I would actually be ok with horns. But no...
View attachment 80167
WTF?
View attachment 80166
Why not? Are dragons really just giant flying reptiles that breath fire? They are fantastical creatures that require their own creature type. They are not beasts like dinosaurs or giant lizards?
Look at Oriental dragons, especially Chinese dragons, which gold dragons are obviously modeled after. You'll see dragons with hair, antlers, and barbels (those things that catfish and bullheads have).
From a temple in the Forbidden City in Beijing:
https://www.google.com/search?q=Tai...al+palace+museum+dragon&imgrc=540dqx-G9FkQ-M:
Look also at the old colonial emblem of Hong Kong:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Coat_of_arms_of_Hong_Kong_(1959-1997).svg
See also:
http://www.inkdancechinesepaintings.com/dragon/picture/4522001.jpg
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/c6/a0/f2/c6a0f215a0a0d3d80fd75c2910e4b43f.jpg
I'm not into Dragonborn having mammalary glands, but that is mostly because (1) it seems like "furry" nonesense where even alien beings have to be sexualized, and (2) it is less interesting--dragonborn, even more than teiflings, are very alien sentient beings. They should have different reproduction, dietary requirements, etc. that would make for differently structured societies and make for interesting role-play opportunities.
This is why I like the idea of playing lizardfolk more than dragonborn, they require players to stretch their minds more than I see most people do when they play dragonborn. In my current campaign, neither fit, but I would certainly allow drgonborn in the right campaign, but i would tweak the culture and I may make their possible looks be even more radical than in the books.
I have a more difficult problem with exactly how they came to being. In some cultures, like in Slavic mythology, dragons are portrayed as sexually aggressive shape-shifters, often mating with humans. Chinese fairy tailes are even more on point. Certain
lung were said to mate with human women, producing half-human half-dragon children. There is Tang Dynasty story,
The Dragon King's Daughter, where it is a female dragon who mates with a male human. The story has been retold and made into operas and plays. In Chinese mythology, I think it works. Chinese dragons are divine beings. Immortal shapeshifters that contain the elements of all the animals on Chinese zodiac, are associated with the five elements, and rule the weather, earthquakes and other natural phenomena. Reading Chinese dragon myths is similar to myths of Greek gods walking among, and sometimes mating with, humans.
Because of the complexity of draconic forms and powers, the children of Chinese-dragons and their human mates could vary widely in form. There is the legend of the nine sons of the dragon. None of which grew into true dragons and all of which if different features. Note that "9" can symbolically mean "many" in Chinese myth. One son is described as turtle like in apparance. Another is described as a lizard without a table. One was tiger-like in appearance. Another like a wolf. Another was a small yellow dragon with scales. Another like a jackal, another like a lion, there was one that was even described as looking a like a snail.
I've though of running a campaign where everyone is dragon born, but basing the flavor on Chinese mythology. I don't think I would need to change the mechanics, just the flavor text. Each player would build a unique dragon born character with widely different looks. They would come together/discover each other, or be brought together by their dragon father for some important mission.
