How "dragony" should dragonborn look?


4th Edition

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

How "dragony" should dragonborn look?

Like dragon-headed humanoids?

Like Silurians from Doctor Who?

Like regular humanoids with exotic skin and/or scale tones?


1 person marked this as a favorite.

I like the highly saurian appearance resented as the standard in 4th. Too human and you just look like a low end Draconic Sorceror. It also broke up the early monotony of everyone looking like highly attractive humans who have quirks.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

In my opinion, they should look like the way they're presented in canon art (mostly in 4e art– 5e marketing sort of feels like they forgot that dragonborn exist, sometimes) but also THEY SHOULD HAVE TAILS. It annoys me that dragonborn don't have tails.

Also, I know you probably meant "more or less like Madame Vastra" when you said "like the Silurians from Doctor Who," but as a fan of the classic series, now I just want to see dragonborn who look like this :o


I also think the established art is pretty good. Buff humanoids with decidedly reptilian heads and dragon like features, like horns, fins and crests. Only reason why I'm not saying they should have similar features to the type of dragon from which they descend and a tail, is because then they wopuld be indistinguihable from half-dragons.

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

Baticeer: Those remind me of kuo-toa or suhaugin.

Also, adding tails is just fluff. So add tails! :-D Tieflings have tails, so there is precedent.


SmiloDan wrote:
Baticeer: Those remind me of kuo-toa or suhaugin.

I wouldn't be surprised if it was more of case of kuo-toa and sahuagin looking like ancient silurians...

Sovereign Court

Dragonborn are just tricksy kobolds with high social proficiencies and disguise kits. They fooled us all!

Sovereign Court

I preferred the Dragonkin of 3E to that of the Dragonborn of 4E. I cant seem to find the artwork from the 3E dragonomicon.

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

I never played 4E.

Are there any official 5E draconians?


Pan wrote:
I preferred the Dragonkin of 3E to that of the Dragonborn of 4E. I cant seem to find the artwork from the 3E dragonomicon.

This one?

Dragonkin were way above player race power level though.

As for Dragonlance draconians. The PHB mentions them as a type of dragonborn, it also says the shiny ones have magic abilities instead of breath weapons. So I guess the chromatic draconians are basically dragonborn, the metallic ones don't have official rules.

Sovereign Court

Threeshades wrote:
Pan wrote:
I preferred the Dragonkin of 3E to that of the Dragonborn of 4E. I cant seem to find the artwork from the 3E dragonomicon.

This one?

Dragonkin were way above player race power level though.

Yeap, I was commenting on an artistic comparison only. I like my dragon people to be gritty dragony and not cartoony dragony.


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber
SmiloDan wrote:

I never played 4E.

Are there any official 5E draconians?

There's a little aside about draconians in the dragonborn write-up. It says "in place of their draconic breath weapon, they have unique magical abilities", without saying what they are or how they would work in 5th edition.

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

Adjule wrote:
SmiloDan wrote:

I never played 4E.

Are there any official 5E draconians?

There's a little aside about draconians in the dragonborn write-up. It says "in place of their draconic breath weapon, they have unique magical abilities", without saying what they are or how they would work in 5th edition.

Yeah, it's such a tease!!!


SmiloDan wrote:
Adjule wrote:
SmiloDan wrote:

I never played 4E.

Are there any official 5E draconians?

There's a little aside about draconians in the dragonborn write-up. It says "in place of their draconic breath weapon, they have unique magical abilities", without saying what they are or how they would work in 5th edition.
Yeah, it's such a tease!!!

There was actually a Dragon Article that provided replacement racial powers for Baaz and Kapak Draconians which could be triggered when said draconians were dropped to 0 HP. Kapaks also got poison spit, if I remember correctly.

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

Cool. Do you have a link?


I believe the article in question was in either issue 315 or 339. Come with me, Dan, and I'll show you the wonders of the Dragondex!

Edit: Wait, wait! However cool the Dragondex may be, it doesn't go high enough. Ignore me.

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

Oh, well. We'll always have homebrewing...

Community / Forums / Gamer Life / Gaming / D&D / 4th Edition / How "dragony" should dragonborn look? All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.
Recent threads in 4th Edition