D&D General Why do we color-code Dragons?

[Vael]

It is funny that the chromatic dragons have the same colors as MTG's color pie, but are close but not quite a match for the color pie thematically. Red Dragons, as imperious and plotters are more White or Blue, and White Dragons as more primal and hunters are more Green or Red. Black Dragons, however, as swamp dwellers are an excellent match thematically to Black in MTG.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

So whilst colour-coding morality is stupid and offensive and there are way too may different dragon types these days, I don't find the basic idea that there are different species of dragons that look different including being different colours at all weird.

On my current setting I only use the five chromatic dragons species. That seems quite sufficient amount to me (and blues are "storm dragons" that live on coastal areas, like they should.)

 

[Mind of tempest]

Chinese Dragons also come in a variety of colours, though they tend to represent ideals rather than being coded in the manner of DnD dragons. The habitat associations arent there, nor the breath weapon or alignment.

Gold: The most revered color, linked to divine power, Earth element, imperial authority, wisdom, and wealth.
Red: Fire Element, a symbol of Warriors, good fortune, happiness, and power, making it a common sight during festivals and celebrations.
Green: Wood Element, representing growth, renewal, and health, often associated with nature and spring.
Blue: Water Element, represents the vastness of the sky and water, symbolizing power and the life-giving force of rain.
Black: Water Element, symbolizes the hidden realms of the earth or represent the balance between light and shadow.
White: Metal Element, representing purity or transformation, can also be seen as harbingers of death in some traditions.


Personally I think the DnD system of colour coded dragons is dumb so I dont use it

white would have a lightning breath from my studies

 

[Celebrim]

The thing I learned from this thread was that originally Purple Worms were more wyrms than worms. That explains a lot, though I'm quite happy with the shai'hulud direction that they went in and just to have wingless dragons be a variant on the usual.

 

[Flying Toaster]

Inquiring minds also want to now know if different color dragons and have babies together? Would a red dragon and a blue dragon create a purple dragon, or just pick from one of the parents like 5.5e PCs?

In one of the Best of Dragon magazine compilations there was a reprint of an early article that introduced three new chromatic dragons: orange, yellow, and purple. The author used science and the existing MM lore to extrapolate breath weapons for them. IIRC orange and yellow had some kind of caustic sodium-based breath weapons, and the purple had an energy blast that combined fire and electricity.

In art class in school I was taught the RYB subtractive color model, which combines three primary colors (red, yellow, blue) to make three secondary colors (orange, green, purple). When I read the article as a teenager I immediately realized that the author was using this model to fill in the colors of the chromatic dragon rainbow, as it were. I had always wondered why D&D had only white, black, green, blue, and red, but now I think Gygax might have been using some version of the RGB additive color model, which uses red, green, and blue as primaries. I always liked these dragons and wish they had been adopted officially. I think the Tales of the Valiant 5E variant from Kobold Press might have a yellow dragon, but I doubt it is based on the old article.

I once used the Caves of Chaos map from B2 The Keep On The Borderlands to make a quick adventure, and restocked it with different monsters. IIRC I reused the ogre cave as the lair of a young purple dragon. The look on the players’ faces when they realized that they were facing a mystery chromatic dragon was priceless...

 

[Clint_L]

It's pretty convenient that their abilities, alignment, likelihood of speaking and using magic, and danger level is all conveniently color-coded like a threat condition chart.

What are the in-world and metagame reasons? How would the game change if the bag of Skittles that are dragons didn't have a clear correspondence to game mechanics?

I use colours to determine stat blocks, when I feel like it, but don't worry about attaching their colour to behaviours and so on. I'll paint my dragons however I like, without worrying about D&D conventions. It makes no difference as far as the game goes.

Note that colour coded dragons predate D&D in Gygax's work, so they were important to him.

 

[Koloth]

Don't forget the mutant white dragon...

I didn't but he was a one off, well as far as we know so far.

Still hoping that someone will lease the IP and produce a series or movie. They have CGI dragons down pretty well now. Would be a nice blend of fantasy and scifi.

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

Maybe we shouldn't color-code dragons any more than we color-code humans?

 

[see]

Inquiring minds also want to now know if different color dragons and have babies together? Would a red dragon and a blue dragon create a purple dragon, or just pick from one of the parents like 5.5e PCs?

The 2e Draconomicon had rules for this. Only chromatics can cross. If they do:

1. Blend the colors (no stripes or spots).
2. Roll on the table and the follow the formula to work out how large the dragon will be based on upper limit of the range for larger parent's type and lower limit of the range for the smaller parent's type (AD&D 2nd gave body and tail length ranges, in feet, for each type of dragon for each of the 12 age categories).
3. Roll between the two parents randomly to determine AC progression.
4. Average the parents' HD and THAC0.
5. Roll between the two parents to determine claw damage.
6. Roll between the two parents to determine bite damage.
7. Roll between the parents to get breath weapon damage.
8. Roll on the table to determine if the breath weapon energy type is the larger parent's (40%), the smaller parent's (40%), or a blend (20%, DM adjudication).
9. Spellcasting follows one parent and the innate abilities follow the other parent.
10. Behaves (alignment, etc.) like the parent that raises it, mostly.
11. Intelligence score is either lowest in the range for the raising parent's type (if raised by more intelligent parent) or highest in the range for the raising parent's type (if raised by less intelligent parent).

 

[Chaltab]

Maybe we shouldn't color-code dragons any more than we color-code humans?

That's... a nonsequitor. Dragons are different species, humans are just different phenotypes of the same species.