The Darkspawn are a subterranean menace in the world of Dragon Age: Origins. At first they were a threat mostly to the dwarves, who (for the most part) spend their entire lives underground. Recently it seems the Darkspawn are starting to plague surface dwellers, too. Maric encountered the Darkspawn in The Stolen Throne and lived to tell the tale, but where do they come from?

Now it seems we know:

No one knows how the Darkspawn truly live in their tainted warrens beneath the earth, although a few Grey Wardens have, on occasion, delved deep into the old Dwarven tunnels in an effort to find the heart of the Darkspawn corruption and scour it clean. Those who ever returned, did so with ashen faces and spoke only of a creature called a “Broodmother” that haunted their dreams for the rest of their short existence. What the Broodmother truly is, only the Grey Wardens know for certain.

Before we get to the trailer (which is not for the squeamish) let’s talk DLC. Bioware and EA are doing their best to fight the used game market: those of us who buy the game new will get a code The Stone Prisoner, a DLC package which unlocks some quests and adds a new potential party member (a stone golem named Shale) to the game. If you buy a used copy of Dragon Age: Origins, The Stone Prisoner is going to cost you $15.

There’s another package of DLC that’ll be ready on Day 1 called Warden’s Keep. I’ve seen some sources claim this is an XBox exclusive, but my contact at Bioware says it’ll be available for $7 on PSN and PC, and 560 points on XBLA. The Warden’s Keep unlocks Grey Warden Armor, a chest to store your belongings in, and a quest line involved a haunted Grey Warden Keep.

Here’s the trailer for the Brood Mother. The creature is pretty vile, and the amount of blood spatter in this clip is way over the top. Make sure the kids aren’t looking over your shoulder when you view this one. A couple of stills follow the clip. This thing is nasty!!