"Brown Dragon" excerpt from Draconomicon

[Resist77]

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/4ex/20081024b

all in all, It looks like a pretty well-designed, well-thought-out monster, but as for the name, well...to be honest, I was stifling laughter the entire time I read this article.

Call me childish, foul, a gutter-mind, and whatever else you will....but does anyone else equate "Brown Dragon" with....a....umm? Deuce? Stool?

I would not have mentioned it if it were not so blatantly obvious, to me at least...and I'm hoping I'm not alone. Did these authors never wonder that Brown Dragon may be a synonym for poo?

As if this weren't inappropriate enough, this dragons fluff pegs it as flavor/digestion-themed. Wow. The word "gastronomical" is even used.


That's about all I can conjure up on the subject at the moment.
Thoughts?

[BobVosh]

I think of all dragons as terds. Unfortunate, but common. Everyone has a story about em too.

[JBento]

In WotC's defense, the brown dragon is not a newcomer. He was around for at least 2nd Edition. It had no wings (and thus couldn't fly), but it burrowed like a madman...

Ah, good times were to be had by all (assuming that by "all" you mean "the 50ft long lizard with dagger-like teeth and a hunger for PC flesh")

[Smeggedoff]

oh, so white Dragons are fine though?
...dragon racist (I kid, I kid)

[bosssmiley]

@OP: No, it's just you.

I remember those things from FR's 2E "Horde" boxed set. They were a cool take on the wingless 'linnorm/landwyrm' dragon. Camouflaged against the steppe, crawling along on their bellies; the ultimate ambush predator.

[Random NPC]

@OP: No, it's just you.

I remember those things from FR's 2E "Horde" boxed set. They were a cool take on the wingless 'linnorm/landwyrm' dragon. Camouflaged against the steppe, crawling along on their bellies; the ultimate ambush predator.

it's not just the OP

and Pardon while I drop a Brown Dragon to the Basin of Life

[EvilElitest]

oh, so white Dragons are fine though?
...dragon racist (I kid, I kid)

i thought dragons were designed with color in mind, they are color coded for your convience
from
EE

[newbDM]

Damn.

Please put edition numbers on titles. I was sort of confused. Used to my 3.5 edition of the Draconomicon, so I just spent 10 minutes digging it out and trying to figure out if I missed something somewhere.

[Talya]

First thing I thought of were F'nor and Canth.

[BlackRabite]

Does the dragon not have arms? It didn't mention it specifically anywhere but in the knowledge section it mentioned that the children had "burrowing horns and claws." The picture at the bottom seemed to be of an amputee dragon.

[KnightDisciple]

Does the dragon not have arms? It didn't mention it specifically anywhere but in the knowledge section it mentioned that the children had "burrowing horns and claws." The picture at the bottom seemed to be of an amputee dragon.

The pic looked to have at least front limbs; they were just curled up to its torso.

[Hzurr]

oh, so white Dragons are fine though?
...dragon racist (I kid, I kid)

*sings* Albi, the racist dragon...

*sigh* Youtube is blocked, or I'd link.

[kjones]

Albi, the Racist Dragon

I remember the Brown Dragon from 2nd Edition. Did he ever come back in 3rd Edition?

[Swooper]

Don't quote me on it, but I think he it might have been in Monsters of Faerûn.

Also, am I the only one who thinks the new look for the brown dragon is terrible? It looks like a sandy brown remorhaz.

[Inyssius Tor]

I, for one, think the new Brown is really, really cool. In fact, it may just have sold me on the Draconomicon I.

[Fishy]

"Brown dragons, enamored with eating well, sometimes design elaborate schemes for obtaining unusual morsels."

Wile E. Coyote?

[EvilElitest]

Don't quote me on it, but I think he it might have been in Monsters of Faerûn.

Also, am I the only one who thinks the new look for the brown dragon is terrible? It looks like a sandy brown remorhaz.

god, i thought he was talking about the 3E one, oh gods thats awful
from
EE

[InaVegt]

Oh holy Cthulhu! A flying sandworm! Run for your lives!

[Greenfaun]

It's not bad, but I agree that the name is unfortunate. I mean, gamers have resorted to scatological humor with less justification than that. "Sand dragon" would've worked just as well, IMO.

Still waiting for the Eau-de-Nil dragon.

[golentan]

It does look exactly like the 3.5 sand dragon from sandstorm. And the habitat and feeding habits sound similar. Of course, the sand dragon was chaotic neutral, and we all know that isn't a REAL alignment, but "evil" seems pretty divergent from that.

[Athaniar]

Sand Dragon wouldn't work, since the chromatic dragons always have their color in their name.

As for the current name, well, perhaps Wizards didn't expect people to be so... immature? They're just colors. Chocolate is also brown, as is coffee, cola, and it is especially a color associated with the ground.

Also, I like the picture. Looks awesome.

[Asbestos]

"Brown dragons, enamored with eating well, sometimes design elaborate schemes for obtaining unusual morsels."

Wile E. Coyote?

Hmmm... I can see a Wile E. Coyote type Brown Dragon being used. Say, a Brown Dragon bursts out the sand and offers the PCs the choice of "help me hunt down this one particularly elusive beastie or I eat you"
The PCs have to then hunt down whatever the roadrunner proxy is in this case. Whether they have access to ACME products is up to the DM.

[TheThan]

How about mocha, tan, maroon, khaki, amber, mahogany, chocolate, bugandy, copper or beige dragon?



edit

how about the Achaierai for a road runner stand in?

[Asbestos]

How about mocha, tan, maroon, khaki, amber, mahogany, chocolate, bugandy, copper or beige dragon?



edit

how about the Achaierai for a road runner stand in?

Sadly... well, fortunately rather, that four-legged chicken didn't make it into 4e. But, I've got nothing against creating a 4e one just to hunt it down and feed it to a dragon.

[EvilElitest]

did the 3E brown dragon have this problem? Not that i recall? is it just hte picture?
from
EE

[hamishspence]

Chaotic neutral, but very very predatory. Worlds and Monsters suggested alignment was a bit more flexible: Chromatics could be Neutral, but its Hungrey Dire Bear neutral- not very safe to negotiate with.

I think its passable. I wonder what Grey and Purple will be like. And how come that old 2nd ed favorite, Yellow, is missing?

I hope Manual of the Planes will give Shadow, MM2 the Metallics, and Draconomicon 2, the alloy metallics- bronze and brass, maybe steel?

EDIT:
3.0 Brown in MoF had stubby wings that didn't work, and carnosaur-like jaws.

[golentan]

Chocolate is also brown, as is coffee, cola...

I'm sorry, I wasn't going to make scatological comments, but I can't let this slip by me. Chocolate is of course, an obvious euphemism. But in addition: every example you gave contains caffeine, a well know diuretic. I don't see this helping the brown dragon's case.

[Hzurr]

"You hear a roar near by, the earth begins to rumble as something large moves towards you. You see a glint of teeth as a terrifying creature rises in front of you, it's eyes focused on what is certain to be it's next morsel. It's...a coffee dragon!"

...

yeah, let's stick with "brown"

[hamishspence]

I liked Farerun's Rattelyr from Shining South. Burrowing, wingless, cobra hood, rattlesnake tail, flame breath.

[Asbestos]

I'm sorry, I wasn't going to make scatological comments, but I can't let this slip by me. Chocolate is of course, an obvious euphemism. But in addition: every example you gave contains caffeine, a well know diuretic. I don't see this helping the brown dragon's case.

I think you may be confusing diuretic and laxative.

Also, every example? How about clay, mud, or plain old dirt? Oh, and leather and wood are most commonly brown as well.