dragons.

[thatoneguywho-]

hello! so if you have dragons, how do you write? are they the generic, large, flying, fire breathing lizards, or just land reptiles, or even a magical behemoth?

well, I'd like some advice. I have my dragons divided in to three subspecies:

the Saurae Dragonae, just a generic dragon,
the Saurae isaehud, larger dragons,
and the Saurae kujgaeno, TITANTIC MONSTROSITIES OF A DRAGON WITH MORE THAN FOUR LIMBS AND LITERAL MAGIC FIRE.(very few left)

all of them have 'saurae' in them, as you may notice.

please give advice

 

[Saigonnus]

I tend towards dragons being "natural" rather than "magical" creatures. In one of my fantasy settings, they are similar to lizards in that they live in small pods, but they are the size of a horse (at the largest), not counting their tails. They tend towards more remote areas; where game is more plentiful; given their dietary needs are quite rigorous, but not as much as a more traditional "dragon" might eat (a whole flock for 1 dragon seems unsustainable). They also cannot fly, but are quite fast when running; easily outpacing a horse.

 

[cornu aspersum]

I'm similar to Siagonnus in that my dragons are also more feasible, although they do stretch the limits of what's realistic. They don't breathe fire, instead spraying a type of venom so hard, that the particles heat up and sizzle, creating a 'fire-like' effect. Some species don't spit anything at all. They can still fly, with some of them being quite big, so that's not realistic.

I also have eastern 'dragons', which were considered dragons simply because they were large reptiles, but studies reveal that they are only distantly related to actual dragons.

 

[thatoneguywho-]

I tend towards dragons being "natural" rather than "magical" creatures. In one of my fantasy settings, they are similar to lizards in that they live in small pods, but they are the size of a horse (at the largest), not counting their tails. They tend towards more remote areas; where game is more plentiful; given their dietary needs are quite rigorous, but not as much as a more traditional "dragon" might eat (a whole flock for 1 dragon seems unsustainable). They also cannot fly, but are quite fast when running; easily outpacing a horse.

interesting take! my dragons(Saurae) had to evolve due to humans hunting them for sport, so they basically become the perfect way for a human to kill another human. this also turned them into three different subspecies. do you have any advice you could give me on behavior, maybe? I want the remaining kujgaeno to get a central role. (lore time) by far the largest and most powerful of the saurae,the Saurae kujgaeno are believed to be extinct by humans. in reality, 12 of them remain, hidden in the magical fog surrounding the floating islands of Hulsij(set there by the former god of wind, to protect both the kujgaeno and what once was the last of humanity, which is now isolated from the rest, with Hulsij being only part of the region connected to the outside world.) they are huge, their eyes are in fact 6 humans tall.

 

[thatoneguywho-]

I'm similar to Siagonnus in that my dragons are also more feasible, although they do stretch the limits of what's realistic. They don't breathe fire, instead spraying a type of venom so hard, that the particles heat up and sizzle, creating a 'fire-like' effect. Some species don't spit anything at all. They can still fly, with some of them being quite big, so that's not realistic.

I also have eastern 'dragons', which were considered dragons simply because they were large reptiles, but studies reveal that they are only distantly related to actual dragons.

so, like rainwings from WoF? btw, could you maybe give me advice on how I could write dragons(or Saurae) that are being controlled by an external force?

 

[pmmg]

I think I am too far gone, from drugs and recovery (Cancer) to offer useful thoughty comments to help you with writing them.

The Dragon in my story is more on the spiritual side of things. Its like the most menacing form of shadowy deity that appears mostly in legend and not on screen. It will certainly appear in book 5, but has been absent in the story so far. It will mostly menace a battlefield in probably all of the encounters I have planned for it.

I dont think I have ever thought that it would be difficult to write. It just kind of large, breathes fire all around, and makes everyone shake, as any dragon should. The question for me is how much to have before a final confrontation occurs and all this stuff I've been planning finally hits the page.

 

[Josh2Write]

hello! so if you have dragons, how do you write? are they the generic, large, flying, fire breathing lizards, or just land reptiles, or even a magical behemoth?

well, I'd like some advice. I have my dragons divided in to three subspecies:

the Saurae Dragonae, just a generic dragon,
the Saurae isaehud, larger dragons,
and the Saurae kujgaeno, TITANTIC MONSTROSITIES OF A DRAGON WITH MORE THAN FOUR LIMBS AND LITERAL MAGIC FIRE.(very few left)

all of them have 'saurae' in them, as you may notice.

please give advice

For me it all depends on the story, the setting, if the dragon is sentient or not, size, color, personality. If it's good, or evil, pet, or ride, or challenge, or set to guard something or someone. It all depends.

 

[skip.knox]

I echo Josh2Write here: it depends. The considerations are going to vary widely from one writer to another. I have only vague notions about dragons in Altearth, though I do have a lindwurm or two. Even those are shockingly vague up until the very moment I start describing them. I find it nearly impossible to think about them in the abstract.

Perhaps you have some specific questions about your own dragons?

 

[Gurkhal]

There are almost as many takes on dragons as there are settings with dragons in them.

What I can tell from the OP is that his dragons seems to be divided into those with magical fire, I will assume the others don't breath fire at all, and two kinds without magical fire.

That's something you may want to expand upon. Maybe the Saurae Kujgaeno are the original dragons and the others are later evolutionary/magical/whatever adaptions to new circumstances who are smaller and lack a magical fire but have other aspects or traits that allow them to flourish, such as a faster rate of reproduction, that the Saurae Kujgaeno lack due to the mentioning that there are few of them left?

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Ours can drive. >.>

No, really. But everyone else's dragons are more animalistic. Ours are also happy to eat pretty much anything - or anyone - and being bone eaters they don't often leave much for forensics. Ours just also usually travel with an American Express in matte black. They are shapeshifters with three available forms; human-seeming, half-form - think big velociraptor with wings - and full dragon, averaging around 45 feet long at full maturity. Six breeds, around the world and from the tops of the clouds to the silent, ebon depths of the ocean, there are very few environments dragons can't dominate. Four of the six can fly, and of the other two are the sea dragons - weird bunch - who fly through water just fine, and the others originating from the Middle East... no one really knows why they have no wings.

They are immortal until they die. Everything has an expiration date, even if they have bullet-proof scales and can breath fire in all three of their forms. And favor Bugatti.

 

[Prince of Spires]

They are shapeshifters with three available forms; human-seeming, half-form - think big velociraptor with wings - and full dragon, averaging around 45 feet long at full maturity.

I always wonder how that works from a conservation of energy point of view... When they shapeshift, do they become very heavy, very dense humans (or alternatively, very light dragons), or does the matter transform into energy (and back)?

The latter is not impossible of course (it's what E=MC^2 is), but assuming the dragons in dragon form weigh about as much as a small T-rex (about 5.000 kg), transforming into a human would then roughly release 4.5 x 10^20 Joules in energy, or about as much as the world uses in a year. And of course, transforming back requires the same amount to transform the energy back into mass.

It of course opens up the possibility of using dragons as a kind of battery... But's I'm guessing that's a different tale, and the Bugatti type dragons wouldn't consent to that.

As a side note (since I did go down a dragon sized rabbit hole anyway), Velociraptors were apparently a lot smaller than they tend to be portrayed as in Jurasic Park. More large turkeys than small T-rexes... According to Wikipedia at least.

 

[thatoneguywho-]

I always wonder how that works from a conservation of energy point of view... When they shapeshift, do they become very heavy, very dense humans (or alternatively, very light dragons), or does the matter transform into energy (and back)?

The latter is not impossible of course (it's what E=MC^2 is), but assuming the dragons in dragon form weigh about as much as a small T-rex (about 5.000 kg), transforming into a human would then roughly release 4.5 x 10^20 Joules in energy, or about as much as the world uses in a year. And of course, transforming back requires the same amount to transform the energy back into mass.

It of course opens up the possibility of using dragons as a kind of battery... But's I'm guessing that's a different tale, and the Bugatti type dragons wouldn't consent to that.

As a side note (since I did go down a dragon sized rabbit hole anyway), Velociraptors were apparently a lot smaller than they tend to be portrayed as in Jurasic Park. More large turkeys than small T-rexes... According to Wikipedia at least.

(how did this become a discussion about other dragons)



velosiraptors are believed to have been able to glide and were probs smaller than chicken.

 

[thatoneguywho-]

They are immortal until they die. Everything has an expiration date, even if they have bullet-proof scales and can breath fire in all three of their forms. And favor Bugatti.

most dragons are like this lol

 

[thatoneguywho-]

There are almost as many takes on dragons as there are settings with dragons in them.

What I can tell from the OP is that his dragons seems to be divided into those with magical fire, I will assume the others don't breath fire at all, and two kinds without magical fire.

That's something you may want to expand upon. Maybe the Saurae Kujgaeno are the original dragons and the others are later evolutionary/magical/whatever adaptions to new circumstances who are smaller and lack a magical fire but have other aspects or traits that allow them to flourish, such as a faster rate of reproduction, that the Saurae Kujgaeno lack due to the mentioning that there are few of them left?

how did you guess what I was gonna do...

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

Monster hunter plays fast and loose with what counts as a 'dragon' because they use the term Wyverns in place of just 'dragons' which opens them up to a whole lot of species variation and aren't limited to just scaly firebreathing lizards (we have those too, in many different flavors)

In my story I have traditional dragons which come in all shapes, species and sizes, similar to monster hunter.
Then I also have humanoid characters who bear the title of 'dragon' which in god language means 'like a god' and their power makes them closer to gods than most dragons are, even though the dragons are divine beings in and of themselves.

 

[Gurkhal]

how did you guess what I was gonna do...

I read your post.

 

[Toob Waysider]

hello! so if you have dragons, how do you write? are they the generic, large, flying, fire breathing lizards, or just land reptiles, or even a magical behemoth?

well, I'd like some advice. I have my dragons divided in to three subspecies:

the Saurae Dragonae, just a generic dragon,
the Saurae isaehud, larger dragons,
and the Saurae kujgaeno, TITANTIC MONSTROSITIES OF A DRAGON WITH MORE THAN FOUR LIMBS AND LITERAL MAGIC FIRE.(very few left)

all of them have 'saurae' in them, as you may notice.

please give advice

My world - all the terrain as well as the various species of sentients, plants, and animals - was built with those basics stolen from Earth (and eventually other worlds) by a dangerously petulant Toddler Godling, with the people of Earth mind-swiped to forget... except for the dragons. I don't know how the people of that world found out, or if it's just wishful thinking, but it's believed that the Godling did not bring them into his private pocket dimension; they forced their way in. There are only four adults - a drake lord and three females, but one of the females is ready to lay a clutch of eggs.
They look like the cliche depiction of dragons, but they are relatively small (about the size of an elephant) and do not breathe fire. They are sentient but can only converse by thought-casting because of the restrictions in their oral bone structure.

It is believed that they would have feasted on whatever/whoever they could snatch up, had it not been for the lives of their young being threatened by a common, treatable, disease in lizards back on Earth, but which is deadly to these dragons. A herpetologist is brought in via the portal between worlds (which is a Connecticut tavern - my main setting) and she is able to save the day (wisely without telling the dragonfolk that it always was curable.) They are now gratefully allied with my micro-nation of interest and confine their diet to all the mastodon herds north of the mountain range which stretches from one side of that flat planet to the other.

That's all I have on them for now. They have not played a significant role yet in the narrative, but are acknowledged as part of the historical background. So I guess for me it's a combination of realism and understated magic. It feels right for the overall type of fantasy I'm dabbling in and that would be my advice for you - no matter what your conception is of dragons, stick with what feels good to you, which you feel comfortable in writing.