Black or Purple?

[JonahFalcon]

I think this is a Purple Dragon, not Black.


Long, lean bodied dragons with deep purple to midnight black scales. These fancy themselves to be the lords of all dragonkind, believing themselves arisen from the long dead sister of Tiamat. They are among the most intelligent of dragons, able to gather and control vast numbers of minions. Their energy-related attacks make them powerful fighters.

These dragons love exploring more than any other type of dragon. especially if this exploring takes them deeper into the earth.

[Lira]

Qarr says it's a black dragon (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0627.html), and it looks black, so I say it's black.

[Mando Knight]

I believe it's a black dragon, as well. If it were a Purple, wouldn't it be severely weakened by the sunlight (least in 4e, they are...)? On top of that, her lair is a Black Dragon's lair: in/near a swamp, with a watery passageway guarding the treasure. Purples are more Underdark-type dragons (at least in 4e...), not swamp-dwellers.

[JonahFalcon]

Qarr says it's a black dragon (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0627.html), and it looks black, so I say it's black.

Qarr could be wrong. Plus, its wings are purple.

Old black dragons are also not black. They're grey.

[Lira]

While looking through old topics to see if there was anything I wanted to save before the thread purge, I came across a post by The Giant, and he stated that the young dragon was a black dragon. Logically, this means the mother dragon is a black dragon too, right?
The search button doesn't seem to want to work for me at the moment, so I can't provide the link. You'll either have to take my word for it or go looking yourself.

EDIT: Ah yes, I forgot about the avatar. There's an avatar of a black dragon in the forum avatars set. Look at it.

[Black Cat Godess]

The color does seem more black than purple. Unless you're referring to the wings, in which case I believe they are purple either for contrast, or to show that they are a bit translucent. Or it's simply artistic license, which has been known to happen on occasion.

[Mando Knight]

Old black dragons are also not black. They're grey.

Actually, I believe that they're more of a midnight-purple, IIRC...

On top of that, its breath attack was clearly acidic.

[ChaosDefender24]

^Yep.

Purple dragons have a purple energy sword for a breath weapon

[Prak]

The color does seem more black than purple. Unless you're referring to the wings, in which case I believe they are purple either for contrast, or to show that they are a bit translucent. Or it's simply Giant license, which has been known to happen a $#%! ton.

fixed that for ya...

It's most likely a black dragon, and so, by D&D books, should be Black with green accents, but, well, this is OotS and we know how much Burlew cares about the way D&D actually is when it comes to his preferences.

That said, I don't begrudge him artistic license on this kind of thing. It's like if he drew a tiger with purple stripes... and a bunny tail...

[Spiky]

It's most likely a black dragon, and so, by D&D books, should be Black with green accents, but, well, this is OotS and we know how much Burlew cares about the way D&D actually is when it comes to his preferences.
I think it's just a family trait, also emphasized by the bubble color. No doubt part of being related to Barney (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0186.html).

[hamishspence]

If you'd said Deep dragon, case would be better- Deep dragons are the 3.5 version of Purple Dragons (4th ed renamed them and adjusted their powers). They have an acid cone breath (replaced with a psychic breath in 4th ed) and no major problems with light.

They first appeared in 3.0/3.5 in the 3.0 book Monsters of Faerun, and appeared in core D&D in the 3.5 book Drow of the Underdark.

However, given the strong associations with water that both OoTS dragons have (underwater hoard, sneaking up on V underwater) Black Dragon is still more plausible.

[Berserk Monk]

You're all wrong! It's a half celestrial, half fiend, lycanthrope, half gold dragon bugbear that's managed to give itself a +37 to its disguise skill. Also, it's the cousin of the MitD.

[JonahFalcon]

However, black dragons abandon their young after they're hatched and don't give two craps about them.

[TakeV]

It's a gold dragon, clearly. I mean, come one, it has wings! Gold dragons have wings! Do I need to spell it out?

[kpenguin]

However, black dragons abandon their young after they're hatched and don't give two craps about them.

Black dragons also don't read magazines.

Seriously, guys, this stuff seems to be very setting specific or at least too in-depth of fluff to be included in the Giant's unique campaign setting.

[hamishspence]

the main source, Draconomicon, points out that its young chromatics that abandon their young- old ones tend to pair up for raising the young together.

Specific for black dragons: "Black dragons are protective, but give their young little support beyond the occasional piece of advice. Eventually they advise the young dragon to leave the area before the dragon decides to eat it."

so, yes, even in standard D&D there is support for older dragon parents being more protective and helpful than younger ones.

[Prak]

However, black dragons abandon their young after they're hatched and don't give two craps about them.

right, like I said:

we know how much Burlew cares about the way D&D actually is when it comes to his preferences.

[Silverraptor]

I don't know if you guys even looked but this black dragon is in anguish.

V blasted this black dragon's child, and the dragon tells him that the younger black dragon was all this older black dragon had that reminded her of her husband, or what not. The fact that It's mate and child were both killed by adventures would make it very angry, considering that the moment it stop protecting it's child, the child became swamp fertilizer.:smallfrown:

[hamishspence]

in the context of 3.5- the dragon's lifestyle- two parents raising a youngster and the younger remain in in the home all the way to Young Adult stage- is not a stretch. Draconomicon states that this is fairly usual for really old dragons, chromatic or otherwise. And as an Ancient (female dragon fertility ends at the end of Very Old), this is the end of the female dragon's reproductive cycle- the last child she can produce- ever.

[MickJay]

It's quite impossible to be entirely sure, but I'm willing to risk a guess that the fact that the dragon's whole body (with the exception of wings, horns, teeth, tongue, claws and eyes) is portrayed as pitch black and is specifically named as black could, but only could, perhaps, when all is said and done, at the end of the day, if the signs point to "yes", the prophets are willing and the chickens are hatched, suggest that the dragon in question, for a given value of "black", is black.

Still, the half celestrial, half fiend, lycanthrope, half gold dragon bugbear in disguise is a close second as my personal favourite theory.

[hamishspence]

even if 3rd ed Black dragons lean toward green stripes and forward-swept horns, they weren't always like that.

Faerun's Thauglorimorus the Purple Doom was a very ancient black dragon with a purple tint. Though slain long ago (in-universe) there are reports of a purple dragon "rescuing a lost child one minute, tearing arrogant knights out of their armour bone by bloody bone the next" in Cormyr folk tales, according to the 3.0 Realms Campaign setting.

so, yes, in D&D there is support for purplish Black Dragons.

[Silverraptor]

in the context of 3.5- the dragon's lifestyle- two parents raising a youngster and the younger remain in in the home all the way to Young Adult stage- is not a stretch. Draconomicon states that this is fairly usual for really old dragons, chromatic or otherwise. And as an Ancient (female dragon fertility ends at the end of Very Old), this is the end of the female dragon's reproductive cycle- the last child she can produce- ever.

Which supports my claim that this dragon would've wanted it's child to live and would want revenge on V for killing it.

[hamishspence]

what I'm claiming is that not only is the dragon a reasonably loving (and vengeful) parent- pretty clear from the strip,

but that this is not a departure from D&D depictions of Evil Dragons- that much 3.5 fluff actually supports this, and that a dragon utterly indifferent to its offspring from birth, is not in fact a typical depiction.

in other words- it fits- its not a weird, excessively loving one, but a "normal" D&D ancient dragon mother.

[Forealms]

If you watch the spittle the dragon has when she roars at V, you'll notice it starts sizzling. Black dragons have an acid breath attack.

[hamishspence]

so do deep dragons- theirs is a cone not a line.

Black is most plausible though- its less obscure than the Deep Dragon.

(despite their taste for "seafood" like aboleths and kuo-toa, deep dragons aren't aquatic)

4th ed gave them psychic breath instead of acid (and said that Black dragons get skin rashes from seawater) But this is 3.5, rules are different.