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D&D dragons are able to eat almost everything, but each race have a preferred diet (some prefer flesh, other prefer to eat precious metals or gems, and so forth).
Dragons are inherently magical beings, and in no case should dragons be considered [[Wikipedia:Reptile|reptiles]], despite obvious similarities such as a scaled epidermis and reproduction by laying [[egg Wikipedia:Epidermis (biologyzoology)|eggsepidermis]]and reproduction by laying eggs. In fact, Dragons are more akin to feline creatures than reptiles, particularly in regards to their posture and movements, as well as being inherently warm-blooded and an eye composition similar to felines, although far more complex. A good example of this is the placement of the legs: Reptiles have their legs placed on the sides of their body, while most mammals have them placed underneath their body- dragons also tend to place their rear foot where their front foot was previously, much like most stalking feline predators.
The number of eggs laid each time depends on the race of the dragon, but is usually low (between one and ten). Dragons can also cross-breed with virtually any other creature, creating a [[half-dragon]]. The most commonly heard of are in the humanoid races, particularly with human and elves. Any combination is possible, however, even with [[devil]]s or [[angel]]s.
All dragons are intelligent beings, and most of them exceedingly so. Dragon personality varies from dragon to dragon, but dragons of the same subrace tend to have similar mindsets. This is not always true; several exceptions exist in official ''D&D'' material. In the Forgotten Realms a good-aligned red dragon is involved against his will in the Fall of the [[Elf|elf]] city of [[w:c:Forgottenrealms:Myth Drannor|Myth Drannor]].
Dragon subraces encompass all ''D&D'' [[Alignment (role-playing games)|alignmentsalignment]]s, going from [[lawful good]] paladin-like gold dragons to the cruel and very greedy [[chaotic evil]] red dragons.
All dragons share a common desire to collect treasure, be it precious, beautiful, magical or just shiny- indeed, the treasure in question needn't always be gold, and may sometimes be aesthetic in nature, ranging from popular artwork or sculptures or even rare books and tomes that might otherwise have an overwhelming monetary value. For [[Alignment|evil-aligned]] dragons, this generally means a greedy attitude to achieve such wealth by whatever means suit them. For [[Alignment|good]] dragons this lust for treasure is tempered, although they are certainly not averse to earning such wealth, and still appreciate gifts (while being insulted if offered an obvious bribe).
== Dragons in campaign settings ==
In many settings, the [[god]]-[[monarchWikipedia:Monarch|king]] of the metallic dragons is [[Bahamut]], the Platinum Dragon, and the [[Deity|goddess]] and queen of the chromatic dragons is [[Tiamat]], the Five-Headed Dragon. The progenitor and supreme deity of all dragons is known as [[Io]]. Other deities often included in the draconic pantheon of gods include [[Aasterinian]], [[Chronepsis]], and [[Faluzure]]. Other draconic gods may be present in different campaign settings.
=== Dragonlance setting ===
==References==
{{reflist}}
*[[James Wyatt (game designer)|Wyatt, James]] and Rob Heinsoo. ''[[Monstrous Compendium]]: [[Monsters of Faerun]]'' ([[Wizards of the Coast]], [[2001]]).*Andy Collins, Skip Williams, and James Wyatt. ''[[Draconomicon]]'' ([[Wizards of the Coast]], [[2003]]).
== External links ==
[[Category:Dragons]]
[[Category:Council of Wyrms]]
[[Category:Dark Sun]]
[[Category:Dragonlance]]
[[Category:Eberron]]
[[Category:Forgotten Realms]]
[[Category:Greyhawk]]
[[Category:Kara-Tur]]
[[Category:Planescape]]
[[Category:Rokugan]]
