DC Lore AMA

[Cheekadee]

Something that's been bugging me for a while is the fact that the flavor text for trying to pick up an egg or hatchling when you don't have room is You are already overburdened and decide not to stress yourself by taking this egg. While it's obvious why there's a limit from gameplay perspective, it doesn't make sense why you should have to take care of all the eggs and hatchlings. In the Black dragon encyclopedia, it says: Balloon:

Adults form large groups that care for young together.

This implies that Balloons take care of offspring that isn't their own, and I seem to recall that a dragon I don't remember said that they even sometimes take care of offspring that's not their own species. All this being said: Why would it make sense for you to not give your offspring to your other, adult dragons to take care of?

[angelicdragonpuppy]

What exactly is the difference between the dark and death elements? Light and life is fairly easy to untangle--creation in general versus loving nature--but I'm having more trouble with dark / death. I was thinking dark = typical evil behavior (i.e. bullying, manipulative, vicious) while death = more natural destructive behavior (i.e. venomous breeds, things associated with bones, scavengers), but looking at the distribution of breeds within elements I'm less sure now.

[TJ09]

Something that's been bugging me for a while is the fact that the flavor text for trying to pick up an egg or hatchling when you don't have room is You are already overburdened and decide not to stress yourself by taking this egg. While it's obvious why there's a limit from gameplay perspective, it doesn't make sense why you should have to take care of all the eggs and hatchlings. In the Black dragon encyclopedia, it says: Balloon: This implies that Balloons take care of offspring that isn't their own, and I seem to recall that a dragon I don't remember said that they even sometimes take care of offspring that's not their own species. All this being said: Why would it make sense for you to not give your offspring to your other, adult dragons to take care of?

In general, there are a lot of things on the site that are simply "game logic" and don't really need to be covered by the lore. One thing I've said multiple times is that it's not actually realistic that there are these people that have raised a hoard of hundreds (or even dozens) of dragons. Even those people who raise a nonzero amount of dragons are going to be extremely few and far between. Since the case of a single person raising a single dragon is so uncommon, I don't see the need to elaborate on a single person raising multiple dragons at a time.

[TJ09]

What exactly is the difference between the dark and death elements? Light and life is fairly easy to untangle--creation in general versus loving nature--but I'm having more trouble with dark / death. I was thinking dark = typical evil behavior (i.e. bullying, manipulative, vicious) while death = more natural destructive behavior (i.e. venomous breeds, things associated with bones, scavengers), but looking at the distribution of breeds within elements I'm less sure now.

I'm curious what about the distribution of the breeds contradicts your assumptions there. I do believe all of the breeds that fit your description of death magic are under that umbrella already.

 

That said, the most useful way to look at them is in the context of the bigger picture. Dark mana is the neutral element of Destruction, so it covers pretty much anything that is either destructive in general, or whose general tendencies are clearly in that direction without fitting into any of the more specific Destruction. Pretty much, you can take your description of light ("creation in general") and turn it into "destruction in general" and that works just fine.

[angelicdragonpuppy]

I'm curious what about the distribution of the breeds contradicts your assumptions there. I do believe all of the breeds that fit your description of death magic are under that umbrella already.

 

That said, the most useful way to look at them is in the context of the bigger picture. Dark mana is the neutral element of Destruction, so it covers pretty much anything that is either destructive in general, or whose general tendencies are clearly in that direction without fitting into any of the more specific Destruction. Pretty much, you can take your description of light ("creation in general") and turn it into "destruction in general" and that works just fine.

Admittedly there aren't too many breeds in either category, but I saw that olives and turpentines fall under dark, while brutes and seragammas are under death. I can kind of see turpentines as dark due to being annoying (destructive) and seragammas as death due to their high aggression, but since turpentines are poisonous in a way and seragammas don't have any particularly fancy way of killing I assumed they'd be flipped. Olives and brutes even more so--olives are poisonous but don't seem really evil otherwise (so death?) while brutes are, well, brutish, but their descriptions don't mention them killing anything (or even being brutish, actually, that's only in their name), which makes them seem more fit for generic "darkness" than "death." And there's my 50$ summary of my confusion

 

Thinking of darkness as simply a catch all of sorts for destruction that doesn't fit the other categories does help, though, thank you.

[Dirtytabs]

Do dragons mind being owned by someone (especially a human), or is ownership of a dragon mostly a Gameplay Thing?

[TJ09]

Admittedly there aren't too many breeds in either category, but I saw that olives and turpentines fall under dark, while brutes and seragammas are under death. I can kind of see turpentines as dark due to being annoying (destructive) and seragammas as death due to their high aggression, but since turpentines are poisonous in a way and seragammas don't have any particularly fancy way of killing I assumed they'd be flipped. Olives and brutes even more so--olives are poisonous but don't seem really evil otherwise (so death?) while brutes are, well, brutish, but their descriptions don't mention them killing anything (or even being brutish, actually, that's only in their name), which makes them seem more fit for generic "darkness" than "death." And there's my 50$ summary of my confusion

 

Thinking of darkness as simply a catch all of sorts for destruction that doesn't fit the other categories does help, though, thank you.

I actually just found a post I made around the time I was discussing the element system in private:

How would a dragon whose primary characteristic is corrosive spit (or, like the turpentines, secreted chemicals) fit? Generally, acid is destructive, so would that be neutral-destruction?

Which was met with general agreement (with poisons or similar things falling under the more specific "death" element), and now we're here.

 

As for brutes, it looks like someone put them there when we were doing preliminary categorization, and no one mentioned/challenged it (we needed to make sure everything was given an element so that Avatars could exist). They probably should be Dark element more than Death.

[TJ09]

Do dragons mind being owned by someone (especially a human), or is ownership of a dragon mostly a Gameplay Thing?

I did just post that "owning" a dragon would likely be a very rare thing. When it does happen, it's probably much more of a beneficial/mutual relationship; more like family than ownership (it would get weird otherwise; the concept of owning another sentient--and arguably more intelligent--creature is pretty sketchy, and it'd be difficult for a single human to actually force a dragon into submission).

[Pryanka]

Maybe this has been asked before, but....

Valkemare is the name of the world in which Dragon Crave exists, right? Why is there no mention of that important tidbit of knowledge on the gameplay website? I logged out and viewed it as a potential new user would, and the name of the world isn't anywhere to be found in the registration or help pages. I've been on dc since like 2008...and I don't think I knew that the dc world has a name until I read this thread. Is this done on purpose? Is it complete user error on my part? Is it because I'm on my phone, and not on the desktop version?

 

[angelicdragonpuppy]

I actually just found a post I made around the time I was discussing the element system in private:Which was met with general agreement (with poisons or similar things falling under the more specific "death" element), and now we're here.

 

As for brutes, it looks like someone put them there when we were doing preliminary categorization, and no one mentioned/challenged it (we needed to make sure everything was given an element so that Avatars could exist). They probably should be Dark element more than Death.

Should olives be under death as well then? Not that it affects anything right now though, haha.

 

@Pryanka: it's listed under the encyclopedia section :3

http://dragcave.net/dragonopedia/world

 

 

[TJ09]

Maybe this has been asked before, but....

Valkemare is the name of the world in which Dragon Crave exists, right? Why is there no mention of that important tidbit of knowledge on the gameplay website? I logged out and viewed it as a potential new user would, and the name of the world isn't anywhere to be found in the registration or help pages. I've been on dc since like 2008...and I don't think I knew that the dc world has a name until I read this thread. Is this done on purpose? Is it complete user error on my part? Is it because I'm on my phone, and not on the desktop version?

By the way, Galsreim (the name of the primary island/continent) is name-dropped right on the main page now.

 

angelicdragonpuppy is correct that the encyclopedia does list the name, too (both Valkemare and Galsreim).

[Moonlightelf]

Given how much talk there's been about transforming effects of different mana... would it be possible for someone to adjust their own appearance to have certain aspects by carefully mixing or rationing different types of mana? And could that said appearance be maintained at certain stages by consuming (by breathing or eating, however it happens) this mix/ration regularly?

Edited November 16, 2016 by Moonlightelf

[TJ09]

Given how much talk there's been about transforming effects of different mana... would it be possible for someone to adjust their own appearance to have certain aspects by carefully mixing or rationing different types of mana? And could that said appearance be maintained at certain stages by consuming (by breathing or eating, however it happens) this mix/ration regularly?

I don't know if it's a targeted "mix-n-match" type thing. You'd be better off explicitly using magic to for self-alteration in that case.

[Dirtytabs]

Can hatchlings be frozen to never grow up, or is that just an in-game feature? Can we say that it's time magic that does the trick, or would it be something else?

[Lurhstaap]

Can hatchlings be frozen to never grow up, or is that just an in-game feature? Can we say that it's time magic that does the trick, or would it be something else?

I have always treated it as an IC thing. I know I have at least one frozen hatchie with an approved desc that describes it being frozen magically to save it from dying from neglect (true, as it happens - it had been a very low time/low views AP hatchie, a lucky grab). So the fact that desc was approved implies it's a thing, FWIW? Of course, I wrote that before the mana concept was introduced, and the specific kinds. Nowadays I probably would specify the use of Time mana, possibly also Life and maybe even Ice to create the "freezing spell".

[Dirtytabs]

I have always treated it as an IC thing. I know I have at least one frozen hatchie with an approved desc that describes it being frozen magically to save it from dying from neglect (true, as it happens - it had been a very low time/low views AP hatchie, a lucky grab). So the fact that desc was approved implies it's a thing, FWIW? Of course, I wrote that before the mana concept was introduced, and the specific kinds. Nowadays I probably would specify the use of Time mana, possibly also Life and maybe even Ice to create the "freezing spell".

Oh yes, but there are also many GoNs (some with descriptions), long before it was suggested that there is not a bunch of GoNs but just one. So what's in-universe and what's gameplay is muddied. Oh! It seems bolt dragons send a shock to hatchlings to (literally?) "stun" their growth, so maybe lightning mana, too. Somehow.

[TJ09]

I have always treated it as an IC thing. I know I have at least one frozen hatchie with an approved desc that describes it being frozen magically to save it from dying from neglect (true, as it happens - it had been a very low time/low views AP hatchie, a lucky grab). So the fact that desc was approved implies it's a thing, FWIW? Of course, I wrote that before the mana concept was introduced, and the specific kinds. Nowadays I probably would specify the use of Time mana, possibly also Life and maybe even Ice to create the "freezing spell".

Descriptions aren't checked strictly against what is likely to be canon. They're checked against readily-available breed information and a few other things, but an approved description doesn't imply canon.

 

I've already stated that people raising dozens of dragons is very unlikely in-world (vs in-game), but there's plenty of descriptions that talk about that sort of thing.

[Dirtytabs]

Descriptions aren't checked strictly against what is likely to be canon. They're checked against readily-available breed information and a few other things, but an approved description doesn't imply canon.

 

I've already stated that people raising dozens of dragons is very unlikely in-world (vs in-game), but there's plenty of descriptions that talk about that sort of thing.

Sounds like actual age-freezing is nonexistent, or extremely rare (difficult, risky, rare spell, etc., just keeping that possibility open for passable descriptions).

 

In-world, I pass them off as Special-magic-ageless-cursed-people, however unlikely that is.

[kreepers_killer]

Are there other continents than Galsreim? And if yes, do they have different types of dragons?

[Dirtytabs]

Are there other continents than Galsreim? And if yes, do they have different types of dragons?

Yes for sure for other continents, parts of which appear on the map.

Dragons are primarily found on the continent of Galsreim, in part thanks to an expansive underground cave system and large mana deposit deep within. On this continent (as well as those nearby), dragons make up the top of the food chain.

[blockEdragon]

Why are undead dragons so aggressive?

I pretty much get attacking the person who killed it but why do they attack anything and everything mindlessly?

Is there something that drives them to do so?

[TJ09]

Are there other continents than Galsreim? And if yes, do they have different types of dragons?

There are. A few of them even have names.

 

The one to the north of Galsreim is Toreska, I believe.

 

I don't know if the ones to the south have names off the top of my head.

[TJ09]

Why are undead dragons so aggressive?

I pretty much get attacking the person who killed it but why do they attack anything and everything mindlessly?

Is there something that drives them to do so?

Well, you yourself said "mindlessly." Presumably their brains are decayed to similar levels as the rest of their bodies; perhaps they aren't even really using them, depending on how the specific mechanisms of undead conversion work. In any case, what's left is mostly instinctual and mostly feral.

[HeatherMarie]

I haven't read this whole thread, so this might have been answered, but... How much of this world did you know of when you first began DragonCave? Did you even have the name Valkemare at that point, or know about mana and elements and all of that? Was the continent already named when you first started DC? I know we as users have seen so much more information come through in the last few years, but how much of it is stuff you've known all along in your head?

[Kakaru_of_DOOM]

How does Valkemarian time magic and paradoxes work? - If a chrono-xenowyrm goes goes back in time to smash the eggs of his parents, say. Does time travel invariably end up proving to be what happened all along/leading to the events that caused the time traveler to go back in the first place? Are there parallel timelines?