Given that they're right there in the name of the game, dragons are obviously fairly key to D&D. In the 1st edition, they receive more detailed options than other monsters, having eight age categories and three size classes, and a suite of special abilities right from the beginning. Furthermore, there are no less than ten different kinds of true dragon, divided evenly between the good 'metallic' and the evil 'chromatic' species.
As with many other cases where multiple variants of the same idea exist, in 1E, the various kinds of dragon form a clear hierarchy within the two main categories. It's not an absolutely regular stepwise progression, but it's pretty close; in most cases, each dragon species has one extra hit die, one extra point of armour, one extra point of intelligence, and does one extra dice of damage with its bite than the one below it on the ladder - and also spends less time asleep and is more likely to know magic and be better able to use it if it does. The second-lowest rung on the chromatic ladder is occupied by the black dragon.
1E
In its original appearance in 1E, the black dragon has a relatively smooth, lizard-like head, bearing a pair of straight horns that project outwards and forwards from its forehead. It has a sinuous neck that clearly has more than the seven vertebrae possessed by most living mammals, and a long tail that ends in a diamond-shaped tip. The teeth are pointed, but, unlike reptiles, it has greatly enlarged canines. There is a dorsal frill running to at least a third of the way down the neck, and the tongue is forked, again in a snake-like fashion. The body is covered in large bony or keratinous scutes that are thick enough to provide the same protection as metal plate.
An oddity is that, unlike all other chromatic dragons, this version of the black species has only four limbs. The wings are instead apparently formed of a membrane spread between six struts projecting from the upper mid-back - where they are presumably hinged to allow some degree of motion. These are scrapped in 2E, where the creature gains more typically bat-like wings. Unlike those of true bats, however, all five digits help to support the wing membrane. There appears to be a claw on the wrist, which might suggest a sixth digit but is perhaps more likely to be a projection of one of the carpal bones, like a panda's false 'thumb', although why it would be present is unclear.
As it originally appears in 1E, the black dragon is, while certainly dangerous, not spectacularly so. A sexually mature adult, at 30 feet (9 metres) in length, has the same number of hit points as a wyvern, and therefore less than a hippopotamus. If it weren't for its breath weapon, it would almost certainly lose a fight with a T. rex, which has far more hit dice and a considerably more dangerous bite.
They also spend 12 hours of every day asleep. Which sounds a lot but, you know... cats.
While 2E usually retains almost identical monster stats to the previous edition, dragons are an exception. It's here that they really begin to become powerful, and the black dragon here has superior armour, claws, and physical resistance to the 1E version. They may be larger - the length is given as the same value, but specifically excludes the tail, which it's unclear whether or not it's supposed to in 1E. Increasing age also makes much more of a difference, putting the older dragons in a completely different league from their 1E counterparts.
Black dragons are marginally less intelligent than the average human. They are said to be 'chaotic evil', although the 1E text implies that 'neutral evil' might be a better fit. Initially, only a minority use spells, and only weak ones at that. Again, this improves in 2E, not to mention that it's in that edition that the older ones first gain additional magic powers, which will eventually become the Lair Actions of 5E.
3E
In 3E, the 30-foot length now specifically includes the tail, shrinking the dragon down to the (presumed) 1E value again. Aside from this, dragons change in physical appearance between editions rather less than many other monsters do. This is likely because, with so many different kinds, they have to be kept individually identifiable as the same sort of thing, whereas you have more freedom to tweak the looks of something that's inherently distinctive in the first place.
Having said which, the black dragon changes more than some others. The smooth lizard-like head is gone, replaced by a gaunt look with sunken eye sockets and relatively little flesh on the skull. The horns are heavier, curved, and ridged, not the simple smooth spikes of earlier editions. Compared with these changes, the others are relatively minor. The feet still have four toes each, but the bird-like arrangement of 2E has been replaced with a more reptilian look, and the toes are also webbed - black dragons are, after all, semi-aquatic and, from this edition onwards, can breathe underwater.
The diamond-shaped tail leaf has been replaced with a barbed hook and the thumb now supports a much smaller proportion of the wing membrane, probably functioning like the alula of birds. The false thumb, if that's what it was, has now gone. The teeth are similar in size, and the sort of long, thin shape that would be quite good for capturing slippery fish. There are a few thorny barbs on the skull and limbs, which may be partially protective, and the creature's underbelly has a yellowish tinge.
In almost every respect, the black dragon has become more powerful than the 2E version. The hit points more than double again, the hide is even more impenetrable, the dragon is now slightly more intelligent than the average human instead of less, and so on. Without the breath weapon and the magic, a regular adult black dragon might be fairly evenly matched with a T. rex, and with it, it would surely win. The more detailed stats do reveal, however, that dragons are not especially agile although they are, of course, incredibly strong.
5E
In terms of its appearance, the black dragon has not changed in this edition, with the illustration clearly showing the same sort of animal that was shown in 3E. Hit points increase again, as they typically do in 5E, although not by very much in this case. The armour is no longer so impenetrable as in 3E, but it remains better than it was in 1E. The bite, which was surprisingly weak in 3E, is stronger here, and the breath weapon is about twice as deadly. Added to which, black dragons now have acidic saliva; this was hinted at before but had no game mechanical effect.
Much of this has to do with changes in the design philosophy of the game and may not reflect much of a change in conception as to what the dragon is actually like. Perhaps more significant are the stats, which show that black dragons are now quite a bit more agile than other chromatic dragons, most of which remain comparatively lumbering. Intelligence has increased again, with them now well above human average, although dragons no longer have access to regular sorcery spells.
Compared with other dragons, blacks are described as short-tempered and deliberately cruel, epitomising the 'chaotic evil' signifier, rather than the more neutral evil tendencies of 1E - which may just have implied that they were greedy and heartless.
Black dragons, therefore, become significantly more powerful over the course of the first three editions in a way that isn't simply accounted for by changes in the rules (although that's also part of it in the case of 3E). While at least fairly dangerous creatures in 1E, they don't become truly fearsome until 2E, when there's a real sense that they are amongst the most potent of creatures that adventurers might face that don't hail from outside the material plane.Dragons clearly grow throughout life, although this does slow significantly once they pass sexual maturity. Among vertebrates, this is something seen primarily in fish, but it may be true to at least some extent in reptiles such as crocodiles and constrictor snakes - and a dragon has the advantage of living much longer than they do. Plus, the mere fact that it flies indicates a certain disdain for the laws of physics that might otherwise hamper an excessively big creature.
Besides which, arguably, they aren't supernaturally large anyway. According to the 3E Draconomicon, an ancient black dragon in the very largest size category has a total length of about 85 feet (26 metres), which isn't that much longer than a Diplodocus at around 80 feet. Perhaps rather less of that is neck and tail but, again, not necessarily by much given the shape of a dragon.
Although, admittedly, Diplodocus couldn't fly.
The natural habitat of black dragons is stated to be marsh or swamp, something that has both good and bad points. On the plus side, wetlands are particularly fertile, with plenty of available biomass to eat, something that's good for a large carnivore. And most wetlands don't have heavy tree cover, which helps if you want to fly.
On the downside, wetlands tend to be relatively small in area, and they're typically far less extensive than, say, forests. Sure, there are exceptions, such as the Everglades or the Pripyat Marshes, and it's true that such places were more extensive in medieval times than they have been since the advance of modern agriculture. But, still, they aren't that common.
According to the 5E Monster Manual, a black dragon requires an area of at least 115 square miles (300 km²) of marshland in which to situate its lair. (Which is to say, that's the area the regional effect covers, which is implied to be entirely "marsh", or at least some kind of wetland). By this standard, England could support just three or four adult black dragons, assuming that every single marsh of sufficient size is inhabited by one - which seems unlikely. And, for what's it worth, they're all along the coast.
What this means is that black dragons are likely to aggressively compete for lairs once they reach adulthood; they can't just move into a new area and expect that it's vacant. They will also have to travel a long way to meet others of their kind, for example for mating. Given their lifespan, of course, this probably isn't something they do very often, but they clearly have to do it at some point. Younger black dragons, however, likely have plenty of choices until they outgrow them, since small patches of wetland aren't that uncommon.
The most significant thing about the black dragon, of course, as with any D&D dragon, is its "breath weapon". Here, they have the advantage of having an attack that perhaps comes the closest to actually being viable of any of the standard dragons. This is because animals really do produce acid in their stomachs, and some of them can essentially vomit it forth at will.
The acid in question is hydrochloric acid, which, in vertebrates, is produced by specialised cells in the stomach lining that can strip the chloride ions from salt and bind it to hydrogen. Nor do they have to be in the stomach; a black dragon could have cells performing the same function in its salivary glands, as implied in the Draconomicon, although they'd probably have to have some sort of sac to hold the stuff before they expel it, given the volume.
Having said all this, what a black dragon does is something that goes rather beyond what could really be achieved by projectile vomiting at your opponents. For one thing, an adult is capable of spraying the stuff in a concentrated line for up to 60 feet (18 metres), which must take some impressive musculature. But, more significantly, there's how strong an acid it seemingly is.
The acid inside a human stomach has a pH of around 1. Which is pretty strong, and will, indeed, slowly burn a hole in the side of the said stomach if it isn't properly protected by mucus - that's what an ulcer is. But a black dragon, which is eating stuff larger and more resilient than a housefly does is surely producing something with at least the strength of, say, battery acid. That's around pH 0, which, because of the way the pH scale works, means it's ten times stronger than stomach acid. And it might even be stronger, because truly concentrated hydrochloric acid can get as low as pH -2, although by this point it's giving off some pretty potent fumes.
If the dragon weren't magically resistant to acid (which it isn't until 3E, by the way) it would do itself a severe injury just producing the stuff. Organic matter just doesn't get on well with acids of that strength. Which, of course, is rather the point, but in the real world, would cut both ways.
No comments:
Post a Comment