This article is dumb. It claims that diversity among dragonkind is reductionist? No, what’s reductionist is claiming all dragons should be Smaug.
What are the essential parts of a dragon? There are literally none. The terrasque of myth had a lion’s head, turtle’s shell, scorpion’s tail and no wings, but it was still called a dragon. Eastern dragons are commonly wise sages and protectors. Artwork of Saint George has the dragon barely bigger than his horse.
Saying “all dragons have to be this specific thing” is terrible worldbuilding advice.
It claims that diversity among dragonkind is reductionist?
Yeah, I got a couple paragraphs in and couldn’t take any more. It was incoherent noise from someone whose personal dragon fantasy comes from being scared of them as a toddler.
If I make a story about how a stegosaurus did amazing feats to the point they became blessed gaining feathered wings and flight, becoming the first dragon, then that’s still a dragon.
This article is dumb. It claims that diversity among dragonkind is reductionist? No, what’s reductionist is claiming all dragons should be Smaug.
What are the essential parts of a dragon? There are literally none. The terrasque of myth had a lion’s head, turtle’s shell, scorpion’s tail and no wings, but it was still called a dragon. Eastern dragons are commonly wise sages and protectors. Artwork of Saint George has the dragon barely bigger than his horse.
Saying “all dragons have to be this specific thing” is terrible worldbuilding advice.
Yeah, I got a couple paragraphs in and couldn’t take any more. It was incoherent noise from someone whose personal dragon fantasy comes from being scared of them as a toddler.
If I make a story about how a stegosaurus did amazing feats to the point they became blessed gaining feathered wings and flight, becoming the first dragon, then that’s still a dragon.