What do darkspawn do with their time? How is their society organized?
As I play through the game, I see darkspawn camps. So they obviously are able to maintain some degree of social order -- enough at least to form small semi-permanent encampments. When I loot their corpses they often have money on them. So they either collect coins for the sake of collecting them, or they have some sort of economy in which items can be bought and sold using those coins. There are forges located here and there, so items such as armor and weapons are being produced. Perhaps those items are sold for money. Some darkspawn have the ability to cast magical spells, while others are trained in melee fighting or archery. So it may be possible that certain guilds or associations or castes exist that structure darkspawn society.
But I'm guessing there must be more. What do the darkspawn do with their time? How do they organize themselves to accomplish their goals?
Darkspawn society
Débuté par
gandanlin
, avril 01 2012 07:51
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#2
Posté 02 avril 2012 - 08:24
commanderVal
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Well, according to established lore, the Darkspawn- being nonsapient- have no real society to speak of. It is said that they spend most of their time digging in the Deep Roads in search of the Old Gods and have no other purpose. “We are things of darkness, human. You know this better than any other might. To us, the call is the only
light we shall ever know.” This is a line from The Calling spoken by The Architect. It says a lot about The Darkspawn and what they do and why they do it.
We can, however, safely assume that because Darkspawn share certain aspects with the other races of Thedas- Darkspawn being corrupted versions of them- they will display a certain measure of social order. Such as the hierarchy of Darkspawn. Alphas>Emissaries>Regular Darkspawn>Grunts. Theirs is an animalistic society at best- a mockery of the other species. The Calling established that The Architect is capable of exercising
limited control over regular Darkspawn and that he is an abberation of
their kind and viewed as such by other Darkspawn. In Awakening, there is further development in that there are now Darkspawn with a level of thought and cognitive abilities, thereby upsetting their "society".
We cannot, however, take many aspects of the game literally if we're going to try and examine lore. The game's mechanics doesn't allow for the hivemind that the Darkspawn possess but The Calling establishes that if a Darkspawn detects an intruder into their territory, the Deep Roads will immediately begin to swarm with them in an attempt to find and destroy the intruder. Darkspawn are supposed to be completely hostile to anything but their own kind- even that is only because the song takes up most of their mind and causes them to dig. Left to themselves without the Old Gods' call, Darkspawn would probably tear themselves apart. I'm not sure where I read that- I think this was also in The Calling. I will provide the passage if I find it.
One thing we know is that Darkspawn have an unnaturally high amount of aggression. I'm using The Calling for most of my arguments, but this is shown at the end of The Calling where Bregan is shown to have become filled with aggression and is overcome by bloodlust for a moment.
However, we can make an assumption that the Darkspawn find the shiny coins interesting if nothing but for their sheen and take them for whatever purpose they may find for such things. We also know that Darkspawn are capable of purposefully defacing statues and symbols that other races revere. They also make crude shrines to the Old Gods so perhaps these coins are offerings for their Gods? Something Bodahn says about taking things away from Lost Thaigs and abandoned human settlements before the Darkspawn come and paw at them could be taken to mean that they do take trinkets.
Trouble is, there is so little information to be had on Darkspawn from the games and books that we're left to guess on many things. Hopefully, DA3 will answer a lot of questions.
light we shall ever know.” This is a line from The Calling spoken by The Architect. It says a lot about The Darkspawn and what they do and why they do it.
We can, however, safely assume that because Darkspawn share certain aspects with the other races of Thedas- Darkspawn being corrupted versions of them- they will display a certain measure of social order. Such as the hierarchy of Darkspawn. Alphas>Emissaries>Regular Darkspawn>Grunts. Theirs is an animalistic society at best- a mockery of the other species. The Calling established that The Architect is capable of exercising
limited control over regular Darkspawn and that he is an abberation of
their kind and viewed as such by other Darkspawn. In Awakening, there is further development in that there are now Darkspawn with a level of thought and cognitive abilities, thereby upsetting their "society".
We cannot, however, take many aspects of the game literally if we're going to try and examine lore. The game's mechanics doesn't allow for the hivemind that the Darkspawn possess but The Calling establishes that if a Darkspawn detects an intruder into their territory, the Deep Roads will immediately begin to swarm with them in an attempt to find and destroy the intruder. Darkspawn are supposed to be completely hostile to anything but their own kind- even that is only because the song takes up most of their mind and causes them to dig. Left to themselves without the Old Gods' call, Darkspawn would probably tear themselves apart. I'm not sure where I read that- I think this was also in The Calling. I will provide the passage if I find it.
One thing we know is that Darkspawn have an unnaturally high amount of aggression. I'm using The Calling for most of my arguments, but this is shown at the end of The Calling where Bregan is shown to have become filled with aggression and is overcome by bloodlust for a moment.
However, we can make an assumption that the Darkspawn find the shiny coins interesting if nothing but for their sheen and take them for whatever purpose they may find for such things. We also know that Darkspawn are capable of purposefully defacing statues and symbols that other races revere. They also make crude shrines to the Old Gods so perhaps these coins are offerings for their Gods? Something Bodahn says about taking things away from Lost Thaigs and abandoned human settlements before the Darkspawn come and paw at them could be taken to mean that they do take trinkets.
Trouble is, there is so little information to be had on Darkspawn from the games and books that we're left to guess on many things. Hopefully, DA3 will answer a lot of questions.
#3
Posté 02 avril 2012 - 01:04
Corker
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It can be a fun game to try and justify various loot drops, but I wouldn't put much serious weight on it. I've killed wolves that were apparently smuggling lyrium.
#4
Posté 02 avril 2012 - 07:38
gandanlin
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Intereseting comments.
I guess I keep trying to make sense of how the darkspawn live.
It might be interesting to have a short quest called, "A day in the life of a Hurlock Emissary," or something along that line. Maybe one who wants to rebel against the established order, who wants to know who his/her mother and father were, who has an unexplained urge to find light instead of darkness....something like that...maybe?
I guess I keep trying to make sense of how the darkspawn live.
It might be interesting to have a short quest called, "A day in the life of a Hurlock Emissary," or something along that line. Maybe one who wants to rebel against the established order, who wants to know who his/her mother and father were, who has an unexplained urge to find light instead of darkness....something like that...maybe?
#5
Posté 03 avril 2012 - 09:15
commanderVal
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How did you think the Mad hermit got his lyrium? There's only so much blood in an old man.Corker wrote...
It can be a fun game to try and justify various loot drops, but I wouldn't put much serious weight on it. I've killed wolves that were apparently smuggling lyrium.
gandanlin wrote...
Intereseting comments.
I guess I keep trying to make sense of how the darkspawn live.
It
might be interesting to have a short quest called, "A day in the life
of a Hurlock Emissary," or something along that line. Maybe one who
wants to rebel against the established order, who wants to know who
his/her mother and father were, who has an unexplained urge to find
light instead of darkness....something like that...maybe?
Darkspawn do not have a mommy darkspawn and daddy darkspawn sort of reproductive system. They are mass produced through Broodmothers. Broodmothers ingest flesh and somehow gush out a gazillion spawn based on their previous race. Dwarven broodmothers bring forth Genlocks, Human BMs bring out Hurlocks, Elven BMs make Shrieks and Kossith BMs manufacture Ogres. (Boy that'd be a sight to behold..). The Architect is that emissary you wish to play as. Only, a day in his life would be incredibly boring. He spends most of his time reading, writing and planning on killing the remaining Old Gods.
#6
Posté 03 avril 2012 - 09:48
gandanlin
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What you say is true. But you describe it from the outside, as an observer, as it were.
The question I sometimes ponder is how an average darkspawn would view his/her own situation. Presumably darkspawn are not born fully developed and at full size. Ouch, that would hurt. They must grow up somewhere and learn their various talents and skills. Do they recall anything of their relationship to a broodmother?
The Awakenings story presents us with the idea that an internal strife is occurring in the darkspawn numbers. Where there is strife, there must be opposing points of view. So how does that happen if darkspawn are only mindless creatures who listen only to the Archdemon's whisperings? And if they are not completely mindless, perhaps there can be rebels who want to do things their own way...?
Beats me. But it is interesting to think about.
The question I sometimes ponder is how an average darkspawn would view his/her own situation. Presumably darkspawn are not born fully developed and at full size. Ouch, that would hurt. They must grow up somewhere and learn their various talents and skills. Do they recall anything of their relationship to a broodmother?
The Awakenings story presents us with the idea that an internal strife is occurring in the darkspawn numbers. Where there is strife, there must be opposing points of view. So how does that happen if darkspawn are only mindless creatures who listen only to the Archdemon's whisperings? And if they are not completely mindless, perhaps there can be rebels who want to do things their own way...?
Beats me. But it is interesting to think about.
Modifié par gandanlin, 03 avril 2012 - 09:49 .
#7
Posté 04 avril 2012 - 06:03
commanderVal
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gandanlin wrote...
What you say is true. But you describe it from the outside, as an observer, as it were.
The question I sometimes ponder is how an average darkspawn would view his/her own situation. Presumably darkspawn are not born fully developed and at full size. Ouch, that would hurt. They must grow up somewhere and learn their various talents and skills. Do they recall anything of their relationship to a broodmother?
The Awakenings story presents us with the idea that an internal strife is occurring in the darkspawn numbers. Where there is strife, there must be opposing points of view. So how does that happen if darkspawn are only mindless creatures who listen only to the Archdemon's whisperings? And if they are not completely mindless, perhaps there can be rebels who want to do things their own way...?
Beats me. But it is interesting to think about.
True, I am not a darkspawn and I cannot speak from the point of view of one of the nonsapient Spawn- because as is explained in the lore by Gaider et al, the nonsapient type of Darkspawn truly have no thoughts besides "diggity diggity, ALRIGHT!".
It is said that Emissaries are capable of speech but only so much as to be able to threaten and sometimes deliver ultimatums on the battlefield. It would not be surprising since to cast spells, they would need to be able to at least mutter coherently. It has also been explained that Darkspawn have no sword skills whatsoever and they merely go through the rudimentary motions of attacking when in battle. Once again, this would make the game incredibly easy if the Darkspawn had no talents to use on us so you should not take it at face value.The story, in Awakening is much more complicated and it is not simply Darkspawn versus Darkspawn but rather The Mother versus The Architect. The Architect seeks to release Darkspawn from their compulsion and The Mother, upon realizing her current state- that of a giant blubbery Darkspawn factory- went insane. She seeks to return to her previous state of oblivion because she knows she cannot go back to becoming human. The Mother is a slightly tragic figure if you take the time to analyze the story. She claims in the final battle that whatever the outcome, she would find peace. She welcomes death as an alternative to her existence as a broodmother if she cannot escape back into the song.
As such, the internal strife is between The Architect and The Mother and most of the Darkspawn you face- aside from the Disciples (talking Darkspawn)- are merely pawns used by the two of them. I have not played DA2 so any new information provided by it would be beyond me.
You do raise a valid point in that Darkspawn could not possibly come into existence fully developed. I wonder if these aspects of a Darkspawn's life-cycle will be explained in the coming installments of the series. We have seen the Childers in Awakening but there has been no explanation as to their role in Darkspawn society, as it were. Makes for a lot of future installments does it not? One can only hope.
#8
Posté 04 avril 2012 - 09:47
gandanlin
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I probably would not be much interested in playing as a darkspawn. I played Darkspawn Chronicles and was not really too interested by that kind of role-playing.
But I would be interested in a quest or storyline that delved into the workings of darkspawn society. Seems like there is much that could be elaborated on. When I said "a day in the life of an hurlock emissary" earlier, perhaps that was a bad choice of words. I prefer the Warden role, but maybe in a setting that revealed more about the inner secrets of darkspawn and their doings.
But I would be interested in a quest or storyline that delved into the workings of darkspawn society. Seems like there is much that could be elaborated on. When I said "a day in the life of an hurlock emissary" earlier, perhaps that was a bad choice of words. I prefer the Warden role, but maybe in a setting that revealed more about the inner secrets of darkspawn and their doings.
#9
Posté 05 avril 2012 - 09:08
gandanlin
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Okay, so this is sort of a sketch of what it was I had in mind. Maybe it could be called a darkspawn origin.
In a cutscene, we see a darkspawn who is somehow different than the rest. He…She…well, let’s say It. It --like a few others of its kind -- can speak. Secretly, it learns to read and write the inscriptions it finds in the ruins the darkspawn have overrun. Creeping its way along dark underground paths it finds and ransacks the body of Dead Caste dwarf who had been the bearer of a message to Warden’s Peak. The contents of the message give this rebel darkspawn an idea. It decides to make its way to the surface world. It will deliver this message…and perhaps find a new life. A better life.
As the rebel reaches the surface world, it walks out into the light and the light strikes it with an almost physical blow. Its mind is filled with existential dread. The horror of its past, of the place where it has come from, suddenly becomes clear. But there is no turning back now. Using all the cunning and skill at its command to evade its enemies, the rebel marches along the long journey to the Peak.
Now, from here the perspective would shift back to that of an imported Warden (and the game itself would begin). The Warden would see the approach of the rebel darkspawn and go to do battle with it. The rebel darkspawn would then deliver its message to the Warden and make its appeal to be recruited. The Warden would choose to either recruit the rebel or kill it.
If the Warden recruits the rebel, there then would follow a storyline that takes the rebel back into the underground passages of its earlier life. As leader of an expedition, the rebel would embark upon a series of adventures that reveal much about the inner workings of darkspawn society. Certain secret knowledge might also be learned, such as how the darkspawn know where to dig for the Old Gods. Even more intriguing are rumours of how the very power of the Old Gods can be wielded by one who is initiated into the mysteries practised by a small enclave of mages of the ancient Tevinter Imperium -- who may yet still live in a very deep and dangerous section of the Deep Roads. There is, perhaps, even a secret corridor to the Black City itself....
Well, just a sketch, but sort of the basic idea.
In a cutscene, we see a darkspawn who is somehow different than the rest. He…She…well, let’s say It. It --like a few others of its kind -- can speak. Secretly, it learns to read and write the inscriptions it finds in the ruins the darkspawn have overrun. Creeping its way along dark underground paths it finds and ransacks the body of Dead Caste dwarf who had been the bearer of a message to Warden’s Peak. The contents of the message give this rebel darkspawn an idea. It decides to make its way to the surface world. It will deliver this message…and perhaps find a new life. A better life.
As the rebel reaches the surface world, it walks out into the light and the light strikes it with an almost physical blow. Its mind is filled with existential dread. The horror of its past, of the place where it has come from, suddenly becomes clear. But there is no turning back now. Using all the cunning and skill at its command to evade its enemies, the rebel marches along the long journey to the Peak.
Now, from here the perspective would shift back to that of an imported Warden (and the game itself would begin). The Warden would see the approach of the rebel darkspawn and go to do battle with it. The rebel darkspawn would then deliver its message to the Warden and make its appeal to be recruited. The Warden would choose to either recruit the rebel or kill it.
If the Warden recruits the rebel, there then would follow a storyline that takes the rebel back into the underground passages of its earlier life. As leader of an expedition, the rebel would embark upon a series of adventures that reveal much about the inner workings of darkspawn society. Certain secret knowledge might also be learned, such as how the darkspawn know where to dig for the Old Gods. Even more intriguing are rumours of how the very power of the Old Gods can be wielded by one who is initiated into the mysteries practised by a small enclave of mages of the ancient Tevinter Imperium -- who may yet still live in a very deep and dangerous section of the Deep Roads. There is, perhaps, even a secret corridor to the Black City itself....
Well, just a sketch, but sort of the basic idea.
Modifié par gandanlin, 05 avril 2012 - 09:30 .
#10
Posté 06 avril 2012 - 07:55
commanderVal
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gandanlin wrote...
Okay, so this is sort of a sketch of what it was I had in mind. Maybe it could be called a darkspawn origin.
In a cutscene, we see a darkspawn who is somehow different than the rest. He…She…well, let’s say It. It --like a few others of its kind -- can speak. Secretly, it learns to read and write the inscriptions it finds in the ruins the darkspawn have overrun. Creeping its way along dark underground paths it finds and ransacks the body of Dead Caste dwarf who had been the bearer of a message to Warden’s Peak. The contents of the message give this rebel darkspawn an idea. It decides to make its way to the surface world. It will deliver this message…and perhaps find a new life. A better life.
As the rebel reaches the surface world, it walks out into the light and the light strikes it with an almost physical blow. Its mind is filled with existential dread. The horror of its past, of the place where it has come from, suddenly becomes clear. But there is no turning back now. Using all the cunning and skill at its command to evade its enemies, the rebel marches along the long journey to the Peak.
Now, from here the perspective would shift back to that of an imported Warden (and the game itself would begin). The Warden would see the approach of the rebel darkspawn and go to do battle with it. The rebel darkspawn would then deliver its message to the Warden and make its appeal to be recruited. The Warden would choose to either recruit the rebel or kill it.
If the Warden recruits the rebel, there then would follow a storyline that takes the rebel back into the underground passages of its earlier life. As leader of an expedition, the rebel would embark upon a series of adventures that reveal much about the inner workings of darkspawn society. Certain secret knowledge might also be learned, such as how the darkspawn know where to dig for the Old Gods. Even more intriguing are rumours of how the very power of the Old Gods can be wielded by one who is initiated into the mysteries practised by a small enclave of mages of the ancient Tevinter Imperium -- who may yet still live in a very deep and dangerous section of the Deep Roads. There is, perhaps, even a secret corridor to the Black City itself....
Well, just a sketch, but sort of the basic idea.
That is most impressive. It is something to ponder but it also goes against much of the established canon- unless you set this after Awakening. You see, no matter the cunning of a Darkspawn, it is always subject to the call of the Old Gods. That is what cause them to dig and it can be assumed that they are directed by the call and not by any knowledge. Why would they dig otherwise? Would they not follow the warrens and find a path to the Old Gods? Their primitive minds and the capacity it has for thought is extremely limited and thus they dig in a straight line towards the source of the call.
You see, many animals such as Gorillas and Elephants can be trained to perform some vert human-like actions but that does not mean their intelligence can be equated with a human's. One does not follow the other in this case. Elephants in a circus often kick a ball around but they cannot perform dribbles or feints to play a football match. Orangutan have been observed to use small tools like sticks dipped in sap to draw out ants but that does not mean they can invent a machine to suck out ants and store them. Necessity drives any primitive life form to invention to a certain degree and so the Darkspawn, in imitation of their counterparts of the surface and Dwarven world strap ragged pieces of armour to their bodies and wield crude weapons fashioned by ghouls- not by other Darkspawn but by human, elven and dwarven ghouls that once possessed a higher plane of thought.
Bear in mind also that there is only one among the Darkspawn that has knowledge of the locations of the remaining two Old Gods- The Architect. That too, a knowledge it acquired from an Orlesian Commander of the Grey and not by its own research into the matter. It has been established in The Calling that Bregan was not the only Grey Warden that had this knowledge at his disposal. If in Orlais, there were a number of Wardens who knew this, then it can be assumed that it is common knowledge in the upper echelons of Weisshaupt.
And yet there is a certain appeal to your story. I hope you intend to continue with this and not just stop at your synopsis. This would make for a great fanfic at the very least if not an inspiration for the writers of the series themselves. I, for one, would love to see this developed into a full story.
#11
Posté 07 avril 2012 - 07:28
gandanlin
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Well, it is very probably true that I don't know all the details of the estalished canon.
But I cannot help but wonder how to bring certain threads of the storyline (as well as I know it) together. And lately I have been having some pretty cool ideas about what might happen during a trip into unexplored sections of the Deep Roads. More in outline at this stage, though.
Still, I definitely can see possibilities. There must be more to the DAO story. There has to be.
But I cannot help but wonder how to bring certain threads of the storyline (as well as I know it) together. And lately I have been having some pretty cool ideas about what might happen during a trip into unexplored sections of the Deep Roads. More in outline at this stage, though.
Still, I definitely can see possibilities. There must be more to the DAO story. There has to be.
Modifié par gandanlin, 07 avril 2012 - 07:28 .
