[ANOTHER FLAME WAR] Are dragons overpowered or not?

I have enough ammunition and provisions for a war on two fronts.

So, is this war? Well done, keep turning our cozy pub into a battlefield.

That's right. I don't like the fact that some freeloaders take other people's ideas and rework them as they see fit, then churn out hundreds of cliché yellow books, games, and even movies in which the heroine invariably wears mithril thongs plus ten. Add elves, a dragon, and an evil sorcerer to the mix – you get the most banal nonsense imaginable, from which someone will still make a certain profit. And there are no doubts about whether he will make it; just look at the bookstore shelf and survey the multitude of books on Warhammer, Stalker, StarCraft, Warcraft, and even Diablo.
Therefore, now there are many minor or significant variations of the original. Someone buys copyrights to something, right? And not everyone will dislike it. That’s why things like “dark elves” appear, depending on the idea, professing matriarchal sadomasochism (of course, with a strip of leather as clothing) or being noble outcast protectors, equally noble orcs who wield magic and save the world and their tribe from cataclysms, and, of course, intelligent dragons-mages, in the terminal stage becoming deities, as can be seen in the latest version of "Heroes."
Of course, dragons were invented by the people, and not by anyone specific, but who, in that case, was not invented by the people? Hobbits?

So, do you think that everywhere and in everything one should follow canons, without showing any imagination and constantly checking against the source material? If all of humanity thought like you, we would now be sitting around a campfire eating another mammoth. New ideas and perspectives, good or bad, drive and develop us. Doing the same thing over and over is boring. And a sexy elf in mithril thongs +10 at least provides some amusement in the worst case scenario. Besides, as everyone knows, you can find a few pearls in a pile of manure. If this problem worries you so much, read about the theory of evolution and apply it to modern fantasy. Bad ideas will eventually die out and be forgotten. And good ones will enrich world culture.

Of course, I choose facts that support my point of view, which is quite logical; however, I don't reject others, but refute them; nevertheless, remembering other examples that I have commented on before.

And here, by the way, dragons in the East are quite peaceful, wise, and positive creatures. This too is tradition, canon, rule. And also about dragons.

Do you see Eastern dragons in works of fantasy? I don’t. So there’s no need to bring this up.If this is a reasonable and objective refutation, then I am a crocodile. Since we're talking about mythology, let's consider the mythology of different peoples.

This would mean nothing if it weren't for the fact that this thought has to be brought up again and again, each time discussing it anew, treading water. It already takes up two paragraphs now.

Who is treading water? We provide examples that do not fit into your point of view. You dismiss them with indignation in the style of "this cannot be, because it cannot be, I don't want it anyway, and besides, there is no place for it in my theory." And this has been happening for half of the topic already. Have we denied the fact that there are dragons described by you? Point it out.

But I would not like to end up on the ban list due to the momentary whim of those who disagree with me in a heated discussion. This wouldn't make a person look good.

The key word is "heated discussion". Who started it – me or you? Or do you think I’m so bad that I could ban someone just like that? Well, judging a person without knowing him isn't a sign of good manners or objectivity. Before attacking me, you should have read at least some of my posts to get an overall picture. As for me, I almost always try to learn more about a person first.

If I don't know the person I am communicating with face-to-face, but online, then I avoid familiarity.

I was also somewhat shocked when completely unfamiliar people (oh god, one of them turned out to be even a moderator!) casually addressed me like this and joined a lively conversation. This quickly helped me settle into what is now my favorite forum.

However, if you are uncomfortable...

Of course, it's awkward. We sit around chatting quietly, having duels on flamethrowers and banhammers, relaxing as much as we can; then you appear and start talking in the most serious way possible. And when there is an attempt to involve you in our entertaining style of chat, you immediately adopt an even more serious, sometimes aggressive attitude, discouraging any desire to continue the conversation.

And that doesn’t inspire confidence.

Nevertheless, this style allows us to discuss serious things without heated arguments.

There are people for whom "the more, the better." Whether it's the number of races, weapons, worldviews, no matter how inconsistent or stupid they may be. You even have a corresponding section on the forum, don't you? These people will really appreciate a lot. But with such an approach, they would call everything green-colored just orcs. If someone considers this an elegant and original solution, it won't be me.

I am not arguing, such people exist. Creating something based on this principle is not very good. But nothing prevents creative flight. See above – bad ideas will die out over time, truly beautiful solutions will remain. We just need to be patient, perhaps for several hundred years. Evolution does not rush. And what is wrong with a section for fantasizing people who want to create something new?

Ah, these dwarves. An old and tired problem of translation, in which drunken "dwarves" were easily translated as "gnomes," while small and skinny "gnomes" always lead to perversions?
Then that’s clear. A simple mismatch.

And those, and those, and even those, besides there are others. It was translated like that, so it became established. The Russians, for example, call the country Germany, and not Deutschland, and the people living there are called Germans. Next time, specify which gnomes you mean.

By the way, here are a couple more examples of good dragons.


Akatosh is the dragon god of time, king of gods from the TES universe.

If you don't like the idea of ​​god-dragons, I can provide this cutest creature. If desired, I will throw in several screenshots showing his behavior on the battlefield at times when he is not attacking or sleeping. Then the little dragon eats apples, plays with a snail and "roots" for Amelie's troops.