Canon:Dragons on Krynn

Dragons are the original beings of Krynn, born from the world and the elements. The dragons of Krynn are distinguished from other dragons because they take active roles in the fate of the lesser races.

The dragons of Dragonlance appear much as their counterparts in other Dungeons & Dragons worlds.

Chromatic Dragons
The chromatic dragons are red, white, green, black, and blue varieties of dragons. They are evil and work under the direction of Takhisis before her departure from the world. They generally work in order to bring about Takhisis's reentry into the world, prior to her death.

Black dragons are malevolent, tricky, and self-serving. They take interest only in themselves. They serve Takhisis out of fear, and disdain the lesser races of the world. They prefer to live in swamps and marshes. They are capable of changing lands into swamp to suit them. They are suspicious of everything and everyone. They are skilled at using magic, using it for deception in battle. They rarely fight honorably, instead using their cunning to win and retreating if they cannot. Their breath weapon is acid.

Blue dragons are charismatic and can work with mankind well. They are commonly chosen as mounts for dragon riders. They serve Takhisis out of loyalty and respect. They are fearless and honorable, loyal to their riders and mates. They use combat oriented magic. They prefer the desert and some like islands. They were the mounts of the Knights of Takhisis in the Chaos War. Their breath weapon is lightning. Green dragons are known for their tempers and their cruelty. They consider themselves the highest beings in the world. They rarely engage in combat, preferring to use magic to trap foes and then torture them. They prefer live victims they can torture ruthlessly. Green dragons live in forests, and often fight with elves, whom they have a special hatred for. They will retreat from battle if necessary because they believe themselves too important to risk dying. Their breath weapon is a deadly chlorine gas.

Red dragons are the largest and most feared of their kind. They revere Takhisis, and serve her out of that reverence. Takhisis favors their kind and often grants them special favor. They are intelligent and have an understanding of battle tactics. They have intense power and great cruelty as well. They love to collect hordes of treasure to represent their power. A red dragon retreats strategically and orderly. They live in mountainous lands, stashing their hordes in caverns and caves. Their breath weapon is traditional dragonflame.

White dragons are rare and reclusive, often considered stupid by other dragons. They rarely interfere with other beings. They live in caves in extremely cold regions and hate warmth and sunshine, and in fact being away from the cold can kill them. They prefer not to spend their energy and prefer ambushes in combat. They retreat readily and sulk after losses. They are not good at magic, but are fascinated by it, and may serve wizards. Their breath weapon is ice.

Metallic Dragons
According to the Dragonlance Campaign Setting, the metallic dragons serve Paladine until his departure, and the Gods of Good in general. Brass and Bronze dragons often consort with the neutral gods. They are ordered to stay out of the world when Takhisis is forced out, to preserve balance. Prior to the War of the Lance, Takhisis steals their eggs as ransom to prevent them from entering into the world and interfering. Takhisis uses the eggs to create dragon men called draconians. Because of this offense, the metallic dragons enter the world again and take part in the later stages of the war.

Brass dragons are outgoing, but enjoy hearing themselves speak. They would gladly spend the day gossiping. They live in dry and sunny regions and talk to anyone they see. They go so far as to stop opponents in battle to talk to them. They are opponents of blue dragons.

Bronze dragons often participate in the affairs of mortals. They love animals and protect living beings. They dislike hunters, trappers, and poachers because of the nature of their work. They live near lakes or oceans, where they can eat fish and water plants. They enjoy battle and study warfare and tactics. They are valiant in battle and retreat rarely.

Copper dragons enjoy practical jokes and the like, as well as collecting treasure. They live in places such as mountains where they can store their hordes. This often brings them to conflict with red dragons, which they have learned to fight with. They often jest with travelers they encounter. They are skilled at taunting foes to enrage them. They will often aid those who need it for a reasonable cost.

Gold dragons are wise and knowledgeable and are considered beautiful and regal. They live in any condition in stone domains. Gold dragons dislike killing, and will only do so when provoked. Gold dragons aid in any just cause.

Silver dragons are friendly with humans and commonly interact with them, even taking their shapes for long periods of time. They work well with riders and readily fight against evil. They are skilled fighters but are not particularly aggressive. They make their homes in mountains. They are respected by the Solamnic Knights for their work with the ancient hero Huma Dragonbane.

Other Dragons
Several less known species of dragon also populate the world of Krynn:

Amphi dragons resemble a cross between a dragon and a frog and live in warm water-rich swamps and marshes.

Aquatic dragons are colourful serpents that live in Krynn's oceans. They are the only race of good dragons outside the metallic clans.

Sea dragons live in the deep regions of the ocean, most of them only emerging to wreak havoc among hapless ships. They have varied golden, green and black scales and a massive turtle-like shell.

Some shadow dragons also make their lair on Krynn.

Two kinds of dragons where created by Chaos as some of his most powerfull children to carry out his destrucitive will: Fire dragons look like they were made of lava with black obsidian-like scales with a fiery glow between them and prefer to live in volcanic areas. Frost dragons were created from gray dragons - themselves a changed variant of white dragon. The see to be made of solid ice and live in areas of permanent frost.

The Othlorx - draconic for "The Uninvolved" - are chromatic and metallic dragons from the continent of Taladas that refused to take part in the War of the Lance. They are physically identical to their brethren in Ansalon, but the curse of Takhisis (in the case of chromatic othlorx) and the social stigma and feeling of guilt (for metallic ones) has deeply changed them mentally. Red othlorx, for instance, are still as immensly powerful as any dragon, but also very cowardly. There are no gold othlorx.

Draconians
Draconians, also called dragonmen, are humanoid beings with dragonlike features created during the War of the Lance. They are originally made from the eggs of good dragons corrupted with dark magic. During that era Draconians served as assault troops and special forces in the Dragonarmies of Takhisis. After the war they scattered to various regions of Ansalon. During the Chaos War a small group of the draconians find eggs containing female draconians. After the females hatched those draconians form the nation of Teyr, establishing the draconian race. Draconians are split into five principle races; Baaz, Kapak, Sivak, Aurak, and Bozak. There are also noble draconians, which are formed from the eggs of evil dragons, and have a good alignment. There are flame, vapor, lightning, venom, and frost variants.

Baaz
The Baaz variant of draconians are the most numerous of all the draconian races. They are weak in mind, with a tendency for disreputable activities like drinking. Males are engrossed with their own pleasure and whims, whereas females are better tempered and self controlling. They have brass skin which fades to a greenish color as they age. They originally have an extreme hatred of all races, but in more recent times, this has been diminished to mostly hatred of elves. Baaz turn to stone upon death.

Kapak
Kapak draconians are stealthy and cunning. They are cruel and succeed in missions of assassination and spying and are born with a copper color that begins to fade over time. They are suited to and like best the ordered military life. The males can be skilled assassins, while the females can use the innate healing abilities of the race in helping others. They are larger than the Baaz variant, and the males have venom glands. The females have healing saliva. Kapaks are comfortable with members of their own race but rarely others. When kapaks die, they turn into acid.

Aurak
Auraks are rare and mighty draconians who prefer to use magic and their innate abilities over physical fighting. They are tall and slim, and are gold colored, their scales dimming with time. They prefer to be clad in robes. Auraks do not have wings. They are often among their fellow draconians, where they are respected for their power. When an Aurak dies, it turns into a large powerful burst of magical energy.

Bozak
Bozak draconians are bronze in color. They make use of magic in battle. They are cunning and determined in their ways, with arcane magical ability. They are inherently skilled at leading other draconians. When a Bozak dies, their bones explode.

Sivak
Sivaks are silver-colored draconians. The males have a shapeshifting ability, and the females a chameleon-like ability to blend in to their surroundings. They are the largest of draconians, reaching up to 9 feet tall, and are noted for large wings capable of flight, the only draconians who can do so. They are generally the strongest and most respected of all draconian races, and despite being partial to alcohol, it does not hamper their fighting prowess. They are known to eat nearly anything. When a male Sivak dies, it takes the form of its killer; when a female dies, it erupts in flame.