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From what I have read in some questions on this Q&A, Pratchett's Discworld (among other books) and seen in movies and games featuring Dragons, it seems that dragons don't have many common features.

For example:

Most dragons have wings that give them the capability of flight - but the small dragons that Lady Sibyl Vimes (née Ramkin) looks after only have small wings that do not allow them to fly, or allow them to fly with great difficulty.

Most dragons can spit fire, but bone or ice dragons do not do that. Bone dragons cannot do that because they do not have the required anatomy. Ice dragons cannot do that because it would be their doom (but they spit frozen air instead).

And so on.

So, what is a common feature for all dragons?

Secespitus
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Václav
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  • There is a talk by Aron Ra about the taxonomy of dragons on youtube, you may be interested in that. – Pahlavan Nov 23 '17 at 11:54
  • @Pahlavan: What about link? – Václav Nov 23 '17 at 12:03
  • Can't believe I forgot that, here you go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjJLLvfeYi8 – Pahlavan Nov 23 '17 at 12:15
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    This is a question about existing works of fiction not about creating a fictional world. In your world you can have your dragons have whatever traits you want. – sphennings Nov 24 '17 at 14:13
  • @sphennings Maybe the author could change this to a [tag:worldbuilding-resources] question and ask for references that show common features of dragons? That might be a question that is useful for a wider worldbuilding audience to look up what is commonly understood under the word "dragon". – Secespitus Nov 24 '17 at 14:41
  • @Secespitus The problem with that is that for any definitive dragon trait I can construct a world with a dragon that doesn't have that trait. If they're asking about the existing literature that's a question better suited for [scifi.se]. – sphennings Nov 24 '17 at 14:47

4 Answers4

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They don't exist. :D

No, seriously. They're mythical magical creatures. There's no reason to have any common characteristics since they lack a common background. The only common trait is that they have some kind of somewhat reptilian appearance, either snake-like or lizard-like (they have scales, small short arms with claws and very little else).

Rekesoft
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    Excellent point here, as even the one common trait you've named is up for debate. Try looking at stories of Chinese or Oriental dragons (as opposed to Western-style dragons); I doubt you're going to find much in the way of wings there, and probably not scales either, or anything else suggesting "reptile". You might get away with saying "all dragons are big" (which is wrong, incidentally, there is fiction out there with dragons smaller than people), but if that's the only common trait you might end up saying something ridiculous like "Bigfoot is a dragon". – Palarran Nov 23 '17 at 17:43
  • @Palarran Asiatic dragons may don't have scales, but they do look like snakes. – Rekesoft Nov 24 '17 at 07:47
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    Pretty much the only commonalities in all Dragons are four legs, spine, tail and head. Which is also a common set of traits they share with, amongst other things, poodles. – Joe Bloggs Nov 24 '17 at 14:55
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    @JoeBloggs: Four limbs and a spine yes, but for Romanian "dragons" (really zmei or balauri, which are quite unlike western or far-eastern style dragons) it is pretty common to have multiple heads. And to shapeshift. And to manifest a strong desire to marry human women, especially daughters of emperors and kings (yes, they actually want to marry them, not to ravish them). And these attributes are shared by the "dragons" of neighbouring nations. – AlexP Nov 24 '17 at 16:00
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Tongue-in-cheek: they are called Dragons

That's about the only similarity all Dragons have. There are lots and lots of sub-species in different media, each with their own differences.

Real answer: many things are often shown, but nothing is common to all dragons

To give you an idea you could look at Wikipedia for a few hints at what makes a dragon a dragon.

  • they are often scaly
  • they are often serpentine, reptilian or avian - at least partly
  • they are spewing stuff (often fire, but can also be acid, ice, wind or anything else that fits the bill of your dragons)
  • there is a difference in style between western dragons, who often have four legs and two wings, and eastern dragons, who often have four legs and no wings
  • none of them could exist in reality (square-cube law and all that: Is a shruikan dragon size possible in the real world?)
  • standing in the way of a dragon is not a good idea - they are big, they are old, they are hungry and you are a tiny meatbag whose weapons cannot pierce their scales
  • they live for a long time
  • there are a lot of sub-species or different names for similar creatures: Differences between dragon, drake, wyrm and wyvern
  • many of them like treasures - often in the form of mountain caves full of gold
  • there are normally not that many - every predator needs a fitting territory
  • they are often alone
  • there are not many baby-dragons - or at least we wouldn't assume that something the size of a plane with teeth the size of a human would be a baby
  • sometimes there are differences depicted through the colors - look at DnD for example with their chromatic and metallic dragons for different levels of intelligence, power, abilities, ...
  • many are intelligent and can talk or telepathically communicate

The thing is: there are so many versions out there, ranging from mythology to popular fantasy novels and films that basically everything has been done before. Undead dragons? Ice-Dragons? Small dragons? Raising a dragon from baby to adult in a couple months/years? Nearly immortal dragons from an age point of view? Prefer information over gold? Nice dragons? Bad dragons? Stupid dragons? Everything there already.

There is nothing that is common among all dragons because there are so many differences and with slight variations of names, such as Draegon you can easily create a new version and make it do whatever you want - they require magic anyway if they are similar to how dragons are normally depicted (fire-spitting, size and flying, hoarding treasures stolen from human empires, ...).

Secespitus
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So in Western lore and heraldry, a Dragon has a definite shape and has six limbs (four legs and two wings). A wyvern is a dragon with four limbs (two wings, two hind legs). This can sometimes be called a dragon in setting, but the rule of thumb is that dragons will walk like a bat on the ground using all four limbs, while a Wyvren will not use its wings in walking, but this is a recent occurrence. A Drake is typically a winged serpentine creature, having either two arm like limbs or no limbs (all ground based motion is in slithering, limbs are not used). It can also be used for dragon, traditionally being either a male dragon, or a young dragon (like a Tom or Kitten are too Cats). I have also seen modern uses for four legged reptillian creatures that cannot fly (wingless dragons). A large Serpent (no limbs or legs) is usually a Wyrm and any use of the term Dragon in Greek mythology is interchangeable here.

Dragons in Western mythology run the gamut in intelligence from bestial to geniuses. They are almost exclusively associated with fire. Classic myth holds that Dragons all horde treasure regardless of intelligence and will be quite aggressive towards thieves or trespassers.

Eastern Dragons are quite chimeric in appearence and traditionally have elements from real animals worked in. Typically, they have serpentine bodies with four legs, but can have more limbs if longer (always in pairs, and no set number). Dragons in Eastern Myth are always associated with water, rain, and the sky and can fly despite lacking winged limbs (though modern changes will add them in a blend with western dragons). Classically, they are all intelligent and can come in insect sizes to gigantic. Usually, they will assist the hero by providing him with magical items, but their real treasure is wisdom, which they don't wish to part with. They are typically better behaving than their western counterparts but they carry regal or divine attitudes and demand respect and will turn aggressive if not given it. Some other mythic animals from Eastern Lore can be considered Dragons including the Kirin and the Lion Dog, but this is disputed like the dragon like creatures from Western Mythology. It's important to note that in Eastern lore, reptilian features are not typically associated with Dragons, and they often are hairy or feathery. Historical depictions lack any scale like details and given that the classic eastern dragon's body is inspired by camel humps rather than a snake, it seems reptilian nature came into acceptance more with cultural mixing with European styles.

hszmv
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Draco Nobilis

The noble dragons with which we're all so familiar from fantasy fiction.

They all have one thing and only one thing in common: They are apex predators that sit above humans on the food chain.

They're primarily a symbol of power and strength. They represent a power above kings and princes, which is why they're always kidnapping princesses. Mostly they fly, mostly they breathe fire, mostly they're big lizards, mostly they're intelligent and can often be negotiated with, but fundamentally what they have in common is the fact that you are lunch.

Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

Let's consider a western model dragon with a standard set of attributes.

Primary Characteristics

  • Big, really big
  • Lizard
  • Flies
  • Breathes fire

Secondary Characteristics

  • Eats people
  • Intelligent
  • Tendency to hoard (and sleep on a bed of) gold
  • Old
  • Obstreperous
  • Heavily armoured
  • Token vulnerability in said armour

Which of these can you take away before it stops being a dragon?

All of the secondary ones. No problems there.

Of the primary ones you're basically limited to 1 and even then it's probably only the size.

You can modify whether it breathes fire, acid or other nasty substance, but if you take that away it has to be a big flying lizard or it's definitely not a dragon.

If it's small it has to be a fire breathing, flying, lizard and even then it probably won't stick. See Fire Lizard, Draco Vulgaris

If you're not careful with flying it becomes simply a dinosaur with pretensions.

Dragons are an accepted fictional construct, two primary variants, Chinese and Western. Chinese dragons are a very different concept from our big, flying, fire breathing, lizards. You can play with that to a limited extent, but you're fundamentally pushing preprogrammed buttons on your readers and you need to push a minimum set for it to remain a dragon.

Ignoring Draco Vulgaris, the swamp dragons of Discworld fame as they're a special case.

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