DC Lore AMA

[Keileon]

Being that there's multiple dragons that interact to some extent with the spirit plane and spirits themselves-- do you have any solid thoughts on how that works or do you just let the conceptors do whatever?

 

Like, what has a soul? Just sapients, all animals, or all life in general?

[TCA]

On 3/17/2020 at 9:26 AM, subwoofer said:

Are Aeria Gloris dragons able to swim?

Yeah, but they hate it.

[Nighttamer]

What do you think? How intelligent are the dc dragons in general and how do they communicate? Are they able to hold a conversation with you? Do they understand and grasp the concepts of the world as good as a human would? Or better? Would it be a bad idea to build intelligent and telepathically talking dragons into a fanfic about dc?

[subwoofer]

How many years would a dragon remain as a hatchling for before growing into an adult? 

[TJ09]

On 4/8/2020 at 12:21 PM, Nighttamer said:

What do you think? How intelligent are the dc dragons in general and how do they communicate? Are they able to hold a conversation with you? Do they understand and grasp the concepts of the world as good as a human would? Or better? Would it be a bad idea to build intelligent and telepathically talking dragons into a fanfic about dc?

 

Dragons are intelligent and telepathic. There's also IIRC some breeds that vocalize in different ways, but I believe I've answered in the past that they aren't super capable of forming phonemes and thus verbal language.

They'd definitely be able to communicate with humans.

 

There've been plenty of dragons in human settings in past site events. Larger, denser towns may have fewer dragons though.

[TJ09]

On 4/15/2020 at 5:22 PM, subwoofer said:

How many years would a dragon remain as a hatchling for before growing into an adult? 

The old site flavor text mentioned it was a long time and then adulthood happened fairly rapidly. The number that comes to mind is somewhere around 100 years for full maturation, though obviously that timeframe doesn't quite work for the concept of people raising dragons.

[subwoofer]

Are there vinyl records or anything like that? Is there any way for people/dragons to record and listen back to something that isn't live?

Edited May 4, 2020 by subwoofer

[TJ09]

17 hours ago, subwoofer said:

Are there vinyl records or anything like that? Is there any way for people/dragons to record and listen back to something that isn't live?

Most physical forms of audio recording in the real world were invented "relatively" recently. So very likely not in that form.

 

But, we have magic, which allows for interesting expressions of will upon the world. One could literally store the vibrations in a crystal, or create some sort of bottled essence that imparts the sensation of hearing. When you have that, there's much less need to deal with fragile things made of wax or shellac.

[Kakaru_of_DOOM]

If I were to make magical audio recordings, I would probably use light (to 'create' the sound), magi (generic enchantments), or air (since sounds tend to be vibrations in the air).

 

So wait, in the canon, how advanced is magic that replicates what otherwise would be invented using technology? Since the description guidelines say "medieval",  I've tended to assume not much, but your answer above suggests otherwise. Are magical devices developed enough to include to include automagic doors? Hot-air balloons? Telecommunications? Video games? Androids? Space travel?

(The dragons are linked to provide an example of how the 'technology' could be replicated by magic.)

 

Speaking of space travel, what would a cheese (or anyone else, for that matter) find on the two lunar surfaces?

Edited May 14, 2020 by Kakaru_of_DOOM
Added parenthetical note

[sh20000sh]

Who operates the market? Are they even human?

[Nerei]

(I searched but couldn’t find if this question had been asked before.) So we know Galsreim, but do the other continents that appear on the map have names?

[TJ09]

10 hours ago, Niyaka said:

(I searched but couldn’t find if this question had been asked before.) So we know Galsreim, but do the other continents that appear on the map have names?

The continent to the north is Toreska. I shared that back in 2016, and at the time I also said the others didn't have names.

 

I think they still don't, because that area hasn't been relevant to anything ever.

[Nighttamer]

So, i was wondering, how intelligent are they exactly and if they are sapient, to what extend? Do they have thoughts? Can they communicate meaningfully? Or are they closer to simple animals? And how intelligent are they compared to other species? And wich Pygmys are the most intelligent? Bzw the most sapient? Or does it vary between species?

[Paradisiske]

For the pipios, I envisioned them being similar to macaws, (australian) magpies, crows/ravens in terms of intelligence. So yes I would consider them self aware to an extent. Do they ponder the meaning of their existence? No, not that smart. 

 

I would assume that the other pygmies are similar but maybe a bit higher in intelligence. 

You would have to see if you can get in contact with the concept creators/artists of the other pygmies. 

[Lost_Unicorn]

I think generic descriptions, which go after species-specific descriptions, answer that question.

There are two types of draconic creatures in Galsreim: Dragons and Drakes. Pygmies are Dragons, but also have their own description paragraph going after the Dragon-generic description.

From Dragon-generic description:
"Dragons are highly-intelligent reptilian creatures..."

From Pygmy-generic description:
"Pygmy dragons are the smallest category of dragons..."

From Drake-generic description:
"Though it may appear at first that dragons and drakes have much in common, the two are completely separate species. Drakes are smaller and less intelligent than their cousin species..."

Pygmies are not noted to have a different intelligence levels than Dragons (they are Dragons), but Drakes do - Drakes are animal-level intelligent. This is also supported by the latest Valentine and Halloween event games - where Pygmies can talk and Drakes can't (however I don't know if event games are canon, but they should at least be based on it).

Full descriptions:

Spoiler

Dragons are highly-intelligent reptilian creatures that—from a human perspective, at least—appear to live forever. Many different varieties of dragon exist, each with their own unique qualities, habitats, and behavior. Adolescence in dragons is usually marked by the growth of a hatchling’s wings, although not all breeds of dragons grow wings and some breeds have other traits that indicate the beginning of maturation. In Galsreim, dragons and humans coexist peacefully.
 

Pygmy dragons are the smallest category of dragons, being on the same scale as domesticated animals. They are often found around concentrated populations of dragons, relying on their larger brethren to ward away potential predators and leave scraps. As such, the majority of a pygmy’s diet is scavenged. Due to their tiny size, pygmies do not breed with larger varieties of dragons.

Though it may appear at first that dragons and drakes have much in common, the two are completely separate species. Drakes are smaller and less intelligent than their cousin species, though both dragons and drakes sit comfortably near the top of the food chain. They are always found bearing antlers and leathery wings. Drakes share many of the same habitats that dragons do, and typically hunt in packs.

*After reading the species-specific descriptions and encyplodedia entries on wiki*
Yes, there's some information which can mislead into thinking that pygmies are animals, coupled with the fact that their lives are described often as quite animalistic (but maybe that's the case with all dragons?), but there's also some information that supports they aren't. Another important thing to note is that pygmies (like all dragons) communicate with humans telepathicaly (at least one spriter's note mentions this).  Actually I am not sure if artists themselves know for certain which intelligence level pygmies are supposed to have. There's nothing clearly saying "yes, all pygmies are animal-/human-level".

[Shadowdrake]

Some regular dragons are written (and imagined by creators) as if they have animal intelligence, such as the aranoa. Events aren't necessarily canon, but they're probably usually given dialogue since it'd be boring to have only non-speaking dragons in a DC minigame (though even some regular dragons just sound like animals, like the olive in Flowers and Dragons). I imagine pygmies have a similar range of sapience, even if it makes canon lore a bit weird.

[Kakaru_of_DOOM]

I write a lot of descriptions, and at least on my scroll, pygmies are at least as intelligent as their full-sized counterparts. I have plenty with various jobs, and even some academics. Also, the breed description for the plated colossi states that they "are not incredibly clever", and they are the opposite of a pygmy.

 

That being said, I have seen descriptions written by other users that treat pygmies as creatures with animal-level intelligence. Then again, I have also seen full-sized dragons described with animalistic intelligence levels, and drake descriptions that seem to show them on par with humans (I do not know if this latter category got accepted by the moderators or not). 

 

 

My personal rule of thumb is that standard dragons, pygmies, and two-headed dragons have approximately human-level intelligence, with variation between individuals generally greater than variation across species. My scroll's drakes vary widely in intellectual capability, with some of the older ones being significantly smarter than the current dog-level standard.

 

Edited May 7, 2021 by Kakaru_of_DOOM

[TCA]

My personal take is that most dragons range from cetacean/ape intelligence to human level, pygmies included, but they are also much more heavily driven by instinct than humans are.

 

I like to imagine you could teach a red-tailed wyrm basic math if you could get them to care but that's a tall order because they are too busy going 'food?'.

[G'lant]

I feel like the pygmies have human level intelligence unless their description says otherwise.

[Docthings]

I always personally viewed pygmies and dragons as being on par with human intelligence and drakes being on par with a very intelligent dog (border collie, golden retriever, etc.). From what I've seen of the pygmy descriptions, there's not much that proves or disproves that they are sapient and I believe that it's up to the user at the end of the day.

[High Lord November]

I'm pretty sure Pygmies are just about as intelligent as the average dragon. In the most recent valentines game, you had Pygmies come in and telepathically talk with the human.

 

I was wondering about this myself when I was making a dragon suggestion - I wanted to make a pygmy that was similar to a budgie (aka a staple pet), but once I read that Val story, I realized it would be demeaning to have a pygmy like that. Pippio dragons aren't as smart as the average pygmy, but they aren't animal-level intelligence either.

[Syiren]

I've always considered pygmies like cats and having cat-like mindsets with around human-level smarts. They could be friendly mingling with people, secretly planning a tiny dragon army takeover or-

 

*laser pointer darts over to the wall*

 

MUST POUNCE!!!!!

[Mewtie]

Here is a post by TJ on the matter. :3

[Marrionetta]

Magelight pygmies can probably read, and certainly are capable of opening canned food. They're intelligent but also simultaneously dumbasses, so I'm not sure what to tell you. They're chipper and talkative and ridiculous. Still probably the type to walk headlong into a sliding glass door.

 

Corals are... closer to that more primitive scary animal intelligence. They could think a word or two at you but mostly they're just here to kick butt and take names. Given they stand about waist high and are covered in sharp claws and teeth, they're incredibly dangerous. Smart in the way self sufficient predators are smart, could communicate if pressed.

[Hawaiianbabidoll]

Pargulus are curious and clever enough to investigate and problem solve. Their individual intelligence can vary from one to another of course, so some might have no common sense and be baffled by a sliding door, while others just face palm at them when they see them still there 5 minutes later. Explain things to them though, and they'll get it, even if they couldn't figure it out right away on their own.