D&D General Companion Thread for D&D Survivor: Lung ("Oriental") Dragons

[RealAlHazred]

A note on nomenclature: eventually, these were officially called "Lung" dragons after the Wade-Giles transliteration of the Chinese 龙 (simplified) or 龍 (imperial), as "lung". Nowadays, this is usually transliterated into English as "lóng". So, yes, the official D&D name for them as "dragon dragons." In the original The Strategic Review article, they were called "Chinese dragons," but the mythology of them spread beyond the mainland to other parts of Asia before the modern era. The Fiend Folio incarnation calls them "Oriental Dragons," so, sort of like Oriental Rugs, a stylistic element from the Exotic Far East.

There is an extensive conversion of the Chinese dragons to 5th edition on this guy's blog.

Wikipedia lists them as:

• Chilong (螭龍 or 魑龍; chīlóng; ch'ih-lung; ci1 lung4; chī lùhng; 'demon dragon'), a hornless dragon or mountain demon; I think these are probably the inspiration for the Li Lung of AD&D
• Dilong (地龍; dìlóng; ti-lung; dei6 lung4; deih lùhng; 'earth dragon'), controller of rivers and seas; effectively the Chiang Lung of AD&D
• Feilong (飛龍; fēilóng; fei-lung; fei1 lung4; fēi lùhng; 'flying dragon'), winged dragon that rides on clouds and mist
• Fuzanglong (伏藏龍; fúcánglóng; fu-ts'ang-lung; fuk6 zong6 lung4; fuhk johng lùhng; 'hidden treasure dragon'), underworld guardian of precious metals and jewels, associated with volcanoes
• Huanglong (黃龍; huánglóng; huang-lung; wong4 lung4; wòhng lùhng; 'yellow dragon'), hornless dragon symbolizing the emperor
• Jiaolong (蛟龍; jiāolóng; chiao-lung; gaau1 lung4; gāau lùhng; 'crocodile dragon'), hornless or scaled dragon, leader of all aquatic animals
• Longwang (龍王; lóngwáng; lung-wang; lung4 wong4; lùhng wòhng; 'Dragon Kings') divine rulers of the Four Seas; the inspiration for both the Lung Wang and the Dragon Turtle of AD&D
• Panlong (蟠龍; pánlóng; p'an-lung; pun4 lung4; pùhn lùhng; 'coiled dragon'), lake dragon that has not ascended to heaven; the inspiration for the Pan Lung of AD&D
• Qinglong (青龍; qīnglóng; ch'ing-lung; cing1 lung4; chīng lùhng; 'Azure Dragon'), the animal associated with the East in the Chinese Four Symbols
• Qiulong (虯龍; qíulóng; ch'iu-lung; kau4 lung4; kàuh lùhng; 'curling dragon'), contradictorily defined as both "horned dragon" and "hornless dragon"
• Shenlong (神龍; shénlóng; shen-lung; san4 lung4; sàhn lùhng; 'god dragon'), thunder god that controls the weather, appearance of a human head, dragon's body, and drum-like stomach; the inspiration for the Shen Lung of AD&D
• Tianlong (天龍; tiānlóng; t'ien-lung; tin1 lung4; tīn lùhng; 'heavenly dragon'), celestial dragon that guards heavenly palaces and pulls divine chariots; inspiration for the T'ien Lung of AD&D
• Yinglong (應龍; yìnglóng; ying-lung; jing3 lung4; yīng lùhng; 'responding dragon'), winged dragon associated with rains and floods; possibly the inspiration for the Tun Mi Lung of AD&D
• Zhulong (燭龍; zhúlóng; chu-lung; zuk1 lung4; jūk lùhng; 'torch dragon') or Zhuyin (燭陰; zhúyīn; chu-yin; zuk1 jam1; jūk yām; 'illuminating darkness') was a giant red draconic solar deity with a human's face and snake's body, which created day and night by opening and closing its eyes and created seasonal winds by breathing.

The Yu Lung of AD&D, the "Carp Dragon," comes from the myth of Longmen (the Dragon Gate) which was located at the top of a waterfall on a mythical mountain. The myth states that the few carp who are able to swim upstream for the final leap over the waterfall are transformed into dragons. However, this was not (mythologically speaking) the origin of all Chinese dragons; most of them were created in their final form to fulfill their purpose as given by the Emperor.

 

[Tonguez]

You must defeat Shen Long to stand a chance!​

The Lung dragons are an interesting DnDism, a departure from their more occidental counterparts but not quite authentic to their asiatic origins, even when tied to the veneer of the Celestial Bureaucracy.

The Lung dragons are all essentially amphibious water spirits (except Lilung), all get some kind of weather/wind control and most get polymorph, detect thoughts and some kind of control animal/dominate ability. Also they can fly due to the pearl lodged in their skulls. All but the Yulung work for the Celestial Bureaucracy with the TienLung as the Dragon Kings.

The classic Tien Lung are spectacular and make the best gold dragons, but better as their long sinuous bodies coil through the heavens, their varicoloured manes streaming. Theyre also lawful neutral so can be both smug and arrogant, and noble and honorable.

Shen Lung are interesting to me due to their modest and friendly nature, having cordial relationships with other nature spirits and a habit of taking human form so they could observe life in the villages, who consider them good luck - I like to think Sisu from the movie Raya and the last dragon was a Shen lung. (They also get a boost due to the Street Fighter reference, I imagine an ancient polymorphed Shen Long training mortal heroes in unarmed combat)

YuLung are the Carp who managed to climb to the top of the waterfall and jumped the dragons gate. Docile, shy, and friendly I like to think of them as dragon puppies, especially when they can breath out a cloud of healing mist. Btw Yulung cant Polymorph but on their 101st birthday they transform into a true lung dragon

Pan lung and Chiang lung are pretty similar, other than Pang lung being a bit more anti social (probably due to being assigned the lonely task of guarding ancient crypts). Pan lung also use ventriloquism and phantasmal force as distractions and often dominate and punish those disloyal to their families (eg adulterers) making them minions.
Chiang lung work for the Ministry of Thunder as river guardians who control local water flows, appearing as humans with big swords when they needed to interact with mortals.

Tun Mi Lung are your big destructive wild Typhoon dragons, not much personality beyond lightning, typhoon, smash! Theyre WMDs only just contained by their Ti’en Lung overlords.

Li lung are weird, largely solitary, appearing more like winged lions than classic dragons, they lived in the ground, eat rocks and caused earthquakes.

 

[RealAlHazred]

Let's do some images, since there's questions what they look like.

• Chiang Lung: the "River Dragon," they were responsible for rain and irrigation. A 2nd edition addition.
  
  
• Li Lung: the "Earth Dragon," they're fierce and the only Oriental Dragons with wings.
  
  
• Lung Wang: the "Sea Dragon," they were the original inspiration for the Dragon Turtle. They are Sea Kings, ruling the oceans.
  
  
• Pan Lung: the "Coiled Dragon," they live in swamps and marshes and are below the Shen Lung in the Imperial Hierarchy.
  
  
• Shen Lung: the "Spirit Dragon," they live in rivers and lakes and are important bureaucrats in the Imperial Hierarchy.
  
  
• T'ien Lung: the "Celestial Dragon," they are top dogs in the Hierarchy and live in cloud castles and atop mountains. They eat opals.
  
  
• Tun Mi Lung: the "Typhoon Dragon," responsible for floods and storms. A 2nd edition addition.
  
  
• Yu Lung: the "Carp Dragon," they are the juvenile form of Oriental Dragons.
  
  

 

[Eyes of Nine]

Wow, dragon turtle-esque dragon didn't last long...

 

[pemerton]

• Chiang Lung: the "River Dragon," they were responsible for rain and irrigation. A 2nd edition addition.
  
• Tun Mi Lung: the "Typhoon Dragon," responsible for floods and storms. A 2nd edition addition.

Both are in the original OA.

 

[RealAlHazred]

Both are in the original OA.

Huh, so it is! Another one I never got!

"Most oriental dragons are officials in the Celestial Bureaucracy. Each type has been charged with some aspect of government, as listed below. Once per year each dragon must go to the Celestial Palace and file a report of the previous year's activities and events. This report is examined by the appropriate censors and rewards and punishments are handed out accordingly. It is not uncommon for a corrupt or incompetent dragon to be removed from his position and replaced by a new appointee. Such changes in the Celestial Bureaucracy are made known to humans by dreams which announce the new official and his arrival date. Knowing this, the humans prepare a ceremonial procession and banquet of offerings to please and curry favor with the new dragon.

Dragon	Position
Li Lung	Control of the energies of the earth
Lung Wang	Guardians of sea creatures, aide to the Sea Lords
Pan Lung	Guardians of hidden places
Shen Lung	Aides to the Chiang Lung
T'ien Lung	Masters of weather (except rain)
Chiang Lung	Guardians of rivers and lakes, bringers of rain
Tun Mi Lung	Dispenser of ocean storms

"The yu lung does not hold an official position in the Celestial Bureaucracy and is not considered to belong to the class of greater dragons. As such, it receives no offerings and has no cult among the human population."

 

[beta-ray]

• Shen Lung: the "Spirit Dragon," they live in rivers and lakes and are important bureaucrats in the Imperial Hierarchy.
  
  

Another version of shenlong

 

[RoughCoronet0]

These dragons have always been a bit weird to me. I really like a lot of the Asian style dragons in anime and other media, but I never really cared for the old D&D depictions of them, and it always felt weird to use these in my campaigns. I had considered changing up some of my gem dragons to be based on Asian Dragons but never really bit that bullet.

 

[Azzy]

A good while back, I tried to find the origins of the lung dragons to varying degrees of success.

The only information for the Tun Mi Lung I could find was a reference to the Cantonese folk term for the gusty winds during a typhoon (and the characters 斷尾龍, which, in Mandarin, would be Duàn Wěi Lóng).

I also couldn't find the Li Lung.

 

[Tonguez]

A good while back, I tried to find the origins of the lung dragons to varying degrees of success.

The only information for the Tun Mi Lung I could find was a reference to the Cantonese folk term for the gusty winds during a typhoon (and the characters 斷尾龍, which, in Mandarin, would be Duàn Wěi Lóng).

I also couldn't find the Li Lung.

Lilong appears to be a 19th century term used in Shanghai to reference 'Western' style dragons in particular the Biblical dragon of Revelations

The traditional Chinese earth dragon is the Dilong, a term which also means earthworm