. The chronicler Valta is waiting for us below, we get to know each other and have a nice conversation about pressing problems. During the conversation, we find out that besides us, simply no one is able to help Orzammar with a disaster of this magnitude, and it turns out that this is also vital for us ourselves. There is nothing to do, we follow Valta to the camp of the Legion of the Dead, located next to the seal split by the earthquake, which once locked the creatures of darkness on the deep paths. Having reached the camp, we find that the Legion is besieged and with difficulty holding back the onslaught of pestilent creatures. Headlong, we recklessly rush into the thick of the battle and help the soldiers of the Legion of the Dead repel the attack, then at the entrance to the tunnel we activate lyrium charges and rush as fast as we can for cover so that the blown up tunnel does not collapse on our heads.
And now, with a sense of accomplishment, you can set up camp, set up tents, light a fire and, by the fire, over a glass of tea in a casual conversation, get to know new comrades who will accompany us on our further journey to the deep paths. After an entertaining conversation about unknown wonders and secrets, having quickly cleaned ourselves up and patched up our armor, we gather our team and, grabbing a couple of miner’s flashlights and self-rescuers, we head towards the lift to descend even deeper into the stone abyss. After descending on the dwarven elevator through the darkness of the stone bag, having slightly restored our mental balance and calmed our stomachs, we set off in search of the next troubles on our bad head in the form of creatures of darkness and their habitats. Moving forward along the paths, we come across a sealed gate. That's bad luck, now you still need to contrive to open them. (Quest "The Gates of Segrummar").
And now the gates are finally open, and we, pleased with ourselves and guided by the heightened sense of the Stone of the Chronicler Valta, joyfully rush forward to the place of origin of earthquakes through the dwellings of the creatures of darkness, while deftly dodging and fighting off their fangs and claws. Having cleared the next lair and discovered in its center the desecrated bodies of warriors of the Legion of the Dead, we show them our final honors. After this, with slight sadness and thoughts about the frailty of this world, we hurry further to another lift to go down to the ruins of the Heydrun teig. Moving through the majestic ruins of this long-abandoned taiga, we come to the central nest of pestilent creatures. (Quest "The Second Sealed Gate"). However, we will be able to continue our journey further only after carrying out a general cleaning, started in order to sweep away all this dirt and evil spirits. Burning with righteous anger and headlong, we rush into battle for the possession of these territories.
After a rather grueling battle, fairly rumpled and grimy, we make a fire and set up our camp in order to take a breath, get ourselves in order and rest a little before further descent into the abyss, and also while away the evening by the fire with a glass of strong ale and relaxed social life chatter. But the holiday is coming to an end, but the problem of earthquakes has not gone away and we need to move on. We gather our squad, fill our backpack to the brim with medicines and various supplies and head towards the ancient lift with the thoughts: “What awaits us there?” Having completed the next descent, we find ourselves in the Forgotten Caves in complete darkness and uncertainty. Carefully moving forward, we come across yet another trouble in the form of an unknown silent enemy. We try our best to save our skin and get out of trouble with minimal injuries. After the brawl, we pay our last respects to the dead and hobble further through unknown caves.
Having passed the bridge and a network of caves, we come to another bridge over the gorge. But bad luck - some people who like to play with explosive materials are bringing it down right in front of our very noses. You will have to look for a workaround around the gorge and at the same time try not to fall off the narrow path into the abyss. After a short ordeal, our path leads us to the bastion of the Unsullied, only to again get into another brawl, and then be surprised to discover that some bad representatives of intelligent life here have built an unknown barrier with one sole purpose - not to let us in further. All that remains is to pause and look around to find a way to destroy this barrier. Literally two steps away we find a very interesting object, with the help of which we smash the obstacle into small pieces. We continue our way forward, simultaneously fighting off the attacks of the silent enemy and picking up strange artifacts that destroy barriers on our already difficult path.
The closer we get to the goal of our expedition, the more furious the enemy attacks become, and now we can see the last barrier blocking our path, to destroy which we must first break through the crowd of defenders, and then, seizing the moment, use five earthquakes. Finally, the path is clear, behind the opened gates we have the last opportunity to rest by the fire before the final leap to our soul-stirring secret. What awaits us next, what ancient secrets will we discover, will we find answers to our questions or will there be even more of these questions? So, having collected the last supplies and had a quick snack, we set off into the unknown. And now an incredible picture opens up to our eyes, and in the center we see the goal of our entire long descent into these uncharted depths. But we still have to fight our way to this “Something” through the ranks of fanatical Sha-Britols. The last push and the goal is close. The heart of it all, the Sanctuary, is here. However, that was not the case, this place is guarded and secure. There is no turning back, there is only one thing left - to fight for your life, and after a mortal duel, find out everything that is possible. During the battle, we try not to get hit by stone shoots from both below and above, and also avoid lyrium mines, which will be periodically placed by the guard.
Warm welcome
Just when we decide to politely knock on the door and ask permission to enter the Deep Roads, the crazy rug with the inscription "Welcome" turns into a horned Ogre. In order to move forward, we need to somehow calm him down and put him in his place, and then, after wiping our shoes on him, we need to move further in the given direction.
Exploring the Deep Paths
Activates automatically immediately after installing the Legion of the Dead base camp on Deep Paths Oh. To complete this quest, it is necessary to carry out a special strategic operation at the expedition table in the camp - an expedition to improve the base camp. After improvement, it will have additional features.
Gate of Segrummar
Activates automatically when a locked gate is detected. Some joker took some spare parts from the lock on the door, probably sold them for scrap metal. You'll have to run around and look for the missing parts to open the sealed gate and move forward. After finding the missing parts, we return back to the door and install the gears in place. Now we can look behind the door: what interesting things await us in Papa Carlo’s closet?
Builder Towers
The quest is activated automatically when reading a book in one of the surveyed rooms. The book contains hints for solving the puzzle. After we have completed this task, we can, with a clear conscience, take the reward from the nearby chest and proudly move on. (For those who don’t want to strain their brains, the solution to the riddle can be seen at about 11 minutes).
Kill me Softly
The quest is activated automatically when you find a page from the diary of a distraught gnome who loves experimenting with raw, unprocessed lyrium. To complete this quest, you simply need to collect the remaining pages of the diary, which are scattered throughout the dwellings of the creatures of darkness and the ruins of the Heydrun teig.
Segrummar's Sacrificial Gate
The quest is activated automatically when a locked gate is detected. Although, as Valta says, we don’t need to go there, curiosity killed the cat. And we are very curious by nature and love to climb into all unfamiliar doors. But again, some crazy mechanic dismantled the locking mechanism and scattered the gears wherever possible. And if we want to satisfy our idle curiosity, then we will have to run around a lot to collect the missing parts. So, we arm ourselves with a metal detector, take a powerful magnet with us and go ahead to search and collect scrap metal. By the way, don’t forget to take a cart as well, because there will be a lot of doors, and even more gears. You can’t carry them all the way. After opening the last door the quest will be completed.
On broken legs
The quest activates itself the moment we discover the diary of the female Guardian Ailsa on the deep paths. On her last trip, she scouted the area and drew a map. Once this location is found, the quest will be completed. (Searched as treasure using the letter V).
Second sealed gate
In the ruins of the Heydrun teig, our only path to the goal is blocked by a second sealed gate with a dismantled locking mechanism. The task is clear - collect the missing gears, repair the mechanism and open these gates. The quest will be completed automatically.
Chronicles of Forgotten Wars
The quest is activated automatically when you find the first ancient battle report. To complete the quest, you simply need to collect all the reports scattered throughout this section of the Deep Roads.
Video walkthrough
Completion of the story in DLC The Descent For "Inquisition" is a relatively difficult battle against The Guardian- a creature in whose veins poisonous blue lyrium flows. So the question arises, how to Dragon Age Inquisition kill Defender?
The player, accustomed to the simple and quick destruction of surrounding mobs, turns out to be completely unprepared for combat, which requires the use of certain skills and planning of tactical actions of the entire squad. Therefore, after a dozen deaths, you should retreat back to the nearest camp (which takes a few minutes to reach), regroup and choose suitable partners.
So, how do you kill the Defender in the Descent DLC in Dragon Age Inquisition? There are several tactics:
- We forget about physical attacks, using only weapons with high electrical damage. You can first enchant it and improve it by visiting the basement in Skyhold. We take with us at least 1 magician, and preferably 2. The ability is essential "Barrier", effectively doubling your health bar. Until it is knocked down, the main HP of the characters will remain in place. Switch regularly to tactical turn-based mode, issuing the necessary orders and making sure that the stupid companion AI does not change the target. Try to destroy the stone scourge and then the lyrium vein behind it;
- Playing as an archer, make circular movements around the monster, constantly damaging it with the help of special abilities. Maneuver between blows with a whip, while deftly moving away from under the thorns. Getting too close to Defender should not, because in close combat he is capable of instantly destroying the hero. The main disadvantage in in this case is that the battle time increases significantly (up to 1-2 hours of real time!), but at high levels complexity, this approach may become acceptable.
If you are completely tired of the battle, switch to "Easy" a mode in which health is restored faster and damage from The Guardian’s attacks is reduced. If an ally falls, wait for the monster to hit the ground again, and only then bring him to his senses.
Walkthrough - Kal'Hirol
Story quests
After Colbert and Micah put a new location on your map - Thicket Hills - go there. Just a few steps later, you will see that the path forks and an elite enemy is waiting for you a little to the north - the bereskarn - a bear-like creature similar to the Demon of Idleness from the Mage's prologue in the Beginning. If, after you deal with him, you go further north, you will come across two bandits and their unfortunate victim. The victim, alas, cannot be helped, but you can take revenge on his executioners. On the chest of the hanged man you will find a note that will explain why the unfortunate man ended his life in this way, but this is not connected with any separate quest.
Go back and follow the path until you reach a very narrow and not very secure looking bridge. Go down through a series of similar narrow bridges and paths. At the foot of the last bridge, an ambush from the Deep Hunters will await you. Walk a little further and you will see that the Spawn of Darkness have captured a dwarf in armor who is trying to fight them off. Join the fight and help the lady. After the battle, she will tell you that she is a member of the Legion of the Dead known to you and is determined to return to Kal'Hirol to complete her mission, namely, the destruction of the nest of the Spawn of Darkness.
Sigrun is a rogue, but due to her extremely low Cunning score, some of the robber skills are not yet available to her. She is a very decent warrior, because due to her good Strength she can wear pretty good armor and fight with two swords. If you yourself are not a robber and do not have Nathaniel in your party, then perhaps you should think about improving her Cunning parameter - unless, of course, such skills as Opening Locks and Disarming Traps are important to you. After the conversation, Sigrun will join your group, but you do not have to take her to Kal'Hirol if for some reason you do not want to do this. Your business in this area is finished - so go down to the Deep Paths. Admire the view of Kal'Hirol from heights and move on. Just a few steps later you will find the dying dwarf Jukku, one of Sigrun’s comrades. He will mention the army of the Spawn of Darkness and the Queens - yes, yes, in plural. Go further, fighting off several not very formidable opponents along the way - the most powerful of them will be the elite Garlock Leader - and cross the bridge.
After you deal with the Deep Hunters waiting for you, go slightly to the right of the bridge. In the Ancient Dwarven Chest you will find Ancient Boots. They are useless at the moment, but you will have the opportunity to make them wearable a little later. A little further, another detachment of the Spawn of Darkness, led by the Leader, will be waiting for you. In a chest northeast of the destroyed bridge you will find a Sharpening Stone - a gift for Nathaniel.
Go through the gate. If Sigrun is in your group, she will tell you about the sad experiences of her comrades and suggest that you look for a secret passage instead of going through the central door. After talking with her, you will be attacked by the Children that Jukka mentioned - depending on where you have already visited before, this may be your first meeting with these cute creatures. They are not that strong in themselves, but they have the nasty ability to knock down the enemy in the manner of spiders or mabari, which can be quite dangerous - especially for frail magicians.
Despite Sigrun's warning, you can bravely proceed straight through the main gate and meet the Spawn of Darkness head-on, but if you still prefer to deal with minimal physical damage in battles, then you should find the side door and flank the squad of Spawn of Darkness waiting for you at the entrance. The secret mechanism that opens the passage to the secret door is located approximately in the center of the western wall (use the Tab key).
After going through the central or side door, you will find yourself in the Central Chambers of Kal'Hirol. The room behind the main entrance is crammed with at least a dozen traps - another argument in favor of using a secret passage, since during the battle your robbers will most likely have no time disarming them. On the other hand, they mostly spit fire, so if your group has decent fire resistance, traps may not pose much of a problem. It's up to you. You'll still have to go through this room to proceed further, but if you If you go through the side entrance, you will have time to prepare for the fight.
Attention: in version 1.3 there is a bug due to which the GG robber cannot see traps, regardless of the Cunning indicator and the development of the Dexterous Hands skill. (Nathaniel, with the third level of the Deft Hands skill (Skilled Mechanic), recognized them all without difficulty.) The side entrance will not meet you with any ambushes - so you can prepare as you wish before opening the door to the hall with an impressive enemy squad. It consists of garlocks, golems and a Golem Master. If you kill the Golem Master, all golems will immediately turn off (but you will still receive experience for them). Take the golem control rod from the Golem Master's body - it may be useful to you a little later.
Walking along the corridor to the east, you will notice a motionless Golem against the wall. If you have a control wand in your backpack, you can activate it. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to control him as a teammate - he will simply rush forward to destroy your enemies. In the room a little further on there is a squad of Spawn of Darkness led by an emissary - so diverting their attention with a golem might be a good idea. Be careful when entering this room - there are a couple more traps there.
In the small room north of the bridge with the emissary you will find a pile of scrolls with recipes for the Masterpiece Rune of Paralysis and the Paragon Rune of Paralysis.
A little further on the steps you will see the ghosts of fighting gnomes. This is your first excursion into the past, in last days Kal'Hirol - like those you could see in the Guardian Fortress in the Beginning. A little further you will see another ghostly scene where the dwarf leader calls on the others to fight for Kal'Hirol. In the room to the southwest of them you will equip the recipes for the magnificent and perfect cold iron rune and a cracked breastplate, which you can repair a little later.
In the part of the map marked "Slums", you will be ambushed by spiders. In the passage leading to the southernmost room, you will find an Apprentice Scout, a new breed of Darkspawn - and an elite one at that. A little further on, a squad of Genlocks will be waiting for you, including two elite emissaries and a leader. In the central-eastern room (north of the one where you find the Lyrium Sand), you will find recipes for the magnificent and perfect immunity runes and the Lyrium Ring - a special gift for Justice.
In the northeasternmost room there is a squad of Spawns led by Alpha Garlock and a Herlock emissary. On the emissary's corpse you will find a very good staff for a magician and a Broken Hammer - another thing that you can restore a little later. This is your last enemy in this territory. You can now proceed further to the Trade Quarter, the entrance to which is in the east-central part of the map.
Upon entering the Trade Quarter, you will witness a scene in which the Spawn of Darkness fight among themselves. One of the talking Spawns will mention a certain “Lost One”, after which he will leave. Go forward, dealing with both groups (the enemy of my enemy, of course, can be my ally, but these creatures clearly do not think so at the moment and will be hostile to you in the same way as to each other). In the room north of the first large hall, marked on the map as "Hirol Temple", you will find a recipe for the Elemental Rune, and in the sarcophagus - a very good belt. If you take things from the sarcophagus, three elite golems standing nearby will come to life and attack you.
In the northeasternmost room, marked "Forge" on the map, you will find recipes for the magnificent and perfect fire runes, a broken axe, a forge, and a golem. If you activate the forge, the golem will repair those broken things that you managed to collect in Kal'Hirol. Parts of broken armor, for example, will become elements of a very good set of massive armor “Defense of Hirol”.
The Forge also contains a bucket of lyrium, a conversational item for Anders.
If you go from the Forge to the southern passage, you will find a cage with a prisoner in the next room - as well as several Spawn of Darkness, including a leader and an emissary. After the battle, the prisoner - Stefan - will ask you to release him and offer in exchange some valuable thing that he found in the ruins. If you ask him what he was doing here, he will admit that he overheard Colbert and Mickey talking about this place and decided to see if there was anything to profit from here. If you are playing a less than kind hero, you can take the reward and either leave him in the cell or kill him. If you release Stefan, you can meet him later in Amaranthine, where he will thank you again for saving him. The reward from Stefan is the fire rune masterpiece.
In the cave south of the hall with Stefan, you will witness a lovely scene of the Children devouring other Creatures of Darkness, as a result of which they evolved before your eyes into a slightly more advanced form.
If you follow the southern corridor from the cave with the Children, you will find a room with a sarcophagus and several slabs depicting various runes. It's a mystery. You need to make sure that an image of the same rune appears on both the vertical and horizontal plates. To do this, activate any horizontal plate and after that a horizontal rune, the vertical plate near which has the same image as the one we have already activated. Repeat the process until you have processed all the slabs and the sarcophagus will open. In it, among other things, you will find gloves from the Defense of Hirol set.
In the southernmost room, marked on the map as “Treasury”, you will find a helmet from the “Defense of Hyrol” set, recipes for the Masterpiece Rune and the Perfect Fortress (Masterpiece/Paragon Stout Rune), a decent amount of money and other nice little things, including an engraved gem - a gift for Velanna.
Follow the southern corridor west. Along the way, you will be ambushed several times by Children - sometimes reinforced by other Spawns of Darkness. In the very last cave at the end of the corridor you will again see the Spawn of Darkness fighting each other. Be careful - when you approach them, another Children will ambush you.
This cave has three exits. North of this, if you turn the lever at the end of the small corridor, you can come out almost to the door leading to the Central Chambers. Along the southern wall there is a passage that will lead you outside - into the Thicket Hills. Finally, the passage in the western wall will lead you to even deeper places in Kal'Hirol. Go there.
Deep Tunnels are quite small. After crossing the bridge, you will see a scene where the “Lost”, with the help of a huge inferno golem, deals with the leader of the attacking Spawn of Darkness, whom you saw earlier. After this, he will turn his very unfriendly attention to you. "Lost" is a mage, and the golem is, of course, a very strong melee fighter, so divide your group accordingly. From the corpse of the “Lost One” you can remove a magnificent staff for a magician.
Having dealt with this couple, go further into the western corridor. In some places, the tentacles of queens will attack you - but the most ordinary ones, without a single elite. At the end of the corridor you will see a room with a moat in which several Queens are sitting. All you need to do is bring down a huge slab hanging above the ceiling on them (I wonder who and why hung this strange decoration in such an inappropriate place?), for which you need to destroy any two of the four chains holding it.
If Sigrun is in your party, you will then have the chance to ask her to join you as a Gray Warden. After the conversation ends, if you have already finished exploring everything, you can exit the Deep Tunnels directly to the world map. The exit is located at the eastern wall.
Non-plot quests
In the dead end south of the foot of the last bridge in the Thicket Hills there is a bag in which you will find a deer hoof amulet belonging to the elf Mika - one of the hunters who told you about Kal'Hirol. All you need to do is give it to Mika , next time you visit Amaranthine.
The Church teaches that it was human pride that brought the creatures of darkness into this world. The masters of the ancient Tevinter Empire opened a portal to the Golden City, wanting to gain the power of the Creator himself, but instead desecrated his abode. For this, the proud magicians were cast back into the mortal world, and their sin gave rise to corruption, which turned the masters into disgusting monsters - the first creatures of darkness. Fleeing to the Deep Paths, they found one of the Ancient Gods - Dumat - and infected him with their corruption, turning him into the first Archdemon.
Whether this version is true is almost impossible to say now. Dwarves, for example, are not inclined to believe her, but they themselves have no other explanation for the appearance of the creatures of darkness. However, information obtained in the Legacy DLC partially supports the church theory.
Story
You can read more about the history of the creatures of darkness in article, dedicated to pestilence.With the fall of the Golden City and the beginning of the First Blight in 800 Tevinter, Thedas entered a dark age: the creatures of darkness rampaged across the continent, destroying everything in their path. The Tevinter Empire suffered greatly, losing significant territory and breaking under the weight of the invasion, while the Dwarven Empire was almost completely devastated, with only Orzammar and Kal Sharok remaining. After almost a century of hopeless and endless war, in 890 Tevinter year the Order of the Gray Wardens was created in the Weishaupt fortress. With the help of the Guardians, the Archdemon was killed in the Battle of the Silent Fields, but the creatures of darkness were never completely destroyed and went to the Deep Paths.
Since then, four more Blights have passed, the last of which began at 9:30 of the Age of the Dragon. And each time more and more effort was required to stop the creatures of darkness, which destroyed entire cities and states on their way.
Society and culture
However, it would be foolish to consider these creatures as simple animals. The creatures of darkness are hostile to all other creatures and will immediately attack everyone they encounter, using all available means (for example, abandoned ballistas). Screamers and genlocks, among other things, are very skilled at setting up ambushes and traps. The only ones to whom the creatures of darkness are not hostile are ghouls infected with filth. According to rumors, these ghouls create weapons for the horde, since the creatures of darkness themselves do not know how to use tools. When the creatures of darkness are not engaged in raids, they search for the sleeping Old Gods, obeying the Call emanating from them.
Higher-ranking darkspawn (leaders or "alphas") often have much greater intelligence than their brethren and act as officers. It is very rare to meet an even stronger and smarter creature of darkness - omega. Of all the creatures of darkness, only emissaries are able to communicate in other languages and use magic.
Fel
Each darkspawn in the horde is connected to the others through corruption and is part of their hivemind. “High-ranking” creatures of darkness - emissaries and leaders - through corruption can subjugate small groups of their less developed relatives. The Architect and Mother could control groups of much larger sizes, but only the Archdemon is capable of subjugating the entire horde at once. In addition to its binding function, filth also supports life in the creatures of darkness, thanks to which they do not need food. Also, according to the research of the Gray Guardian of Avernus, the fel of the creatures of darkness contains a magical power equivalent to lyrium, which allows the emissaries of the horde to cast spells. The Guardians themselves can also learn to use this power. 
The territory captured by the horde eventually becomes infected with corruption from the presence of the darkspawn, as do the creatures that come into contact with the darkspawn. Creatures infected with corruption eventually turn into ghouls, pestilence wolves, bereskarns and similar creatures and accompany the horde. Ghouls serve as artisans and blacksmiths, but although they are more human than the creatures of darkness, they are completely insane and completely subject to the will of the Old Gods.
The Ritual of Initiation into the Gray Guardians significantly slows down the process of defeating corruption, but after about thirty years all the Guardians begin to hear the Call of the Ancient Gods and gradually begin to turn into ghouls themselves. So they travel to the Deep Roads to die in battle before the corruption drives them mad.
Reproduction
While men captured during raids are eventually killed by the corruption, women captured suffer a fate many times worse. Since the creatures of darkness are mostly - if not completely - asexual and incapable of reproduction, in order to reproduce offspring they need a special variety of ghouls, created specifically from female representatives. The corrupted darkspawn captives are forced to consume the flesh of their dead comrades, and those women who survive this undergo a terrible transformation, becoming nightmarish, swollen creatures - wombs. During her life, the queen is capable of giving birth to thousands, if not tens of thousands of creatures of darkness of one subspecies, which depends on her original race. Human wombs give birth to garlocks, gnomes give birth to genlocks, elves give birth to screamers, and female mossettes give birth to ogres. All creatures of darkness have some similar features with their ancestors: garlocks and genlocks have a body structure reminiscent of people and gnomes, the heads of ogres, like Kossites, are decorated with horns, and screamers are thin in build and move quickly
Types of darkspawn
Archdemon – Ancient God, which took the form of a huge, corrupted high dragon. So far, Thedas has seen only five Archdemons, and the Gray Wardens believe that the rest are still asleep, hidden in the depths of the earth. Perhaps if the remaining two Archdemons are killed, the Pestilence will be ended forever.
Uterus- afflicted by a nasty woman different races, kidnapped by the creatures of darkness and turned by them into ugly creatures that exist only to replenish the ranks of the horde. Each queen's brood corresponds to her former race.
Garlocks– the most common type of creatures of darkness. Descended from humans, garlocks are essentially foot soldiers of roughly human proportions, but are considerably stronger and tougher than normal humans. The crude tattoos with which garlocks adorn themselves appear to be used to keep track of their kills, although it is not known for certain whether such markings are of a uniform standard. In the second part, the garlocks have paler skin and modified armor.
Genlocks is a stocky breed that is considered the most numerous of all. They retain the strength and endurance of their dwarven ancestors, making it quite difficult to kill a genlock. Their skin is pale, sometimes with a yellow tint. The head size is significantly larger than that of Garlocks and matches their muscular bodies. The shoulders and arms are also quite massive. Like gnomes, they have an innate resistance to magic. In the Legacy add-on Dragon Age II genlocks are even more massive creatures, moving on four legs and very vaguely reminiscent of the genlocks from DAO. Genlock leaders, armed with a huge tower shield, are especially dangerous.
Screamers- creatures of darkness descended from the elves. They are slender and have bark-like skin that ranges in color from light green to dark brown. From their ancestors, screamers inherited both natural agility and relative fragility, so a couple of good hits are enough to kill them... which are quite difficult to land. Screamers got their name from the deafening scream they make during battle. These are darkspawn assassins with incredible speed and agility, hunting in the darkness of the night. The claws and teeth of the screamer are unusually sharp, their favorite tactic is to attack the victim and tear it to pieces.
Ogres- huge monsters generated by queens of Kossite origin. They have a massive, broad figure, long, muscular arms, and thick, curved horns on their heads, which they use skillfully during combat. As a rule, ogres appear only during the Blight, accompanying a horde of darkspawn in huge numbers, who use their monstrous strength to break through fortifications and destroy the advanced positions of enemy armies. But judging by some records, they can also be found on the Deep Paths between the Blights - there they hunt, alone or in small groups. There are significantly fewer ogres than other creatures of darkness: apparently, Kossit queens are quite rare, for the Qunari almost did not participate in wars with the creatures of darkness.
Leaders- the smartest and strongest of the horde, leading detachments and entire armies. The usual creatures of darkness obey them. The leaders are garlocks, genlocks and ogres. Some leaders have magical talent as emissaries, but most often they are heavily armed and armored warriors, less often bandits leading squads of assassins and bloodhounds. In the Darkspawn Chronicles DLC, the main character is the main leader of the darkspawn, called the Garlock Vanguard.
Emissaries- These are creatures of darkness with magical abilities. They most often act as both leaders and provide support to their troops. The emissaries have both defensive and offensive spells in their arsenal, most often various hexes, curses, and less often spirit magic. In Dragon Age II, Emissaries received a significant redesign.
Novices- a new subspecies of creatures of darkness, created by the Architect from garlocks (most likely from commanders and leaders). Unlike their fellows, they are capable of free thinking, are aware of themselves as individuals, and are also immune to the Call of the Ancient Gods. Although the followers were created by the Architect, some of them turned against their creator and sided with the Mother.
Children- large, in the initial stage of their development, similar to larvae, emerging from the womb of a unique intelligent womb known as Mother. If these larvae consume the flesh of slain darkspawn, they grow legs and can then pursue their prey with amazing speed. Having filled their bellies again, they turn into full-fledged Children. The grown thin limbs end in spikes with which they can easily pierce the victim.
Ghouls- these are intelligent beings (people, gnomes, etc.) distorted by corruption. Once the blood of the creature of darkness gets on a person, the filth penetrates the body and infects the blood. Over time, the skin turns pale, becomes covered with spots and ulcers, the person loses his mind and becomes an obedient slave of the creatures of darkness.
- In the Darkspawn Chronicles DLC, the player takes on the role of a Vanguard Garlock.
- According to the Dragon Age codex, darkspawn are soulless creatures, which makes them immune to spirit magic. However, in practice the situation is different.
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