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4   Common types of Dragons
    4a.  Komodo Dragon
    4b.  Eastern Dragons
    4c.  Western Dragons
    4d.  Pernese Dragons
    4e.  Dungeon & Dragon Dragons
    4f.  Modern Infestation Dragons
4.  Common types of Dragons

4a.   Komodo Dragon

     The Komodo Dragon is the largest lizard found on Komodo Island,
 part of Indonesia in the Indian Ocean. They have long sharp claws,
 greenish-black hide, forked tongues (used for smelling), and a hinged jaw
 like that of a snake. They are solitary animals but will group around
 a carcass to try and get a portion of a kill.
     During the mating season the male Komodo will make a kill and let the
 female eat from the carcass. After mating, the female goes off and digs a
 den in which to lay her eggs. The female lays around seven eggs. She will
 stay and protect them for several weeks, but will eventually wander off
 before they hatch.  The eggs hatch around April and the little Komodos are
 20 inches long and golden in color. They climb up in trees and stay for
 several years until they grow larger. They start coming down to the
 ground when they are around 3 feet long. They dig dens near riverbanks
 and slopes with an opening only large enough for them to fit in, and
 stay there during the night for protection from the elements and
 other larger Komodos. They sometimes have two or more dens for
 convenience during the wet and dry seasons when the rivers rise. Older
 komodos are 9 feet long or longer and weigh around 200 pounds.
     Komodo dragons are natural swimmers and use their large tails to propel
 them through the water. They can also dive beneath the water and hold their
 breath for a long time.

4b.  Eastern Dragons

     Chinese dragons have four legs and a long, sinuous body with a snake-
 like tail. Their horns resemble those of a stag, head like that of
 a camel, eyes resemble those of a demon or a rabbit (because they glow
red),
 neck of a snake, belly of a clam, scales like those of a carp, claws of an
 eagle, the paws of a tiger, and ears like those of a bull. They have 81
 scales and can be black, red, white or yellow (considered superior). They
 have a great pearl which they carry in their throats which symbolizes
wisdom.
     Male dragons have undulating, concave and steep horns. Female dragons
 have straight noses, round manes, thin scales and a strong tail. Most
 dragons lay their eggs near water. Eggs may take 1000 years to hatch. When
 they do, water will run from the eggs and the parents will cry out. The
 cry of the male makes the wind rise, while the cry of the female makes the
 wind calm. This has a tendency to destabilize local climactic conditions,
 resulting in darkness and torrential rain, with lightning and thunder
 causing the eggs to break open. They take 500 years to turn into a Kiao
 (scaled dragon), 1000 more years to become a lung (a proper dragon), 500
 more to become a kioh-lung (horned dragon), and a further 1000 years to
 become a ying-lung (winged dragon).
     In China dragons are classified according to their purposes. There are
 four major kinds of Chinese dragon: the t'ien lung, (celestial guardians)
 who support the mansion of the gods shielding them from decay; the
 shen lung (weathermakers) who govern the clouds and bring rain; the ti lung
 (earth-dragon) who control rivers; and the fu-ts'ang lung (treasure
keepers)
 who guard hidden treasures and deposits of precious metal.
      Chinese dragons were said to be present at creation and thus share the
 characteristics and some control of the cosmos and elements. The dragons of
 China were patron divinities of rivers, lakes and the sea. If pleased they
 would give rain, but if displeased they could withhold rain or cause storms
 and floods.
     Celestial dragons have five claws. Lesser dragons have three or four.
 They can shape-change except when being born, sleeping, lustful or angry.
 Dragons are said to like precious stones and roasted swallows but to be
 afraid of the leaves of the wang plant, leaves of the lien tree, quintuple
 colored silk thread, wax, iron and centipedes. They are one of the four
 spiritual animals, the others being the phoenix, unicorn and tortoise.

4c.  Western Dragons

     Western dragons are extremely diverse in every aspect. They are
 sometimes classified by body-type and defined by habitat, but this is not
 set in stone.
     Western dragons have four legs, the front legs often used normally
 like human arms & hands. They have two wings often jointed above the front
 arms, a long tail and neck with scales, hide or fur. They come in all
colors
 and shades. Their hands and feet are clawed. They sometimes have hard or
 soft plated ridges from the nape of the neck to the tip of the tail. They
 have head crests usually in the form of horns or protective plates. They
are
 often able to expel flame, smoke or other substance from their mouth for
 the purpose of defense or attack.
      Most western dragons have an extremely long life span. They are
usually
 wise creatures, and can be friendly or malicious. Their lifestyles and
 habitats vary depending upon the group and type of dragon. The following
 are different categories of western dragons.

4d. Pernese Dragons

     The world of Pernese dragons was created by Anne McCaffrey. They were
 genetically engineered from a species of small, flying, dragon-like
 creatures called firelizards by colonist settling on a planet called Pern.
 There are five types of Pernese dragons:

 Color          Gender         Size (comparative)

 Gold           Female (Queen) Largest (40 meters long)
 Bronze         Male           Second Largest
 Brown          Male           Large
 Blue           Male           Medium
 Green          Female         Small (25 meters long)
 White          Male          (very small, only one in existence)

     Flame is produced by chewing & digesting a substance called Firestone,
 which is later spit back out after digestion. They have a special
 relationship and telepathic link with their riders from birth. They have
 the ability to jump telepathically forward and backward in time, and to any
 place as long as they have a visualized reference point to where they're
 going. You can find out more specific info on Anne McCaffrey's Pern series
 in alt.fan.pern.

4e. Dungeon & Dragon Dragons

     The world of D&D dragons contains both western and eastern dragons.
 The eastern dragons are based off history of eastern dragons (see 4b).
 D&D dragons are able to use magic, and have a wide variety of
 characteristics between the different species.
     Young dragons begin pairing and mating when they are young adults
 around 100 years old. They lay eggs have hatch several dragonets. The
 young are raised by one or more parents till the age of 50 when they just
 become young adults and leave their parents lair driven by greed to start
 a lair of their own.
     Western D&D dragons collect and hoard treasure in their lairs and use
 it as bedding. Their lairs are usually far from civilization. They hide
 their entrances and any evidence of their comings and goings. There is
 very little wildlife near dragon lairs. They are very territorial about
 the area around their lairs.
     After a pair of mated dragons mature beyond the mature adult stage
 (400 years) they will split up driven by the need for independence and
 greed. Older dragons will raise young but after a pair mate and the eggs
 are laid they will split up, leaving one parent to raise the young.
     As they mature the dragons become stronger and wiser. Older dragons
 know many languages and some can even speak telepathically. The oldest
 dragons are among the most powerful creatures in the world. The oldest of
 the dragons are known as Great Wyrms and live to be 1200 years and older.
     All dragon species are said to come originally from the same roots but
 the different species keep to themselves. D&D dragons are solitary
 creatures.

 Color/
 Type      Align  Intel  Environment     Size Breath
 ----------   --  -----  ---------------- --- --------------------------
Chromatic
 Black        CE  8-10   Swamps           30' Acidic Gas
 Blue         LE  11-12  Desert           42' Lightning
 Green        LE  11-12  Woods            36' Cloud: (Poison Chlorine Gas)
 Red          CE  15-16  Mountains        48' Fire
 White        CE  5-7    Tundra           24' Frost
Gem
 Amethyst     N   17-18  Mountains(water) 30' Lozenge
 Crystal      CN  < 8    Snowlands        12' Shards
 Emerald      LN  15-16  Volcanoes        20' Sonic Wail
 Sapphire     LN  17-18  Underground      24' Supersonic Wail
 Topaz        CN  15-16  Seacoast         15' Dehydration
Metallic
 Brass        CG  13-14  Dry ranges       30' Cloud: (Sleep, Heat)
 Bronze       LG  15-16  Seacoast         42' Cloud: (Lightning, Repulse)
 Copper       CG  13-14  Mountains(high)  36' Cloud: (Slow), Acid
 Gold         LG  17-18  Everywhere       54' Cloud: (Chlorine gass), Fire
 Silver       LG  15-16  Mountains(peaks) 48' Cloud: (Paralyzation),  Frost
Orental
 Blue-Green   LN  Chiang Lung (River Dragon)  Expel Storm Clouds
 Blue-Grey    N   Yu Lung (Carp Dragon)       Cloud (healing)
 Green        N   Lung Wang (Sea dragon)      Cloud: (hot steem)
 Multicolored NE  Tun Mi Lung (Typhoon Dr.)   None
 Multicolored CN  Shen Lun (Spirit Dragon)    Water Fire
 Multicolored CN  Pan Lung (Coiled Dragon)    Water Fire
 (Dark Fur)   N   Li Lung (Earth dragon)      None
Other
 Abyss        ??  20     Abyss            ??  Water from the River Styx
                                               (destroys target's soul)
 Adamantite   ??  23-25  Astral Plane     ??  Fire-hottest of dragons
 Brown        NE  13-14  Desert           54' Acidic Spray
 Cloud        N   17-18  Any high mntn.   66' Icy Air
 Deep         CE  15-16  Caverns          24' Flesh-eat Gas
 Dracolich    E   Undead(Any Evil Dragon) --  (original breath weapon)
 Faerie       CG  (Multicolored)          ??  Cloud: (euphoria)
 Mercury      CG  13-14  Mountains(warm)  25' Laser Light
 Mist         N   15-16  Forests(water)   54' Superheated Steam
 Shadow       CE  17-18  Ruins(dark)      21' Blackness Cloud
 Steel        LN  19-20  Cities(people)   25' Toxic Cube Gas
 Yellow       CE  11-12  Desert           36' SandBlast Air

 C - Chaotic (minimal social order)           G - Good
 L - Lawful (stuctured social order)          N - Neutral
                                              E - Evil
 You can find out more specific info on D&D in rec.games.frp.

4f. Modern Infestation Dragons

     The Modern Infestation (MI) is a western scientific view of dragons
 suddenly appearing in the modern world. It was written by Pamela Wharton
 Blanpied in the from of a technical journal.

 History:
     Towards the end of the 19th century a series of "fire falls" came from
 the sky and fell throughout Western Canada and other parts of North
America.
 Shortly after the in areas where flaming balls descended, reports came in
of
 missing cattle and other livestock. The disappearance of people, wildlife
 and livestock grew and soon the cause became obvious, dragons. As the raids
 became more common the military was called in to deal with the problem.
 Years of study showed the dragons were hard to track and current weapons
were
 often to slow to damage the creatures. New weapons created specifically to
 track dragons were only still partially effective. In Europe, using the new
 weapons, the military managed to wound a young dragon over Hamburg. The
 retaliation by the dragons that followed was massive, Northern, Central and
 Eastern European areas were attacked, leaving the countryside between
 Groningen and Warsaw in ruins. New methods for dealing with the dragons
were
 needed. Military action was dropped in exchange for more passive methods
such
 as sonic shielding and more indepth study programs on the creatures.

     MI dragons are covered with protective scales and vary in colors.
 They can changes these colors at will for camouflage, assuming the
 texture of their surroundings. Their size ranges 20 to 30 meters in length
 when full grown, with a wingspan of 15 to 24 meters in length. Their front
 and back feet are small but have very sharp claws. Their head and body is
 the same size as their neck and bear a vague resemblance to a wing snake.
 They are able to compress their bodes to 3/4 their length like a earth
worm,
 becoming fatter in the middle. Such a gesture can either be considered a
 challenge or a playful act.
     Their internal structure is unknown. It is hypothesized that they have
 three "stomachs." The first coats the food with digestive acids, the second
 is used to store the food till its needed and the third is a atomic "fire
 chamber" in which the food is broken down into submolecular particle used
in
 the body. The flame of a dragon is caused by the extreme levels of heat
from
 its high metabolic rate that is expelled from its mouth to cool itself.
     They have no respiratory system and need no oxygen. Their "fire
chamber"
 supplies everything their bodies need. Their blood is heated to the
 temperature of hot steam near the fire chamber and distributes nutrients
and
 heat throughout the body.
     For more information see 5d.1 (Books, Refference) Dragons: Guide to the
 Modern Infestation,  By Pamela Warton Blanpied. <72703.1462@CompuServe.COM>