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What Makes Dragons a Dragon?
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Author:  Drakel [ Thu Jun 12, 2014 12:10 pm ]
Post subject:  What Makes Dragons a Dragon?
A simple question to start reviving this place. We all have a version of a Dragon in our heads though the main question is a simple one. What makes a dragon what it is? What should Dragons always have? What do they need? What do they NOT need? Why?

This is probably the most basic question of them all though I think it's a great idea for us to talk about (again) to get things rolling again.
Author:  Falconer [ Thu Jun 12, 2014 6:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: What Makes Dragons a Dragon?
drag·on
ˈdragən/Submit
noun
1.
a mythical monster like a giant reptile. In European tradition the dragon is typically fire-breathing and tends to symbolize chaos or evil, whereas in East Asia it is usually a beneficent symbol of fertility, associated with water and the heavens.

So based on the dictionary, it's a giant reptile. Which I believe is traditionally the popular envisioning. While a modern scientific look would question the "reptile" categorization, visually and conceptually we're talking a big lizard.
Author:  BeneathTheStarlight36 [ Sat Jun 14, 2014 9:32 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: What Makes Dragons a Dragon?
words are subjective anyway, but i don't think western and eastern dragons are similar enough that i'd feel right calling them the same thing.

i'm more inclined to call western dragons "dragons", but that's just me. :P so to be a dragon, it'd have to be that, or something similar to it. humans kind of operate the same way; things like hair color/length/style, skin color, height, weight, body hair, body shape, etc all don't change one's species, so you'd have to make allowances like that for dragons too.

so i guess wyverns could be called dragons too now that i think about it, just without the front legs, and eh, maybe sea dragons, depending what exactly you consider a sea dragon to be. anything in the general spectrum of western dragons fits for me, i guess.

i don't consider fire breath a necessary element of being a dragon.
Author:  Corva [ Mon Jul 14, 2014 7:44 am ]
Post subject:  Re: What Makes Dragons a Dragon?
I suspect Dragons would be closer to dinosaurs/birds than reptiles. In terms of realistic Dragons which may have actually existed, it would probably be something that most people would call a Wyvern I think, with no fire breath and no front legs - essentially a scaly, toothed bird. If they seek somewhere warm and volcanic to nest, then that would explain why people think they can breath fire... maybe...
Author:  Falconer [ Mon Jul 14, 2014 9:02 am ]
Post subject:  Re: What Makes Dragons a Dragon?
Maybe all dragons have 4 legs and on wyverns they are just vestigial.
Author:  BeneathTheStarlight36 [ Mon Jul 14, 2014 10:27 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: What Makes Dragons a Dragon?
there are 4-legged reptiles with wing-like structures but they can only glide, not fly. i wonder how improbable it would be to have one that can fly.

depending on the wing size/shape (and the size of the rest of the dragon) and other factors, i think that could be very possible.
Author:  asdf [ Mon Jul 14, 2014 10:37 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: What Makes Dragons a Dragon?
Defining it would probably be something like "if it fits 4 out of 10 characteristics it's a dragon." Can't think of the list though.
Author:  Corva [ Thu Jan 17, 2019 4:56 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: What Makes Dragons a Dragon?
Does Glaurung count as a Dragon? Or does his lack of wings disqualify him?

If it's small enough to fit on your shoulder as an adult, and you're not a giant, is it a Dragon, or a Dragonet? Or a fire-lizard.. :wink:
Author:  BeneathTheStarlight36 [ Fri Jan 18, 2019 2:22 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: What Makes Dragons a Dragon?
DragonRider wrote:
Does Glaurung count as a Dragon? Or does his lack of wings disqualify him?

If it's small enough to fit on your shoulder as an adult, and you're not a giant, is it a Dragon, or a Dragonet? Or a fire-lizard.. :wink:

hm... well a dog without a tail would still be a dog. a human without arms would still be a human. i would say a dragon without wings would still be a dragon.
Author:  Kojack [ Tue Feb 19, 2019 12:19 am ]
Post subject:  Re: What Makes Dragons a Dragon?
BeneathTheStarlight36 wrote:
DragonRider wrote:
Does Glaurung count as a Dragon? Or does his lack of wings disqualify him?

If it's small enough to fit on your shoulder as an adult, and you're not a giant, is it a Dragon, or a Dragonet? Or a fire-lizard.. :wink:

hm... well a dog without a tail would still be a dog. a human without arms would still be a human. i would say a dragon without wings would still be a dragon.


Agreed!
Author:  Corva [ Sat Feb 23, 2019 10:03 am ]
Post subject:  Re: What Makes Dragons a Dragon?
How does an algorithm feel from the inside?

Remember, the categories were made for man, not man for the categories.

Related: Lumpers vs. Splitters

Maybe dragons of polyphyletic.
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