111
votes
Why wouldn't dragon-hide make me fire-resistant?
Apart from the fact that only the very rich and very few might actually get real dragon hide there are options.
Dragon hide requires internal fluids in the epidermis to be fireproof
Dragon hide needs ...
- 3,890
108
votes
Accepted
How can a Dragon keep humanity in check?
Ordinarily, you'd delegate. Farm out the mucky business of war to someone else, found one of these kingdoms of your own, get generals to rampage. But an exercise in nation building doesn't seem your ...
- 4,925
106
votes
Accepted
Why would a dragon's underbelly be so vulnerable?
They have stronger tendons, bones, and scales, scales that can vary in size. CNT is flexible, thus armor, made with it, can be too. So, I just eliminated the last practical reason for why dragons have ...
- 41.4k
103
votes
Accepted
Quenching swords in dragon blood; why?
You don't want harder steel, it breaks, you don't want softer steel, it bends, you want more control of the temperature of the steel at every stage so you can get the exact properties you want. Better ...
- 78.3k
92
votes
Why wouldn't dragon-hide make me fire-resistant?
Human-sized garments aren't big enough to be effective heat sinks.
Dragons are much larger than humans. By the square-cube law, a dragon that's roughly 5 times the length of a human will have about ...
- 13.7k
92
votes
Accepted
Why do dragons need to roar before chasing down their prey?
In real life, an animal that is hunting will generally do so quietly. Roaring and displays are territorial behaviors, generally used when the animal doesn't want a fight and just wants the enemy to ...
- 29k
85
votes
How to butcher your dragon?
It is a common misconception (likely spread by crafty, older dragons) that only young dragons are tasty. Much like their avian relatives (related via the dinosaurs), mature dragons develop a depth ...
- 7,222
83
votes
How can a Dragon keep humanity in check?
There is a possible way for a dragon to succeed for a while, but it depends on his communication skills.
Humans would have to kill other humans.
On every continent, the dragon would need to come in ...
- 42.2k
81
votes
Semi-accessible continent
The wind isn't such a bad excuse.
Say there is a prevailing headwind, which for most of the path is faster than the average speed of the dragon. Dragons can fly one way but not the other.
Your ...
- 131k
79
votes
How would tiny dragons strike TERROR?
Cities in the Middle Ages were flammable. Like, really flammable. London suffered from two devastating fires and several smaller ones before the Great Fire of 1666 that destroyed most of the inner ...
- 14.2k
73
votes
Would a warhorse allow its rider to approach a Dragon at all?
The older, wiser, more experienced horses might have an easier time of it. The wiser horses will pick up on fear cues from their riders, if they trust their riders. Horses are herd animals. There is ...
- 2,404
70
votes
Accepted
Why did dragons evolve to be smart?
It's difficult to come up with an evolutionary pressure that would select for intelligence when most dragons will survive regardless.
This is, of course, the key point. What do dragons do? Hunt the ...
- 33k
68
votes
Accepted
From which point on would including a dragon on one side of a historical battle not be an instant victory?
From about 1933 onwards, a dragon on your side is no longer a win button as that year saw the deployment of the Flak 18 by German army. It first saw action in the Spanish Civil War a few years later. ...
- 52.7k
67
votes
Physically, how do dragons grasp and *transport* the contents of their hoards?
If you're a dragon, why are you gathering coins one at a time?
If I'm a dragon, the biggest baddest dude on Middle Earth or Faerun or wherever, I'm not going to pick-pocket people. I'm not robbing ...
- 85.1k
66
votes
Dealing With Dragonslayers
You make it a semi-religious order, or a military order.
The 'Order of Slayers' is a prestigious order dedicated to studying, and combating, the dragon problem. Out of this order, very few can ...
- 3,021
62
votes
How would tiny dragons strike TERROR?
just to add to the other answers: Tiny dragons setting an entire city on fire not only is realistic, we have something similar in our world too:
Let me introduce you to the Australian Firehawk Raptor
...
- 962
57
votes
Semi-accessible continent
Dragons can't swim.
Your dragons can fly 1000 miles but they cannot see 1000 miles. Nothing can. On the ground you can see 10-15 miles. In a plane maybe you can see 150-200 miles. If a dragon ...
- 304k
53
votes
Accepted
What would justify hunting dragons that are made with real physics, with melee weapons?
Bows are not as useful against dragons. The dragon’s fire breath gives it a superior ranged attack as well. A one-on-one ranged duel with dragon usually ends in the dragon's favor, save in the case of ...
- 5,285
51
votes
Accepted
Biological Use of FOOF
The Dragon does not store FOOF in its body. It stores Fluorine and oxygen separately in PTFE organs. It has “standard” dragon fire breath capability allowing it to preheat an internal chamber with an ...
- 36.5k
51
votes
Accepted
How to utilize dragons that are too small to ride in warfare?
1 - Messenger. Pigeons sent information but had to fear hawks.
I would like to see a hawk intercepting mail when the messenger is badder and meaner than them.
Also, the intelligence would allow for ...
- 5,856
49
votes
Can a dragon be electrocuted?
Anything can be hit by lightning, as long as it can get in lightning's path, dragons included. Animals, in particular, are more conductive than dry air, so they provide an easier path for the ...
- 131k
47
votes
Accepted
Alternate uses for dragon wings?
Some uses for non-flying Dragon Wings
Fan a flame
Stabilize the Dragon while chasing someone/thing down (run on two legs, grab with 2 claws, pump wings like how humans pump arms when running)
...
- 2,999
46
votes
How to butcher your dragon?
Dragons are heatproof, you have to serve them raw.
We're talking dragon sashimi here.
It has to be fresh young dragon, no more than a few hours dead. Not some tough old elder dragon. Finely sliced ...
- 116k
46
votes
How to utilize dragons that are too small to ride in warfare?
"This is Lord Mountjoy Quickfang Winterforth IV, the hottest dragon in the city. It could burn your head clean off."
Commander Vimes limped forward from the shadows.
A small and extremely ...
- 30k
44
votes
How do dragons not burn themselves?
Same way a lighter works. See wikipedia. But to summarise, you might want to ask yourself why a lighter doesn't melt. It appears as though the flame is coming from the lighter, and yet the inside of ...
- 32.1k
44
votes
Accepted
Why would a fire dragon still be afraid of torches?
Fight fire with fire.
Remember, the fire-breathing dragon breathes fire for some reason. Even if the dragon doesn't realize that it breathes fire, the ability almost certainly evolved together with ...
- 28.9k
43
votes
How would you design a dragon-like creature so it could sew?
You did not provide the specs for your dragons, so I imagine their build would fit along the classical european, D&D chromatic dragon shapes and sizes.
Let me tell you about Iguanodons. They were ...
- 134k
42
votes
Accepted
What natural force would prevent dragons from burning all the forests in the world?
I propose a Frame Challenge
In reality, herd animals are frequently found in meadows and large open areas despite eons of hunting, which, presumably, would lead to the animals that survive being those ...
- 115k
42
votes
Accepted
The green and the dragons
Lush, Lush, Lush:
You need an environment suitable for the support of a large predator the size of a dinosaur, with the metabolic rate to support both flight and flaming gasses to boot. An environment ...
- 63.1k
42
votes
Suppose dragons spewed volcanic ash instead of fire. How much more deadly would they be?
I'm gonna go against the grain and suggest "less lethal"
If I take a shovel full of ash from my fireplace, even if the fire is burning, and throw it into the room, what happens? There's a ...
- 115k
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