D&D General Dragonborn Physical Features

[Tonguez]

Also does anyone remember the gecko Pack Lizards and Minotaur Lizards that were in AD&D - I miss those guys

 

[Mecheon]

Itys always amused me that Komodo Dragons live in arid rocky habitats rather than the Aligator habitat of the standard DnD Lizardfolk and thus I allow for non-aquatic Lizardfolk types (keep the hold breath for immersion in sand and change swim to stealth (camouflage) as well as dipping in to the plethora of Dinosaur traits (Pack hunting Troodonfolk are fun). Even without Dinos there are easily Lizards that let you have horns and spikes too - really the only difference between Lizardfolk and Dragonborn are the Cultural traits you allow...

I tend to roll dragonborn as the bulkier sorts, with more fantasy elements. Lizardmen tend towards small teeth, while dragonborn have big ol' incisors. Plus while I generally don't say all dragonborn have wings, they're the type to get 'em

Plus, well, my go-to with lizardmen is the agamids like the Chinese and Australian water dragons. Also being the dinosaur nerd I am? Lizardmen stats do not suit dinosaur folks at all. Mind I'm the type to have multiple types of dinosaur folks but, y'know. I've got a sacabambaspis avatar. I could be much worse.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Depends on the setting as I have several, but in standard D&D settings I say they have scales, retractable claws (I truly hate tool using humanoid species with claws for fingers), tails, usually horns, and can have other features (esp wings).

In my Islands World setting they tend to be amphibians. In my Crossroads world, they vary much more wildly just like dragons, and can often eventually turn into dragons. Feathers aren’t uncommon, some have skin that feels rocky, others have mossy “hair” that covers more of them as they age.

There is also a type that look

 

[cbwjm]

Diversity encourages imagination.

So do restrictions.

 

[Mind of tempest]

How is this not simply a Lizardman or more likely even some type of Yuan-Ti.

This is my problem with Dragonborn at all. If they are not actually like a Draconian (Dragonlance, the original kind) visually they are no different from a Lizardman or Yuan-Ti, they just have a breath attack.

vomiting fire is a rather impressive feat in most realities.
how are dragons not just dinosaurs with wings to follow on your point?
draconians suck as they exist as trick monster orcs not player characters.

Honestly I shouldn't have derailed a thread about dragonborn, as I have nothing to add about them.

I don't spend a lot of my D&D play with parents bonding with children or even understand how not having orcs impacts the half orc player to bond with its parents? Wouldn't the parent be an NPC? Is your argument if I allow Teifling PC I should allow Demon PCs?

Now I get how Orcs as portrayed in classic D&D are problematic. So I will accept that by not having them or goblins as PC races I am stuck in the past and should do better.

As for gnomes? Well I just don't need a bunch of funny humanoids running around. My list of intelligent humanoids is orcs, goblins, ogres, trolls, giants, elves, dwarfs, and halflings.

But I'd probably let a player run a gnome as a type of dwarf from a diffrent part of the world. I mean I use hobgoblin and gnoll stats as types of orcs, so why not? But it wouldn't be a separate species.

my point was supposed to be a more joking point of if a half-orc is in as a player option why not full orcs they can't by nature be that different from humans.

Diversity encourages imagination.

as can limit but ideally different limitation that what has dominated fantasy since before my father was born.

 

[Tonguez]

vomiting fire is a rather impressive feat in most realities.
how are dragons not just dinosaurs with wings to follow on your point?

nah even bugs can squirt fire, snakes can spit poison and birds can vomit acid - vomiting exothermic puke bombs is a natural evolution

I posit that Dragons descend from a double sailed Pelycosaur - which means theyre Synapsids and thus closer to Mammals than they are to lizards...

 

[Corinnguard]

The only Draconians I took a liking to were the Noble Draconians from the Bestiary of Krynn book for 3e.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

How is this not simply a Lizardman or more likely even some type of Yuan-Ti.

This is my problem with Dragonborn at all. If they are not actually like a Draconian (Dragonlance, the original kind) visually they are no different from a Lizardman or Yuan-Ti, they just have a breath attack.

I think there is similar issue with a lot of D&D species. There are just too many of them, so we end up with a bunch that are very similar. Personally I prefer fewer species with more cultural diversity. So for example I have one lizard/dragonfolk species, some of which are "primitive" swamp people, some have mysterious ancient cities in the jungle, some are noble warrior people etc.

 

[Mecheon]

I think there is similar issue with a lot of D&D species. There are just too many of them, so we end up with a bunch that are very similar. Personally I prefer fewer species with more cultural diversity. So for example I have one lizard/dragonfolk species, some of which are "primitive" swamp people, some have mysterious ancient cities in the jungle, some are noble warrior people etc.

D&D sort of doesn't help with its main four things being "Human", "Short human", "Shorter human" and "Human with weird ears". When that's the baseline, Its easy to fit "Lizard-man", "Dragon-man" and "Snake-man" in with that as each has its own niche to fill

Mind we're still ages away from 2E days where we had gecko-men (two types), crocodile men (two types), alligator men, caimen-men and all the other sorts.

 

[Meech17]

For me, scales, fangs, claws and tails are always present. Horns, quills, and frills can be present but aren’t always. Wings are never present. Gills aren’t something I would have even considered because as far as I know, dragons have never been particularly associated with gills, apart from sea serpents, I guess? But my dragonborn are more associated with the “true dragons.” Feathers are similarly not a feature I had really considered, but as they are a modified type of scale, I think I’d allow a player to play a dragonborn with feathers if they wanted to. But, I don’t think I’d design a dragonborn NPC with them.

I'm in the same camp as Charlaquin here. Scales, Fangs, Claws, and tails. I know tails aren't like correct as per the book, but they feel right. Horns, Quills, and frills are allowed, but not required. They're almost like the equivalent of hair for the Dragonborn. A way to customize and make them unique.

I'm torn on wings. I'm generally in the camp of "No PCs who can innately fly" so Arakroka are also out. Wings are very much a core part of a dragon however.. I may be inclined to give a Dragonborn PC maybe some sort of flightless, vestigial wings, and one day upon reaching a higher level they could allow for flight.. But level 1 PCs with flying just seems like too much of a headache for me.