3.5 shadow dragon. The PF version is nice also.
Smaug.
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Someone already got Smaug, so I'll pick some other favorites.
Mayland Long. Perhaps Gyld.
Also, pretty much any of the Chromatics, and the Gold.
And Dragotha.
Flame. Can't believe nobody picked him.
Some of the classics have already been mentioned (Smaug, Puff, Flame, etc.). So I'll list the most memorable encountered by me as a player.
While he only got a small part in a certain AP, I do have not-so-fond memories of Brazzemal from his first appearance (in G-3, Hall of the Fire Giant King). Technically, our encounter with that sneaky bastard resulted in a TPK, but the DM was merciful.
There was also a certain dragon in the Night Below box adventure. Our party was warned in advance that there was "a dragon" in a certain area. I said "that's fine, so long as it's not a shadow dragon - I hate to fight that kind" (this was 2e). So what did it turn out to be? A shadow dragon. :( On the other hand, one of our spellcasters got a lot of mileage out of summoning a mastodon (or something like that) to fight it.
As far as allied dragons are concerned, there's Falx and his mates in Egg of the Phoenix (I-12).
Oh, and I understand that the PCs in a certain AP can get some assistance from a rather unusual silver dragon. ;)
Growf ...
does that really need a reason?
~~Sharoth~~
~dances~ YES!!!
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Lockheed
Ooh, forgot about comic books! Savashtar rules!
Although, Moranderin/Mark Dagon, from the Southern Knights, was also cool.
Also, non-comic-related, much love for Vermithrax, from Dragonslayer.
Alby the racist dragon, of course!
In game..Silver..because who wouldn't want a dragon who can also be your girlfriend.
In Literature..Tolkiens other Dragon..Crysophalax Dives..just for the name Man
Oooo ... Willie the SnarfQuest Dragon
RPG Superstar 2013
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Any dragon can find a way to also be your girlfriend. Talk about high maintenance.
I favor the appearance of the blues in 3.5e, and the LE, lightning breathing majesty of the blue has my loyalty forever, even after their aesthetics took a dive in PFRPG.
For last Gen Con's Xorvintaal event, we invented a smoke dragon named Arxelmethic, an abomination crossbreed of blue and bronze. He was awesome, but ultimately struggled to control the tarrasque he lured out of the earth to handle his rivals. Really dug his poison-lightning breath weapon, though.
force dragons. nuff said
TROGDOR, THE BURNiNATOR
Bruce Lee. Any reason stated would not be sufficient.
That.
And then a three-way tie:
Smaug is my fave dragon of literature because he was the first fantasy dragon I was exposed to (and who doesn't always have a soft spot for their first?).
Puff because he was the first dragon I remember, period.
Blue, because I just dig a lightning-spitting dragon. All my chimeras have blue dragon heads. My players are sick of it. But I love it.
My Favorite dragon ....Puff! The original magic dragon.
As far as D&D dragons the Fang Dragon from the Draconomicon.
No Breath weapon or magic just a crap load of angry damage dealing badness.
Claw for claw he does better melee damage than any other dragon. Breath weapons and spells are nice but by an experianced party they are very easily countered, straight HP damage not so much.
+1
Not to mention the bite did con damage as well! Slap on the feral template and you got some hell there.
The Last Dragon.
"Who's the Master?"
"Sho'Nuff!"
"Catches bullets with his teeth?"
Gold dragons from 1e, at least as illustrated. I like the idea of a serpentine, Chinese-style dragon flying through the air without wings. Hypnotic, disconcerting, and unpredictable.
Edit: I guess I should say my favorite PF dragon is black.
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Gold dragons from 1e, at least as illustrated. I like the idea of a serpentine, Chinese-style dragon flying through the air without wings. Hypnotic, disconcerting, and unpredictable.
I definitely liked them better as wingless flying serpents, but I suppose we can still have those with the various Oriental Adventures lung dragons.
+1 Silver dragon
If I would have to pick a Chromatic/Metallic dragon, I would have to choose the Green. Theyre evil, but they have some history of protecting wooded areas, and theyre just as liable to talk to you to pump you for information as they are to eat you. They are IMO the most nuanced dragon, personality-wise. Oh yeah, plus they breathe out poison/acid gas depending on which edition you play in.
Some of the classics have already been mentioned (Smaug, Puff, Flame, etc.). So I'll list the most memorable encountered by me as a player.
While he only got a small part in a certain AP, I do have not-so-fond memories of Brazzemal from his first appearance (in G-3, Hall of the Fire Giant King). Technically, our encounter with that sneaky bastard resulted in a TPK, but the DM was merciful.
There was also a certain dragon in the Night Below box adventure. Our party was warned in advance that there was "a dragon" in a certain area. I said "that's fine, so long as it's not a shadow dragon - I hate to fight that kind" (this was 2e). So what did it turn out to be? A shadow dragon. :( On the other hand, one of our spellcasters got a lot of mileage out of summoning a mastodon (or something like that) to fight it.
As far as allied dragons are concerned, there's Falx and his mates in Egg of the Phoenix (I-12).
Oh, and I understand that the PCs in a certain AP can get some assistance from a rather unusual silver dragon. ;)
Tangent:
Red Dragon.
Fairie Dragons rock!
White. The pure color, mixed with the base nature. Bestial, yet far from stupid. The weakest by CR, but deadly in its own turf.
Daurgothoth 'The Creeping doom'
non-specific Dragon: I'm partial to Brass dragons, they're fun, and as a DM/GM you can sue them to impede progress without doing anything evil.
Plus they like to talk, and talk and talk, and actually know useful things.
Plus Plus: Who wouldn't want to have a tea party with a dragon?
specific dragon: I like Smaug a lot.
Favorite dragon... Once saw a post for Mixed Dragon.
Black/Silver.
Black dragon, with silver wings, silver eye, silver bones/spikes.
Was so long ago, could not remember if it was called an Onyx dragon or Grayhawk dragon, or something along those lines.
Also a big fan of iconic Red.
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Okay so I have a few catagories when it comes to favorite.
Undead Dragons: Dragotha
Chromatic: black
Metallic: Bronze
Other: Shadow Dragon
From Books: Smaug
From Movies: Reign of Fire (movie was not great but I loved the scene where the dragon sniffs out the group that attacked it and then destroys the castle with everyone in it. Very bad maba gamba.)
Okay I thought I knew Tolkien well Crysophalax Dives? Please tell me more.In game..Silver..because who wouldn't want a dragon who can also be your girlfriend.
In Literature..Tolkiens other Dragon..Crysophalax Dives..just for the name Man
Chrysophylax appears in JRRT's long short story "Farmer Giles of Ham," available in lots of anthologies through the years and occasionally on its own. The Annotated Farmer Giles of Ham explains some of his inspirations and the linguistic jokes that pop up throughout the story. If the 1st edition dragon-subduing rules ever confused you, here's a chance to see some dragon-subduing in action. It's a good illustration of dragons' greed and ultimate cowardice, if that's how you like your dragons.
My favorite Tolkien dragon is Glaurung. He's not as powerful as many dragons, mostly because he was the first [in-world, that is]; flying and fire-breathing were upgrades for later models. But he's probably the most purely evil.
Ancalagon's just a name, essentially. I'd go with Glaurung. Now there's malice.
Aww, man! I was hoping to be the first to claim Glaurung. The moment he emerges from Nargothrond and Turin whirls around and looks him straight in the eye as if to contest wills... and Glaurung has the mastery; I love that scene so much. Pure. Evil. Power.
Chrysophylax appears in JRRT's long short story "Farmer Giles of Ham," available in lots of anthologies through the years and occasionally on its own. The Annotated Farmer Giles of Ham explains some of his inspirations and the linguistic jokes that pop up throughout the story. If the 1st edition dragon-subduing rules ever confused you, here's a chance to see some dragon-subduing in action. It's a good illustration of dragons' greed and ultimate cowardice, if that's how you like your dragons.
In addition, "Farmer Giles of Ham" alongside "Smith of Wooten Major" serve to demonstrate Tolkien's idea of what constitutes a genuine "fairy-tale," what we would call good fantasy; as opposed to cheap crap with all the trappings and none of the substance which Tolkien felt many of his contemporaries tried to foist off; especially toward children, thinking they lacked the capacity to understand quality in a story, or lack thereof.
Neither work, nor "Leaf by Niggle," has anything to do with Middle-Earth and thus, while very important to understanding Tolkien and great works in and of themselves (Giles is HILARIOUS!), they are fairly obscure.
While we're talking about Tolkien's other writings, I heartily believe every lover of fantasy in any form should read "On Fairy-Stories." Who am I kidding? I think everyone should read it whether they like fantasy or not! :)
I would have to go with green, I like the look and outlook. They are one of the few evil dragons you could see a neutral/good aligned party working with.
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I would have to go with green, I like the look and outlook. They are one of the few evil dragons you could see a neutral/good aligned party working with.
Greens (and blues) feel the most like 'intelligent evil,' that one could find common cause with. More 'devil evil' than the 'demon evil' mindless force of destruction vibe one gets from reds, whites and blacks.
That said, greens (especially since Dragonlance) have come off are instinctively manipulative and treacherous (and blues as arrogant and proud to a fault), so they don't sound like the interaction would ever not end up being better for the dragon than for the party... :)
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It may be my childhood over riding my sanity but I always did like Tiamat from the old DnD cartoon. She always had Venger's number and I LOVED the voice actor as he said, "THE DRAGON'S GRAVEYARD!" :D
[tangent] They totally teased us with the idea of other class items / adventurers out there, like that net-thing that had healing properties and was supposedly the Cleric item.
Not that anything compared to Hank's bow. Best bow since Archer: Fugitive from the Interregnum. :) [/tangent]
Dahak 'three headed dragon spirit of death', from the old Dieties & Demigods, seemed interesting, but they never really did anything with him.
In addition, "Farmer Giles of Ham" alongside "Smith of Wooten Major" serve to demonstrate Tolkien's idea of what constitutes a genuine "fairy-tale," what we would call good fantasy; as opposed to cheap crap with all the trappings and none of the substance which Tolkien felt many of his contemporaries tried to foist off; especially toward children, thinking they lacked the capacity to understand quality in a story, or lack thereof.
Neither work, nor "Leaf by Niggle," has anything to do with Middle-Earth and thus, while very important to understanding Tolkien and great works in and of themselves (Giles is HILARIOUS!), they are fairly obscure.
While we're talking about Tolkien's other writings, I heartily believe every lover of fantasy in any form should read "On Fairy-Stories." Who am I kidding? I think everyone should read it whether they like fantasy or not! :)
I second all of this! Nice to see another Tolkien aficionado, Saern. I read these stories when I was ten, and they've really informed my views of fantasy in the three decades since. All four are available in a recent collection called Tales from the Perilous Realm, though you also get the (lesser, IMO) short story for children called "Roverandom" and the collected poems known as "Adventures of Tom Bombadil." Illustrated by Alan Lee, one of Tolkien's better illustrators, who with John Howe inspired most of the movie's visuals. BUT I prefer the older edition with just Farmer Giles and Smith of Wootton Major, illustrated by Pauline Baynes, especially for its illustrations of the dragon Chrysophylax. And now this is no longer a threadjack.
While I'm here, my favorite D&D dragons, in no particular order:
Brazzemal - I thought it was pretty mean of Gygax to dump a powerful red dragon in the middle of a dungeon already crawling with fire giants. Though the room with dozens of trolls is also pretty mean.
Red dragons in general.
Pyroclastic dragon.
Shadow dragons - just seem really sinister. I always thought there ought to be a shadow dragon in the big cavern on the dungeon level of Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun.
Tiamat, yes! The cartoon version I thought was pretty scary as a kid, especially at the Dragons' Graveyard. And back then she ruled the first layer of the Hells...
Nice to see another Tolkien aficionado...
Indeed! I've just begun graduate school in English and medieval studies, and my link between the fields is Tolkien. There's a whole field of academic study emerging around him, and in addition to some old school early Germanic philology (Old English and Old Norse; I'm interested in the interaction between Anglo-Saxon and Viking cultures), I hope to specialize in Tolkien studies and get into that burgeoning field!
I read Roverandom as a child, but can't remember much about it. And yes, Howe and Lee are great. And the passage in Giles will always stick with me, when (to paraphrase) many of the younger dragons came together and said to each other, "So! Knights really do exist! We thought they were only in stories." :)
And regarding pyroclastic dragons: they get an enthusiastic nod from me on the basis of their name alone!