Breeds of Dragon

[Galdethriel]

OKay, this is a little idea my friend Mercurius came up with. ^^ (he said he was too lazy to post a thread on it)

We both thought it would be pretty cool to have other different species of Dragons to match the different types of Bipeds. They would have the same schools but have a different look and their Rites of Passage would award them with something other than flight. (Unless they were just different breeds of typical dragons).

For instance, there could be a sea serpent-like dragon which is very snake like, either plodding around on stubby legs as a hatchling or plain just slithering on the ground. And upon completion of it's Rite of Passage, instead of gaining the ability to fly, it could swim underwater for however long it liked. ((With the same limitations as flight, such as not being able to recall and such)).

We haven't really thought of any others, but I was thinking maybe some smaller or larger varieties. :P Just clutching at straws here though.

The dragons we already have could be the most civilised of all the varieties and the most revered and notable. (Kinda like the Great White Shark of dragonkind XD ))

Just a thought. What do you think? :3

[Goriax]

I like it. (I once made a similar suggestion WAY back while HZ was in development).

One breed might be a flightless dragon which might get some other ability in compensation. Or there could even just be different varieties of flying dragons with different emphasis. Or a very small variety which might be good at spell casting.

It might be difficult to shoehorn into the game in a believable way at this late date though.

[Tokoz]

It might be difficult to shoehorn into the game in a believable way at this late date though.

Nah, there's plenty unexplored Istaria AND if the new race is flightless, but unable to swim in the Istarian ocean (like all the other races), then they'd have to be discovered from across the water.

[Galdethriel]

I guess if you made them lore where they lost their Rite of Passage sort of thing until it was re-introduced to them by the Istarian Dragons, therefore none could fly nor swim...

Could that work?

[Amerelium]

Add the 12 age categories from AD&D instead:

wyrmling
very young
young
juvenile
young adult
adult
mature adult
old
very old
ancient
wyrm
great wyrm

...12 RoPs anyone..?

[Death-knell]

Add the 12 age categories from AD&D instead:

wyrmling
very young
young
juvenile
young adult
adult
mature adult
old
very old
ancient
wyrm
great wyrm

...12 RoPs anyone..?

Yikes!

I guess you could make an ageing quest every ten levels

[Galdethriel]

T_T Uhm, no offence, but I think you're missing the point. XD

Different species for different looks and abilities and a more varied gaming experience for dragon lovers. XD

Besides, I think if you had age stages like that it would take the speciality from the RoP and the ARoP. >.>

[Goriax]

Yikes!

I guess you could make an ageing quest every ten levels

10 age categories * number of species = I can hear the developers moaning from here.

If you had that many age categories (just keep the current three models but change the size) skip any sort of quest to advance. When you hit the level you automatically advance.

[Pharcellus]

Add the 12 age categories from AD&D instead:

wyrmling
very young
young
juvenile
young adult
adult
mature adult
old
very old
ancient
wyrm
great wyrm

...12 RoPs anyone..?

Boy, you don't want much, do ya?

[Lunarya]

It'd be cool if I could be a chinese dragon

[Magfuddle]

There are already lots of different types of dragons ... yellow ones, red ones, green ones, blue ones ... ... ..

/chuckle

[Magfuddle]

<< its not like we actually need different types ... the customisation of appearance is highly varied, color combinations/head types/size etc.

All you need to do is look up in the "dragonopaedias" which species you want, match the color and body type/ head shape as best can be and then RP if you must.

In my opinion, the devs don't need different quest lines and different storylines for new species that dont currently fit into Istarian lore >>

Please excuse the double post - wanted to keep the IC and OOC posts seperate but could have done that in the single post (*sigh*)

[Galdethriel]

I know dragons are customisable, but there is a lack of variation.

Even if the only new-comers were different breeds of the typical dragons we have now, it'd make a change and allow people to be more individual.
It wouldn't be that hard to integrate a few variations into the lore, I think.

[Death-knell]

I know dragons are customisable, but there is a lack of variation.

Even if the only new-comers were different breeds of the typical dragons we have now, it'd make a change and allow people to be more individual.
It wouldn't be that hard to integrate a few variations into the lore, I think.

Yeah, while there is some variation I don't think it's enough either.

[Goriax]

There's a difference between customization and breeds, in lore and immersion if nothing else. There's a different between dragons which happen to be red, copper, blue, green, white, gold etc. and (for example) a D&D style red dragon (big, evil, lives in mountains, breathes flame, cruel), copper (medium size, good, lives in arid hills, breaths (if I remember) gas, likes practical jokes).
Otherwise, they might as well just make one biped model with the ability to make round or pointy ears, vary the height, build, skin tone, etc. thus allowing players to make someting akin to a human, elf (regular or dark), dwarf, gnome, etc. It just isn't the same. You can take your morphed biped, make him lightly built and with pointy ears and call him an elf, but it just isn't the same as making an elf.

Same with dragons.

One possability for implimentation (again, not sure if this is reasonable given how long the game has been playing) is the following.

Take the existing customizations. Define one subset of customizations with a range of skin types, color, size, etc. for each breed. If you want a green dragon, create a forest dragon. If you want a red dragon, create a mountain dragon. Glacier dragon is white. And so forth. If player choose to create a green dragon, he can only select various shades of green and can only vary the size within whatever the predetermined bounds are for green dragon. For example. Likewise with skin and head types.

Start each type in it's own location (forest dragons in a forest, mountain dragons in a mountain and so forth) and if you tweak the abilities somewhat (so they all aren't absolutely identical) there you have it.

Of course this approach falls apart for things like a flightless dragon unless they're willing to adjust the models.

[Clannach]

I love the sea dragon idea.. more of a sea serpent body with a wide tail and fins for speedy movement while submerged. The turtle dragon was always a favorite of mine(D&D). With its hard shell and it bulk it could capsize a ship with ease.
I know we don't have useable seas yet but it would be something to look forward to. Imagine your sea dragon at the bottom of the ocean, playing guardian to your friends that have acquired some means to both travel and breathe in the depths. they happen to find a sunken ship but it requires some time to extract the cargo manifest for a quest the group is doing. Along comes a young kraken-attracted by the noise! A serious fight ensues but in the end you move on just before another large predator comes swimming by..

[Magfuddle]

hmm sea dragons ... does that mean the devs would create a whole duplicate world underwater for this species? What a massive job redesigning the game mechanics of interaction with water .. and effectively implementing a flying engine to be functional only within the water environment until such time as the sea serpent character comes of age to walk on land and eventually fly above water for short distances (water hopping?)

Sounds like a whole new game to me ... major expansion ?

I see the point behind selecting a dragon genus at character selection screen which would effectively create the opportunity for different racial stats, quest lines, main cities etc. This would be a huge task with a relatively small budget ... no harm in speculating and hoping though.

[Clannach]

hmm sea dragons ... does that mean the devs would create a whole duplicate world underwater for this species? What a massive job redesigning the game mechanics of interaction with water .. and effectively implementing a flying engine to be functional only within the water environment until such time as the sea serpent character comes of age to walk on land and eventually fly above water for short distances (water hopping?)

Sounds like a whole new game to me ... major expansion ?

There was a water race in the works along time ago but I have no idea how far they came along. I would assume they would have made a starting city for them if not in the water then on the very shore along with sea quests and the like.
I think making a duplicate world would be silly. Why not just use the areas of sea already out there just mod them a bit. add textures,deepening of course where needed. sea plants,coral,sea weed, realistic water, scripts for swimming, new sea creatures.. yes it would be an undertaking but one step at a time and one sea area at a time would be doable. hell if they released a client side player tool pack i would help map out undersea areas if need be.
I do have some experience with modding..
I suppose it is an abstract form of flying.. but i wasn't suggesting swimming for only a new breed of dragon.
water hopping..? yeahh thats not a bad idea.. a sea serpent could probably and should be able to leap out of the water.. if they were traveling fast enough then yes-I suppose they could "water hop"..

[Khetienn]

Speaking of different breeds, I'd like to see a wyvern option. Smaller, more agile, and nasty fighters, but not very intelligent overall, reducing their spell-casting to mostly heals. Also, since wyverns have wings and hind-legs only, it would be very interesting to see what movement/fighting style they would develop, as well as what their flight limitations are.