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What new jargon do you want to replace "Race"?
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<blockquote data-quote="Yaarel" data-source="post: 8853159" data-attributes="member: 58172"><p>I am unsure what to do about the Dragonborn.</p><p></p><p>I am comfortable to hypothetically describe Red Dragon and Gold Dragon as separate species of the Genus Dragon (<em>Draco</em>).</p><p></p><p>Compare the taxonomies of the sheep and the dragon</p><p></p><p><strong>Kingdom</strong>: Animalia</p><p><strong>Phylum</strong>: Chordata (skeleton)</p><p><strong>Class</strong>: Mammalia (mammal)</p><p><strong>Order</strong>: Artiodactyla (hooves)</p><p><strong>Family</strong>: Bovidae (cattle-like ruminant)</p><p><strong>[Subfamily]</strong>: Caprinae (goat-like)</p><p><strong>Genus</strong>: <em>Ovis </em>(sheep)</p><p><strong>Species</strong>: <em>aries </em>(domestic sheep)</p><p></p><p><strong>Kingdom</strong>: Animalia</p><p><strong>Phylum</strong>: Chordata (skeleton)</p><p><strong>Class</strong>: Reptilia (reptile)</p><p><strong>Order</strong>: Squamata (scales)</p><p><strong>[Suborder]</strong>: Serpentes (snake)</p><p><strong>Family</strong>: Draconidae (dragon-like)</p><p><strong>Genus:</strong> <em>Draco</em> (dragon)</p><p><strong>[Subgenus]</strong>: <em>Chromaticus </em>/ <em>Metallicus </em>/ <em>Gemmeus</em></p><p><strong>Species</strong>: <em>rufus </em>(red), etc. / <em>aureolus </em>(gold), etc. / <em>sapphirus </em>(sapphire), etc.</p><p></p><p>While these scientific rankings in Modern Latin are modern from 1700s onward, the distinctions between the kingdoms of life (earth, plant, animal), the distinctions between classes of animals (mammal, reptile, etcetera), and even the taxonomical families (cattle-like, viper, cat-like, eagle-like, etcetera) are all ancient.</p><p></p><p>D&D True Dragons are the variegated species of genus <em>Draco</em>. The creature type, Dragon, is the wider family of Draconidae.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>But the Dragonborn? They are like an artifical lifeform that splices together the Humanoid and Dragon creature types. According to lore, the primordial dragons modified dragon embryos to develop into a bipedal humanlike form. They did this for each dragon species. So in some ways, the Dragonborn are a single species who can reproduce offspring with each other, but in other ways, they are separate species of dragons: red, gold, sapphire, etcetera.</p><p></p><p>Maybe the simplest way to understand this is, the Dragonborn is a species, but each dragonborn transmits a separate bloodline or lineage, that descends from an ancestor who is a specific species of Dragon. An offspring from different bloodlines only expresses the traits of one bloodline, but can still transmit the unexpressed traits to future offspring.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Importantly, the Humanoid creature type is unrelated to genetics. Rather, it describes a convergent evolution. Different kinds of lifeforms can evolve humanlike qualities of consciousness, freewill, sapience, language, and culture. Typically, they exhibit a humanlike bipedal body shape.</p><p></p><p>The Humanoid lifeforms can be complex and even nonbiological. Dragonborn are Dragon adopting a Humanlike shape. Elf are Celestial thought but some become Fey spirit and some of these materialize as a Human body. Tiefling are Human altered by Fiend. Shifter descends from Human modified by Beast via lycanthropy. Warforged are a Construct that Humans made Humanoid. Warforged belong to a kingdom of life that is neither Plant nor Beast, and probably accurate to classify as Elemental.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Yaarel, post: 8853159, member: 58172"] I am unsure what to do about the Dragonborn. I am comfortable to hypothetically describe Red Dragon and Gold Dragon as separate species of the Genus Dragon ([I]Draco[/I]). Compare the taxonomies of the sheep and the dragon [B]Kingdom[/B]: Animalia [B]Phylum[/B]: Chordata (skeleton) [B]Class[/B]: Mammalia (mammal) [B]Order[/B]: Artiodactyla (hooves) [B]Family[/B]: Bovidae (cattle-like ruminant) [B][Subfamily][/B]: Caprinae (goat-like) [B]Genus[/B]: [I]Ovis [/I](sheep) [B]Species[/B]: [I]aries [/I](domestic sheep) [B]Kingdom[/B]: Animalia [B]Phylum[/B]: Chordata (skeleton) [B]Class[/B]: Reptilia (reptile) [B]Order[/B]: Squamata (scales) [B][Suborder][/B]: Serpentes (snake) [B]Family[/B]: Draconidae (dragon-like) [B]Genus:[/B] [I]Draco[/I] (dragon) [B][Subgenus][/B]: [I]Chromaticus [/I]/ [I]Metallicus [/I]/ [I]Gemmeus[/I] [B]Species[/B]: [I]rufus [/I](red), etc. / [I]aureolus [/I](gold), etc. / [I]sapphirus [/I](sapphire), etc. While these scientific rankings in Modern Latin are modern from 1700s onward, the distinctions between the kingdoms of life (earth, plant, animal), the distinctions between classes of animals (mammal, reptile, etcetera), and even the taxonomical families (cattle-like, viper, cat-like, eagle-like, etcetera) are all ancient. D&D True Dragons are the variegated species of genus [I]Draco[/I]. The creature type, Dragon, is the wider family of Draconidae. But the Dragonborn? They are like an artifical lifeform that splices together the Humanoid and Dragon creature types. According to lore, the primordial dragons modified dragon embryos to develop into a bipedal humanlike form. They did this for each dragon species. So in some ways, the Dragonborn are a single species who can reproduce offspring with each other, but in other ways, they are separate species of dragons: red, gold, sapphire, etcetera. Maybe the simplest way to understand this is, the Dragonborn is a species, but each dragonborn transmits a separate bloodline or lineage, that descends from an ancestor who is a specific species of Dragon. An offspring from different bloodlines only expresses the traits of one bloodline, but can still transmit the unexpressed traits to future offspring. Importantly, the Humanoid creature type is unrelated to genetics. Rather, it describes a convergent evolution. Different kinds of lifeforms can evolve humanlike qualities of consciousness, freewill, sapience, language, and culture. Typically, they exhibit a humanlike bipedal body shape. The Humanoid lifeforms can be complex and even nonbiological. Dragonborn are Dragon adopting a Humanlike shape. Elf are Celestial thought but some become Fey spirit and some of these materialize as a Human body. Tiefling are Human altered by Fiend. Shifter descends from Human modified by Beast via lycanthropy. Warforged are a Construct that Humans made Humanoid. Warforged belong to a kingdom of life that is neither Plant nor Beast, and probably accurate to classify as Elemental. [/QUOTE]
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