DC Lore AMA

[TJ09]

Are dragons classified as reptiles, or do they have their own clades or whatever it's called?

 

Also, in Valkemare, do dragons of different types breed offspring with traits passed down from both parents, or will they be strictly a single kind? (Besides the "crossbreeds" we already have.)

I'd say, yes, they share a common ancestor with reptiles (just like dinosaurs). And, like dinosaurs, they have a lot of traits that diverge from what is considered reptilian.

 

Realistically, the different breeds of dragon shouldn't be able to breed together, and are actually more like distinct species that are closely-related than breeds of the same species. And realistically, if they were able to breed together, the expressed traits would be some mixture of the parents.

But let's just throw all that out the window and go with the Pokemon approach: Dragon "breeds" are a discrete spectrum, so two dragons that breed will produce a dragon of a distinct breed, not something that is blended between the two.

Though I'm still leaning towards things like wyverns being a distinct species from dragons, etc.

[Nerei]

Is there a specific terminology used to denote male and female dragons?

[TJ09]

Is there a specific terminology used to denote male and female dragons?

I don't have one in mind.

[CatCreature]

"True name" doesn't make as much sense for me because, uh, I don't know how to pronounce a lot of codes. =p

That said, it's likely dragons have names for themselves that are unpronouncable by humans, so the "names" you use for your dragons might not be their real, actual names.

 

I always thought codes were the dragons true names but because we humans can't pronounce them, we use different names instead.

 

With the dragon's permission of course.

[Renhart]

Any idea how Skywings are able to fly off the ground? I understand they can gain speed by swimming but on land I would imagine it to be difficult to become airborne without legs.

[Ansela Jonla]

Any idea how Skywings are able to fly off the ground? I understand they can gain speed by swimming but on land I would imagine it to be difficult to become airborne without legs.

I always understood it as Skywings always take off from the water, like swans.

[Reidragon]

Any idea how Skywings are able to fly off the ground? I understand they can gain speed by swimming but on land I would imagine it to be difficult to become airborne without legs.

I would assume if on land they would be perched somewhere very high that way they can just fling themselves off a cliff face or something. I doubt, being sky bound most of their lives, they'd land anywhere low or flat. Just my opinion though.

[TJ09]

That said, it's likely dragons have names for themselves that are unpronouncable by humans, so the "names" you use for your dragons might not be their real, actual names.

 

I always thought codes were the dragons true names but because we humans can't pronounce them, we use different names instead.

 

With the dragon's permission of course.

I'd think if we couldn't pronounce them, we wouldn't just pick an arbitrary string of letters and numbers to represent them. If anything, the written representation would be some fancy non-Latin alphabet.

[JavaTigress]

I always thought codes were the dragons true names but because we humans can't pronounce them, we use different names instead.

 

With the dragon's permission of course.

I'd think if we couldn't pronounce them, we wouldn't just pick an arbitrary string of letters and numbers to represent them. If anything, the written representation would be some fancy non-Latin alphabet.

It probably would.

 

Someone TOTALLY needs to invent a writing system for the dragons, now.

[TJ09]

Any idea how Skywings are able to fly off the ground? I understand they can gain speed by swimming but on land I would imagine it to be difficult to become airborne without legs.

I don't think they do, outside of starting within water.

[TJ09]

I'd think if we couldn't pronounce them, we wouldn't just pick an arbitrary string of letters and numbers to represent them. If anything, the written representation would be some fancy non-Latin alphabet.

It probably would.

 

Someone TOTALLY needs to invent a writing system for the dragons, now.

I don't know if dragons even have a writing system. Perhaps collective knowledge is encoded a different way (especially given the native ability to beam thoughts to others)

[Nerei]

(especially given the native ability to beam thoughts to others)

Since telepathy counts as magic (or does it for dragons? ), does a Cassare's deadening field prevent it? Does this make Cassares incapable of telepathic communication?

[Chaos Rider]

I always thought codes were the dragons true names but because we humans can't pronounce them, we use different names instead.

 

With the dragon's permission of course.

I'd think if we couldn't pronounce them, we wouldn't just pick an arbitrary string of letters and numbers to represent them. If anything, the written representation would be some fancy non-Latin alphabet.

I thought the names wouldn't be so much an arbitrary string of letters and numbers so much as us trying to use the letters and numbers that we do have to at least approximate what their names are in some sort of DC equivalent to text speak. Not that phones would exist in DC but you get the idea

[TJ09]

Since telepathy counts as magic (or does it for dragons? ), does a Cassare's deadening field prevent it? Does this make Cassares incapable of telepathic communication?

That's an interesting thought. Given that telepathy is their primary form of communication, that would make all Cassares mute...

 

Or it'd mean that dragon-dragon telepathy doesn't count as magic.

[whitebaron]

That's an interesting thought. Given that telepathy is their primary form of communication, that would make all Cassares mute...

 

Or it'd mean that dragon-dragon telepathy doesn't count as magic.

or, you could always go the D&D route: telepathy is psionics, not arcane magic, and thus you'd need a special anti-psionic field to block this...

 

or, just do it like jim butcher did in codex alera: divide between externalized and internalized casting, which has different effects and can obviously (externalized) be seen, or only with very fine senses (internalized) attuned to the task at hand.

[Shelybear]

Not sure if these have been asked as I didn't go through the whole thread.

 

Does DC have four seasons? Why dragons claimed to be 'rarely found in cold weather' or similar can still be found in winter?

[zaverxi]

Not sure if these have been asked as I didn't go through the whole thread.

 

Does DC have four seasons? Why dragons claimed to be 'rarely found in cold weather' or similar can still be found in winter?

They would have to have four seasons, because otherwise Seasonals would feel pretty silly!

 

 

And even though the weather might be cold, there's still areas in the world that could be warm. After all, 'winter' doesn't exactly mean 'freezing'. It depends on where you live. Winter in Miami, Florida can get a frigid 60 degrees F, and that's not even close to the equator.

 

The jungle biome is a good example of this. Jungles are usually only found in warmer climates with lots of humidity, which don't generally have cold temperatures.

 

As well, the coast biome depends on the location of said coast. I can't picture the beaches in the Bahamas as being all that cold, but you wouldn't find me in a swimsuit in Long Island, NY during the winter.

 

Forests can be found in most climates, and the same with deserts. I went to Albuquerque, NM one year and they had snow. Deserts are usually viewed as being hot, but that's not always the case.

 

So long story short, most biomes are not fixed locations where they have to be hot in the summer, cold in the winter. They can vary greatly.

 

And needless to say, the volcano biome is probably hot regardless of the weather or location, and alpine I'm not even going to bother stating the obvious with that.

[Auriene]

Are Aurax and Cirion similar to Earth's Moon, or are they more like, for example, Pandora from Avatar universe? Is there a life on them? It would be interesting if they were independent worlds inhabited by different forms of life (different dragon or dragon-like species, perhaps...?) and maybe even linked to Valkemare by ancient portals or something similar.

[zaverxi]

Are Aurax and Cirion similar to Earth's Moon, or are they more like, for example, Pandora from Avatar universe? Is there a life on them? It would be interesting if they were independent worlds inhabited by different forms of life (different dragon or dragon-like species, perhaps...?) and maybe even linked to Valkemare by ancient portals or something similar.

Maybe the Moonstone, Sunstone, and Nebula (And CHEESE!) dragons are from the moons! It'd be awesome of some dragons were extraterrestrials, and that'd open the door for some of the more bizarre dragon concepts in the completed page. Maybe it'd be possible to 'unlock' a special biome?

 

That'd be very Homestuck heheheh

[TJ09]

or, you could always go the D&D route: telepathy is psionics, not arcane magic, and thus you'd need a special anti-psionic field to block this...

 

or, just do it like jim butcher did in codex alera: divide between externalized and internalized casting, which has different effects and can obviously (externalized) be seen, or only with very fine senses (internalized) attuned to the task at hand.

I do have the concept of passive/active magic. Would it make sense for cassares to only block active magic? I think that might contradict some of the info that's already out there.

[TJ09]

Are Aurax and Cirion similar to Earth's Moon, or are they more like, for example, Pandora from Avatar universe? Is there a life on them? It would be interesting if they were independent worlds inhabited by different forms of life (different dragon or dragon-like species, perhaps...?) and maybe even linked to Valkemare by ancient portals or something similar.

Uh, probably close to earth's moon, though the sizes are different. I forget what they are right now, but I think one is smaller and one is larger?

 

Probably uninhabitable, though. Atmospheres tend to be important, it turns out

[whitebaron]

I do have the concept of passive/active magic. Would it make sense for cassares to only block active magic? I think that might contradict some of the info that's already out there.

in my opinion, whatever you do, cassares will always break the concept of magic in your world, or need to be changed. a totally anti-magic being, would never HAVE magic themselves. they could have other stuff (e.g. psionics), but not the run of the mill like everyone else.

[Chaos Rider]

From the general dragon description

 

Dragons are creatures with nearly unlimited life spans. They can survive for long periods of time, and no one has found a dragon that has died of old age.

 

So they could be similar to Tolkien elves in that although they do not age they could still die from injury. And the Fever Wyvern says that they use the diseases on their tail spines for fending off attackers which suggests that dragons that dragons are susceptible to disease

[Nerei]

That's very general. I doubt that they actually live for an "unlimited" amount of time.

[whitebaron]

That's very general. I doubt that they actually live for an "unlimited" amount of time.

in general, creatures of magic can live for as long as they can draw magic from around them. So it is very likely that dragons can indeed, not die from old age, but hey, they can get bored and do suicide instead. Or kill whole worlds/the universe while they are at it.