Plausible Explanations for Dragons

[wordwalker]

I've mused on this before, that the Quetzalcoatlus was a 500-pound pterasaur, a flying reptile the size of a lion-- so it pretty much is a minor dragon, especially if you add some cunning or a simple breath weapon like spitting poison.

But another answer is in The Flight of Dragons, a book (the movie's very different) that ties together everything from from flying to hoards to Medusa. Peter Dickinson's theory is that dragons could have been living balloons that burned off excess gas in their breath. It explains everything, though it leaves dragons an almost literal "paper tiger" with such weak hides and no real attack except faces evolved to terrify. But a fantasy writer could always add more power, tougher scales, and so on.

It's all about scale. A smaller dragon without thick armor wouldn't need a hero with a runesword (or a Black Arrow) to kill it, just a common bowman with a lot of nerve.

 

[Saigonnus]

I went a slightly different way with dragons in my world. That way is to make them naturally evolving creatures, just like any other on Aern. They differ somewhat from the traditional depictions of dragons, though they are still large lizards. The first difference is that they don't fly. Instead; like the flying squirrel, they have membrane that allows them to glide fairly long distances depending on the thermals and updrafts obviously. Their claws can pierce nearly any material easily, so they like to cling to rocky outcroppings or large trees and drop onto unsuspecting prey far below.

The second difference is that they don't have a breath weapon. I chose to employ methods found in the real world. Their saliva is very acidic; for breaking down flesh quickly, and they can spit this a short distance; like the spitting adder. They tend to go for the eyes to blind the target, make the kill easier.

Another difference is that they are smaller that stereotypical dragons. The largest only get to be about 20 feet long from nose to tail. They are used as mounts by a couple of the cultures of my world, and trained to work side by side with humans in most others, since they are intelligent.

Given that they live in pods in the wild, they can be very dangerous to those that pass into their territory; which given that they are cold-blooded are usualky the warmer climates. There is some variety though, as there are also arctic dwelling types with a special heating system in their body allowing them to subsist nearly anywhere on the planet. This heating system requires more energy, thus more food, so in the lean times, they will keep the burners on low and hibernate.

 

[Shreddies]

I'm really interested in how plausible it'd be to have a land animal, other than bugs, having the ability to shock.

I've got your lightning dragon right here: Electrolaser

Mechanical, but still food for thought.

 

[ArenRax]

My dragons were created before the Universe of the realms of creation existed, they lived in a seperate universe, Raphael is an Immortal all powerful creator and he created the Dragons as magical, Immortal, and all powerful. They were Makers. they created worlds 1 at a time while The creators created Universes. The Dragons were forced to flee from there universe as did the Creators so Raphael bridged his universe with another and they traveled but Raphael was left behind as he held back the Dark Void. but over the years the Dragons were enslaved by Elemental Overlords adn the dragons lost there Immortality and there maker powers and the stayed slaves to each element until The Last of the maker dragons appeared and each one freed the enslaved dragons and each one created gods and became Kings. There are the elemental Dragon kings of Aqua(ice and water), Fire(Volcanic and Fire), Dark,Death,Light,Life,Earth,Sky, and then there are the Emperor dragons who are masters of all elements. the Emperor is the lord over all dragons. and then there is the last King. The Lost King of the dragon makers.

My MC is the Dragon Crown Prince of Fire. he has a second soul that is the dragon god of fire who was incidently related to the Dragon Creator Raphael.

 

[Bruce McKnight]

Cast the spell, and there's your dragon.

A wizard did it!

 

[ArenRax]

meh. i like my explanation

 

[S.T. Ockenner]

As dragons are usually magic creatures, you could also come up with magical explanations:
1. They are mages, and can cast spells with their incantations that resemble breath magic
2. They are descended from elemental spirits, and can manipulate their element through their breath
3. Dragons have a special kind of magic that allows them a single magical breath projectile, such as fire or poisonous thorns- they expel it through a sort of magical combustion in their mouth
4. Dragons are gods
5. Dragons have elemental portals in their mouths
6. Dragons have tiny pyromancers living in their stomachs that shoot fire (this one is my favorite)

 

[SirenSon117]

My dragons vary quite a bit, but a cool thing I did was change their breath attack to a Soul Lazer rather than your traditional flamethrower.