Dragon Companions?

[Pawtrack]

Oooh! /aggree with celestial88! I want dragon things that don't have wings and are beasts.... there was some links posted to screenshots from a diferent game on the mount forums (I think?) that looked like that, and I think it would be awesome to be able to tame one!

And sprite darters are kinda dragon-like, but not as intelegent-seeming as real dragons, so I think they'd work , and would be really cool, too!

[Redith]

Hmm, maybe a new hero class could be formed. A group of people who having served with the flights for a long time, are partnered with a young drake with the idea of them both getting stronger and learning from one another. Not sure if the game mechanics of that would work though.

Sounds like the class Dragoon from Final Fantasy 11

[Saturo]

http://www.wowwiki.com/Dragonsworn

[Ryai]

Around 1/3rd to 1/4th of the proto drakes are classified as beasts; and tbh while I do see them as dragons I don't see them in the same light. IE they're intelligent but probably nomore so than the average raptor or even less. They are very animalistic and primitive, and outside of the Red protos, show a very cruel and savage personality, and even then, red protos are just as savage.

Why is a line drawn between mount, and pet? Aren't they one in the same for a hunter? I mean I love and cherish my pets even more than my mounts >_>

I agree that DRAGONS being tamed is out of the question, but Proto Drakes always seemed on the well, iffy side. Mean they're dragons but they're more beast than dragon. Why are they untameable when several are classified as beasts? Why are mammoths untameable? And Mounts for the most part?

The world may never know.

[Palladiamorsdeus]

Maybe I am odd, but it actually seems more degrading to ride around on dragons then it would be to have them for companions.....

[Chrizesu]

I can see a long quest after a rep grind for a Drake to be summoned, NOT tamed, and as someone mentioned, with a pre-set name, similar to Warlock Demons. Only reason being, as someone else mentioned lol- is the mounts we have, and not Protos- I mean Netherdrakes in particular, as they speak to you directly as you pick your color in Shatt. The drake would be a summon, like a special spell where a drake of the AI variety would be spawned to assist with an attack for a set amount of time, possibly needing a reagent to call it. Heck, it could even be a 'bond' placed on your character with a drake that worked as a proc, where said drake would swoop in at random times- I like that idea! It wouldn't be slavery, nor would it be making it do your bidding, it would be simply assisting you in it's own way. Not sure how it can be added in smoothly, but that's my take in it. I love Dragons in all shapes and forms, and would fancy having a buddy to assist me by scorching enemies booties, of their own accord.

Bleh, I'm a little out of it since I just woke up a little bit ago from a weird dream/nightmare O_O;;
This would be better explained and all that if I was more coherent. /sigh

You've got the reasoning for dragon mounts pretty well.

[VelkynKarma]

The dragon mounts are already kinda iffy, I think. I mean the Netherwing quest is an excellent example of how it SHOULD be--ie working up a trust and a bond with this flight, and then one agrees to ride with you as a companion. There's a real bond there.

Then, compare with Wyrmrest. When you reach Exhalted you get to buy your own little flying slave to summon whenever you want! I mean, I know you have to get to exalted with them first, but it still seems weird that they would SELL you one of their own drakes for you to ride around on...

So I guess what I'm saying is, the whole 'dragons as superior creatures' thing seems up in the air. In some cases yes, they do seem superior, and I would love a questline related to them. I love Suicune's idea of a random-proc reward item that allows you to randomly summon a dragon to your side to aid you, but isn't a full-time pet. I'd be a bit leery of taming a dragon or even a drake, but at the same time, not even the DRAGONS treat some of their own drakes kindly, so if THEY won't even draw the line...

And then of course there's the opposing-dragonflights. Silinrul has a blue drake that she got from Occulus. The blue drakes and dragons are definitely 100% not on her side. So what'd I do to get a blue dragon mount that goes where I tell it to? Beat the thing into submission? It just doesn't make sense. Dragon lore these days just doesn't make sense.

I would LOVE to tame a sprite darter though, they're so cute! And they do seem less intelligent. More like flying chameleons than dragons really.

~VelkynKarma

[Sonata]

http://www.wowwiki.com/Dragonsworn

Dang she beat me to it.

And then of course there's the opposing-dragonflights. Silinrul has a blue drake that she got from Occulus. The blue drakes and dragons are definitely 100% not on her side. So what'd I do to get a blue dragon mount that goes where I tell it to? Beat the thing into submission? It just doesn't make sense. Dragon lore these days just doesn't make sense.

This actually can be explained because the Nexus war has ended since Malygos is dead by lore. Seeing as Kalecgos is in Wyrmrest as the Ambassador of the Blue Flight and is needed for the Battered Hilt quest. >_> The attack on Wyrmrest is ongoing just because some people do the daily and theres a achievement involved to it.

EDIT:...yes lose is equal to the lore, I love my typos.

[VelkynKarma]

Oh really? Hrm, I'll have to go check it out. I don't remember seeing a Blue Ambassador, but I also haven't been there in like a billion years.

(Okay, a couple months).

~VelkynKarma

[Sarayana]

Yeah, Kalecgos interjects when Krasus offers you the clue to the blade. He's not sure the dragons should trust non-dragons with the blade.

I don't really see any of my mounts as beaten into submission. I see it more as a bond, and even more so when it comes to a faction I had to grind to exalted with. Yeah sure I had to pay for them, but *shrug* you can ignore that RP wise or you can explain it as a sign of good faith to the faction or something.

[Acherontia]

Even if they DID allow dragon pets, I'd suggested they not be tamed but rather you be presented with one.

Regardless, lore-wise they'd refuse to attack their own flights, so it'd be a pain to implement. I'd love it if they DID implement it and the dragon whispered you all the time. Maybe depending on its flight.

"What do you mean, attack them?! They're my brothers and sisters!"
"Wow, look at this place!"
"You're lucky I don't eat you for this..."

[FuzzyDolly]

I like th eidea of dragon companions. Notice I said companions and NOT pets. I think there should be a huge epic quest to get one. Maybe even something that spans 5 or 10 levels. Think of it this way... you do a hunter quest at 80, then a 2nd at 81, then a 3rd at 82... all the way to the last at 85. Maybe make them get progressively harder so by the time you hit the final one, you need to 10 man it. Make it a REAL epic quest line. And the quests shouldn't be all about killing. They should tie in with dragons. Maybe make some about intelligence and figuiring out puzzles. Maybe make one about flying skill, make one about fire or poison or whatever the color dragon you're getting uses as an attack. Oh, and pon that note, they should make you choose ONE dragon family to be your companion and each dragon family should have a specific attack... red+fire, green+poison, blue+ice, etc. Some made more for pvp and some for pve. The more i think about this, the more I want it. lol

[Chrizesu]

Hey, that'd make a great class...

[Arisia]

Hmm, I'm on the fence over this. I mean, please, don't get me wrong, the SECOND we had the ability to tame something that looks like a dragon TO ME (sorry, warpstalkers are just big iguanas to me, and I have one -g-) I'll be there taming one. On the other hand, the RP part of me would be a bit horrified at the idea of forcing a dragon to my will.

But as to it being wrong, lorewise; you have the albino drake that is just GIVEN to you by a mount dealer because you have a whole pile of mounts. Mind you, on my end, I did a whole story about this, and my Arisia and her drake Illya are slowly getting to know and trust one another... but honestly, there is no "long questline to gain the trust and earn the right to ride the drake"; its just dropped in the mail to you, showing that there ARE some dragons who have no place in the dragonflights.

What about making a smaller albino drake-like beast that is tameable? Make it another darn hard to find beast, sharing the same traits as the dragonhawk? We'd get our dragon, and should you be of the RP bent and eager to follow lore you would have an *acceptable* partner "tamed" to fight at your side, but it would not really be of the dragonflights, thus not being enforced slavery.

[Azunara]

Eh, dragons being slaves is all a matter of interpretation. Talastrasz (my red) for Firewing wasn't bought. The pair would fly together when Firewing was slaying blues to defend the temple. They worked as a team, equals. Same with Azu and Kozridormu. She rescued him in CoS, and so Kozri decided to team up with Azunara because A. He liked her and B. Wanted to see how her future ended up.

Also, I'm with Ryai. I vote proto-drakes because they're dragons, but they're not intelligent enough to be really called, "dragons". That, or I liked the idea someone mentioned where you get a whelp and as you level, he levels and becomes a drake.

...Or Frostwyrms. You find a frostwyrm drake lying somewhere, somewhat sane. He tells you to go tell his flight what happened to him and where he is, and they'll reward you with an ability (after they help the frostwyrm...) to summon him as an equal ally.

[Gozu]

I don't know much about the lore I just play really. A little confused & agree with the poster who mentioned the mount issue.

As far as slavery - buying an orc for 1600 gold and strapping a saddle to it's naked back and riding it through town isn't an option in this game but doing it to a dragon is. Having a epic riding gnome (lol) fall from a dungeon kill doesn't happen, but with dragons yes it does. If they want to make dragons in this game as sentient beings then... why did they do this?

I don't think they care that much about staying true to the lore as much as they are trying to keep the game as amusing as possible. To keep the money coming in. If they saw that enough people were crying for dragons it's possible they'll just give in.

[Sarayana]

As far as slavery - buying an orc for 1600 gold and strapping a saddle to it's naked back and riding it through town isn't an option in this game but doing it to a dragon is. Having a epic riding gnome (lol) fall from a dungeon kill doesn't happen, but with dragons yes it does. If they want to make dragons in this game as sentient beings then... why did they do this?

I don't think they care that much about staying true to the lore as much as they are trying to keep the game as amusing as possible. To keep the money coming in. If they saw that enough people were crying for dragons it's possible they'll just give in.

You know, every book I've read that features dragons as mounts also shows them as incredibly intelligent sentient beings. Being someone's mount doesn't imply slavery in the case of dragons - most often my feeling is that carrying a person is a matter of teamwork or cooperation in the pursuit of a higher goal. In fact, I'd say that most fantasy fiction doesn't describe ANY mounts as slaves (except perhaps in the eyes of the antagonists), and their relationship with their rider is usually deeper than that of a beast of burden.

The reason I like the idea of a dragon class like the white lion class is because it'd build on that same view of dragons. That's the same reason I can't see hunters taming them.