#antidracoprescriptivism

[drachenwiki]

This interaction is hilarious

The thread can be found here. Also check out the awesome artwork by Rudolf Wolfgang Götze.

[theload]

[drachenwiki]

What do you think the most important qualities for a dragon are? As in, what set of features make something read as “Dragon” to you?

I have no idea when you sent this ask, so I apologize if I kept you waiting for long because I just saw this.

That's really an interesting question, I don't think it's one thing. A snake with unusual features like wings or horns often reads like a dragon to me, unless it's too realistic. Most creatures with a typical modern western dragon bodyplan with four legs and wings read like a dragon as soon as they have a serpentine tail and long neck (so no griffins). Anything birdlike reads like a dragon if it has some reptilian elements. The more I think about it, the less I can put it into words.

Also, and this one definitely comes from my readings about literature and history, the role is important. If it's something the hero has to overcome in order to get gold, water, women, etc, chances are that it's a dragon.