Eggs or Hatchlings

[iprince]

Hopefully this is the right board for this.

So, I've been working on my dragon species, sketching initial templates and what-not (although I think adults will be individually drawn), and I was hoping to get a peek at peoples' preferences.

Do you prefer to receive your dragon as an egg initially, and use your story/setting to further influence what the baby looks like (element/magic/size/color/etc) or would you prefer to get a hatchling right off the bat?

[StarFyre]

Yup, right board.

I could go either way, i think. So long as you don't expect huge stories, having a chance to affect the baby further would be a bit neat, I think.

[Shard]

I've had many egg-stage dragons back when the Glenn was up and when I handed those out. While I personally don't put too much effort into eggs, knowing that they might be influenced is definitely important for story writing. As long as I have an idea of what to try for - with Pernese dragons you've got a stock set of expectations, like with the Glenns or other magical types which are influenced by their environment and whatever else.

One thing I will say up front:

Color your stages all at the same time.

To avoid forgetting what colors you used on that hatchling when it comes time to give out the adults... I learned my lesson early on. Have been doing 'all stages' coloring ever since.

[Yakima]

Or just make a cheat chart...like I did for the Ortari (even though I totally lost that anyway. lol) I also have a 'basic' color chart for Pernese dragons, so i just use the eyedropper and pick the colors.

[iprince]

I have a sneaky means of growing these dragons, to avoid issues with colors. But I've done other growing adoptables, and hoo-boy, do I ever agree with you on that, Shard!

By everyone's responses, I think I'm leaning toward eggs.