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 Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 12:07 pm
Maia Jacomus Dragons are fantastic--they've always been my favorite; I'm especially fond of dragons with reddish-brown scales...don't know why. I have this sort of gag in one of my stories which speculates that dragons must have flame-retardant mucus to protect their nostrils when they breathe fire, so the characters joke that the next time a village is on fire, they should use buckets of dragon mucus to put it out.
And Delitia, it's Square. There are a lot of things that are done differently, especially by countries like Japan. Have you watched some of the anime out there! O_O'
Square just did things differently, but in Medieval English, the term "wyrm" in itself means "dragon".
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Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 9:27 pm
I had a random dragon-related thought the other day.
In western tradition, dragons are evil and look like four-limbed lizards with wings. In eastern tradition, dragons are good and look like serpents with tiny legs.
In recent years, dragons in western literature have begun to be portrayed after the eastern fashion, as good beings, as well as the more traditional evil ones. Dragonriders of Pern, Eregon, and various Dungeons & Dragons materials and franchises such as Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance, to name a few examples.
Meanwhile, in recent years, dragons in eastern literature and media have begun to be portrayed in the western physical form more and more often as well as in the traditional eastern one. Slayers did it, as did Record of Lodoss War.
We've traded the western physical form of dragons for the eastern ethical nature of dragons! How weird is that!
Berz.
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Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 10:45 am
It's strange, but then you could say it's also beneficial in some ways. I don't think that everything can be 100% good or evil. We humans are the best example I suppose, and fantasy and mythology have given use more.
You get humans who are good, evil and in-between. Elves have been portrayed in most fantasy works as being one or the other, but it's those with pale skin that are considered to be good and the dark-skinned that are said to be evil for the most part. In Forgotten Realms, R. A. Salvatore introduced Drizzt, which highlighted the fact that there can still be good in a civilisation/race that's normally considered to be evil.
I feel the same way about beings/creatures like dragons and vampires.
I don't think 100% of the population of either species can be one way or the other. You can even get evil angels, but if they're evil they're cast out of Heaven and sent to Hell. Lucifer, aka the Devil, is the one everyone knows about, but there may or may not be other fallen angels (as they're known).
Perhaps the East and the West are finally beginning to learn from one another regarding this sort of thing.
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Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 3:10 pm
Perhaps so, yes. I sometimes think that people should share their views more often and learn from each other.
BTW, I'm pretty sure that Drizzt (or crewmember) would enjoy the "blood" games on facebook a lot more than we have Mel. After all, they even have a vampire dragon in there somewhere. I don't know how they could have made one if the whole concept is not quite accepted by a lot of folks; is it?
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Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 11:03 am
My word, I'm glad I stopped playing it!
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Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 11:08 am
How can you have a vampire Dragon? Very bad cross breading!
But what do you guys think of dragons with three heads? I rather like them.
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Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 10:39 pm
DM_Melkhar It's strange, but then you could say it's also beneficial in some ways. I don't think that everything can be 100% good or evil. We humans are the best example I suppose, and fantasy and mythology have given use more. Yeah, isn't it great? I love the richness it brings to cultures. I mainly just find it interesting to note what each culture has gained from the other one. Western culture could have just as easily co-opted the eastern physical form and given the eastern culture the western moral alignment. Quote: You get humans who are good, evil and in-between. Elves have been portrayed in most fantasy works as being one or the other, but it's those with pale skin that are considered to be good and the dark-skinned that are said to be evil for the most part. In Forgotten Realms, R. A. Salvatore introduced Drizzt, which highlighted the fact that there can still be good in a civilisation/race that's normally considered to be evil. Drizzt (the character, not our good friend, of course) aside, and you all know that I like to push him as far aside as possible, Forgotten Realms goes a lot further than that with the mixed morality of their Elves. There are plenty of evil gold, moon, and wood elves and more than just Drizzt as a good drow (Liriel Baenre! Hello!). After all, we get the Eldtreth Veluuthra, who are like the KKK of the elves and most of their members are gold elves. Plus, there are a certain number of elves on the council of Evermeet who are just plain greedy and immoral. And then there was Kymil Nimesin, who was a gold elf evil enough to become the first gold elf that Lolth turned into a Drider! Dragoon_Arcadia How can you have a vampire Dragon? Very bad cross breading! How come? A vampire can bite a dragon if the dragon is willing, which has to happen anyway if he's going to be turned. Personally, I see nothing wrong mechanically with it. If I were to go up against one in an RPG, I'd start throwing things at my GM, because my character would likely be peeing her pants, but... Quote: But what do you guys think of dragons with three heads? I rather like them. Why stop at three?  mrgreen Berz.
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 10:18 am
I just find the vampire-dragon concept unfathomable. Dragon scales would be far too hard anyway, and in my world at least the DNA would be incompatible, just the way I think of dragons and humans crossbreeding.
I'm not a fan of multiple-headed creatures either. Maybe in a demonic world/setting. The only one I've ever liked really was Cerberus and he's not a even a dragon. If I were to have a dragon with more than one head, it would be a demonic breed.
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 6:54 pm
*Gasp* somone agrees with my idea on vampiric dragons?! xd .
One question I have about multi-headed dragons is...how did those heads get there?
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Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 8:27 am
drizzt-catstyle *Gasp* somone agrees with my idea on vampiric dragons?! xd .
One question I have about multi-headed dragons is...how did those heads get there?
However, if that was the case, a dragon with multiple heads would then have to have separate personalities because they'd all be different dragons in the same body.
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Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 6:28 am
I would say that what Mel is saying is true.
conjoined twins or parasites as some of them are known as. That is how you get more than one body or head.
Thing is...in myths if you have a dragon with two heads, one gets cut off them two form in it's place. I think that is the most logical one.
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Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 9:12 am
How in any way is having one head decapitated and another two growing in its place logical? I'd say the most logical way is conjoined twins/parasites (triplets, quadruplets...whatever). If you think about it more in-depth, then you could suggest that after mating, several sperm from the male cluster in one egg. Perhaps that would work? That's more logical than two heads growing in the place of one that was decapitated (aka, meaning one of them dies though they're in the same body). If that were the case, Mandy, only a magical explanation can really be given for it. It aggravates me when people come up with ideas and say "erm magic" when someone asks how such a thing would work.
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Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 5:24 pm
So, no hydra in your world, Mel?
In the case of the picture above, Tiamat, she's just always been like that, five heads on one dragon, working in perfect harmony and as one being, because Tiamat is a dragon-god. She just works that way. There are higher powers at work.
Berz.
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Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 8:52 pm
Much like in the Vampire thread--I'm not sure if this has been covered yet, so, stop me if it has. The Oriental Dragon (Chinese) typically does not have wings, but is long and serpent like with four legs, each with five claws. It is a symbol of power, wisdom, goodness, strength, health, harmony, and good luck, and is typically considered the 'Yang' (male) to the 'Yin' (female) Phoenix--the two are also symbols of the Emperor and Empress respectively. Often it is thought of as, basically, a god of weather--particularly thunder, rain, water, etc. (again, see the opposition to the phoenix), and quite generally a heavenly being. The Chinese Zodiac Dragon is discribed thus (this information given to help understand more of the ideology of the Oriental Dragon): Wikipedia The Dragon is omnipotent. He/she is flamboyant, attractive and full of vitality and strength. In China, the Dragon is the sign of the Emperor of China or the male element Yang. The Dragon is the symbol of power and wealth. It would be right to say that people born in the year of the dragon have a natural charisma and are certainly gifted with power and luck. It is unlikely for them to escape unnoticed from a party or to take second place in a competition. The dragon person has an active mind and shows an unfeigned interest in the world around him/her. This person is also self-confident enough to know how to create a necessary impression. Because they are larger than life themselves, dragon people like to do everything on a grand scale. They are egotistical self-aggrandizing and ambitious, almost to the point of megalomania. They will stop at nothing to get what they want. A person born in this year wears the crown of destiny, and is capable of great achievements if he or she knows how to harness his or her tremendous energy, intelligence and talent. While these people enjoy being the center of attention, they also have a brave and charitable side to their personality. If a dragon's friend faces a problem or dilemma, he or she will be there to offer help, and when others leave the field of battle the dragon takes a step forward to solve the problem with authority and dignity. Dragons set a high standard of actions for themselves as well as for other people and are surprised when others cannot cope with a task; they are so carried away by the process that they fail to see other people's weaknesses. Positive Traits: Noble, ambitious, dignified, charismatic, vibrant, magnanimous, expansive, powerful Negative Traits: Ruthless, imperious, judgmental, arrogant, dogmatic, pompous, despotic, intolerant, demanding
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Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 12:38 pm
Berzerker_prime So, no hydra in your world, Mel? In the case of the picture above, Tiamat, she's just always been like that, five heads on one dragon, working in perfect harmony and as one being, because Tiamat is a dragon-god. She just works that way. There are higher powers at work. Berz.
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