Dragons are ubiquitous across human culture and no one really seems to know why. Studies of Vervet monkeys showed that they have an innate fear of lions, eagles and snakes. Add those together in the right ways and you could end up with something that looks like a dragon, so perhaps humanity’s obsession with the creatures is in part, evolutionary? Or perhaps the tales sprang from earlier times when we unearthed the fossilised remains of dinosaurs without the knowledge we have about them now? Those huge lizards seem primed for tales about gigantic flying beasts with preternatural powers, such as bringing rains or breathing fire. They permeate even into today’s pop culture too, with the Hobbit and Game of Thrones both displaying impressive versions. In antiquity they were features in the Chines, Greek and Moari cultures, amongst others. The Babylonians had a serpent diety-monster called Tiamat - a name which may be familiar to you, or will be by the end of this episode.

In the 1970’s the creatures made their way into a game that evolved from tabletop war-games into something more fantasy based, which provided an ideal home for these reptillian monstrosities…

So listen on, intrepid adventurer, but beware - for here be Dragons!

You down with OG D&D? (Yeah You Know Me)

Originally there were six types of Dragons in D&D: Black, White, Blue, Green, Red, and Golden. Dragons took up pages 11-14 of the Monsters and Treasures booklet for OD&D. Considering that most monsters at the time warranted only a paragraph or two, it showed how important Dragons were to the game - they are in the title, after all.

In their original incarnation, dragons looked quite similar to their later and current versions. They already had set alignments - Golden dragons were lawful, while chromatic dragons were chaotic - and breath weapons that were different for each colour: Acid for black, cold for white, Chlorine gas for the greens, lightning for blues, fire for reds and either fire or gas for the golden. They also each inhabited unique terrains and represented different challenges for players of certain levels. Levels 5-7 would battle white dragons, 9-11 would face reds and 10-12 could fight golden dragons. They could also appear in different age groups, which defined their hit points and breath weapon damage.

One major difference with...

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