I wasn't sure where to put this thread... but figured I was inviting discussion so I'd put it here! This question suddenly occured to me in the midst of bemoaning over my gross lunch, and I want to know your take on it.
So... Dragons... Are they basically animals with a great intelligence, or basically intelligent beings with an animal form?
Hmmm... if that didn't make sense, I'll explain my train of thought that lead to it.
I was wondering if a dragon bonded to someone basically nice, and the dragon had a basically nice personality, would mind terribly chomping into someone if they deserved it? What do these dragons consider themselves and their partners to be? Do they have a moralistic system? If so... what?
I'm inclined to say that they're intelligent but still have that core of predator underneath it all that would mean that they wouldn't find anything terribly wrong with munching on someone random if they deserved it. Or at least, some breeds of dragon. I suppose that different breeds of dragons might have different philosophies on the matter.
One of these days, I'd just like to see someone's dragon go beserk and on a rampage, maybe if their bond was hurt or something... Maybe I'll write it into a candidate story or something...
Sorry if I made little sense... XD I'm tired today and I've been working on a philosophy paper, so my coherency level is a bit down...
The nature of dragons?
Moderators: Mystic Dragon, Xalia, Shard
I tend to look at dragons differently depending on where they come from. They're basically, in my mind, alien beings from worlds different than ours, with different physical and mental make-ups, and different societies. Not all of them have predators underneath, but sure, some of them do. It depends on the type, how they evolved, what their society is like, etc.
Avengaeans, for example, are so conditioned against killing that the vast majority of them don't like to even hunt for food, despite being technically carnivores. But your traditional Pernese dragon is barely one step into sentience, and are still very primal. They run the gamut, dragons, depending on where they come from.
But then, I'm a hard-core fantasy-ist and long-time world-builder, so I usually think about things like different physical make-ups, and I've studied psychology, so I often think about different mental make-ups, and I'm currently studying archaeology and anthropology, so I'm big on the effect of society XD I've got just the right background to think like that.
I just don't like to pin all things into one little box, ya know? Even if they're entirely fictional ^^
Avengaeans, for example, are so conditioned against killing that the vast majority of them don't like to even hunt for food, despite being technically carnivores. But your traditional Pernese dragon is barely one step into sentience, and are still very primal. They run the gamut, dragons, depending on where they come from.
But then, I'm a hard-core fantasy-ist and long-time world-builder, so I usually think about things like different physical make-ups, and I've studied psychology, so I often think about different mental make-ups, and I'm currently studying archaeology and anthropology, so I'm big on the effect of society XD I've got just the right background to think like that.
I just don't like to pin all things into one little box, ya know? Even if they're entirely fictional ^^
The stupidest smart person you ever met.
I think that looking at them as 'animals with sentience' is a very human way to do things. It's like... creating a hierarchy? "Humans->animals->plants" etc, like back in the good old days, only not so black-and-white.
It's definitely a 'where do they come from and what conditioning have they had from their society and/or environment?'
Atuan Mutts, for example (those include the bald-as-a-baby Star City Mutts) could fit nicely into the 'intelligent beings in an 'animal' form.' They run the gamut of shapes, from your typical, traditional dragon to mostly-bipedal creatures with all kinds of weird bodily features (so long as they remain with four limbs for walking and/or grasping, a tail, a single head, and wings, anyways...) By necessity they're inseperable from the Atu's various cultures and take on a lot of aspects of their bonds, and their bond's society. (If they don't bond, they die, so from birth they're kind of conditioned to live along with non-dragons.)
There /is/ an chance of a predatory, beastial nature to them, but that's more likely caused by the psychological trauma of missing a bond, if they happen to survive the ordeal, then 'going back to their roots'. (Hell, if they went back to their real roots, they might be surprised. >:3)
I'm not sure how it works for everyone else, but that's an example. ^_^
It's definitely a 'where do they come from and what conditioning have they had from their society and/or environment?'
Atuan Mutts, for example (those include the bald-as-a-baby Star City Mutts) could fit nicely into the 'intelligent beings in an 'animal' form.' They run the gamut of shapes, from your typical, traditional dragon to mostly-bipedal creatures with all kinds of weird bodily features (so long as they remain with four limbs for walking and/or grasping, a tail, a single head, and wings, anyways...) By necessity they're inseperable from the Atu's various cultures and take on a lot of aspects of their bonds, and their bond's society. (If they don't bond, they die, so from birth they're kind of conditioned to live along with non-dragons.)
There /is/ an chance of a predatory, beastial nature to them, but that's more likely caused by the psychological trauma of missing a bond, if they happen to survive the ordeal, then 'going back to their roots'. (Hell, if they went back to their real roots, they might be surprised. >:3)
I'm not sure how it works for everyone else, but that's an example. ^_^
I agree with the aboves - I think it depends greatly on where they're from. In 'our' generations of these dragons we're dealing with, we're SO messing with their original directions (with breeding them, opening their worlds to bonding offworld, etc).
I would definitely say that most dragons I create are animals which have achieved sentience and culture. They're very different from human culture, of course, having more limbs will do that. And that thumb thing.
I would definitely say that most dragons I create are animals which have achieved sentience and culture. They're very different from human culture, of course, having more limbs will do that. And that thumb thing.
Author of Repurposed
kshau-protectorate.com
kshau-protectorate.com
Woo! Another voice for "depends on where they come from". For example...
With the Lvarians, they are all demigods. They have an elevated sense of right and wrong which may, or may not, be moral. The reason they join, more than anything else, is to have a tool with which they can mediate with the populace as a whole.
As with any child, and as any parent can tell you, they don't follow what is necessarily considered "right" by their mother. In part it's because their ancestoral lineage resulting from their father, The Trickster God. The forces of good and evil are not clearly defined in their world - but those of order and chaos are more strived for. They are 'above' any law other than their own, but in dealing with the lesser children, take it upon themselves to listen and cooperate with their laws as a sign of respect. Those who do not are resfusing their ideologies - after all, their belief system is based on a sophisticated (and at large unknown) connection with their mother and limitedly to the ebb and flow of forces on the planet of Kalir.
*and then her mind stopped working*
With the Lvarians, they are all demigods. They have an elevated sense of right and wrong which may, or may not, be moral. The reason they join, more than anything else, is to have a tool with which they can mediate with the populace as a whole.
As with any child, and as any parent can tell you, they don't follow what is necessarily considered "right" by their mother. In part it's because their ancestoral lineage resulting from their father, The Trickster God. The forces of good and evil are not clearly defined in their world - but those of order and chaos are more strived for. They are 'above' any law other than their own, but in dealing with the lesser children, take it upon themselves to listen and cooperate with their laws as a sign of respect. Those who do not are resfusing their ideologies - after all, their belief system is based on a sophisticated (and at large unknown) connection with their mother and limitedly to the ebb and flow of forces on the planet of Kalir.
*and then her mind stopped working*