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In the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game, dragons are an iconic type of monstrous creature used as adversaries or, less commonly, allies of player characters. As a group, ''D&D'' dragons are loosely based upon dragons from a wide range of fictional and mythological sources. In ''D&D'', dragons are depicted as any of various species of large, intelligent, magical, reptilian beasts, each typically defined by a combination of their demeanor and either the color of their scales or their elemental affinity.〔Collins, Andy, Skip Williams, and James Wyatt. ''Draconomicon'' (Wizards of the Coast, 2003).〕 For example, a commonly presented species of dragon is the red dragon, which is named for its red scales, and known for its evil and greedy nature, as well as its ability to breathe fire.〔Monster Manual〕 == Dragon classification == In the ''D&D'' universe, there are many different species of dragons. However, despite their variety, a number of traits are common to nearly all types of dragons. All species appear to be generally reptilian or serpentine in their natural form. Except for the youngest dragons, they tend to be quite large—usually at least as big as a horse, and often much larger. Most species depicted have wings and are able to fly, and nearly all are quadrupedal. Almost all species of dragon are highly intelligent (at least as intelligent as a human being) and are able to speak. Essentially all species of dragon are said to be magical in nature, and in most species this nature is expressed as an affinity for some type of elemental power; some dragon species are naturally able to cast magical spells, as well. Most dragons have the ability to breathe or expel one or more types of energy associated with their elemental affinity, as well as bearing some resistance to damage or injury from any other sources of such energy. Dragons are egg-layers, and most have sharp teeth, horns, and claws. A ''D&D'' dragon is protected by its scaly hide, the color of which is determined by the dragon's species, and which also offers a visual clue to the specific elemental nature of each species of dragon. Each species of dragon has a particular temperament associated with it, as well as a deeply rooted moral outlook derived from that temperament; these factors underlie the personality and behavior of each individual dragon. Typically, dragons do not vary widely in appearance or personality within a species, although exceptions are possible, especially in certain ''D&D'' settings, such as Eberron. Because ''D&D'' dragons are essentially monstrous creatures designed to antagonize player characters, the majority of dragons in ''D&D'' are evil by default. Some dragons (particularly metallic dragons) have two different kinds of breath, usually a lethal one (fire, ice, acid, electricity, etc.) and another that is typically non-lethal (paralysis, repulsion, confusion, etc.). In the second edition of ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' (''AD&D''), dragons were completely reworked from their first edition counterparts, and were much more powerful. For example, they had magic resistance, could no longer be subdued, and had physical attack forms besides just claws and bites. ''AD&D'' 2nd edition and ''D&D'' 3rd edition divided true dragons further into three main categories: ''chromatic dragons'', such as green and black dragons, which are evil-aligned; ''metallic dragons'', such as gold and silver dragons, which are good; and neutral-aligned ''gem dragons'', rare creatures that possess psionic abilities. In addition, there were other sub-species of true dragons that did not fit into the three main categories. For example, mercury and steel dragons would seem to be metallic dragons, but in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' world they are considered to be outside of the main family of metallic dragons because of various biological differences (though the book ''Dragons of Faerûn'' did list them as metallic dragons). The "lung dragons" or spirit-dragons of ''Oriental Adventures'' are also true dragons. The third edition of ''D&D'' classifies dragon as a type of creature, simply defined as "a reptilelike creature, usually winged, with magical or unusual abilities".〔Andy Collins, Skip Williams, and James Wyatt. ''Monster Manual'' (Wizards of the Coast, 2000).〕 The dragon type is broken down into several classifications. True dragons are dragons which increase in power by age categories (wyrmling to great wyrm). Lesser dragons do not improve in age categories and may lack all of the abilities of true dragons. Examples of lesser dragons include dragon turtles and wyverns. Other creatures with the dragon type include drakes, felldrakes, elemental drakes, landwyrms, linnorms and wurms. (An unrelated creature called a dragonne is named for its coincidental resemblance to a brass dragon.) However, with ''D&D'' 4th edition, the classifications were changed: chromatic dragons became not strictly evil, and metallic dragons became not necessarily good. Also, there are several new categories (although the gem dragons have not yet returned): "planar dragons" which are defined as dragons that were warped by living on a plane of existence other than the Material Plane, "catastrophe dragons", which take on the aspects of natural disasters which are chaotic evil and cause chaos for its own sake, and "scourge dragons". Chromatic dragons are presented in the ''Monster Manual'' and ''Draconomicon: Chromatic Dragons''. Metallic dragons are presented in the ''Monster Manual 2'' and ''Draconomicon: Metallic Dragons''. Catastrophe dragons are presented in ''Monster Manual 3''. Planar dragons have been presented in both ''Draconomicon: Chromatic Dragons'' and ''Draconomicon: Metallic Dragons''. Detailed information about ''D&D'' dragonkind in second, third, or fourth editions may be found in their respective editions of the ''Draconomicon'', a ''D&D'' supplement book designed especially for draconic information. No such book was published for the first edition, although the Basic game had a ''Bestiary of Dragons and Giants'' (coded AC10).〔(AC series at the Acaeum )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Dragon (Dungeons & Dragons)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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