Species Profile: Dragonborn

The Dragonborn are a humanoid draconic race. Dragonborn, centuries ago, were also at one point aristocratic humans and noble families who lived under dragondoms and pledged fealty to their dragon lords. Since draconic blood was a sign of aristocracy and was required to rise in the ranks of nobility in a dragonborn, noble families went through a draconification ritual in which their human bodies were physically transformed, being turned into those of powerful draconic humanoids. Dragonborn bear traits of their patron dragon who draconified them. With their full draconic blood, dragonborn serve as the upper aristocracy of a dragondom, and their position is that of knights, dukes, marquesses, earls, viscounts, and barons.

Unlike their halfblood counterparts, dragonborn have full draconic blood, and their appearance is revealing of it. Dragonborn have a powerful and imposing humanoid digitigrade build, with males around 7 feet in height, while females can be around 6 feet. Dragonborn can look forward to a long lifespan of up to 150 to 200 years. Their bodies are fully covered with hard, smooth scales, with these scales being stronger and resistant to cuts and scratches. Their heads are draconic, having a snout with sharp serrated teeth, draconic slit eyes, and with 2 horns on the top of their heads. Dragonborn also have sharp talons on their hands and feet.

On their backs, dragonborn possess large wings that allow them to fly in short bursts or glide, but not for long periods like true dragons. They also have powerful and muscular tails that help keep their balance. Dragonborns can breathe fire, possessing a miniature version of a dragon’s biological mechanism of fire breathing, far more powerful and with a longer range than a halfblood’s but not as much as a true dragon's. Dragonborn are carnivores, with the bulk of their diet consisting of meat, and are also lactose intolerant, like all draconic races. Dragonborn have a very powerful and rich sense of smell and sight, nearly on par with that of true dragons. Their slit eyes and draconic-influenced snout and tongue enhance their sight, scent, and taste.

Dragonborn have sexual dimorphism between males and females. Males tend to be a foot or so taller than females, while males are generally broad-shouldered, muscular, and bulkier. Females have wide hips and thighs for egg-laying and are sleeker with an hourglass-shaped figure. On their heads, males have longer and broader snouts, while females are more narrow and shorter snouts. Males also have 2 large horns on their heads and multiple smaller horns on the sides of their heads, while females only have 2 horns on their heads. Both males and females also lack physical traits of aging thanks to their draconic blood.

Like their true dragon counterparts, dragonborn have internal sexual genitalia, and they lay a large egg rather than giving birth. Once impregnated, a female can expect to deliver one egg, although 2 eggs or more at once are also possible. Females have a gravid phase lasting for 5 months, and once they lay their egg, an incubation phase lasts for another 5 months until the egg hatches. Once hatched, dragonborn hatchlings possess innate motor skills and are able to consume softened hard food like meat. Dragonborn reach maturity in their early to mid-20s, taking longer to mature fully due to their long lifespans.

Dragonborn take pride in their ancestry and view other draconic races as fellow kin, although with an aristocratic sense of superiority. Dragonborn revere their true dragon lords, be they great or lesser dragons, and devoutly serve their lords through knighthood, governing, and collecting tithes in the land. Dragonborn respect halfbloods as a draconic race, since halfbloods can potentially be draconified into dragonborn if ascending the ranks of nobility, although these are infrequent. Although dragonborn still possess a sense of superiority in their full draconic blood compared to the halfblood’s more “soft” human features. Dragonborn hold a noblesse oblige view towards kobolds who serve in their households, respecting them as a loyal, hard-working race and giving their servants ample food, housing, and care. Among nonkin (non-draconic races), dragonborn are either revered or feared.

Being of the upper aristocracy, dragonborn own large landed estates and pledge fealty to the dragon lords they serve under. Dragonborn estates are similar to large dragon castles and are staffed by Kobold servants. Dragonborn families are monogamous, and their family structures similar to an extended human family, with an entire extended family living under one household. Kobold servants are usually included as honorary family members. A holdover of their human personality, dragonborn tend to be more individualistic than more collectivistic races like Kobolds. As a result of this, dragonborn are more adventurous than their fellow kin, taking the lead in risky overseas colonial expeditions, seeking to become great conquerors and explorers, and gain the honor of their dragon monarchs.