Welcome to the first episode of Ran Explains Lore (Badly!)!
Today's topic: The Darkspawn
So a thousand years ago some stupid mages did some stupid magic shit, got cursed, turned into monsters, and thrown underground. They made a bunch of monster babies, dug up a hibernating dragon-god, then decided to conquer the world! They almost did, and then the Grey Wardens showed up and kicked their asses. This has happened five times now.
There are several different kinds of Darkspawn. I have only fought two in my days as a mercenary.
Genlocks: Short, but with long-ass arms. They tend to walk on their knuckles, and move surprisingly quickly. They also pack a heckuva punch and grasp. Very annoying.
Hurlocks: These guys kinda look like a man, if something ate his face off his skull, and sharpened his teeth. They're not quite as fast or strong as their short brothers, but they compensate with weapons and armor.