Dragons (or wyrms) are very powerful and magical creatures. There are several types of dragons, the most common of which are chromatic and metallic, which are evil and good respectively. They are an ancient race. Few species that still exist can claim longer lineage. Dragons are the bane of the creator races; their line is so old, they had their own realm during the first recorded exploits of the elves. In recent times, dragons are nearly all recluses or at the very least deceptive to their true nature, living amongst other species in polymorphed form.
The known varieties of true dragons (as opposed to other creatures that have the dragon type) fall into two broad categories: chromatic and metallic. The chromatic dragons are black, blue, green, red, and white; they are all evil and extremely fierce. The metallic dragons are brass, bronze, copper, gold, and silver; they are all good, usually noble, and highly respected by the wise.
All true dragons gain more abilities and greater power as they age. (Other creatures that have the dragon type do not.) They range in length from several feet upon hatching to more than 100 feet after attaining the status of great wyrm. The size of a particular dragon varies according to age and variety.
A dragon’s metabolism operates like a highly efficient furnace and can metabolize even inorganic material. Some dragons have developed a taste for such fare.
Although goals and ideals vary among varieties, all dragons are covetous. They like to hoard wealth, collecting mounds of coins and gathering as many gems, jewels, and magic items as possible. Those with large hoards are loath to leave them for long, venturing out of their lairs only to patrol the immediate area or to get food. For dragons, there is no such thing as enough treasure. It’s pleasing to look at, and they bask in its radiance. Dragons like to make beds of their hoards, shaping nooks and mounds to fit their bodies. By the time a dragon matures to the age of great wyrm, hundreds of gems and coins may be imbedded in its hide.
Dragons are inherently magical beings, and in no case should dragons be considered reptiles, despite obvious similarities such as a scaled epidermis and reproduction by laying eggs. In fact, they are more akin to feline creatures than reptiles, particularly in regards to their posture and movements, as well as being inherently warm-blooded and an eye composition similar to felines, although far more complex. A good example of this is the placement of the legs: dragons also tended to place their rear foot where their front foot were previously, much like most stalking feline predators.
All dragons are omnivorous and could eat almost anything,thanks to their innate elemental nature that allowed them to consume and digest all sorts of food, including substances that wouldn't qualify as food to other living creatures. Most dragons preferred a carnivorous diet, but a few of them had developing unique dietary habits. Metallic dragons, for instance, preferred to eat primarily inorganic fare.Although they are true apex predators, dragons are not above scavenging for food if necessary.
The great "spellwyrm" Helgaldegar believed that each dragon had its own "unique body chemistry" so that their specific, individualized diet would effect their longevity, vigor natural proficiency for casting magic and proclivity for other activities.
Most dragons usually consumed half their own weight in meat every day. Dragons seldom got fat, as their bodies converted all the eaten food into elemental energy, storing it for later use. Much of this stored energy is expended using their breath weapons and when their bodies changed because of them advancing in age. When eating inorganic materials, dragons needed to eat as much as its own body weight per day to maintain healthy bodies.
In some instances, dragons also ate magic items. These instances are rare however. While dragons could "inherit" the magical properties of some magic items for a day or so, and as such this would had some tactical value, few dragons would resort to do such a thing unless they are starving to the point of death.
The number of eggs a dragon laid each brood depended on its race, but is usually low, between one and ten. Evil dragons of adult age often laid and abandoned clutches of eggs, leaving the wyrmlings to work together to raise themselves until they are old enough to go their seperate ways. Good dragons of adult age, and some more intelligent evil dragons, would form families consisting of the mated pair and their offspring. The children generally left the family by the time they reached young adulthood. As dragon couples got older, they became increasingly likely to split apart as the desire for treasure began to outweigh interests in families. Older dragons would continue to mate, but would assign a single parent to the duty of raising the offspring.
Thanks to their shape-shifting, dragons could also cross-breed with virtually any other creature, creating a half-dragon. The most commonly heard of are in the humanoid races, particularly with human and elves. Any combination is possible, however, even with devils or angels. Most of the time when dragons of different types crossbred it resulted in no offspring. Whenever offspring did occur between different types, the offspring's biology would almost always favor one of the parent's "type" over the other and might display characteristic that varied from its norm. In very rare instances of crossbreeding yielding offspring, the resulting child's biology might favor neither parent. This might result in them being born as a new type or with albinism.
Senses
As for their senses, which varied slightly depending on the species, dragons are superior in most ways to other creatures - like any predator, they had exceptionally acute senses, which only increased with age. Dragons had excellent depth perception and comparably good peripheral vision, able to see twice as well as a human in daylight; they had great night vision, and are able to see even when conditions had no light to offer, though not in color. Dragons could also pick up scents very well, utilizing both their sensitive nose and forked tongue, much like a snake. Their hearing is on par with human hearing, although their minds could filter what noise it hears. Dragon taste is also refined, although they did not respond well to sweet flavors, and most dragons didn't discuss why. They are able to eat almost everything, but each race had a preferred diet; some preferred flesh, other to eat precious metals or gems, and so forth. Of all its senses, a dragon's sense of touch is the only one to decrease with age, due mostly to the development of thick, hard scales.
Dragons are capable of blindsense, the sense in which eyes, ears, and other senses are used to detect invisible persons or objects
All dragons speak Draconic.