D&D General Dragonborn Physical Features

[CleverNickName]

I should have added "Whiskers" to the poll. I always imagine my gold and silver Dragonborn with long, catfish-like whiskers.

 

[Mind of tempest]

A lot of newer dragonborn art in official material does include tails. I think WotC recognized that most folks who like dragonborn want them to have tails.

Yes, my thinking exactly!

I’m actually ok with Aarakocra, though I give them a talon attack and rule that they need both hands free to fly. That both fits better aesthetically to me (birds should have four limbs, not six) and it prevents flying out of melee reach and peppering enemies with ranged attacks or dropping rocks on them, prevents grappling enemies, flying up real high, and dropping them to deal fall damage, and prevents carrying non-flying allies to places they shouldn’t be able to reach.

Dragons, on the other hand, are famous for having six limbs, so that fix doesn’t work for dragonborn. Vestigial wings would be ok, but I just don’t like them aesthetically on dragonborn. I guess I think of them more as draconic humanoids than humanoid dragons, if that makes sense. And especially with the spectral wings in the 2024 rules, vestigial wings just don’t feel right to me.

a second set of arms could work?

I should have added "Whiskers" to the poll. I always imagine my gold and silver Dragonborn with long, catfish-like whiskers.

View attachment 377673

lung seems to be rather different in base conceptual origin than the western dragon who shares more blood with king ghidorah that the water beasts of the heavens

 

[Charlaquin]

a second set of arms could work?

No, that’s specifically what I want to avoid. Only having four limbs both looks better and fixes a lot of the most broken things that you can accomplish with built-in flight.

 

[Mind of tempest]

This is closer to how I'm going to do it.



I mean its immensely useful as the starting line, because anyone who knows western Fantasy in any way, knows what they are.

Humans, Elves, Dwarves and Hobbits/Halflings, sourced from the Trope Maker itself. I have a few custom player options, if I gave you the names, it would be meaningless. Thats the value of the baseline.

and in all that time how much have we built onwards from it? dwarves seem to have contacted as an idea for decades, halflings are both used wrong and have few interesting interpretations.(they were designed as a low-importance background option so that the plot could make sense)

go on describe your other options I want to see what you can make?

No, that’s specifically what I want to avoid. Only having four limbs both looks better and fixes a lot of the most broken things that you can accomplish with built-in flight.

then how do you make them more dragon-y? making them a centaur opens another can of worms so that seems of the table

 

[Vaalingrade]

Over two decades of actual play with them leads me to conclude that flight is not as big an issue as some people fear.

When trees, cover and indoor locations are taken into consideration alongside D&D being a team sport and the value of climbing puzzles considered based on the rare number of times they show up vs their existence, flight just means sometimes a time where a character gets to shine like when the druid becomes something small and sneaks in somewhere or the wizard takes a turn.

 

[Scribe]

and in all that time how much have we built onwards from it? dwarves seem to have contacted as an idea for decades, halflings are both used wrong and have few interesting interpretations.(they were designed as a low-importance background option so that the plot could make sense)

Built onwards from what? There is no need whatsoever to 'build onwards' because the base, the framework, is exactly what it needs to be.

To paraphrase, perfection is not found when there is no more to add, but when there is nothing else to take away.

Dwarves are exactly what they need to be, and are set in stone.

Halflings are also exactly what they need to be perhaps the interpretation issue lies elsewhere?

As to my options. You tell me what these are based on the name alone.

The Mani people.
The Hexen people.

 

[Charlaquin]

then how do you make them more dragon-y? making them a centaur opens another can of worms so that seems of the table

Huh? I already said I think of them as more like draconic humanoids than humanoid dragons.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Huh? I already said I think of them as more like draconic humanoids than humanoid dragons.

But what draconic is there when they don't get anything that makes a dragon not a lizard?

 

[Dire Bare]

You need to add "boobs" to your feature list. We've had huge debates about this in the past on these forums!!

I'm kidding . . . sorta. We did have big debates on this very important issue though.

 

[CleverNickName]

That's an interesting question: where is the line between Dragon and Lizard, physiologically-speaking?