QuentinGeorge
Legend
I don't particularly care if FR was first or best. FR is not even my favorite setting. I did not even say that it was first just one of the first.
I did not even know about this fact about dragons until this week. When reading through a review of some original dragonlance products. Which brought up that Dragonlance dragons were not particularly special and for sure not more powerful then the baseline ones. FR introduced many new mechanics and buffs to dragons to power them up, including stuff like being immune to the damage of their breath weapons. Stuff that later became baseline in 2e and on.
Dragonlance had probably the largest and most powerful dragons. Malystryx and the other dragon overlords were two actual size categories bigger than great wyrm. (400' feet long and 500' wingspan - far larger than any other red dragon). And you severely mischaracterise how the dragon/dragonrider partnership went. It wasn't just riders atop a dumb mount like a horse, the dragon was a full partner, and in many cases, senior partner. Flint Fireforge and Tasslehoff Burrfoot rode a dragon with a lance and they basically sat there while the dragon did everything! On Krynn the dragons are the first and most perfect creations of the gods, made in their image. Hardly not "special" - the whole setting revolves around them! In any of the big "wars" on Krynn, the first thing one side does is attempt to knock the other side's dragons out of the war.