Dear Upper Management of the Which Ever Reality This Lands In,
I am sad to inform you that you've involuntarily been volunteered to now house some of the most wicked and most powerful beings that our reality has to offer. I must offer my condolences as these charges will become your problem instead of ours.
We are not overly cruel as to send these monsters anywhere near their full power however, (mostly because we don't want them finding a way back) and have sent them in a form we feel they will do the least amount of trouble. As an added measure, we have also sent a handful to also help contain them in your reality and act as a safety net if necessary.
Again I must apologize for the inconveniences this act will bring and I hope you won't hold it against us.
Sincerely
A reality away from yours, and more specifically Archmagius Ehinera,
At least it wasn't a Deck of Many Things.
3544508
Tempting... Oh so tempting...
If the Black Dragon isn't near a swamp when they wake up, they are going to be really really pissed... Otherwise, I look forward to seeing where this is going.
@Eragon5055...
1. An interesting story-premise, but it does raise questions for this old D&D'er...
- a. Are you drawing upon a particular edition of Dungeons & Dragons for your draconic protagonists? Or just going with a general guideline across editions? [I assume you are NOT drawing from a specific campaign-world, thus giving you greater creative leeway for writing rather than boxing yourself in.]
- b. And are you only using the "standard" 5 chromatic evils vs. 5 metallic goods?
- c. Or will you also include the (later editions) 5 gemstone neutrals as well?
From a literary standpoint, I would advise keeping your draconic cast to a minimum since you also have to take into account the pony cast as well. Too many role-involved characters can fatally dilute your reader-audience's interest.
.
2. While your story-premise in interesting, I am less certain about transforming the draconic cast into kirins (dragon-ponies for the less D&D/mythic fluent reading this). Might it have been better to simply leave them as dragons, but their strength & power altered, bound, diminished, & flustered, by the "rules" of the MLP:FiM-verse rather than the D&D-verse?
3. As a creative suggestion, from your cover picture... If you are including a dracolich (depicted in your cover picture) among the draconic cast, I would suggest counter-balancing with a mithral dragon. Where-as draconliches are undead despoilers, mithral dragons are living immortals. A good pony-conversion would be a alicorn stallion (silver-grey coat, polished-chrome mane) [And even giving an immortal-peer, & possible romantic angle, for Princess Celestia &/or Princess Luna...].
4. A good sequel-series for this would be Princess Celestia (or perhaps even Princess Twilight) "returning the favor" and dumping Equestria's villains, into the D&D-verse. The twist would be that while the Equestrian villains may not be triumphant in the D&D-verse (it is D&D after all, Good generally wins there too), they would thrive &/or prosper there far better than they had in the MLP:FiM-verse.
3545741
Ok, let see if I can satisfy your questions without giving away to much.
1. a. You are correct, I'm not drawing from any specific guidline or tradition.
b. I'm using the traditional 5 by 5, for the exact reason you mentioned, keeping characters more minimum.
c. That is a 'will see, but probably not'
2. Well, it's less kirin's (Dragon/pony hybrids) and more turned completely into ponies. Red keeping his eyes is more of a fluke. I decided on that for a couple of reasons, one being a little bit of bodily humor, like Gold getting turned into the pony equivilant of a teenage girl.
The other reason would be a little bit expo. of the wizard not wanting to half ass'ing it (and wanting to be the absolute biggest bastard to the dragons he could be). The purpose of this is a little more than just dumping unwanted dragons on somebody else.
3. No dracolich planned, I didn't think the cover art depicted one, and now you mention it, I can kinda see it, but I think it just supposed to be a group of dragons. Maybe I'm missing context of the pic, I don't know the artist otherwise I'd give him/her credit.
4. That would be a delicious and utterly appropriate thing for Celestia to do, sadly, I don't think I would be able to do a good job at that.
3546073...
5. Concerning the dracolich in the cover picture... The exposed spinal cord, hanging jaw-tendons, and empty eye-sockets with the undead-lit "pupils" were a bit of a giveaway
. As for specific artist, I do not know either. But it obviously must be a D&D artist since the dragons depicted are clearly of the D&D-verse chromatic variety (red, white, blue dracolich).
6. I would suggest keeping some minor-to-moderate dragon features to the draconic protagonists, be it the eyes, tail, draconic wings (for those converted to pegasus), damage & magic resistances, &/or breath weapon, etc.
7. Conversely to the physical dragon traits retained, you definitely want to keep with the mental aspects. Remember, what makes the older age-category dragons doubly dangerous is not just their physical power, but often their vorpal-sharp intelligence, vast knowledge (arcane & informational), and ages-spanning life experience.
8. Also keep in mind that, (mostly) across the editions, two of the chromatic types are not "as evil" as might be.
Blues are haughty and avaricious as befitting the draconic stature, but are also often surprisingly reasonable with others and pragmatic in their world-view. Blues have been known to tolerate and even work with (very loosely speaking!) the lesser races, assuming said lesser races tread carefully in their dealings (even a misinterpreted off-hand comment or act can get you electrocuted or eaten, or both). This trait helps them prosper far better than the other chromatic species, and in some rare cases even better than metallics ("better the devil you know...").
Whites are generally the most bestial and least intelligent among the chromatics [unless you are going for a twist with a whip-smart White, which actually might make for an interesting/entertaining angle], but they also do not engage in terrorizing for sheer pleasure, social manipulations/intimidations, or wanton slaughter (unless called for). Whites take what they need/want and nothing more, and never in excess, owing to learning to live frugally in the scarce resources of arctic climates (the gorging of today often results in the starvation for the next month, if not worse). So a White is not going to go on a rampage in The Crystal Empire, scooping up armfuls of gems & crystal-ponies to take back to her/his lair.
Hope these insights help when writing for those two.
.
9. As for a reverse-role sequel-series, make that self-judgement after you have run this fan-fiction series out
.
3546331
Blues are my favorite, so I no problem on writing one, just deciding on a drop-point.
I am not as well versed on whites on the other hand, and am pondering the food supply thing now, considering the editions and things I have read on D&D dragons, they can eat and live off of pretty much anything, including rocks and dirt. It's just they have particular favorite foods, whites being anything that moves, then freeze it.
Thank you for your insight. :)
3546530...
(boy, you are really making me wear my Dungeon Master hat for this...
)
10. My advice would be to save your favorite(s) for last introductions then. Assuming you are alternating between a chromatic and its opposing metallic, this means Blue and Silver. If any chromatic dragon would be suited to drop off in Ponyville, &/or be found by Twilight Sparkle and Spike, it would be a Blue.
11. If you want to get into the deeper D&D lore... ALL dragons can, technically, survive by eating almost anything due to their elemental-based integrated nature. Dragons are living elemental conduits, so their internal elemental essence can break down almost any matter consumed. However...eating rocks &/or plant-matter provide little nutrition, so a dragon would have to eat a larger amount of such just to survive.
There is also the palette aspect as well as nutrition. Eating a...
a- tree
b- cow
c- young maiden
Would be akin to a...
a- single stick of raw celery
b- McDonald's Big Mac hamburger
c- filet mignon (steak)
There is an exception to the eating (quantity) vs. nutrition rule... Magic Items. Consuming a magic item efficiently sustains a dragon nutritionally (the scale between which is dependent upon the age/size of the dragon and how powerful the magic item is). There are two notable drawbacks to this option, however...
First, consuming a magic item means reducing the size of a dragon's hoard (or being unable to add to it), something most dragons would recoil at doing, even when feeing great hunger. A dragon would have to be bordering upon starvation before they reach into their hoard and consume a Battle Axe +3 and wash it down with a Potion of Cure Critical Wounds.
Second, consuming a magic item is the equivalent of eating an high-calorie/-protein energy bar, while it will effectively sustain the dragon nutritionally, it is far from fine (or palatable) dining. Ask yourself: How many energy/nutrition/protein bars could you eat, every day for every meal, before you broke down and went out for a 4-course steak dinner...?
And yes, dragons prefer "cook" their meals accordingly to their respective elemental nature.
- Blacks like theirs "pickled" by acid, or served like a ceviche
- Blues like theirs lightly toasted or seared (think seared ahi tuna, thin charred crust sealing in the juices, but warm rare-cooked inside)
- Greens like theirs "lightly dusted", surface-flavored with corrosive poison, warm inside
- Reds like theirs charbroiled (big surprise, right?)
- Whites like theirs crunchy-chilled
And you are correct, Whites will freeze-preserve any extras for later eating; again, taking into account the overall scarcity of palatable food in arctic climates.
It is important to remember: White dragons at their creative inspirational core, are simply fantasy versions of arctic predators. And even the most savage arctic predator must be continually and distinctly aware of the delicate balance of the harsh environment they live in, or they perish. So best to keep that in mind when writing for the White.
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
12. Assuming you intend to drop off the White in Frozen North &/or The Crystal Empire, here are a few creative suggestions...
- a. The White is bestial and feral...and not a pony. Instead, the White is transformed into an enormous half-dragon polar bear. With no counter-metallic equivalent existing in the arctic climate, can Shining Armor find a way to combat the destructive menace? Or even more challenging, tame and befriend the bestial-minded White?
- b. The White is (as the suggested twist) an rarity among its kind, an Ancient-category White dragon of great intelligence & cunning; and it stalks the icy wastes of the Frozen North as a powerful unicorn with lean predatory purpose. For the White is almost beside itself with avaricious joy at the potential bounty offered by such a large civilized settlement as The Crystal Empire (one does not generally find a metropolis in harsh arctic climates). Can Princess Cadence and Shining Armor stand against an enemy that may be even more powerful and cunning than King Sombra? One who can control the very snows and ice surrounding their kingdom?
- c. Princess Cadence senses a powerful essence out in the deep wastes of The Frozen North, crying out in unfocused rage, but also terrible loneliness . Investigating, she finds what appears to be an abandoned colt (or filly) pegasus barely past foalhood infancy, with a winter-white coat, icy-blue mane, & translucent bat-wings, apparently immune to the lethal cold of The Frozen North. What almost seems like a simple case of adoption by Princess Cadence and Shining Armor turns complicated when the two parent-hopefuls find the child happily crunching down on various gemstones, freezing unfortunate guards &/or servants when sneezing, and spitting out armor-piercing ice shards &/or messy slush when being burped...
.
Hope this (continues to) helps.
3547832
10. No real order, just whenever I finally got a solid idea on what I want to happen, then I get to writing.
11. Pretty much, I just making an observation on White being surrounded by food, so they don't exactly have to act anywhere near like a typical artic animal and conserve food, but you could chalk it to intelligence, better to let them breed so the tasty stuff be more plentiful.
12. I do like your last suggestion for the White, but here's my dilemma. I Have got a clear idea for Silver, Copper, and Green, with a good general idea for blue, but was going to wait to and see if a better one popped up.
Bronze, Brass, and White I'm having the hardest time on. I really like the last one, having White as a foal, but I was thinking about doing that to Black, sicking the most dreaded babysitter you could imagine on such a creature, Pinkamena Diane Pie
(keep for getting to click reply and having to remake the comment. Silly me.)
3549198...
13. Well despite no pre-planned order of introductions, my advice still stands on saving your favorite(s) for last. That way you have the time to come up with a better concept yourself, or for the fickle muse of Lady Inspiration to come kiss you, Gibbs-slap you, or boot you up the ass with an idea.
14. Black dragons are generally the "Kill-You-Just-Because" Villains of the D&D-verse, so converting him/her into a foal is counter-productive character-wise and it wastes a perfectly viable & reader-clear villain spot in your Dark-tagged fan-fiction. As the ironic twist, you can have Pinkamena Diane Pie rising to the challenge on the side of the Good (very loosely speaking) as an anti-hero (a la Vin Diesel's Riddick) when confronting The Black.
example scene...
See what I did there..?
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
15. Some creative ideas for The Brass' beginnings...
- a. A new fashion model hits the Canterlot media scene, in the form of a seductively lithe pegasus mare with a brass-colored coat and mane that seems to glitter with a metallic sheen. The new model is a big hit with her cheerful social butterfly attitude, taking to the crowds like a dolphin in the open seas, and leaving drooling stallions (& even mares) in her adulation-wake. Yet...no one seems to know where this media darling has come from until she first walked out upon the lights of the fashion runways...
- b. The Cutie Mark Crusaders meet a new fellow "blank-flank" at school, a brightly colored pegasus filly with a polished-chrome reflective mane. The new student proves to be very popular at school despite none knowing where she came from, charming Miss Cheerilee with her enthusiastic inquisitiveness, and making many friends among the other children through her bright attitude and social gregariousness. Even more ingratiating to the schoolchildren and the CMC's as a whole, the mysterious filly is not only is utterly UN-intimidated by Diamond Tiara's & Silver Spoon's bullying, but manages to fluster the spoiled duo and even counter-intimidates them (in truth, The Brass uses her innate draconic fear aura to terrify the two bullies). Despite adding a new member to their ranks, at least one (if not two) of the Cutie Mark Crusaders cannot shake the feeling that there is something..."off"...about their new comrade...
- c. Rarity finds a semi-conscious and disoriented pegasus stallion [I just cannot picture The Brass being another pony sub-race.] while out gathering gems. Captivated by his flowing brass-chrome mane and toned physique, Rarity "generously" takes him in
. As a result of his gratitude, Rarity finds herself swept up in a proverbial romance novel with the mysterious & handsome stallion. The stallion finds curious but enthusiastic wonder in even simple things in pony life, sharing that uplifting feeling with her. Rarity's guest also proves to be socially adept in myriad settings...from a simple romantic dinner and flight (Rarity on his back) into the clear starry skies, to easily making new friends/allies among the Canterlot noble elite at their soirees, and even expertly navigating The Grand Galloping Gala.
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
16. Some creative ideas The Bronze's beginnings...
- a. An unusual applicant comes to join the Royal Guard: an tall-statured Thestral (bat pony) the size and muscular build of a draft horse (see: Big McIntosh), with a bronze-colored coat, a metallic-sheen mane, and enormous bat-wings seemingly made of living metal (yet he flies quite adroitly). The mysterious stallion exhibits incredible combat skills & endurance, shows a sharp mind for military strategy & tactics, and has a natural charisma among other Royal Guards (evil & good dragons have a fear aura, but good dragons additionally have an inspiring aura for allies). But the real drama & comedy begins when Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both competitively (& perhaps aggressively) vie for having the applicant in their respective guard corps, because both princesses have more than just his martial competence on their minds for him...
- b. A mysterious Amazonian pegasus mare in Cloudsdale starts stirring up the martial-oriented history of the pegasi, calling others to take up arms and fight for military causes under the aegis of the "greater good" and "protecting Equestria." When Rainbow Dash starts to be swept up in the zeal, can Fluttershy show both her best & closest friend and the militia-leader (The Bronze, obviously) that protectorship does not necessarily mean having to take up sword & spear, but rather simply a shield and an open hand of Kindness..?
- c. Princess Twilight Sparkle comes across an severely injured earth pony stallion, near death from an ambush or surprise attack by either a horde of creatures, or several big fearsome ones. After Twilight saves his life and nurses him back to health, he learns of Twilight's royal rank and alicorn nature. The earth pony stallion then shows his gratitude on bended-knee, swearing an oath of fealty and guardianship to the blushingly flustered scholar-princess for a minimum period of one hundred years (something that subtly clues in Twilight to his true draconic nature). With a stalwart & honor-bound protector that is physically powerful, astoundingly damage resilient, and highly magic resistant, The Bronze is Twilight's almost-perfect compliment. How will Princess Twilight deal with her Knight in Bronze Armor?
3545741
Send Discord to Sigil and tell him all the Lady of Pain needs is a hug.
In every way this will end badly.
3549960
Brass and Bronze have been delegated to earth ponies. Making Red one was obvious to me, but somepony else has to get the short end of the stick.
As for Black, have you ever read the book, the Black Dragon Codex by R. D. Henham? I particularly love the black dragon in there, who is not the villain, he is the deuterprotagonist with another character. He is not a good guy, he is still a Black Dragon, but the author he acts and learns to actual care about a human, as much as a black dragon can. The tagline I believe is "Black Dragons can't be pleaded to, but can be bargained with" (Though I probably just butchered it)
The idea for this actually came from that book, the dragon in question was forced to be completely human for most of the story. No access to any of its abilities. I highly recommend it, I still need to read the other codex's as well, they got one for most every of the classic D&D dragons (except Blue, Copper, and White. He stopped writing the series right before my favorite dragons, of course.)
3549962
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnMzDyIJT2g
3551033...
17. The pony race is less of an issue. Nor does it negate the basic formats of my creative suggestions (just have to adapt them towards said races), which hopefully helps with your having a hard time writing for The Brass, The Bronze, and The Black. I am simply offering ideas towards where you might be stuck.
18. As for dragon personas, my creative suggestions are based upon the traditional/standard formats of each dragon. Thus why The Brass is curious & social, and The Bronze is honor- & martially-inclined, throughout each creative idea provided. And I already mentioned that Blacks are generally Kill-You-Just-Because Villains. If you wish to deviate from the standard persona format, that is your prerogative as the Author, of course. However, with ten (10) OC protagonists to write for, and trying to keep source-accurate between D&D and MLP:FiM, it would likely be adding an extra double-helping of literary burdens that you do not really need.
3551509
I do appreciate the suggestions, they help get the juices flowing in my head. I believe a good friendly discussion is healthy, though I won't use all your suggestions, I really like the white one being a foal/filly, I think that be the only one I'm going to steal/politely ask for, going ta tweak it a little. As for Brass and Bronze the descriptions helped a good deal, got an idea for them now. Thanks man
3551707...
(mmm... flowing healthy brain juices... /mindflayer Eragon5055)
19. Any creative ideas/suggestions I post are freely offered for use &/or adaptation
.
20. Likewise, I did not (do not) expect you to use all my creative suggestions, especially considering many of them were "multiple choice" off-the-cuff ideas for the individual characters. I would be very flattered, and very confused, if you did
.
21. I look forward to seeing what my creative assistance has inspired. And you are welcome to tap me any further draconological advice/clarifications &/or creative idea/suggestions.
I love you for what you have done here
And thinking about it Pinkie Pie and/or Discord must meet a copper dragon the hijinks they could ensue would be amazing
Also I can't wait for you to do a chapter with a silver or blue my 2 fave just ahead of bronze and reds
3547832 Something you are forgetting about White dragons yes they are the least intelligent of all the dragons but even hatchlings have the same level of intelligence as a human child and at great wyrm they are as intelligent as the smartest of humans, yes they act bestial and and react more on instinct then the others but are still very smart
description of their eating habits they all very much enjoy eating gemstones its a favorite snack
Bronze prefer seafood like sharks and whales
yes I'd be willing to help with anything as well I a big fan of D&D dragons and even own the Draconomicon for 3.5 and goes into very deep detail about all their personalities and behavior, diet, where and why they live in certain locals.
3561224...
I did not forget.
Thus why creative idea 12-b featured The White as a highly intelligent villain as a powerful unicorn with not only white dragon traits, but also magical control over the snow & ice surrounding The Crystal Empire. Princess Cadence and Shining Armor would be in for the fight of their lives in trying to protect their kingdom & its crystal citizens from a villain possibly more dangerous than King Sombra.
The other two creative ideas featured taking the white dragon traits to different spectrums. Creative idea 12-a being a deliberate reduction of The White to a feral but powerful beast, highlighting the core concept of white dragons being apex arctic predators.
Creative idea 12-b, the option that Eragon5055 intends to use, is the semi-comedic option where The White is reduced to a filly/colt barely past being a foal, but still retains many draconic traits. So the dramatic & comedic struggle for parent-hopefuls Princess Cadence and Shining Armor is to survive raising a child with potentially titanic power and an almost genetic inclination towards Evil (nature vs. nurture).
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
3561463...
(may as well field that question since I am here)
Eragon5055 has said that he does not intend to do more than the standard 5 chromatic vs. 5 metallic. In literary writing, the author must be careful not to have too many role-involved characters. Too large of an active cast, and it can fatally dilute reader-interest as a result.
3561173
Putting Pinkie Pie, Discord and a Copper dragon in the same room could potentially cause the universe to implode!
So no worries, I already got a plan for Copper to annoy some one >:)
And I got a plan for Silver as well so we'll see if you enjoy it. For Chromatics, Blue is my favorite hands down, but for Metallics, its a tie between Sliver and Copper.
I do appreciate your offer to help, thank you.
We all play nice and I'll welcome input.
3561463
And to answer about the Gems, probably not. One of the major reasons is just has been previously stated, it would make too many characters to flesh out, as I'm stretching it as it is. Another reason is that the 5 neutral are the least appealing to me, and from what I understand, that is a general what most people place them at. (One final reason is has to do with the alignment system, but that's a personal philosophical thing, no need to bother ya with it.)
This story seems like it will be good, although I haven't seen enough to truly judge quality.
That said, it is rife with spelling errors.
3563137
Your making this poor, poor man jealous.
3563780
Probably. I confuse my computer often with to many made up words that the real errors often slip pass.
@Eragon5055...
(now that I had time to read chapter 3...)
1. "Not bad" for a dual dragon introduction chapter (3). Though you slipped & slid a bit (literarily speaking) on how The Brass and The Bronze fought the Diamond Dogs. It read like the pair fought like they still had hands/talons rather than using their hooves &/or mouths to wield &/or grab things as earth ponies. You may want to revise & refine it at some later point (does not have to be "now", but definitely should be done at some point). And especially keep it in mind for later chapters
2. Yeah... You butchered the Ye Olde English pretty awful, even Princess Luna would be /facehoof-ing at you right now
. As a general guideline, you do not need to put more than one Ye Olde English bit in a sentence, the lack of contractions is what intones it as much the Ye Olde style wording.
excerpted example...
revised example...
See the difference? Comic-book community legend Stan Lee commented that when writing the archaic speaking lines for Marvel's Thor...
"Keep it simple. Keep it concise. And most of all, keep it CLEAR for the readers."
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
3. Speaking of guidelines, I would advise keeping a healthy (if not "generous") dose of draconic physical traits carried over to their pony conversions. This is to keep the dragon protagonists interesting to the reader audience, as well as noticeably setting them apart (in-story) from the Equestrian ponies they are forced to live with.
Here is a broad suggestion-guideline on how to handle the dragon-to-pony conversions of traits...
For general draconic characteristics across the board...
~ a. dragon breath; obviously the destructiveness of breath would be limited to pony-scale
~ b. moderate damage resilience
~ c. moderate magic resistance
~ d. moderately greater physical strength than ponies; example: they could lift a pony over their head in each forehoof
~ e. draconic fear aura (chromatic, metallic) and inspiring aura (metallic)
~ f. near-immunity to their respective elemental nature
For those turned into earth ponies...
~ a. upgraded to major damage resilience; roughly equal to their dragon age-category
~ b. upgraded to major magic resistance; roughly equal to their dragon age-category
~ c. significantly greater physical strength; roughly to the scale of their age- & size-category, examples of such strength include: cracking solid stone with a hind-kick, lifting loaded wagons over their head single-handedly (-hoofedly?), snapping iron manacles, biting through steel bars, etc.
For those turned into pegasus...
~ a. greater flight endurance; being able to fly greater/longer distances without rest
~ b. greater flight stability; this means it is very difficult to knock a draconic-pegasus out of the air, even when hovering
~ c. stronger & damage resilient wings; meaning their wings can be used as defensive shields for covering/protecting others, or offensive attacks (wing buffet, wind "shockwave" by slapping wings together forcefully, etc.)
For those turned into unicorns...
~ a. access to their innate spell-like abilities
~ b. magical control of their respective elements, akin to an unicorn-pony's Cutie Mark special talent (white dragon can control/animate snow & ice, blue can generate & manipulate storms, green can corrupt & animate forest plants, etc.)
~ c. major magic resistance; roughly equal to their dragon age-category
Exceptions to these rules would include...
~ a. If the dragon is a wizard or sorcerer, then they have access to their arcane spell repertoire & spell-like (arcane) abilities
~ b. If the dragon is a cleric or paladin, then they have access to their divine spell array & spell-like (divine) abilities
3566450
1. How they fought was intentional. They treated their bodies as if they still had those tools. It's a little hard to go back on a hundreds of years worth of training.
2. Will work on that.
3. No comment. I already have an idea what they will keep. (Not much)
Over time they may get some of it back, but no, not initially.
3566596...
4. Well yes, for story-telling it should be awkward for the dragon protagonists' physical actions. I was talking how it in terms of the writing itself it felt too anthropomorphic than pony-oriented at some points from the reader perspective.
5. As for dragon traits... Yes, I meant I was speaking in the overall of the story. Though obviously some traits should be there at the get-go, such as passive effects (damage resilience, magic resistance, elemental near-immunity, &/or greater-than-pony strength, etc.). Other traits come over time, adaptation, and practice (dragon breath, spell-like abilities, fear aura, etc.).
Looks like a good story so far.
I'm waiting for continue.
Little musing about other possible dragons:
Blue Dragon must be a unicorn. (Should not turn into pegasus, because not a best flier among chromatic dragons.) Also, already have a horn! wizards.com/dnd/images/MM35_gallery/MM35_PG72.jpg And unicorn shooting lines of lightning must look really impressive. Access to such spell-like abilities as ventriloquism, hallucinatory terrain, veil and mirage arcana can help make an awesome stage performance...
Prismatic Dragon should be pegasus, because they are the fastest fliers in the game. Add in coloration in stripes someone can draw connections...
Crystal Dragon - crystal pony
Beastland dragon - zebra?
Time Dragon - hourglass cutie mark, and taller than Princess Celestia
3739522
Glad ya like it :)
Actually though, Blue Dragons are the best fliers of the Chromatics, if not of all the dragons. Here's a wiki entry found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromatic_dragon
I have checked read 3+ sources that state this same thing. So sorry to disappoint, but the plan was Blue is going to be a Pegasus, a bat pony to be specific.
As for other dragons, I won't be covering them, but feel free to use the exotic ones you have mentioned in your own stories, I would love to see it :)
3740770
Glad you answered so fast!
You are author, and I'm not going to say 'no' to good story, but your information is grossly inaccurate. Article, which you are cited, only mention in passing "blue dragon excels at aerial combat", and go right to breath weapon
wizards.com/dnd/images/draco_gallery/75592.jpg breath Weapon is a great thing, but doesn't relate to flying capabilities in any way.
I checked in actual sourcebooks, and there are the results:
In the older (pre-3rd) editions, question: "Who's the best flier among chromatic dragons?" was pointless, because all of them have absolutely identical flying capabilities.
The same can be said about Pathfinder.
Only 3rd and 4th editions of D&D make some difference.
In 4E Blue Dragon is second in speed to Green, and equal to Red. Maneuverability equal in all of them.
So, what's about 3rd edition, the most popular, wide-spread, and so on?
The fastest flier among chromatic dragons in 3.X is White, hands down. Speed of 250 is beyond the abilities of any other chromatic dragon. Also, White is nearly the fastest chromatic wyrmling in 3.X (Red can make the same speed, but White also have better maneuverability)
But wait, maneuverability!
If Blue is not the most speedy chromatic dragon in 3.X, maybe he's at least, the most maneuverable?
Let's see!
Maneuverability "Average" as Wyrmling, "Poor" from Very young to Very old, and "Clumsy" from Ancient to Great wyrm.
So, what's the other 4 chromatic dragons?
Black keeps "Average" maneuverability longer (up to Very young), and drop to "Clumsy" later (from Wyrm)
Green have dynamics of maneuverability absolutely identical to Blue.
Red never have "Average" maneuverability, and "Clumsy" from Old age.
White have dynamics of maneuverability absolutely identical to Black.
As a result, we get pretty unimpressive results.
Flying speed 100 as wyrmling, is pretty standard.
Can speed up to 150 at the same age as Green, a little bit early than Black, but a little bit later than Red and White.
Can speed up to 200 at the same age as Green, a little bit early than Black, much later than Red, and much much more later than White.
And only in age beyond 1200 years can hope to reach speed 250.
Maneuverability also not impressing. Completely equal to Green, second to Black and White, and clearly excel only over Red (which is the least maneuverable kind of chromatic dragons in 3.X)
So, even among kin chromatic dragons, Blue Dragons is pretty average fliers.
No way he is better than [epic] dragons, who can speed to 250 from hatching, and up to 350 from Wyrm.
Of course, it's with "Clumsy" maneuverability, but come on! It's really difficult to
maneuver in the air, when you are bigger than Tarrasque! wizards.com/dnd/images/MM35_gallery/MM35_PG240.jpg
Time Dragon can speed up to 300 as Wyrmling, and up to 380 as Great wyrm.
But the best flier among dragons are probably Mercury.
200 as Wyrmling, with "Perfect" maneuverability.
300 as Great wyrm, with "Average"...
P. S.I don't know why this article from Wiki said those thing.
The only rational explanation is author(s) thought about Azure dragon static4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20091111000344/mightandmagic/en/images/2/2b/H3CrAzureDragon.gif from Heroes of Might and Magic III
"3+ sources that state this same thing" were, probably, just quote from Wiki
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I think this is a case of text not supported by stats, because its not just the wiki site that states it is the best at aerial combat. I got a book right here: A Practical guide to Dragons (yes an official D&D book, Birthday gift from a long time ago, made for kids) stating the exact same thing, Blue being the best aerial fighter over all.
It really sounds like one head isn't knowing what the left was doing, and personally flavor text is law over the game stats with me. (Also because I assumed they made that claim not just considering the breath weapons since Lightning, regardless what pokemon has taught us, is terrible for aerial targets.) It may be its intelligence and magical (making people hallucinate is really fun!) ability as a major factor, but it also makes more sense for it to be a strong flier due to its preferred habitat, the dessert.
Edit:
Also, It might not be considering 'epic' level dragons. I know next to nothing about them, and generally think they are very supplementary, as in most realities they are incredibly rare or don't exist and that is very much up to the gm. So each to their own.
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Apparently, I found a source of such statement.
Year 2003, Dragonlance Campain Setting, Chapter 8: Dragons of Krynn, pg. 235
Also, flight abilities not the only reason I was skeptical about Blue-pegasus.
After all, nearly any True Dragon (and notable amount of lesser) are able to fly.
But to make a good pegasus, we need something more... flavorful...
Say, Silver Dragon. Constant undispellable Cloudwalking. Sound like prime pegasus material
White, Brass, Bronze and Topaz will get access to Control Weather SLA at some point of life. Looks pegasi-like enough
Crystal Dragons to the end of their life (Great wyrm) get Control Winds. OK...
Blue Dragon get... What?... Access to spells from Air domain? Not so convincing...
Epic Dragons, indeed, far too rare
But mercury was around since 1993, so hardly a new thing
P.S. By my one logic, White Dragon absolutely must become a pegasus. Impressive flight ability, weakest magic, Control Weather (as Great wyrm). Hard to find a reason to not turn into pegasus