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Adapted from Wikipedia
In [[Dungeons & Dragons]], there are many color-coded races of dragons, each of which breathes a different element; for example, red and gold dragons breathe fire, white and silver dragons breathe frost, and blue and bronze dragons breathe bolts of lightning. Some dragons (particularly metallic dragons) have two different kinds of breath, usually a lethal one (fire, ice, acid, electricity, etc.) and another that is typically non-lethal (paralysis, repulsion, confusion, etc.).
[[Dungeons & Dragons]] 3rd edition divided true dragons further into three main categories: ''chromatic dragons'', such as green and black dragons, which are evil-[[Alignment (Dungeons & Dragons)|aligned]]; ''metallic dragons'', such as gold and [[Silver dragon|silver]] dragons, which are good; and neutral-aligned ''gem dragons'', rare creatures that possess [[Psionics|psionic]] abilities. However, with 4th edition, the classifications were changed, and chromatic dragons are now not strictly evil, gem dragons were gotten rid of and instead there were added "planar dragons" which are chromatic dragons that were warped by living on a plane of existence other than the Material Plane, as well as "catastrophe dragons" which take on the aspects of natural disasters which are chaotic evil and cause chaos for its own sake
In addition, there are other sub-species of true dragons that don't fit into the three main categories. For example, mercury and steel dragons would seem to be metallic dragons, but in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' world they are considered to be outside of the main family of metallic dragons because of various biological differences (though the book ''Dragons of Faerûn'' does list them as metallic dragons). The "lung dragons" or spirit-dragons of ''[[Oriental Adventures]]'' are also true dragons. Detailed information about D&D dragonkind may be found in the ''Draconomicon'', a ''D&D'' supplement book designed especially for draconic information.
In 4th edition, there are five major dragon families: catastrophic, chromatic, metallic, planar and scourge.<ref>http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/4ex/20081020b</ref> chromatic Chromatic dragons are presented in the ''Monster Manual '' and ''Draconomicon I '' and planar dragons are presented in ''Draconomicon I''.
==Types of dragons==
====Chromatic dragons====
{{main|Chromatic dragons (Dungeons & Dragons)}}Chromatic dragons are usually of evil [[Alignment (Dungeons & Dragons)|alignment]]. They are the Black Dragon, Blue Dragon, Green Dragon, Red Dragon and White Dragon. [[Tiamat (Dungeons & Dragons)|Tiamat]] is usually considered the deity of chromatic dragons, though not all chromatic dragons acknowledge her as such. The 4th edition Draconomicon introduced the Purple Dragon, Brown Dragon, Grey Dragon, which have not traditionally been linked with Tiamat.
====Metallic dragons====
Metallic dragons are typically of good alignment. They are the Brass Dragon, the Bronze Dragon, the Copper Dragon, the Gold Dragon, and the Silver Dragon. [[Bahamut (Dungeons & Dragons)|Bahamut]] is the deity of metallic dragons.
=====Brass dragon=====
* '''Diet:''' Dew drops
* '''Preferred Treasure:''' Objects made of plant matter (For example: a rare piece of wood, a finely woven garment, ''etc.'')
* '''Alignment:''' [[Alignment (Dungeons & Dragons)#Chaotic Good|Chaotic Good]]
* '''Image:''' [http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/MM35_gallery/MM35_PG79.jpg Wizards.com image]
* '''Stats:''' [http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/dragonTrue.htm#brassDragon OGL stats]
* '''Diet:''' Aquatic plants, shark meat, pearls
* '''Preferred Treasure:''' Pearls, Diamonds, Emeralds, and gold
* '''Alignment:''' [[Alignment (Dungeons & Dragons)#Lawful Good|Lawful Good]]
* '''Image:''' [http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/MM35_gallery/MM35_PG81.jpg Wizards.com image]
* '''Stats:''' [http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/dragonTrue.htm#bronzeDragon OGL stats]
|name=Gold dragon
|alignment=Lawful Good
|type=[[Dragon (Dungeons & Dragons)|Dragon]]
|subtype=Fire
|source= Draconomicon, Monster Manual v3.5
|name=Silver dragon
|alignment=Lawful Good or Chaotic Good (2nd Edition)
|type=[[Dragon (Dungeons & Dragons)|Dragon]]
|subtype=Cold
|source=''Monster Manual 3.5''
======Society======
Silver dragons are extremely rare and elusive, preferring to take the guise of kind and [[elderly]] [[Humanoid (Dungeons & Dragons)|humanoids]] or very attractive and young humanoids. They very much like to associate with [[Elf (Dungeons & Dragons)|elves]] and [[Human (Dungeons & Dragons)|humanshuman]]s, not necessarily because they prefer their company over other races, but because they try to learn from the shorter lived humans.
Silver dragons' favored enemy are red dragons because these chromatic dragons are almost always evil and have a talent for destruction. Additionally, silvers and whites favor the same sort of terrain for lairs, which leads to territorial disputes on top of having attitudes and philosophies at odds with the others'.
===Lung Dragons===
Lung Dragons are based upon [[Wikipedia:Oriental|oriental]] ([[Wikipedia:Chinese mythology|Chinese]] and [[Wikipedia:Japanese mythology|Japanese]]) dragons as opposed to the western-based True Dragons, and appear in correspondingly themed settings such as [[Kara-Tur]] or [[Rokugan]]. Lung Dragons are spirits that embody and empower aspects of nature rather than being normal, physical creatures, and they are mostly [[True Neutral]] in alignment.
===Planar dragons===
* '''Breath weapon:''' Razor-sharp thorns
* '''Terrain:''' Olympian Glades of [[Arborea (Dungeons & Dragons)|Arborea]]
* '''Alignment:''' Chaotic Good
* '''Notes:'''
* '''Breath weapon:''' Random elemental blast (acid, cold, electricity, fire, sound, etc.), Confusion gas
* '''Terrain:''' Ever-Changing Chaos of [[Limbo (Dungeons & Dragons)|Limbo]]
* '''Alignment:''' Any Chaotic
* '''Notes:'''
* '''Breath weapon:''' Poisonous insanity vapors
* '''Terrain:''' Infinite Layers of the [[Abyss (Dungeons & Dragons)|Abyss]]
* '''Alignment:''' Chaotic Evil
* '''Notes:''' Chole dragons cannot make any noises and have tentacles instead of wings, making them very different from other dragons. They also are enigmatic, having strange runes on their bodies and tentacles.
* '''Breath weapon:''' Antithetical energy
* '''Terrain:''' Concordant Domain of the [[Outlands (Dungeons & Dragons)|Outlands]]
* '''Alignment:''' True Neutral
* '''Notes:''' Its Breath weapon is a beam of translucent energy that inverts everything that it passes by. It explodes on contact. Relatively easygoing, they tend to get along well with other dragonkind, especially their own kind.
* '''Breath weapon:''' Sonic energy, inebriation gas
* '''Terrain:''' Blessed Fields of [[Elysium (Dungeons & Dragons)|Elysium]]
* '''Alignment:''' Neutral Good
* '''Notes:'''
* '''Breath weapon:''' Howling sound, Maddening wails
* '''Terrain:''' Windswept Depths of [[Pandemonium (Dungeons & Dragons)|Pandemonium]]
* '''Alignment:''' Chaotic Evil or Chaotic Neutral
* '''Notes:'''
* '''Breath weapon:''' Superheated ash & waves of sonic, Disintegrating line
* '''Terrain:''' Bleak Eternity of [[Gehenna (Dungeons & Dragons)|Gehenna]]
* '''Alignment:''' Lawful Evil or Neutral Evil
* '''Notes:''' The Pyroclastic dragon is arguably one of the most powerful of all extraplanar dragons in D&D, likely rivaled only by the Radiant dragon and the Prismatic dragon.
* '''Breath weapon:''' Acid, Rusting liquid
* '''Terrain:''' Infernal Battlefield of [[Acheron (Dungeons & Dragons)|Acheron]]
* '''Alignment:''' Lawful Neutral or Lawful Evil
* '''Notes:'''
===Lesser dragons===
====Elemental Drakes====
'''Elemental drakes''' are lesser dragons most closely related to wyverns. They hail from the Elemental Planes, and are sometimes used as mounts by [[Genie (Dungeons & Dragons)|jann]]. Unlike wyverns they are sentient.
'''Types'''
*[[Spiretop Dragons]]
*[[Wurms]]
*[[Wyvern (Dungeons & Dragons)|Wyverns]]
== Dragon abilities ==
Dragons are inherently magical beings, and in no case should dragons be considered [[reptiles]], despite obvious similarities such as a scaled epidermis and reproduction by laying [[egg (biology)|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 (Dungeons & Dragons)|devilsdevil]] s or [[Angel (Dungeons & Dragons)|angelsangel]]s.
As far as senses, which varies slightly depending on species due to each one, they are superior in most ways to other creatures- like any predator, they have exceptionally acute senses, which only increase with age. Like avian creatures, they have excellent depth perception and comparingly good peripheral vision, able to see twice as well as a human in daylight- unlike avians, they have great night vision, and are able to see even when condition have no light to offer, the only drawback being that there is a lack of color in such circumstances.
== Dragon personalities ==
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 (Dungeons & Dragons)|elf]] city of [[w:c:Forgottenrealms:Myth Drannor|Myth Drannor]].
Dragon subraces encompass all ''D&D'' [[Alignment (role-playing games)|alignments]], going from [[Alignment (Dungeons & Dragons)#Lawful Good|lawful good]] paladin-like gold dragons to the cruel and very greedy [[Alignment (Dungeons & Dragons)#Chaotic Evil|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 (Dungeons & Dragons)|evil-aligned]] dragons, this generally directs means a greedy attitude to achieve such wealth by whatever means suit them. For [[Alignment (Dungeons & Dragons)|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).
Being stronger, faster, generally smarter, and possessing longer life than humans, dragons tend to consider themselves superior creatures. For good-aligned dragons, this may only mean they often consider humanoid races as children, trying to take care of them and educate them; for evil-aligned dragons, they consider humanoids as mere animals, or as toys to play with- at best, they are minions and slaves.
== Dragons in campaign settings ==
In many settings, the [[god]]-[[monarch|king]] of the metallic dragons is [[Bahamut (Dungeons & Dragons)|Bahamut]], the Platinum Dragon, and the [[Deity|goddess]] and [[monarch|queen]] of the chromatic dragons is [[Tiamat (Dungeons & Dragons)|Tiamat]], the Five-Headed Dragon. The progenitor and supreme deity of all dragons is known as [[Io (Dungeons & Dragons)|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 ===
The [[Dragonlance]] [[novel]]s and [[campaign setting]] helped popularize the D&D-derived perspective on dragons. Here the Platinum Dragon is called [[Paladine (Dragonlance)|Paladine]], and the Dragon Queen is called [[Takhisis]]. Dragons are divided up into good and evil groups, known as the Metallic Dragons and the Chromatic Dragons, respectively. Paladine leads the Metallic Dragons and Takhisis the Chromatic. The Metallic Dragons rarely became involved in the world other than to oppose the actions of Chromatic Dragons, who often joined into war as their goddess Takhisis instructed. However, in the "Fifth Age", massive Chromatic Dragons who were not native to Krynn emerged and took over many of the [[Humanoid (Dungeons & Dragons)|humanoid]]-controlled nations of Krynn, as well as slaying many of the native dragons. They are known as Dragon Overlords. There was one from each race of Chromatic Dragons; red, green, black, white, and blue. Four of these have been slain, and only the White Overlord [[Gellidus]] remains.
=== Dark Sun setting ===
In the world of [[Athas]] of the [[Dark Sun]] [[campaign setting]], normal D&D dragons do not exist. Dragon-like ''[[drake]]'' races exist, one for each [[classical element]], but for most people the word ''dragon'' refer to the Dragon of Tyr, who is a very powerful ''sorcerer-king'' (the tyrannic leaders of Athasian cities, who are both masters of magic and [[Psi (parapsychology)Psionics|psi]] abilities) who transformed himself into a dragon-like creature using very powerful (and painful) magic. However, this dragon (Bors or Borys) was eventually killed in [[Troy Denning]]'s book "The Cerulean Storm" by his former master, the sorcerer Rajaat.
=== Forgotten Realms setting ===
In the ''[[Forgotten Realms]]'' [[campaign setting]], dragons are very close to the ones in [[Dragonlance]]. A sect of cultist called the ''[[w:c:Forgottenrealms|Cult of the Dragon'' ]] believe that dragons, particularly [[Undead (Dungeons & Dragons)|undead]] ones, will rule the world, and are trying to convert evil dragons to become ''[[dracolich]]es''--undead [[Lich (Dungeons & Dragons)|lich]]-like dragons, which are partially bound to the cult by the [[ritual]]s which grant them their undead status. Plus, in the D&D Supplement book "''The Draconomicon" '' several other undead varieties of the dragon - ghost, skeleton, vampire, and zombie make an appearance.
A popular series called Wyrms of the North ran in Dragon magazine issues #230 through 259 and was later updated to third edition rules on Wizards of the Coast's website (see external links). Each article detailed an individual dragon of significance in [[Faerûn]].
=== Eberron setting ===
In the ''[[Eberron]]'' [[campaign setting]], three dragon gods have created the world: [[w:c:Eberron: Siberys|Siberys]], [[w:c:Eberron:Eberron|Eberron ]] and [[w:c:Eberron:Khyber|Khyber]]. Siberys and Eberron waged war against Khyber and imprisoned it within the depths of the earth. In the end, all three dragons merged with the land: Siberys becoming the sky, Eberron the continents and Khyber the underground world.
Dragons are apart from civilization, which is mostly concentrated on the continent of [[w:c:Eberron:Khorvaire|Khorvaire]]. They live on the continent of [[w:c:Eberron:Argonnessen|Argonnessen]], a rather unknown place, since dragons are very territorial, it makes exploration often hazardous. The dragons used to rule over Eberron many centuries ago, but at the end of the Dragon-Fiend war, against the demons and devils of Khyber, they departed from Khorvaire to go to Argonnessen.
Dragons are immersed in the Draconic Prophecy, a legend which all bits of information are scattered throughout the world and that the outcome is unknown. They see every event as an important event in the Prophecy, and they even form an organization called the Chamber, where they send their brethren in search of clues. They can be of any alignment, like any creature in Eberron, so a good red dragon (usually evil) is as common as an evil gold dragon (usually good). This rule might throw some players off-balance. Dragons also consider themselves superior, treating all other races as inferior. Furthermore, any half-dragon spotted by these dragons is vowed to be hunted, as they treat these half-breeds as a disgrace to their image.
*[http://www.draconika.com/types.php Dragon Types] - A description of each of the chromatic dragon types, including pictures.
*[http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/archfr/wn Wyrms of the North Archive]
{{Wikipedia|Dragon (Dungeons & Dragons)}}
[[Category:Dragons]]
