So I was looking closely at the cover of the Dark Sun creature catalog and noticed the Dragon of Tyr is depicted on it. I am fairly impressed with the way they have depicted him in 4e. He seems to have "more or less" stayed the same. Though he now has wings, which I dont remember ever seeing in old pics of the Dragon.
No, people assumed that the cover piece for Dragon Kings was the Dragon (wingless), and then years later assumed the same of the cover piece for Valley of Dust and Fire (that one with wings).
Dragon Kings says the Dragon should have wings, yet the Prism Pentad did not state it had or hadn't wings. On the other end the Prism Pentad stated the Dragon was the color of steel, his skin reflecting the colors around him, and the cover piece for Valley of Dust and Fire can either be thought of as supporting this (a steel-colored skin would reflect the lava and make him red) or depicting him genuinely red-skinned.
The art did not match the lore as much as people think.
Honestly, I'm in love with the thin, humanoid dragon design; it really marries the idea of having a dragon not being exactly like what we use to think of, and also it betrays the human origins.
In fact, in my upcoming campaign I plan to allow the Dragon to evolve further, and to grow to quite monstrous proportions; something like this:
I guess I don't know wther or not the pciture of the Dragon from Dragon Kings is the "official" artwork or not, but it an amzing take on dragons and I am a huge fan of that artwork. I enjoy the fact that it "feels" different.
When I look at a dragon in say, the 3.5 PHB, I think "cool looking dragon."
When I look at the Dragon of Tyr in the Dragon Kings I think "WOAH
! THAT THING LOOKS POWERFUL AND MONSTEROUSLY BADAS$."
When I look at the Dragon of Tyr in the Dragon Kings I think "WOAH! THAT THING LOOKS POWERFUL AND MONSTEROUSLY BADAS$."
The thing it does for me is that it looks... alien. It looks like a guy slowly mutating into a dragon, which is something that indeed looks powerful but also wretched, twisted and somewhat "sick". That's why I picked that anime-style dragon picture for my "uber-Borys"; it has nothing of the noble, elegant and iconic MM dragons. It's irregular, ungraceful and somewhat alien looking, and the desert environment helps.
To work well, a Borys pic needs to make me think both at "this is something still evolving" and "what the hell that thing is gonna be in the end".
When I look at the Dragon of Tyr in the Dragon Kings I think "WOAH! THAT THING LOOKS POWERFUL AND MONSTEROUSLY BADAS$."
The thing it does for me is that it looks... alien. It looks like a guy slowly mutating into a dragon, which is something that indeed looks powerful but also wretched, twisted and somewhat "sick". That's why I picked that anime-style dragon picture for my "uber-Borys"; it has nothing of the noble, elegant and iconic MM dragons. It's irregular, ungraceful and somewhat alien looking, and the desert environment helps.
To work well, a Borys pic needs to make me think both at "this is something still evolving" and "what the hell that thing is gonna be in the end".
I agree. It is its alien-esque, still evolving nature that gives me the reaction you quoted.
Borys of Ebe, the Dragon of Tyr truly does not have wings. Moreover, Borys is massive. Not so massive as, say, the pic above, by VisanidethDM. ;) Nevertheless, massive he is, and looks like the pic on the cover of Dragon Kings.
The dragon pictured on Valley of Dust and Fire is Borys using magic to grow wings. Borys is a being infused with immense power, both the Way, and arcane magics. Thus, he likes to play around. It takes magical energy and/or personal Will to manifest those wings, so they aren't a permanent part of his body, but he can essentially grow them at will. This allows for Borys to be wandering around doing his thing, face down an epic level party who has NEVER seen ANY picture or personal experience of Borys with wings, or doing anytihng but walking around. Suddenly, the Dragon grows these massive wings, and scares the friggin' CRAP out of the party as he takes to the sky.
All that being said...every single dragon is different. Look at Nibenay, and the descriptions of the other dragon-monarchs as they appear in their true form. Look at Dregoth. Some will have wings, some will not. My own namesake, Tectuktitlay, for example, has a crest of feathers, slightly more serpentine features, and if he ever gets to full dragon status, will look like a massive feathered serpent with Athasian-draconic features. Nibenay...won't. He will be a sleek, black, smooth flying eel/dragon/serpent without wings, more akin to a lung (Asian dragon), essentially swimming through the sky.
That's my take, at least.
My take is as follows:
Borys of Ebe, the Dragon of Tyr truly does not have wings. Moreover, Borys is massive. Not so massive as, say, the pic above, by VisanidethDM. ;) Nevertheless, massive he is, and looks like the pic on the cover of Dragon Kings.
The dragon pictured on Valley of Dust and Fire is Borys using magic to grow wings. Borys is a being infused with immense power, both the Way, and arcane magics. Thus, he likes to play around. It takes magical energy and/or personal Will to manifest those wings, so they aren't a permanent part of his body, but he can essentially grow them at will. This allows for Borys to be wandering around doing his thing, face down an epic level party who has NEVER seen ANY picture or personal experience of Borys with wings, or doing anytihng but walking around. Suddenly, the Dragon grows these massive wings, and scares the friggin' CRAP out of the party as he takes to the sky.
All that being said...every single dragon is different. Look at Nibenay, and the descriptions of the other dragon-monarchs as they appear in their true form. Look at Dregoth. Some will have wings, some will not. My own namesake, Tectuktitlay, for example, has a crest of feathers, slightly more serpentine features, and if he ever gets to full dragon status, will look like a massive feathered serpent with Athasian-draconic features. Nibenay...won't. He will be a sleek, black, smooth flying eel/dragon/serpent without wings, more akin to a lung (Asian dragon), essentially swimming through the sky.
That's my take, at least.
I always pictured nibenay as a dark purple.
I always pictured nibenay as a dark purple.
Purple, eh?
I always pictured nibenay as a dark purple.
Purple, eh?
Well I would have imagined it a bit darker than that, but hes definitely a greyish-purple in that pic.