White Dragons
White dragons (also known as ice dragons or glacial wyrms) are the smallest, weakest, least intelligent and most animalistic of the classic chromatic dragons.
Basic Information
Anatomy
White dragons are physically distinguished by several features: their heads and necks seem to blend seamlessly into one another, and their wings appear somewhat frayed along the edges. They have a flap of skin, called a dewlap, lined with spines beneath their chins. Their heads are very streamlined, and they have high crests atop their skulls. When viewed from below, a white dragon shows a short neck and a featureless head. Its wings appear blunted at the tips. White dragon toes are spaced more widely than those of other dragons, with barbed claws to aid movement on ice. They have a crisp, vaguely chemical odor.
Genetics and Reproduction
White dragons spurn the society of others of their kind, except for members of the opposite sex. They are prone to carnal pleasures and often mate just for the fun of it. They seldom tend their eggs, but those who live in the Throne of Wings often lay their eggs near their lairs, and one or both parents allow the youngsters to move in for a time. The offspring are expected to care for themselves, but they gain some measure of protection and education from having their parents nearby.
White dragons usually lay about eight or ten 1 foot long eggs in a clutch. A white dragon egg is gestated for 105 days and incubated for 420 days. On average, between a quarter and a third survive to hatching. White dragon eggs have to be buried in snow or encased in ice while incubating.
Growth Rate & Stages
A newly hatched white wyrmling has scales as clear as ice, which soon become a glistening pure white. As the dragon ages, the sheen disappears, and by very old age, scales of pale blue and light gray are mixed in with the white.
The wyrmling develops into a young dragon after about three or four years, and then into an adult after about 100 years. Elder white dragons are about 750 years, while ancients are around 1700 years.
Ecology and Habitats
White dragons prefer frigid climes—usually arctic areas, but sometimes very high mountains, especially in winter. Mountain-dwelling white dragons sometimes have conflicts with red dragons living nearby, but the whites are wise enough to avoid the more powerful red dragons. Red dragons tend to consider white dragons unworthy opponents and usually are content to let a white dragon neighbor skulk out of sight (and out of mind).
White dragons’ lairs are usually icy caves and deep subterranean chambers that open away from the warming rays of the sun, often dug into the side of an arctic mountain, on tundra, or glacial plains, although they do not need ice and snow, and some settle near mountain peaks or in forests. They can create their own caves by applying the breath weapon to tightly packed snow in order to transform it into solid ice. Dungeon-dwelling white dragons prefer cool areas and often lurk near water, where they can hide and hunt.
White dragons make their homes in frozen lands and ice-covered mountains. Their lairs often contain many more tunnels and chambers than those of other chromatic dragons. More powerful white dragons will sometimes turn a large iceberg into a floating lair. Such lairs always have an underwater entrance as well as one to the open air.
Adult white dragons have several abilities well suited to their arctic habitat: they can climb ice cliffs with ease, fly very high and fast, and are exceptional swimmers. They love to swim in cold water; the more frigid, the better. Much of their diet consists of aquatic creatures, even whales. White dragons are always hungry, and tend to become more savage as they mature.
Dietary Needs and Habits
White dragons prefer to attack first, then eat their prey, rather than pausing to ask questions. They do not often contemplate what to eat, simply choosing the most convenient prey, and will often freeze it after the kill by burying it in snow or ice for days.
A white dragon will consume only food that has been frozen. Usually a white dragon devours a creature killed by its breath weapon while the carcass is still stiff and frigid. It buries other kills in snowbanks within or near its lair until they are suitably frozen. Finding such a larder is a good indication that a white dragon lives nearby.
It would be a mistake to consider a white dragon a stupid creature. Older white dragons are at least as intelligent as humans, and even younger ones are much smarter than predatory animals. Though not known for their foresight, white dragons prove cunning when hunting or defending their lairs and territories. White dragons know all the best ambush spots for miles around their lairs, and they are clever enough to pick out targets and concentrate attacks until one foe falls, then move on to the next foe. White dragons prefer sudden assaults, swooping down from aloft or bursting from beneath water, snow, or ice. They loose their breath weapons, then try to knock out a single opponent
with a follow-up attack.
Additional Information
Facial characteristics
A white dragon’s face expresses a hunter’s intense and single-minded ferocity. A white dragon’s head has a sleek profile, with a small, sharp beak at the nose and a pointed chin. A crest supported by a single backward-curving spine tops the head. The dragon also has scaled cheeks, spiny dewlaps, and a few protruding teeth when its mouth is closed. Their very thin eyelids prevent snowblindness when observing arctic landscapes.
Average Intelligence
Although they are not pillars of intellect, white dragons have good memories, especially for events they have witnessed or experienced directly. They remember any slight or defeat and have been known to conduct malicious vendettas against beings or groups that have offended them.
Civilization and Culture
Beauty Ideals
White dragons love the cold sheen and sparkle of ice, and they favor treasure with similar qualities, particularly diamonds or light gems, but platinum, silver, and anything reflective or polished works of art are also popular.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
They typically avoid fights with more powerful dragons, but will avail themselves of any opportunity to take their frustrations out on "lesser" creatures.
Whites also have exceptional memories, and will often hunt down beings who crossed them, no matter how long it might take. They are not as cruel as black dragons and not as ferocious as reds, but they are still competent in combat.
They are still powerful enough to overwhelm most humans and have exceptional long-term memories. Knowing that they are the smallest and weakest of dragons, many whites harbor inferiority complexes. They take any opportunity to bully beings such as giants and younger dragons of other species. White dragons prefer to scavenge for and collect treasure, rather than involving themselves in politics as other dragons might. Like other dragons, they look down on others, and tend to view other creatures as prey.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Genetic Descendants
Lifespan
The oldest white dragons live around 2,100 years.
Average Height
7 feet tall
Average Weight
2,500 pounds
Average Length
31 feet long, with a 13 foot long body, 7 foot long neck and 11 foot long tail
Average Physique
White dragons are physically the smallest of the chromatic dragons, even smaller than black dragons. They're 5 feet wide, with a maximum wingspan of 32 feet, though they can fly through as little as 18 feet width.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
They appear in shades from white to grey and ice-blue, and in arctic environments, this appearance serves as good camouflage. The trailing edge of the wing shows a pink or blue tinge, and the back edge of the wing membrane joins the body near the back leg, at about mid-thigh.
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