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 Posted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 5:13 pm
Physical Information Many Pern RPs have varying dragonlength (the size of a dragon). This shop follows a chart such as this: chart. The larger dragon of a color represents the largest size for that color, while the smaller is, obviously, the smallest; most dragons will fall in between these two sizes.
Dragons are described as carnivorous, oviparous, warm-blooded creatures. Like all of Pern's native large fauna, they have six limbs - four feet and two wings. Their blood, referred to as ichor, is copper-based and green in color, they have multifaceted eyes that change color depending on the dragon's mood:
Blue and/or Green: Content or happy.
Red and Orange: Anger, agitation.
Red and Yellow: Battle / fighting.
Red: Hungry
Yellow: Fear, worry.
Purple: Lustful, preparing to rise to mate.
White: Sense of danger.
Grey: In pain, emotional or physical.
Their head and general body type is similar in shape to those of horses. On their heads they have small headknobs, similar to those of giraffes, and no visible ears. They have a smooth hide rather than scales; the texture of their skin is described as being reminiscent of suede with a spicy, sweet scent when clean.
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Posted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 5:26 pm
Colors Green :: - Green dragons are the smallest color and make up about half of all dragons on Pern. They are female, but unlike golds, they are infertile and can produce flame with the aid of firestone. They are extremely valuable in Threadfall because of their agility, but on the downside, most lack the stamina to fight an entire Fall. Males and females may Impress a green.
Blue :: Blue dragons are the smallest males, and make up about a third of all dragons on Pern. Unlike greens, they usually have enough stamina to last for an entire Threadfall (though they are not as fast). They mate only with greens, as they are simply too small to keep up with a massive queen over a long mating flight. Males and females may Impress a blue.
Brown :: Browns are the third largest color, and they are male. They may occasionally have enough agility and stamina to mate with queens. Because of this, a brown has the slight possibility of earning their rider the rank of Weyrleader (usually something only bronzes can achieve). Most of them, however, end up as Wingleaders or Wingseconds. Browns normally Impress to men; female Impressions are very, very rare.
Bronze :: Bronze dragons are the rarest males and also the largest, although they are still smaller than a gold. They are almost always the ones to mate with queens, though they may also chase greens if given the chance. The rider of a bronze dragon is always male, and most bronzeriders are Wingleaders or Wingseconds.
Gold :: Gold dragons, also called 'queen dragons', are the largest dragons and the only fertile females. Gold dragons are the rarest of the standard colors on Pern, and they are dominant over all other colors; any non-gold dragon will invariably obey a queen's orders, even against the wishes of it's own rider. Queens are incapable of digesting firestone and producing flame. They do fight Thread with their riders armed with a specially designed flamethrower, however. A gold dragon will only Impress to a woman. Special Colors Red :: Red dragons are currently only found on The Nowhere Islands. They are the size of browns, which is not surprising, since they 'mutated' directly from them. Not much is known about these dragons yet other than that.
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Posted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 5:34 pm
Impression In Pernese terms, the word Impress is the joining of minds. On the moment of hatching, or shortly there after, a dragon seeks out and finds the one with whom it wants to bond.
This is not only a choice but a necessity. Impression goes very deep with a dragon. The instinct to Impress is quite literally built into a dragon's genetics; a dragon is incomplete without its lifemate, and cannot survive if it does not find one. When a newly-hatched dragon cannot find a suitable match, that dragon goes between to die.
The emotions, thoughts, desires, wants and needs of both dragon and human are known to each other. The dragon knows his or her name, and so tells it to the human counterpart, and would be surprised to learn the human did not know its name at birth. For a dragon and a human, Impression is more than merely the melding of two minds together. They literally become one being with two bodies, their souls intertwined to the extent that there is no way for them to tell where dragon begins and human ends. Thus, it surpasses the familiar concept of telepathy.
Though a human can live with the loss of his or her dragon if they choose, if the human partner dies the dragon will instantly go between as it cannot comprehend or fathom life without its human counterpart. In the case of Gold dragons with unhatched eggs the maternal instinct can prevent the dragon from committing suicide until her eggs have safely hatched and the hatchlings have themselves impressed.
Dragonets may choose a rider who is their opposite to help balance them out, or pick someone similar and follow the old birds of a feather saying. Regardless, a dragon and rider pair must have some common ground, be it a particularly strong feeling toward something (such as loyalty) or a goal (such as to become a Wingleader).
Gender and sexuality also play a role in Impression.
Green = Male and female of any orientation.
Blue = Male and female of any orientation.
Brown = Males of any orientation (with preference to heterosexual) and women with a preference to masculine homosexual.
Bronze = Male only, heterosexual only.
Gold = Female only, heterosexual only.
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Posted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 5:37 pm
Psychic Abilities and Telepathy Dragons use telepathy to communicate with each other, with firelizards and with watch-whers. They are capable of speaking telepathically to humans besides their own riders, but not all of them will do so except under unusual circumstances.
Dragons can also teleport. They do this by briefly entering a hyperspace dimension known as between (see next post).
Dragons are also capable of telekinesis, though this ability is unknown and used in an unconscious manner (to augment flight). It is speculated that the undersized wings were intentionally created in the dragons to reduce the surface area of a dragon that is exposed to possible Thread injury, and that the telekinesis was intended to make up for the loss of wingsail.
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Posted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 5:38 pm
Between Between (always written in italics) is a dimension through which dragons, watch-whers and fire lizards travel during the process of teleportation, referred to as "going between". If the dragon does not have a clear picture of its destination in mind, it is possible for the dragon and its passengers to become permanently lost in this dimension. Deliberately going between without a destination in mind is how dragons suicide, usually occurring when the rider that they are soul-bonded to dies of illness or injury, or if the dragon itself is mortally injured.
Between is universally described as a place of nothingness. Usually, for a dragon to teleport using its rider's directions, they stay in between for the time that it takes to cough three times. Fire lizards take eight seconds to teleport anywhere on the planet. Going between frequently causes cystitis and child-bearing problems and even intentional and unintentional abortion in female dragonriders. Going between without proper coordinates is a frequent cause of death for inexperienced weyrlings (young dragons).
Between is characterized by extreme cold (far below zero yet not as cold as outer space) and induces near-total sensory deprivation in humans who travel through it on dragonback. There is no breathable air between, and riders who make exceptionally long journeys suffer the effects of oxygen deprivation. Dragons can hold their breath for much longer than humans without ill effects.
Dragons will deliberately go between to destroy any Thread which they come in contact with, as the extreme cold causes it to freeze almost instantly, whereupon it can be safely brushed off dragon or rider.
Dragons are also capable of traveling between to different periods of times, but this can only be used when they have a point of reference for that time, such as star positions or a vivid memory. Riders who "Time" to a very distant era without protective gear, or to a past location in close proximity of their past self can experience fatal fatigue and disorientation. Since its discovery, the knowledge of this ability has been restricted, and only Bronze dragons are permitted to utilize it under directions from the Weyrleaders. The ability was suppressed by the nature of the weyrling training in going between, as weyrlings are deliberately given reference points which ensure they remained in their own time.
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Posted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 5:40 pm
Mating and Reproduction Greens
Greens will rise to mate three or four times a Turn with some exceptions as soon as they are mature. Unlike golds, a green does not have to rise if they are not interested in flights. Greens will mate with any male, usually blues or browns, but bronzes are applicable partners as well. As they are smaller and have less stamina, a green mating flight is much shorter than a gold one.
Golds
A gold dragon will rise roughly once per turn without exceptions after they have matured two turns. The gold may not be the most fond of flights, but instinct will drive her to partake in them even so, as it is her duty as a gold to continue on the dragon lineage. Mating will be followed by her laying eggs. A gold can only be caught by a bronze and very rarely a brown. Longer matings result in larger clutches. For this reason, queenriders are strongly encouraged to restrain their dragons from eating heavily just before a flight, instructing them to drink blood instead for a quick burst of energy.
Territorial drive within Golds is extremely strong during mating, and all other Golds, unless egg-heavy or attending to a clutch, should be removed from the Weyr since a mating Gold may induce heat which will ultimately result in a battle, each trying to keep 'her' males.
Both
Dragon genitalia are concealed behind pouchlike flaps of hide under the junction of tail and body, and are only revealed during mating.
Threadscoring and similar traumas can cause a Dragon to rise unexpectedly, with little or no warning.
Interested males compete to catch a female dragon in a mating flight and can become very aggressive. Usually, the female chooses the male who impresses her the most with his skill in the flight, although inexperienced females may be caught before making their choice. Dragons may also be influenced by their riders wishes as to whom they allow to catch them.
The pair actually mate in midair; thus, the higher they get during the flight, the longer their mating can last.
Effect on Riders
Due to the intense psychic bond between rider and dragon, dragonriders are overcome by the powerful emotions and sensations associated with mating flights. The riders of the mating pair engage in sex themselves, to varying degrees unaware of what they are doing. Homosexual intercourse is accepted in the Weyr as being separate from the rider's personal preferences unless the rider has shown otherwise.
Mating flight sex between two riders, one of whom is not the other's chosen partner (known as a weyrmate) is not considered to be "cheating." It is understood within the Weyr that sex during mating flights is not optional for the rider.
Riders of the losing dragons usually seek sexual relief after the intense flight, if they do not have a chosen partner they may seek the comfort of any willing and available partner of their sexual preference. The weyrfolk tend to happily accommodate these riders, especially if they have been affected by the flight's sexual urgency. This is one of the major reasons for the Weyr's reputation for being sexually very open.
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Posted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 5:42 pm
Life Span Dragons die of sickness, injury, getting lost between or via suicide if their rider dies. A dragon dying of old age is unheard of, leading Weyrfolk to believe dragons would outlive a rider if it were possible. Some raise the possibility in that instance, dragons could be immortal. None are proven.
Egg Stage
A month after a mating flight, the queen clutches her eggs on the hatching sands. For five sevendays (weeks), the shells harden, and the dragons inside develop. After this time period, candidates are brought to the sands and allowed to touch the eggs in a practice known as "touching". The hope is to lower casualties on the hatching grounds by getting candidates more "used" to the idea of the dragonets inside.
When the eggs are about to hatch, the queen will emit a loud, peculiar noise and display other signs of excitement and anxiousness. Other dragons start to make a noise known as "humming", and the sound increases in volume as the candidates enter the sands.
Junior Weyrling ("Baby"); 1-6 Months
Newly hatched dragons are the size of very large dogs or small ponies, and reach their full size after twelve months. Because young dragons grow so fast, their riders must regularly apply oil to their hides to prevent the skin from cracking or drying out.
Along with this, Dragonets eat up to seven times a day during their first month, thus consuming almost all of their new riders time until around their second month, where they begin eating only twice a sevenday. Riders are responsible for providing, carving and present the meat for their dragons.
By the end of this stage, the dragons personality truly blossoms, as a slight sense of indecency from their rider or, in some cases, a complete lack of it and evidence for one ever forming at all.
Senior Weyrling ("Adolescence"); 6-12 months.
Nearing adulthood, Senior Weyrlings are given opportunities once denied. Dragons begin developing muscles for flight, and both rider and dragon begin learning about going between and mating flights. By the end of this stage, it is expected a pair will have a fair amount of practice going between and flying.
By this time, riders have also been educated in areas like public speaking, reading, writing and math by the harpers of the Weyr.
Adulthood; 12+ months
The final stage. A dragon reaches their full size and most colors become sexually mature. A green dragon may rise at this age, where as a gold will age another turn before she rises. Dragons can all fly, go between, carry passengers and are on their way to becoming part of a wing.
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Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2010 12:02 pm
Skills & Stats Strength (STR) - Refers to how strong a dragon is. Dragons with high strength tend to be more muscular than their fellow dragon. They can move things easier and in terms of raw power, are superior to the others. Also refers to how far a dragon is willing to push themselves. Characters that have a high rank in this stat have a high tolerance for being uncomfortable or in pain; however, these dragons are also more likely to hurt themselves as Weyrlings, and during Threadfall, they are the slowest to go between should Thread fall on them.
Constitution (CON) - Or, stamina refers to how long a dragon is capable of working without hurting or exhausting themselves, and does not necessarily include how long they're willing to. A lazy dragon may have high stamina, where as a hard working dragon may have low stamina. Dragons with high stamina can still tire, of course. They will just be the last man standing, so to speak.
Dexterity (DEX) - Or, speed, not only refers to how fast a dragon can fly, but their reaction time while in the air. Generally, a dragon's speed contrasts with their stamina, as they tend to tire themselves out quicker. Dragons with high speed are one of the least likely to be in accidents during practice or be hit with Thread unless they have difficulties controlling direction.
Intelligence (INT) - Intelligence refers to how quickly a dragon will grasp onto concepts being taught to them in a calm, relaxed setting. Intelligence also dictates a dragon's memory, meaning even with the aid of Ghenza's herbal mix, a dragon with higher intelligence will be better at recalling details than a dragon with low intelligence. Those who score high here usually do well in Weyrling lessons as they learn fast, but how well they do in the face of true danger depends on other stats.
Wisdom (WIS) - Wisdom is not a measure of a dragon's overall intelligence, but rather refers to their personal ability to work out problems without the aid of their rider. A dragon can be highly intelligent and have a low wit score, meaning they may be very smart but unable to come up with quick solutions to unexpected problems. Dragons with high wit are good for on-the-go planning and some of the least likely to be hit during Threadfall as they are able to act impulsive without hesitating.
Charisma (CHA): - A lot like empathy, this is a dragon's ability to read and interact with others. A dragon with high charisma scores will have a better instinct for what to say or do in interpersonal situations. This can make them either very good or very bad companions, depending on how they choose to use this intuition. Generally a lower charisma score will make for a socially awkward dragon, or one that others just prefer not to be around for whatever reason. Dragons with very high charisma skills are the best for Searching candidates.
Available Skill Levels ::
3-5 Very Low
6-8 Below Average
9-12 Average
13-15 Above Average
16-18 Very High
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Dragonriders of Pern Shop Captain
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