Dragons!

[Berserker]

This is the dragon thread. Devoted to all things dragon.

Dragons have long been a symbol of natural wisdom and grace in the East, but in the Western world, they've only recently become creatures not associated with sin and devilry. People adore dragons now, so much that they've become almost sickeningly ubiquitous. (Wolfy critters: you're next!)

Curiously, I've found a lot of people get obsessed with dragons at an early age, and then lose interest later on. (Myself included, although my interest in fantasy is stronger than ever, which seems like a contradiction.)

Who here loves dragons? What does the dragon mean to you, or what is your "Ultimate" dragon? What is your favorite movie/book about them? If you were a dragon or weredragon, what kind would you be?

[Baphnedia]

Thanks for bringing this up - because I normally am rather quiet about my beliefs, though there is little doubt as to what I am on The Pack. For something like this though, I would refer you to the works of a few others, regarding "Draconity" to give some sort of basis. Baxil (pronounced Ba-heel) is the figurehead of one such place, and there are a few other resources out there. As for my own beliefs, I disclose them privately, more often than not these days, but thanks for asking.

The Paradice Draconity Board
The Paradice Canis Group (of interest to things canine)
The Draconity FAQ

[WerewolfKeeper3]

Favorite Movie: Dragon Heart, Dragon Heart: A new beginning
Favorite Dragon: a good Shadow Dragon
Dragon: a creature of immense wisdom, kindness, and is good above all things. Some Humans fear dragons, because it seems they are wiser than man, so they turned them into creatures of evil, as to eradicate them from the world.

Yeah, i know i'm going to get into trouble for that one... but i still love dragons... and honestly, werewolves and dragons are equally my favorite creatures...

[Vagrant]

On the most base level, I feel that the Dragon is potential.

I found myself inspired by them in my youth, as I'm sure many can attest, because that's something that Dragons do. They're built to be that way. Dragons are like birds, in a way, they capture something of the fantastic. They can fly unaided, and they're another symbol of freedom.

But as I said, they're also raw potential.

What I like about Dragons is, to be frank, they're not all that documented. It's nearly impossible to point at something and say that this is what a Dragon should be, to say that, indeed, this is what a Dragon has to be. I dare say that everyone has their own Dragons. I know I do, and they're very different to just about every Dragon I've ever read about.

That's probably why they're special to me, they're brilliant, they're inspiring, and no one can ever taint my take on a Dragon by making the claim that it's less relevant than any other.

[outwarddoodles]

As an artist, I LOVE dragons: You can imagine them anyway you like. (Astute or ferocious, reptilian or mammalian, wings or no wings? Fur, feathers, scales? Horns, antlers, crests? Do they swim, or breathe fire?)

Dragons are SO much fun to design!


Otherwise, I'm enamored of the eastern version of dragons: As Beserker expressed, eastern dragons are a symbol of natural wisdom and grace. I imagine dragons as embodying natural phenomenons and qualities, and being empathetic creatures associated with the earth (but I guess they can pillage helpless villages if they so choose). I love all forms of dragon depictions, but I typically side with more mammalian-inspired dragons -- once again, preferring the eastern interpretation of dragons that use inspiration from deer, foxes, and cats, and serperts: creating a much more diverse montage of many animals.

[Silverclaw]

I love dragons!
They are my second favorite mythological creatures(after werewolves of course).

One nice thing about them is that they can be almost anything you want and still be considered a dragon. (like Outward already stated) ...multiple heads, bat-wings, no-wings, fire-breathing, ice-breathing, poison-gas-breathing, pebbly skin, scale/armor, fur, two legs, four legs, ect. Its hard to make a dragon and get it wrong. In contrast, there are only so many ways to do a werewolf/vampire/zombie/jackalope and still have it be considered to be whatever its supposed to be.

I think I personally prefer the look of the western dragon a bit more than the eastern one. Both are awesome though.
I have a ton of books about dragons. Preferably with dragons as the good guys.

I'd highly recommend the book series by E.E. Knight. "The Dragon Campion", "The Dragon Avenger", "The Dragon Outcast", and the newest one just came out a week ago, "Dragon Strike". Each book is told from the point of views of three dragon silblings.
Alan F. Troop also has a good series about dragon shapeshifters out, "Dragon de la Sangre" .(Dragons that can turn to human forms, hiding amoung them). About 4 or 5 books out from him now.
A new mini-comic is out now called "The Dragon Prince". It will be either 3 or 4 comics long, right now its on the 2nd one. Really good so far. Its about a boy who learned he is part dragon and can turn into one. Look it up

Some good dragon movies: "Dragonheart", "Dragonheart 2"(not as good), "Dragonslayer", "Reign of Fire", "Flight of Dragons" (OK, I havent seen all of it, only a clip off youtube. But it looks really good and is extremly hard to find. From the same people who did "The Last Unicorn".) Eragon could of been a better movie, but the dragon was very well made. I also really liked the fake documentury called Dragons World. Its like "Walking with Dinosaurs", only with dragons "Spirited Away" has a beautiful eastern dragon in it. And the tv show, "American Dragon" is a guilty pleasure of mine.

If you were a dragon or weredragon, what kind would you be?

It would be hard to pin that down..so many different choices...
I'd like to definetly have wings on my back. That alone would make me more of a western type dragon. Though a mix of eastern would look nice too. Maybe some fur along the spine, and that longish/lean look that they have. Breathing either fire(western) and/or mist(eastern) would be nifty too

[Figarou]

I WUV DWAGONS!!
(western style)

I've seen most of the dragon movies out there. Enjoyed DragonHeart. Didn't care much for the sequel. Eragon was ok. Makes me wonder if a sequel is in the works. They did give a clue at the end of the 1st film.

AND......

[Yoda]Always wanted my very own character, I did!![/Yoda]

It was difficult trying to come up with one. At Baph's request for emoticons.....I came up with this.


Yup yup!!

[MattSullivan]

Oh yeah! A werewolf site where we talk about dragons.

Uhmm....they're scaly?

[MoonKit]

My Chinese Zodiac is a dragon and I love bragging about that.

Other then that, Im no expert on dragons...but Baphnedia is pretty cool.

[Figarou]

Oh yeah! A werewolf site where we talk about dragons.

Uhmm....they're scaly?

If I recall, you plan on having a dragon in your Camp Lycanthrope sequel.

Unless you changed that.

[Xiroteus]

Oh yeah! A werewolf site where we talk about dragons.

Uhmm....they're scaly?

Wherewolf dragons?

oO

I like Dragons though.

[Baphnedia]

My Chinese Zodiac is a dragon and I love bragging about that.

Other then that, Im no expert on dragons...but Baphnedia is pretty cool.

Why thanks! ^^ I feel the love!

[MattSullivan]

Aint no dragons in Camp Lycanthrope sequel. Aint no Cl sequel anyhoo.

[Figarou]

Aint no dragons in Camp Lycanthrope sequel. Aint no Cl sequel anyhoo.

No sequel?

Bummer.

[Vagrant]

Wherewolf dragons?

I'm actually reminded of something, by that: Penultima, which was a series of modules for Neverwinter Nights. It had one character whom happened to be a Paladin powered entirely by self-belief (he was an atheist ... no, really), and this gave him some extraordinary powers that a more staple and usual Paladin wouldn't be prithee to.

One of these powers was that he turned into a Dragon whenever he was really cross. And I thought that was some fantastic mental imagery, The Hulk in a fantasy setting, so to speak. I'd almost call him a were-Dragon, but the circumstances didn't quite suit that. It was more that if anyone ticked him off, there'd be a few tonnes of angry, firey reptile ready to give them a hearty rebuttal, where seconds before there was only a nervous, wimpy, and entirely unimposing man in unconvincing armour.

[Draca]

I (by I, I mean my character) is a weredragon.

[Noir-Okami]

What if you got a werewolf/dragon hybrid?

[Baphnedia]

You get a Drakkoluppen.

[Set]

Oh gods, not those things. *hides behind Baph's tail*

[Baphnedia]

I'm sorry Set. I didn't mean to go there.

[Vagrant]

Drakkolupen? Gads, it's been a long time since I've seen the name of one of those mentioned.

Poor Jakkal, so much talent, but so bitter.

I always did like those woof-dragons, though.

[Terastas]

Well. . . I hated dragons when I was a kid (really, even Pete's Dragon gave me nightmares when I was little), then really started to appreciate them once I hit my teen years, but now, having been a writer, an avid reader/moviegoer, a furry and a Forgotten Realm fan for so long, I think I've seen too many variations to ever have a single opinion on dragons anymore.

What does the dragon mean to you, or what is your "Ultimate" dragon?

The "ultimate" dragon for me is the one I hope to one day write about (I know, lazy answer, but nobody else has ever hit the proverbial nail on the head for me).

I couldn't resist including them in The Noctem, but so far I've kept the plot so far away from them that I haven't really had to go into detail about their nature. I'm hoping to depict them as having no natural inclination towards good or evil, though are long-lived and therefore share very few of the same values as their neighbors. The only thing I've carried over thus far from the traditional image is their habit of hoarding treasure, though I tweaked it and instead refer to them as "avid collectors" of whatever suits their interests. I've only written about two dragons so far (four actually, but the other two were undead): One of them busies himself by breeding and caring for rare and exotic animals, and the other allowed her nesting ground to be colonized (so she "collects" the townsfolk, or more accurately, she plays a real life version of Sim City, if you will).

I haven't written much more than that because. . . Well, it's tough to do dragons justice without making them overbearing on everything else, so I'm trying to keep it that they are content to be left to themselves.

What is your favorite movie/book about them?

It's hard to say. A lot of the books/movies that employ evil dragons do so just as overpowered monsters as opposed to actual villains with character. And a lot of the stories about good dragons often have bizarre and inexplicable rules attached which were seemingly invented in order to force the dragons to be good (the "must bond with a human somehow" rule being the most irritating among them).

I'm going to be lazy and go with Dragonheart. Even if it did have the "must bond with a human" rule attached, they did a great job of making Draco into an actual character with the same kind of layers to his personality you would expect from a real human being. He was also completely reflective when it came to humans: he worked with the ones that would work with him, killed the ones that tried to kill him, and left alone the ones that left him alone.

It was only that whole sharing-of-the-hearts thing that absolutely killed it for me. Oh yeah, and the fact that the main villain looked like a medieval Carrot Top. That was hard to overlook too.

[outwarddoodles]

What if you got a werewolf/dragon hybrid?

The epitome of awesome.

[Vuldari]

I'm going to resist going DEEP into the subject for now ...


Just in case you haven't read my introduction post, "VULDARI" is a word I made up which literally is a fusion of "Vulpine" (Fox) and "Dragon". Vul-Dar = Vulpine Dragon. (The "I" at the end was originally supposed to be the PLURAL, but then became universal.)


I grew up quite literally OBSESSED with Dragons ... but mostly with the idea of BEING one (after reading the "Chronicles of Narnia" book "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader").


My interest has remained centric around the concept of metamorphosis, but my form of choice has drifted away from Dragons and Towards Foxes. However, "Vuldari" is my half way point.

FOX DRAGONS!! (And a Dragonish Wolf too)

Furry Dragon Kaji
Furry Dragon Jin
Wolf Dragon

And Scaly Dragons too...

Dragon Ambush
A BIG Dragon, or a Small Fox?
Spiral Dragon Mountain
Pet Dragons
Dragon Cave

(All VERY old art, BTW)



Dragons are awesome ... they just are.

[Moss27]

I love dragons. It makes me fill giddy inside whenever a dragon roars. I'm not sure if I like dragons more than werewolves, though; it might be a tie.

I can't remember my first dragon... but I remember always chosing to be a dragon whenever my friends and I played Pretend, back in the day. Dragons are fierce and powerful, the total opposite of me, so it was always my fantasy to be a creature that people feared. They are also wise, so as I grew up, I tried to bring the dragon to justice by making it the good guy.

I'm also fascinated with the elements attributed to the dragon: fire, and I add in air to its element type. I'm scared of heights, so I fell in love with their wings. And fire 'cause fire's cool. XD

When I played Gaia Online a few years ago, I was in a guild that RP dragons. I was recruited as a shadow dragon. I don't know what happened to it, though, 'cause I forgot about it as school started.

"Spirited Away" has a beautiful eastern dragon in it. And the tv show, "American Dragon" is a guilty pleasure of mine.

Spirited Away was a good movie. I love the dragon, 'cause it's head is a dog. XD

I like the first character art of American Dragon better than the second, but it's still a fun series to watch.