all over the world theres been tales by old armies fighting dragons and villagers killing them and they were writ about as if they were real animals . in cultures that didnt meet, stories of similar beasts existed. a better question would be why most of us are so quick to call dragons a myth .

Myth? Dragons are real, man.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon

I meant the winged, huge reptilian beasts which breathe fire. not the lizard.

Yes. They all started out as babies who burst into flames.

Here's my take on dragons, and the myth, because myth it is.

Somebody found a large theropod dinosaur tooth, maybe a whole mandible or a whole freaking skull, and the myth was born. Being too fragile, in most cases, the fossil wouldn't likely survive intact a camel/horse ride back to a city where smart folks lived. The broken bits, in the hands of a reasonable skilled person, could be reconstructed. The "dragon" bone was fragile because it burned itself when it died. Since some of the remains may have been found under the dirt it was proof that these beast lived in caves and such, and the dirt had fell in on them.

You don't think that something as awesome as a dragon skull wouldn't be displayed in a king's court, and preserved for ages? If I were a king and laying siege to a city that held such a prize I would issue capital orders that the skull not be harmed. If I were the king in defense I would preserve it as a bargaining chip to keep my own head.

I'd rather face a single dragon, even the one in "Sucker Punch", than face down a pack of dromeosaurs. These things were real, and they were not lizards. Think of these raptors as razor toothed flightless birds with long stiff tails to balance during quick maneuvers and a terrible-long-curved-articulating-sharp claw on the tip of a toe of each foot. Evidence exists for a pack attack on a single large herbivorous dinosaur. Several of the little claw footed devils died, but so did their prey.

Dragons are the product of ignorance. While these imaginations are terrible there was a time when the real world had critters running around we all should be happy are extinct ('cept for the birds). I don't want to imagine what it would be like to walk up on a family group of tyrannosaurs. They didn't need fire.

RS

Doubtdispelled wrote:Yes. They all started out as babies who burst into flames.

theropod wrote:Here's my take on dragons, and the myth, because myth it is.

Somebody found a large theropod dinosaur tooth, maybe a whole mandible or a whole freaking skull, and the myth was born. Being too fragile, in most cases, the fossil wouldn't likely survive intact a camel/horse ride back to a city where smart folks lived. The broken bits, in the hands of a reasonable skilled person, could be reconstructed. The "dragon" bone was fragile because it burned itself when it died. Since some of the remains may have been found under the dirt it was proof that these beast lived in caves and such, and the dirt had fell in on them.

You don't think that something as awesome as a dragon skull wouldn't be displayed in a king's court, and preserved for ages? If I were a king and laying siege to a city that held such a prize I would issue capital orders that the skull not be harmed. If I were the king in defense I would preserve it as a bargaining chip to keep my own head.

I'd rather face a single dragon, even the one in "Sucker Punch", than face down a pack of dromeosaurs. These things were real, and they were not lizards. Think of these raptors as razor toothed flightless birds with long stiff tails to balance during quick maneuvers and a terrible-long-curved-articulating-sharp claw on the tip of a toe of each foot. Evidence exists for a pack attack on a single large herbivorous dinosaur. Several of the little claw footed devils died, but so did their prey.

Dragons are the product of ignorance. While these imaginations are terrible there was a time when the real world had critters running around we all should be happy are extinct ('cept for the birds). I don't want to imagine what it would be like to walk up on a family group of tyrannosaurs. They didn't need fire.

RS

But how do you explain the accounts of dragons which are written as if they were true? (eg. [location] a dragon attacked villagers and the [name] army slayed the dragon])

All over the world the game heroes of might and magic V has been sold. Seriously, people bought it. I'm one of them.

Unicorns therein have blinding attack capabilities, and 30% magic resistance.

So why wouldn't unicorns have blinding attack capabilities in the real world?

I mean, seriously, why not?

And how the developers could ever come up with this non-arbitrary figure of 30% resistance to magic is really way beyond me.

MarkgaB5 wrote:

theropod wrote:Here's my take on dragons, and the myth, because myth it is.

Somebody found a large theropod dinosaur tooth, maybe a whole mandible or a whole freaking skull, and the myth was born. Being too fragile, in most cases, the fossil wouldn't likely survive intact a camel/horse ride back to a city where smart folks lived. The broken bits, in the hands of a reasonable skilled person, could be reconstructed. The "dragon" bone was fragile because it burned itself when it died. Since some of the remains may have been found under the dirt it was proof that these beast lived in caves and such, and the dirt had fell in on them.

You don't think that something as awesome as a dragon skull wouldn't be displayed in a king's court, and preserved for ages? If I were a king and laying siege to a city that held such a prize I would issue capital orders that the skull not be harmed. If I were the king in defense I would preserve it as a bargaining chip to keep my own head.

I'd rather face a single dragon, even the one in "Sucker Punch", than face down a pack of dromeosaurs. These things were real, and they were not lizards. Think of these raptors as razor toothed flightless birds with long stiff tails to balance during quick maneuvers and a terrible-long-curved-articulating-sharp claw on the tip of a toe of each foot. Evidence exists for a pack attack on a single large herbivorous dinosaur. Several of the little claw footed devils died, but so did their prey.

Dragons are the product of ignorance. While these imaginations are terrible there was a time when the real world had critters running around we all should be happy are extinct ('cept for the birds). I don't want to imagine what it would be like to walk up on a family group of tyrannosaurs. They didn't need fire.

RS

But how do you explain the accounts of dragons which are written as if they were true? (eg. [location] a dragon attacked villagers and the [name] army slayed the dragon])

Let's call it, artistic licence, then you'll see the picture. Poets write nice stories, some based on facts, some twisted into grand tales of heroism. See?

involving actual people known in history slaying dragons?

Yeah, between their thighs.

Of course dragons are real, Lofwyr runs Saeder-Krupp and Hestaby lives on Mount Shasta. Not to mention Lung in China and Ryumyo in Japan. Would this chummer lie to you?

No doubt I am the only one who will get this joke.

MarkgaB5 wrote:involving actual people known in history slaying dragons?

Yes. People have always mixed up fact and fiction. It's a classic way to make your fiction sound more real, and get your audience involved.

DarthHelmet86 wrote:Of course dragons are real, Lofwyr runs Saeder-Krupp and Hestaby lives on Mount Shasta. Not to mention Lung in China and Ryumyo in Japan. Would this chummer lie to you?

No doubt I am the only one who will get this joke.

I play video games too ya know, although I didn't like Shadowrun, seemed bland and boring.

@OP, maybe this can help you out: http://sciencedaydreams.wordpress.com/2 ... llo-world/

MarkgaB5 wrote:involving actual people known in history slaying dragons?

Because nobody in history has ever had a propensity to exaggerate their accomplishments. Everything anyone's ever claimed to do actually happened.

Arcanyn wrote:Because nobody in history has ever had a propensity to exaggerate their accomplishments. Everything anyone's ever claimed to do actually happened.

Screw history I slay dragons on the weekends just for giggles.

Crocoduck wrote:

DarthHelmet86 wrote:Of course dragons are real, Lofwyr runs Saeder-Krupp and Hestaby lives on Mount Shasta. Not to mention Lung in China and Ryumyo in Japan. Would this chummer lie to you?

No doubt I am the only one who will get this joke.

I play video games too ya know, although I didn't like Shadowrun, seemed bland and boring.

@OP, maybe this can help you out: http://sciencedaydreams.wordpress.com/2 ... llo-world/

Yay someone else who knows Shadowrun, though I was talking about the tabletop RPG which has some of the best lore and fluff in its rule books.

The bonus is Shadowrun has real dragons and real countries and events from recent times. Perhaps the old tales of dragons were from a medieval role playing game. LARPing to the max.

How do we know theyre mythical?

How do we know there isn't a invisible unicorn on the moon posting on this forum?

Trying to get us to prove a negative?