The dragons of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire are as curious as they are magical. No one really knows how those mystical, highly intelligent creatures came into the world. Each one also has its own unique personality, yet also shares a special bond with its rider. Some believe Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon‘s dragons can change their gender whenever they like. It’s impossible to even identify a she-dragon until it lays eggs. And no one understands exactly why those beasts called “fire made flesh” allow certain people to claim them and not others. But while episode six of House of the Dragon‘s second season explored established dragon lore with Ser Steffon Darklyn’s fatal attempt to become a dragonlord, the series also created its own with the Vale’s wild dragon and Seasmoke’s search for Addam of Hull.

The Dragon Seasmoke Rejects Ser Steffon Darklyn in House of the Dragon

The one (almost*) unquestioned rule for dragonriders in the lore of George R.R. Martin’s fantasy world is that they must have at least some blood of Old Valyria. The dragonlords of the former Valyrian Freehold were the only dragonlords in the world. In Westeros, that means someone must have ancestry with either House Targaryen or House Velaryon (even though Velaryons were not dragonriders).

(*One character’s uncertain birth is the only possible example of this not being true. We’ll get to that in the next section.)

Prince Jacaerys thought that rule might have simply been ahistorical propaganda meant to “gild” Valyrians. His mother still took the matter of blood seriously enough to search for forgotten relatives in old scrolls. On House of the Dragon, Rhaenyra believes even someone with “thin” Valyrian blood was more likely to successfully claim a dragon than someone without any. Especially since unquestioned family members can’t always become dragonriders, like Daemon’s daughter Rhaena. Aemond couldn’t successfully bond with a dragon either in House of the Dragon‘s world until he claimed the biggest one in the world, Vhagar.

On House of the Dragon‘s sixth episode, Rhaenyra asked the Lord Commander of her Queensguard, Ser Steffon, if he’d be willing to try to claim a dragon because his grandmother’s grandmother was a Targaryen. She reminded him to try and claim a dragon was to risk death itself, but he was honored by her even asking. Like many in Westeros, he views dragons as gods.

Seasmoke did not care about Ser Steffon’s thin Valyrian blood, commitment to Rhaenyra, or his noble heart, though. The dragon still refused to obey the Lord Commander on House of the Dragon. Worse, he bathed Ser Steffon in dragonflame for even trying.

That outcome was not a surprise for any House of the Dragon viewer who knows about dragon lore in this fantasy realm. That was not true for the other two big dragon moments during this episode of House of the Dragon, though.

Rhaena Learns the Vale Has a Wild Dragon

The last thing young Princess Rhaena expected to find in the Vale was a wild dragon, because dragons don’t live in places like the Vale on House of the Dragon. They stay close to seats of House Velaryon, either in King’s Landing or on Dragonstone. Before they came to Westeros, they only lived in the Valyrian Freehold, leaving for any extended periods of time solely when taken someplace by their dragonrider.

Having a dragon burning sheep far away from dragons’ established homes means that House of the Dragon breaks established canon and dragon lore from Fire & Blood and A Song of Ice and Fire. George R.R. Martin himself confirmed that weeks before episode six debuted. From his “Not a Blog” (emphasis our own):

My dragons are creatures of the sky. They fly, and can cross mountains and plains, cover hundreds of miles… but they don’t, unless their riders take them there. They are not nomadic. During the heyday of Valyria there were forty dragon-riding families with hundreds of dragons amongst them… but (aside from our Targaryens) all of them stayed close to the Freehold and the Lands of the Long Summer. From time to time a dragonrider might visit Volantis or another Valyrian colony, even settle there for a few years, but never permanently. Think about it. If dragons were nomadic, they would have overrun half of Essos, and the Doom would only have killed a few of them. Similarly, the dragons of Westeros seldom wander far from Dragonstone. Elsewise, after three hundred years, we would have dragons all over the realm and every noble house would have a few. 

Why would House of the Dragon violate one Martin’s few, hard-and-fast dragon lore rules? To answer that, we must discuss something from Fire & Blood. We’ll note that this discussion will provide enough context clues to spoil something that now seems inevitable on House of the Dragon. It’s up to you if you want to read it. If you don’t, skip past the remaining text in this section (which is between two images) until you reach the next sub-headline, which explores another show-specific piece of dragon lore.

By moving this specific, sheep-killing dragon from Dragonstone to the Vale, the show appears to be cutting out a major, beloved character from Fire & Blood named Nettles. She is the person whose uncertain birth/bloodline we referenced earlier. House of the Dragon seems to be giving Nettle’s storyline to Rhaena.

Obviously since we mentioned Nettles’ uncertain birth/blood line, she does go on to claim a dragon in Fire & Blood. And since we’re talking about her in this section about Rhaena and the Vale, you can guess which dragon she bonds with.

Does that guarantee Rhaena will now claim that wild dragon on the show instead? It’s a possibility the series is definitely raising, but it’s not a guarantee. Not when House of the Dragon is making such drastic changes in the first place. But we still think it’s likely on a series that also made another significant change to an unlikely dragonrider’s story in this same episode.

Seasmoke Claims a Dragonrider on House of the Dragon (Possibly While His First Still Lives)

Addam of Hull is the bastard son of Lord Corlys Velaryon and, therefore, strong with Old Valyrian blood. It doesn’t go against known dragon lore, and thus is not completely shocking, that a “dragonseed” like Addam could claim a dragon, which is clearly what happened at the end of House of the Dragon episode six. What is unprecedented is a) how the two bonded and b) the fact they bonded at all.

There are two ways humans typically bond with dragons in A Song of Ice and Fire. The first is babies of House Targaryen have dragon eggs put in their crib with them. If healthy dragons hatch from those eggs they form that special dragon/dragonrider connection. The second way is that a person approaches a living dragon who then either accepts them or not. No one knows how or why this happens, only that there’s some kind of mystical element to their connection.

Rhaena, daughter of Daemon Targaryen and Laena Velaryon, has tried to claim a dragon many times on House of the Dragon and only has burn scars to show for it. Ser Steffon Darklyn tried once, and he paid with his life for his efforts. Yet somehow, Addam of Hull didn’t even have to try to become a dragonlord. In a complete role reversal, Seasmoke claimed his human. The “lonely” dragon hunted Addam down before the two took to the sky on House of the Dragon.

That was unusual enough, but what what makes this bond entirely new dragon lore for House of the Dragon is that Seasmoke seemingly already has a dragonrider. His first mount, Laenor Velaryon, isn’t actually dead on House of the Dragon like he is in Fire & Blood. The show changed his story so that he conspired with his wife Rhaenyra to fake his death so he could live freely in Essos. But dragons only accept one dragonrider at a time. They will not accept another so long as theirs lives.

Unless we learn Laenor died in Essos offscreen without anyone on Dragonstone knowing, we know have House of the Dragon-specific dragon lore. (Which still has its own internal logic, since Seasmoke sought out the half-brother of his missing rider.)

How you feel about that is as personal as a dragon/rider bond, but what it actually means is not. Whether or not you’re familiar with both Fire & Blood and George R.R. Martin’s dragon mythology, none of us know what else could happen in the Dance of the Dragons.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post HOUSE OF THE DRAGON Created Its Own Dragon Lore appeared first on Nerdist.

On House of the Dragon, keeping track of the many dragons flying around is a little complex. In Game of Thrones, it was much easier to account for the creatures. Daenerys Stormborn took three eggs into the flames and rose unscathed from the ashes with three “children.” That was it! But the skies of Westeros are overrun with “fire made flesh” on House of the Dragon. The prequel series shows us House Targaryen at its strongest, when they had 17 dragons prior to the civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons. And the dragons play important roles both in the personal and political machinations of House of the Dragon. But with that many beasts in the air, the question becomes: How will you keep straight the identities of all of House of the Dragon‘s numerous dragons from season one and two of the show and beyond?

The good news is you don’t have to. We’ve got you covered—with as few spoilers as possible. Here’s a list of all the dragons you’ll see on House of the Dragon, along with their riders. And we’ll keep updating this post every time a dragon appears on the prequel series or does something major on the show. For now, this list of House of the Dragon‘s dragons is complete through season one and will be updating throughout season two. So, who are House of the Dragon‘s 17 dragons? Let’s find out.

House of the Dragon’s Dragons; Jump to Rhaenyra Targaryen’s Dragon, Syrax // Daemon Targaryen’s Dragon, Caraxes // Laenor Velaryon’s Dragon, Seasmoke // Rhaenys Targaryen’s Dragon, Meleys // Jacaerys Velaryon’s Dragon, Vermax // Laena (Velaryon) Targaryen and Aemond Targaryen’s Dragon Vhagar // King Aegon Targaryen II’s Dragon Sunfyre // Prince Lucerys Velaryon’s Dragon Arrax // Baela Velaryon’s Dragon Moondancer // The Unclaimed Dragons, Stormcloud and Tyraxes, Plus Four Eggs // Unhatched Dragon Egg // The Unclaimed Dragon, Dreamfyre // The Unclaimed Dragon, Vermithor // The Deceased Balerion // House of the Dragon Future Dragons

How Many Dragons Will Appear During House of the Dragon Season Two?

As House of the Dragon season two begins, the question of dragons returns to the table. And thanks to showrunner Ryan Condal, we know exactly how many dragons we’ll see this season. Per Deadline, Condal noted, “There will be five new dragons in season two” of House of the Dragon. He recently confirmed that season two dragon number, again noting that “five new ones that you haven’t seen before” are coming to House of the Dragon.

You can see season two’s dragons in action in the new House of the Dragon trailers released by Max. And the trailers even revealed a couple of the new dragons we’ll be meeting in season two of House of the Dragon, Sunfyre and Moondancer. You can read about these new dragons in full below.

How Many Dragons Appeared During House of the Dragon Season One?

House of the Dragon‘s co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik told Empire that season one would feature nine of House Targaryen’s 17 dragons before the season began. And that’s exactly what happened, plus a couple of other dragon mentions. While each dragon has its own look, the Game of Thrones alum says the creatures are easier to differentiate by their individual traits, as each dragon has its own personality.

That’s no surprise. We already know Game of Thrones‘ dragons are highly intelligent creatures with minds of their own. But with so many different personalities flying around, it will be fun to see how they interact with their fellow dragons. And it will be entertaining to see how the dragons’ attitudes either mirror or conflict with their riders. Dragons only accept a single rider—of Valyrian blood—while both still live.

For now, let’s meet every House of the Dragon dragon that we get to see in season one and season two.

Which Dragons Have Already Appeared on House of the Dragon?

Syrax (Dragon Rider: Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen)

A giant yellow-scaled she-dragon who took young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen as rider in 104 AC. House of the Dragon opened with the princess riding high over King’s Landing while in a saddle on Syrax’s back. Thanks to her parents, we also now know you can smell like a dragon after taking one for a spin. Syrax features in an early standoff with Rhaenyra’s uncle Daemon Targaryen. When Daemon disrespects the crown during the first episodes of House of the Dragon, Syrax and Caraxes have a tense dragon stand-off, as their riders battle wills below. Without Syrax, there would have been no reasoning with Daemon. But the presence of two dragons serves as insurance and prevents a fight. The dragon was greatly featured earlier in House of the Dragon season one, but we will likely see more of her in season two. In the first episode of the series, Syrax accompanies Rhaenyra in her vigil over Lucerys and Arrax. It is believed that Syrax is the mother of Arrax, which adds to the grief shared by the duo as they discover their lost children.

Syrax is still laying dragon eggs, however—three in episode eight of House of the Dragon season one—setting the stage for more dragon riders to come in House Targaryen’s internal battle. As the Dance of the Dragons war heats up on House of the Dragon, we know Rhaenyra will be glad to have this Syrax by her side.

House of the Dragon’s Dragons; Jump to Rhaenyra Targaryen’s Dragon, Syrax // Daemon Targaryen’s Dragon, Caraxes // Laenor Velaryon’s Dragon, Seasmoke // Rhaenys Targaryen’s Dragon, Meleys // Jacaerys Velaryon’s Dragon, Vermax // Laena (Velaryon) Targaryen and Aemond Targaryen’s Dragon Vhagar // King Aegon Targaryen II’s Dragon Sunfyre // Prince Lucerys Velaryon’s Dragon Arrax // Baela Velaryon’s Dragon Moondancer // The Unclaimed Dragons, Stormcloud and Tyraxes, Plus Four Eggs // Unhatched Dragon Egg // The Unclaimed Dragon, Dreamfyre // The Unclaimed Dragon, Vermithor // The Deceased Balerion // House of the Dragon Future Dragons

Caraxes (Dragon Rider: Daemon Targaryen)

In 105 AC, Daemon Targaryen became the second member of his family to mount Caraxes, the large red dragon known as the Blood Wyrm. Caraxes’ original dragonrider was Prince Aemon Targaryen, but Daemon took him as his dragon after Aemon’s murder. Caraxes made a big impression in House of the Dragon‘s premiere. That included how it brought out the tender side of Prince Daemon.

Don’t let that fool you, though. Caraxes is a fearsome creature. We see him devour his prey with great ferocity, and that’s just lunch. Throughout House of the Dragon‘s episodes, we’ve mostly seen the giant dragon menacing in the background. But it looks like in the season two trailer of House of the Dragon, we see this dragon do battle. And it makes for quite a sight. Especially since it seems Caraxes will battle other dragons in the sky.

Although Caraxes hasn’t seen much action yet in season two of House of the Dragon, we got a very good look at the dragon in episode two, and in episode three, we saw Daemon ride him through a storm on his way to the very wet Harrenhal.

In episode five of House of the Dragon, Daemon used Caraxes to menace the men of the Riverlands to his side.

Seasmoke (Dragon Rider: Laenor Velaryon)

The silver-gray dragon accepted Laenor Velaryon (son of Rhaenys Targaryen, which makes him eligible for dragon-riding) as its rider by the year 101 AC. The duo didn’t make their House of the Dragon debut, though, until the show’s third episode. That’s when Laenor and Seasmoke helped Laenor’s father Lord Corlys Velaryon and Prince Daemon Targaryen defeat the Crabfeeder in the Stepstones. Although Laenor does not die in season one of the Game of Thrones prequel series, he fakes his own death and goes into hiding. And that means he has to leave Seasmoke behind.

Presently, it seems that Seasmoke resides in Driftmark. Daemon Targaryen hoped to use the dragon to help secure Princess Rhaenyra’s claim to the throne on House of the Dragon, but it is not yet clear what will happen with the dragon since Laenor, his rider, remains alive. As mentioned, typically dragons can only bond with another rider when their rider is dead. But it remains for us to see how House of the Dragon tackles this particular bit of dragon-lore. Potentially, Seasmoke will simply not find a new rider on the show. Or perhaps Rhaenyra’s need for another dragon on her side will find Laenor returning to the world of House of the Dragon.

In season two, episode two of House of the Dragon, we see Seasmoke briefly flying around, hinting a potential return could come sooner rather than later. And we see Seasmoke again in episode three of House of the Dragon. This time the show more overtly suggests the dragon may be searching for a new rider.

House of the Dragon’s Dragons; Jump to Rhaenyra Targaryen’s Dragon, Syrax // Daemon Targaryen’s Dragon, Caraxes // // Laenor Velaryon’s Dragon, Seasmoke // Rhaenys Targaryen’s Dragon, Meleys // Jacaerys Velaryon’s Dragon, Vermax // Laena (Velaryon) Targaryen and Aemond Targaryen’s Dragon Vhagar // King Aegon Targaryen II’s Dragon Sunfyre // Prince Lucerys Velaryon’s Dragon Arrax // Baela Velaryon’s Dragon Moondancer // The Unclaimed Dragons, Stormcloud and Tyraxes, Plus Four Eggs // Unhatched Dragon Egg // The Unclaimed Dragon, Dreamfyre // The Unclaimed Dragon, Vermithor // The Deceased Balerion // House of the Dragon Future Dragons

Meleys (Rider: Rhaenys Targaryen), Dragon and Rider Are Deceased

Rhaenys, “The Queen Who Never Was,” became the second Targaryen to sit upon the swift red and pink she-dragon Meleys when they bonded in 87 AC. The first Targaryen to ride Meleys was Princess Alyssa Targaryen. But unfortunately, Meleys lost her dragonrider when the Targaryen princess died while giving birth. In her prime, Meleys was known as one of the fastest of dragons. With time she slowed, but she remained no less cunning.

We finally saw Rhaenys flying Meleys in House of the Dragon‘s fifth episode of season one. As House of the Dragon revealed, this rosy-hued dragon has a “crown” of thorns around her head, hence Meleys’ nickname the “Red Queen.” But after the show’s ninth episode, we can also call the dragon the “Beast Beneath the Boards.” Rhaenys rode Meleys up into the arena of the Dragonpit during Aegon II’s coronation, killing quite a few citizens and causing general mayhem. Rhaenys did not, however, use this chance to spew dragon-fire against her enemies, including Queen Alicent and Aegon II, who had her imprisoned. She instead escapes to safety.

In the finale of House of the Dragon season one, Rhaenys pledged her dragon to Queen Rhaenyra. In season two, she used her dragon to strengthen the Velaryon blockade of The Gullet. But sadly, service to Queen Rhaenyra cost Rhaenys and Meleys their lives. In House of the Dragon season two, episode four, we saw our first major dragon death on House of the Dragon. Rhaenys and Meleys rode out to defend Rook’s Rest from Criston Cole and his Green army, but unfortunately, the Greens had a trick up their sleeve. Aemond and his dragon Vhagar lay in wait for any of Rhaenyra’s dragons to appear. And on top of that, King Aegon II appeared by surprise at the battle with his dragon, Sunfyre. Both dragons attacked Meleys and Rhaenys, and though the duo put up a good fight, they did not prevail.

Vhagar fatally bit his fellow dragon’s neck at the end of the House of the Dragon season two episode, and both Meleys and Rhaenys went tumbling to their doom.

Sadly, our last look at Meleys is of the dragon’s severed head being ignobaly dragged through King’s Landing. We take heart in the fact the people of the city do not look upon the posturing kindly. We do, however, get the sweet story of how Rhaneys claimed Meleys as her dragon. She snuck into the dragonpit, a place she is said to have known exceptionally well. And the firece creature, who shunned all others, bent her neck to Rhaneys and Rhaenys alone.

Despite Meleys and Rhaenys’ deaths, both dragon and rider will always be remembered as a House of the Dragon pair not to be trifled with.

Vermax (Rider: Jacaerys Velaryon)

Prince Jacaerys, Rhaenyra Targaryen’s son, bonded with the young green dragon after it hatched in his crib. This helped cement his place as heir to the throne after Rhaenyra because some in King’s Landing questioned his heritage. Jace and Vermax start off on shaky footing, with the dragon only barely obeying his rider. But by the time of the House of the Dragon finale, they seem to have settled into their dragon and rider bond.

In Game of Thrones’ book, Fire & Blood, it is noted that Vermax especially disliked ice, snow, and cold. This probably means the dragon won’t love the trip North he set out on with “Jace” in House of the Dragon‘s season one finale. Vermax and Jacaerys head to familiar territory in early season two, the Eyrie and Winterfell, in the hopes of finding support for Rhaenyra’s cause among the northern houses.

While we learned they were successful on their mission in episode one of season two, we didn’t get to see the dragon itself again until House of the Dragon season two, episode five. In the episode, Jace takes Vermax to meet with the Freys who control the crossing at the twins, a direct route into the Riverlands. We see the green dragon perching nearby as the political negotion takes place, but no use of force becomes necessary as Jace pledges the protection of his dragon and Daemon’s to the Freys, with the promise of Harrenhal in the future, and wins them to Rhaenyra’s side for now.

Vhagar (Rider: Laena (Velaryon) Targaryen / Rider: Aemond Targaryen)

The Dragon Vhagar in Season One of House of the Dragon

Vhagar was one of the three dragons that helped Aegon and his sisters conquer Westeros. She was first claimed by Queen Visenya. According to the Game of Thrones books, the dragon was so huge, a hore could be ridden down her throat. And Vhagar’s breath was said to be hot enough to melt armor and cook a knight inside of it. Later, the bronze she-dragon with green-blue coloring and green eyes took Laena Velaryon as its rider. But the dragon didn’t establish its importance on House of the Dragon until the show’s sixth episode

Instead of facing death during childbirth, Laena took matters into her own hands. She told Vhagar “dracarys” until the dragon engulfed her in flame.

After Laena’s funeral on Driftmark, young Aemond Targaryen claimed the massive Vhagar as his own, though not without a cost. An ensuing fight with his cousins led to Aemond losing an eye. The young prince was happy to pay that “price,” though. He had long desired a dragon of his own.

Vhagar helped set the coming Targaryen civil war in motion when he killed Prince Lucerys and his dragon Arrax in House of the Dragon‘s season one finale. Seeing this intense violence between dragons in House of the Dragon was shocking, but only the beginning of things to come. And it seems that though Aemond has a certain smugness in himself and his abilities, his dragon still does not fully respect him. This makes sense because Vhagar is an ancient dragon who has lived a long life and seen many riders. And, unlike his dragon, Aemond only has a narrow outlook on the world.

The Dragon Vhagar in Season Two of House of the Dragon

House of the Dragon’s Dragons; Jump to Rhaenyra Targaryen’s Dragon, Syrax // Daemon Targaryen’s Dragon, Caraxes // // Laenor Velaryon’s Dragon, Seasmoke // Rhaenys Targaryen’s Dragon, Meleys // Jacaerys Velaryon’s Dragon, Vermax // Laena (Velaryon) Targaryen and Aemond Targaryen’s Dragon Vhagar // King Aegon Targaryen II’s Dragon Sunfyre // Prince Lucerys Velaryon’s Dragon Arrax // Baela Velaryon’s Dragon Moondancer // The Unclaimed Dragons, Stormcloud and Tyraxes, Plus Four Eggs // Unhatched Dragon Egg // The Unclaimed Dragon, Dreamfyre // The Unclaimed Dragon, Vermithor // The Deceased Balerion // House of the Dragon Future Dragons

In season two of House of the Dragon, Aemond and Vhagar returned to cause yet more chaos that will surely intensify the Targaryen civil war. In House of the Dragon season two, episode four, the dragon and its rider flew to battle. Aemond and Vhagar set a clever trap for Rhaenyra and her supporters. Criston Cole boldly attacked Rook’s Rest, the seat of House Staunton, whose lord is a member of Rhaenyra’s small council. Rook’s Rest also is located only a short distance away from Dragonstone, where Rhaenyra has settled. But the small castle was not really the aim. Instead, Aemond and Cole sought to draw out one of Rhaenyra’s dragons so Aemond could attack it with Vhagar.

Their plan succeeded. Rhaenyra sent the dragon Meleys and her rider Rhaenys to attack the host. Though Aemond’s plan was temporarily disrupted by the appearance of his brother, King Aegon, and his dragon, Sunfyre, it ultimately worked just as he’d imagined. Aemond and Vhagar attacked Meleys, who already had to contend with battling Sunfyre, and managed to kill the other dragon by biting its neck and sending it tumbling to the ground. Both Meleys and Rhaenys perished. However, that wasn’t the only potential casualty Vhagar caused. Unfearing for his brother’s life or his brother’s dragon, Aemond ordered Vhagar to send out a fireblast during the battle, which caught Aegon and Sunfyre in its path. Both Aegon and his dragon seemed in bad shape at the end of the House of the Dragon episode. Aemond and Vhagar seem to have escaped unscathed.

Sunfyre (Rider: King Aegon Targaryen II)

We first caught glimpses of the dragon Sunfyre in House of the Dragon season two’s trailers and the creature made its grand appearance in episode four of the season. On House of the Dragon, Sunfyre is King Aegon II’s dragon. True to its name, this House of the Dragon dragon has golden scales that shine like the sun. We didn’t see Aegon claim Sunfyre but the king has been restless to ride his dragon all season. And finally, in episode four of season two, Aegon and Sunfyre rode out to battle.

Unlike in the original Fire & Blood novel, Aegon’s joining the battle was not part of the plan that his brother and Ser Criston Cole concocted to try to kill one of Rhaenyra’s dragons. Instead, Aegon impetuously flies to the battle of Rook’s Rest, interrupting Aemond’s designs for the clash. Aegon and Sunfyre attack the dragon Meleys and her rider Rhaenys when they appear on the scene, but do not put up a very good fight. When Aemond and his dragon Vhagar join the House of the Dragon battle, Aegon believes he is saved, but Aemond sends a blast of dragonfire into the fray, uncaring if Sunfyre and Aegon survive it.

Dragon and rider are gravely injured at the end of House of the Dragon season two, episode four. It is not yet known if they will survive on the series. In House of the Dragon episode five, Criston Cole refers to Sunfyre as “long in the dying” while Rhanerya refers to the dragon as slain. It seems we cannot yet clearly assess whether Sunfyre remains alive at this time. Aegon remains alive for the moment. (Although, of course, the curious can read about their Fire & Blood fates in the source novel.)

Arrax (Rider: Prince Lucerys Velaryon), Dragon and Rider Are Deceased

The small, young dragon Arrax appeared on House of the Dragon with blue scales. Though quick and agile, the dragon was unable to outrun or outfight Vhagar high above Storm’s End in season one. Vhagar bit Arrax in half, killing Prince Lucerys and killing the dragon. In season two of House of the Dragon, we see the sad remains of Arrax wash up on the shore. It is believed that Arrax is the son of Syrax, meaning that both Rhaenyra and her dragon lost a child.

Moondancer (Rider: Baela Velaryon)

Only one daughter of Daemon Targaryen and his late wife Laena is a dragonrider, Princess Baela. She rides the swift, pale green she-dragon Moondancer noted for her pearl-colored horns and bones. Moondander might be young, but she is as fierce as her rider. In season two, episode three of House of the Dragon, we see Baela riding on her dragon, scouting for Queen Rhaenyra. Baela gives Criston Cole, Gwayne Hightower, and the other Greens quite a scare but ultimately loses them in the forest.

House of the Dragon’s Dragons; Jump to Rhaenyra Targaryen’s Dragon, Syrax // Daemon Targaryen’s Dragon, Caraxes // // Laenor Velaryon’s Dragon, Seasmoke // Rhaenys Targaryen’s Dragon, Meleys // Jacaerys Velaryon’s Dragon, Vermax // Laena (Velaryon) Targaryen and Aemond Targaryen’s Dragon Vhagar // King Aegon Targaryen II’s Dragon Sunfyre // Prince Lucerys Velaryon’s Dragon Arrax // Baela Velaryon’s Dragon Moondancer // The Unclaimed Dragons, Stormcloud and Tyraxes, Plus Four Eggs // Unhatched Dragon Egg // The Unclaimed Dragon, Dreamfyre // The Unclaimed Dragon, Vermithor // The Deceased Balerion // House of the Dragon Future Dragons

Stormcloud and Tyraxes (Unclaimed) Plus Four More Dragon Eggs

Though they have yet to appear, Rhaenyra entrusted Baela’s sister Rhaena with looking after two young, small dragons, Stormcloud and Tyraxes. The latter belongs to Prince Joffrey Velaryon, Rhaenyra’s youngest son with her first husband Laenor Velaryon. (Though the late Harwin Strong is Joffrey’s real father.) No one has yet claimed Stormcloud. Rhaena is also responsible for looking after four unhatched dragon eggs, three of which we know won’t hatch for two hundred years.

The two small dragons are mentioned again in House of the Dragon episode five, which visits Rhaena at Vale of Arryn, in the Eyrie. Lady Arryn is not very impressed with the two dragons Rhaenyra sent her way, calling them “wet from the egg.” But as Rhaena points out, they will grow. We still do not get to see the little dragonlings.

Dreamfyre (Unclaimed)

Dreamfyre, the slim, blue she-dragon with silver wings, was once the dragon of Princess Rhaena Targaryen, Aegon I’s granddaughter. Dragon and rider stayed together until Rhaena passed after a long and troubled life. And then Dreamfyre settled in the Dragonpit at King’s Landing. We first hear of Dreamfyre on House of the Dragon when Daemon admits to having stolen one of her eggs, falsely insisting he had a child on the way. Aemond Targaryen next comes across Dreamfyre in the Dragonpit around 120 AC, but the dragon is not to be claimed by him.

While we know Dreamfyre’s rider from Fire & Blood, the show has yet to establish which member of House Targaryen rides her. Dreamfyre might also connect House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones together. Some theorize that Dreamfyre laid the eggs that became Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons, Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion. We are sure that Dreamfyre’s lack of rider will become an object of interest for both sides of the upcoming war.

Unhatched Dragon Egg

Technically, episode two of House of the Dragon season one didn’t feature a new dragon. But we’re positive there’s one inside the egg Daemon stole in the early episode. How can there not be when that egg—originally meant for King Viserys’s son Baelon—already feels like Chekhov’s dragon? For now, all we know is that the egg belongs to the dragon Dreamfyre. But we think it could ultimately hatch and bond with one of Viserys’ offspring.

Vermithor (Rider: King Jaeherys I (Deceased) / Unclaimed)

One of the largest dragons to ever fly over Westeros, the bronze beast belonged to House Targaryen’s longest-reigning ruler in the Realm, The Old King Jaeherys I. Vermithor outlived the King and remained unclaimed at the start of the Dance of the Dragons.

The beast finally appeared on House of the Dragon during the show’s season one finale, when Daemon sang a song in High Valyrian to lure the dragon from its rest. Rhaenyra’s forced to hope they will find a rider for Vermithor, a hope that she and Jace will soon press more earnestly. One dragon could make all the difference in the upcoming fight on House of the Dragon.

Balerion (Rider Aegon the Conqueror/Viserys I)

We do not ever get to see Balerion the Black Dread alive in House of the Dragon, but the presence of the mighty beast is felt throughout the show. In episode one, Balerion’s giant dragon skull looms over Viserys and Rhaenyra as Viserys imparts crucial words of prophecy onto her.

Aegon the Conqueror was, of course, the first to ride Balerion. And the dragon played a crucial role in Aegon’s conquering of Westeros. It is fitting that Balerion be a party to Viserys and Rhaenyra’s discussion because Viserys speaks of exactly why Aegon the Conqueror felt so moved to conquer.

Balerion was a dragon born in Valyria and was the last dragon to exist in its mighty Freehold. Balerion’s wings and body were black. And his fire was also said to be black. Balerion was one of the largest dragons to ever exist, and his wingspan was enormous. He had sharp teeth and a vicious temperament. But, with time, age took him. The dragon is, in fact, a fitting analog for his final rider Viserys on House of the Dragon. Like Balerion, we see Viserys succumb to the languor of age until he finally fades away. Though once mighty, the time of his rule, like that of his dragon, ends in season one of House of the Dragon.

ADDITIONAL READING

Aegon’s Conquest, When Dragons Came to Westeros
Dragonstone, Birthplace of a Dynasty and Home of Dragonglass
Rhaenyra Targaryen, the First Woman to Sit on the Iron Throne
The Dragonpit and the Demise of Dragons
The Chilling Legend of Ice Dragons

House of the Dragon’s Dragons; Jump to Rhaenyra Targaryen’s Dragon, Syrax // Daemon Targaryen’s Dragon, Caraxes // // Laenor Velaryon’s Dragon, Seasmoke // Rhaenys Targaryen’s Dragon, Meleys // Jacaerys Velaryon’s Dragon, Vermax // Laena (Velaryon) Targaryen and Aemond Targaryen’s Dragon Vhagar // King Aegon Targaryen II’s Dragon Sunfyre // Prince Lucerys Velaryon’s Dragon Arrax // Baela Velaryon’s Dragon Moondancer // The Unclaimed Dragons, Stormcloud and Tyraxes, Plus Four Eggs // Unhatched Dragon Egg // The Unclaimed Dragon, Dreamfyre // The Unclaimed Dragon, Vermithor // The Deceased Balerion // House of the Dragon Future Dragons

What Other Dragons Exist During the Dance of the Dragons?

Silverwing, Tessarion, and More

In addition to the dragons mentioned above, House Targaryen also had four other dragons before civil war pitted the beasts against one another in 129 AC. That included the full-sized dragons Silverwing, Tessarion, as well as two hatchlings too small to ride: Morghul and Shrykos. Silverwing is mentioned in season two, episode five of House of the Dragon, but we have yet to meet the creature properly.

Wild Dragons on House of the Dragon

During the time of House of the Dragon, three wild, unbonded dragons also lived on Dragonstone: Grey Ghost, Sheepstealer, and the Cannibal. Daemon mentions these dragons briefly in the finale of House of the Dragon season one as Rhaenyra and company hope they can join their side of the conflict to come.

In a war pitting dragon-against-dragon, both in the air and on the ground, you can imagine the possibilities a wild dragon presents. But there’s a reason those three had no riders by the time war broke out.

House of the Dragons‘ Future Dragons

So what about the dragons we didn’t see in season one and haven’t met yet in season two? Who flew them high above the Seven Kingdoms? Well, we’ll let you learn all of that on your own when House of the Dragon brings those many magical creatures to life throughout this season.

Don’t worry, though, we’ll make sure to update this post to help you can keep track of all of them. It was a lot easier when Daenerys only had three of them.

This post originally published on August 17, 2022.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post Who Are HOUSE OF THE DRAGON’s 17 Dragons? appeared first on Nerdist.

With Princess Rhaenys and her dragon Meleys both dead, Queen Rhaenyra’s claim has never been more dire. Fortunately, her son Jace had a “mad thought” at the end of House of the Dragon season two’s fifth episode about how they can turn their fortunes around. The Blacks still have more dragons than the Greens on House of the Dragon; what they don’t have are enough Dragonriders. They need to quickly find some so Rhaenyra, forced to avoid battle, can go “forth in strength and not from necessity.” But who will claim those magical beasts of fire? History says only those with the blood of the dragon can become dragonriders in House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones‘ world.

The problem is, in Westeros, only Houses Targaryen and Velaryon trace their ancestry back to old Valyria. Fortunately, the Targaryens have intermarried in the Realm for a century. They’ve also sired many bastards known as “dragonseeds.” All of those distant relatives could try and claim one of the Blacks’ riderless dragons. So who might risk their life to do so? House of the Dragon has been hiding characters who could become potential new dragonriders in plain sight throughout season two.

Note: For this list, we are only relying on (at this point obvious) context clues from House of the Dragon. The HBO series’ adaptation has already had some major deviations from George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, so anything we might “know” from his book could prove to be totally irrelevant to the show. That includes the possibility House of the Dragon will exclude certain dragons and characters entirely. If it does—and there are already signs it will—that will greatly change what can happen in the prequel.

Who Can Claim a Dragon on House of the Dragon and Become a Dragonrider?

The histories say dragons will only accept a dragonlord as its rider, which is another way of saying a dragon will only accept someone with blood that traces back to Old Valyria. Prince Jacaerys pointed out those histories might not be totally accurate, though. He called them “Valyrian histories, written to gild us in glory.” He might be right. Those tales also conveniently discouraged anyone else from trying to claim a dragon as their own, leaving Valyrian power unchallenged.

If the histories are wrong, that means anyone, regardless of where they came from, could ride a dragon. In that case every single character on House of the Dragon is a potential dragonrider.

Jace might be wrong, though. Valyrians themselves seemed to believe in the specialness of their bloodlines. Families married their own kin to keep their lines “pure.”

Finding out the truth will mean individuals risking a painful death. Even those strong with the blood of the dragon are not guaranteed to claim one. Rhaena, whose father is Daemon Targaryen and whose grandmother was Rhaenys Targaryen, almost burned to death when she tried to claim a dragon on House of the Dragon. Someone whose Valyrian blood is “thin,” as Rhaenyra said, would be even less likely to bond with a dragon on House of the Dragon. Dragons are very picky about who they accept as a rider. There’s a special connection between dragon and rider no one fully understands.

Thin blood would still matter if the histories are correct. Then anyone related to a Targaryen, even partially, is a potential dragonrider on House of the Dragon. And therefore, someone who can change this civil war. (That’s also true of Velaryon kin, even though House Velaryon were not dragonlords in Old Valyria.)

The blood of old Valyria is not limited to just denizens of King’s Landing, Dragonstone, and Driftmark. Both houses married into Westeros families prior to the Targaryen Civil War. Each also has sired bastards. But it’s clear House of the Dragon has been strongly foreshadowing which specific characters are likely candidates to answer Rhaenyra’s call. Here are the House of the Dragon characters most likely to become dragonriders on House of the Dragon.

Alyn and Addam of Hull Have Velaryon Blood

The last time Rhaenys spoke with her husband she told Lord Corlys Velaryon, she told him that she knew the truth about Alyn of Hull. The wise, astute Princess recognized Alyn was more than just the man who rescues Corlys. She recognized Alyn is Corlys’ bastard son in House of the Dragon‘s worlds.

Rhaenys did not hold Alyn’s birth against the brave sailor. She instead encouraged Corlys to honor Alyn. “He should be raised up,” Rhaenys said. Nothing would raise Alyn higher than a dragon…

We know something Rhaenys didn’t, though. Alyn has a brother, Addam. They look a lot alike, and Addam talked about what Lord Corlys “owes” both of them. What else could the Lord of Driftmark owe Addam than the truth? And if that wasn’t a big enough hint, House of the Dragon keeps showing Addam watching the lonely dragon Seasmoke, previously ridden by his half-brother Laener, taking to the sky.

Alyn and Addam clearly have the blood of Old Valyria. Their widowed father, who would not recognize them while Rhaenys lived, is now also Hand of the Queen for Rhaenyra Targaryen, a woman desperate for dragons.

There are no two stronger, more obvious candidates to try and claim dragons and become dragonriders than the bastard sons of the Sea Snake on House of the Dragon. Yet they might not be the best candidate.

Ulf the White Could Become a House of the Dragon Dragonrider

While the show has all but confirmed Alyn and Addam are bastards of a powerful man with Valyrian blood, another character has openly claimed to be exactly that. Ulf the White told his tavern friends he is a “dragonseed,” a term for Targaryen bastards. Ulf specifically said in House of the Dragon episode three that he is the unacknowledged son of Baelon the Brave, father of the late King Viserys and Daemon Targaryen.

The not entirely stupid/not entirely smart Ulf was willing to quietly make that claim to strangers when it meant free drinks, even though he said it could cost him his head. However, he’s not exactly brave. At first, he supported his (supposed) niece Rhaenyra’s claim to the Iron Throne. Ulf even declared her son Jace as the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. But when King Aegon showed up unexpectedly, a terrified Ulf was the first one to pay homage to Aegon.

Ulf’s cowardice is not the best omen for a potential dragonrider. He’s also certainly not the only person to ever make a wild claim for a free mug of ale. But he might really be a dragonseed. His distinct white hair is unusual for anyone his age in King’s Landing. It’s unusual for someone from Westeros. Narratively it also wouldn’t make sense that the show has spent any time with Ulf and his familial claims if we aren’t supposed to at least consider him a future dragonrider on House of the Dragon.

Hair color and the amount of attention House of the Dragon has given to an otherwise unimportant member of the smallfolk also point to one other person in King’s Landing as a possible dragonrider for Rhaenyra.

Hugh Hammer the Blacksmith Could Become an Unexpected Dragonrider

Ulf is not the only denizen of King’s Landing with peculiar hair. House of the Dragon has spent even more time with another such character, Hugh the Blacksmith. Ulf and Hugh Hammer are the only members of the smallfolk with such a distinct physical trait. And, while Hugh Hammer and his family’s story has added to the show’s theme about how innocent people suffer during war, House of the Dragon has spent a lot of time on his story. He’s clearly more important than a single theme.

Hugh Hammer wants to bring his dying daughter and desperate wife somewhere safe, but nowhere in Westeros is safe. Dragonstone and its unclaimed dragons might be the best place for him to go. It offers him something he doesn’t have: the power to do something to save his family.

Aegon broke his promise to pay Hugh for his work. Now that broken promise could work against the Greens, because while Meleys is dead, Rhaenyra has more dragons. She and Jace also now have a plan that is not as mad as it sounds. Perhaps Hugh Hammer, the Blacksmith, will join the ranks of dragonriders.

The Blacks will now go searching through old scrolls for forgotten ancestors. But House of the Dragon has already presented us with some possible dragonriders that we already know about.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist and dragon historian. You can follow him on  Twitter and  Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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In the Game of Thrones franchise, it’s hard to know who to root for sometimes. Even our heroes find themselves morally compromised people. But you know who are the only non-malicious characters in A Song of Ice and Fire? The actual dragons themselves. They just want to fly around, eat sheep, and they only do bad things when humans tell them to. As a way of honoring these very good babies, the folks at Diamond Select are releasing a new Legends in 3 Dimensions bust of Caraxes, Daemon Targaryen’s dragon from House of the Dragon. You can check out images of this incredibly detailed bust down below in our gallery:

Click To View Gallery

Here’s the official description for the House of the Dragon Caraxes bust from the folks at Diamond Select:

Dracarys! Your friends will be breathing fire with envy when you show them your bust of Caraxes, the mount of dragonrider Daemon Targaryen! Measuring approximately 12 inches tall, this bust is insanely detailed, and rests atop a dragon’s egg base. Limited to only 1000 pieces, this resin bust comes packaged with a numbered base and a numbered certificate of authenticity in a numbered full-color box. Designed by Joe Allard, sculpted by Sandro Luis Sampaio.

In George R.R. Martin’s world, the Dragonkeepers considered Caraxes to be the fiercest of all the young dragons of the Dragonpit. They even gave him the fearsome nickname the “Blood Wyrm.” Caraxes isn’t the largest of the dragons in Westeros, as he’s about half the size of Vhagar, the oldest of the Targaryen dragons. None of that kept Caraxes from being one of the deadliest dragons in history, however. You can pre-order this incredible House of the Dragon bust for the price of $250.00 now. Diamond Select is expected to start shipping the Caraxes bust sometime in the first quarter of 2025.

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House of the Dragon‘s “The Burning Mill” saw Rhaenyra Targaryen task her young niece/step-daughter with a vital mission. The Queen not only entrusted Rhaena to look after her three young sons, she gave the princess two baby dragons and four dragon eggs to protect. If everything comes to “ruin” for Rhaenyra’s side, Rhaena is their backup plan. That plan that will include hatching new dragons ultimately earmarked for Pentos. But that’s where another Targaryen princess will be gifted three dragon eggs during her wedding to Khal Drogo centuries later. So are House of the Dragon‘s dragon eggs the exact same ones Daenerys Targaryen will one day hatch on Game of Thrones? Yes, they are. The series has confirmed Rhaenyra gave Rhaena the very same eggs that appeared on Game of Thrones.

House of the Dragon‘s Gives Daenerys Targaryen’s Dragon Eggs an Origin Story

Episode director Geeta Vasant Patel told Mashable the dragon eggs seen during House of the Dragon season two’s third episode are historically important. Three of those pristine eggs become fossilized by Game of Thrones‘ time period almost two hundred years later. These House of the Dragon eggs are the exact same dragon eggs gifted to Daenerys Targaryen at her first wedding. As we know, she will eventually walk into a fire with them, emerging with her fire-breathing “children,” she’ll name her dragons Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion.

“All of us who work on this show are big Game of Thrones fans,” Patel said. “So it was very exciting to shoot that scene.” Considering Daenerys will quite literally prove to be her family’s “hope for the future” as Rhaenyra Targaryen called her niece on House of the Dragon, it was a fitting send-off for those dragon eggs. They’ll eventually, one way or another, reach Pentos and fall into the hands of the Free City’s Magister Illyrio Mopatis. He’ll then give the priceless artifacts to curry favor with Daenerys and her brother Viserys.

Game of Thrones Lore Suggests a Different History for Daenerys’ Dragon Eggs Than House of the Dragon

House of the Dragon‘s Patel needed to verify the dragon eggs’ connection between shows because it’s a change from established Game of Thrones lore. While never officially confirmed, George R.R. Martin’s in-world history Fire & Blood seems to all but establish those dragon eggs arrived in Essos many decades before the Dance of the Dragons.

The accepted tale is that the three eggs came from the she-dragon Dreamfyre. Her current rider is Queen Helaena, but before Helaena that dragon belonged to a totally different Targaryen princess, (frustratingly) also named Rhaena. That Princess was the child of King Aenys and one of King Jaehaerys’ many siblings. She’s also the Targaryen infamous for letting her lover, Elissa Farman, steal a clutch of dragon eggs.

Elissa desperately wanted to build her own boat and set sail in the Sunset Sea. Rhaena simply loved Elissa too much to let her go, so eventually Elissa took matters into her own hands. She did so by taking dragon eggs. She stole some and sailed to Braavos where she sold them to the Sealord for gold. That gave her the coin needed to build her very own ship, which she used to sail under another name, evading capture.

The theft of the dragon eggs wounded House Targaryen, the only remaining dragon lords in the world. The shame of the scandal was bad enough. Far worse, though, was the fear someone would hatch the eggs themselves. All efforts to get the eggs back failed, and over time, they are believed to have eventually ended up in Pentos.

What About the Fourth House of the Dragon Dragon Egg?

Eventually, the three dragon eggs end up in a fire with Daenerys Targaryen. It’s a good thing they did, regardless of the specifics of how they got there. Without Daenerys’ dragons, the living might not have held off the Night King long enough to stop him. But we knew that already.

What we don’t yet know is what happens to the fourth dragon egg Rhaenyra entrusted to her niece. But for that, we guess we’ll have to wait for House of the Dragon to reveal its secrets.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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The Targaryen civil war has begun in earnest in season two of House of the Dragon. While the people in this conflict are all varying degrees of “terrible human,” the dragons are innocent in all this. They just want to breathe fire and eat some sheep. Now, there’s a new way of showing your love for the precious dragons of Westeros. Kross Studios has revealed a new set of collector’s watches and egg cases, inspired by House of the Dragon. The six latest collectors sets pay homage to the dragons Arrax, Silverwing, Moondancer, Seasmoke, Vermithor, and Sunfyre. These complement and complete their dragon-inspired series. You can check out images of these exquisite collector’s timepieces below in our gallery:

Game of Thrones – House of the Dragon Collector’s Set

Click To View Gallery

Each of these House of the Dragon collector sets pays homage to a specific dragon from George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire saga, capturing their unique essence and terrifying presence. Previous unique collector set editions, all currently sold out, were dedicated to Balerion, Viserion, Viserion Ice Dragon, Drogon, Rhaegal, Syrax, Caraxès, Meleys, Vaghar, and Vermax. The crafted dragon egg sculpture is in resin, and comes hand-painted by the renowned French workshop Leblon Delienne. Each egg, inspired by the appearance of its corresponding dragon, serves as a nest for the watch. 

The central feature of each set is a central floating tourbillon watch, designed by Kross Studio’s founder Marco Tedeschi. The House of the Dragon watch and its tourbillon, suspended beneath a sapphire crystal dome, reflects the aesthetic codes of House Targaryen, from its 45mm, grade 5 titanium case to its intricate movement. They’re not quite Valyrian steel, but the closest thing to it in our less exciting and dragon-free realm. For more information and pricing, head over to the official Kross Studios website.

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Everyone knows you can’t put a price tag on a dragon. They’re magical fire creatures of grace and power few foes can oppose. Having even one of them to call your own is invaluable. At least that’s true in fantasy worlds where they own the sky. In our own realm dragons don’t really exist. (We’re like 99% sure they don’t.) Ironically that means you can put a dollar sign on them, because the only way to get one is from a store. And a beautiful new one from WizKids which brings to life a little baby Dungeons & Dragons Red Wyrmling comes with a big price tag.

The new D&D Replicas Of The Realms: Red Dragon Wyrmling Foam Figure celebrates the RPG’s 50th anniversary by recreating one of the game’s most visually striking figures. But this new collectible doesn’t show the flying leviathan at the height of its powers. This isn’t the beast you normally have to roll to beat. This figure is based on the creature’s earliest days. This young version of Dungeons & Dragons‘ Red Dragon Wyrmling appears as an adorable baby. Instead of bathing enemies in flames, he looks eager to eat some chicken nuggets or play peekaboo with his mama.

The Wyrmling figure might be of a small child dragon, but it’s not small. This D&D creature figure measures just a shade under two-and-a-half feet. It’s also, strangely enough, pretty safe to have around actual babies. It’s “made of sturdy, lightweight foam and hand-painted to show off every tooth, scale, and claw in incredible detail.”

What’s not tiny about this delightful item is how much it costs. You can pre-order your Red Dragon Wyrmling Foam Figure now for $649.99. With a price tag like that, hopefully, your coin purse has a few gold coins at the bottom you forgot about. For those who do, this baby dragon should arrive at your home sometime in the spring of 2024. Until then, start stocking up on foam nuggets.

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As much as we may love Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, we’re perfectly content to leave most things from the mind of George R. R. Martin safely in the world of fiction. It’s not exactly a fun world to live in. But man, it would be cool if there were dragons in real life. Although, you’d probably never want to meet one, especially if someone says “Dracarys” around it. Well, there are no real dragons sadly. But thanks to YouTube channel Coolest Thing, via Geeks Are Sexy, we’ve discovered one man who made the next best thing. An actual life-size steel version of Drogon. And yes, it really does breathe fire. You can see the video chronicling its creation right here:

Canadian metal sculptor Kevin Stone of Chilliwack B.C. has created some incredible sculptures out of stainless steel in his day, including an eagle for none other than Dolly Parton. But recreating a dragon from the world of Westeros proved to be his most daunting challenge so far. It took him two full years to complete the project and weld Drogon together. The final sculpture ended up being 12 feet tall, and 44 fee[‘t wide with his wings folded. If his wings were able to spread out, they’d be approaching 100 feet in wingspan! And this bad boy weighs a whopping 15,000 pounds.

On Kevin Stone’s own YouTube channel, he goes into more detail about the creation of his Drogon sculpture. And you can also see lots of his other work, including one of a massive T-Rex. In Stone’s own words, it’s his goal to make something that will last for generations, and stand the test of time. We think some of these steel beasts are going to be around a whole lot longer than any of us. To see more, go to the Metal Sculptor Kevin Stone YouTube channel.

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House of the Dragon is another global hit for HBO, and more Game of Thrones spinoffs are on the way. Despite all that success, though, most viewers don’t know the name of the woman whose contribution to the franchise helped make all of that possible. Because had author Phyllis Eisenstein not convinced George R.R. Martin to “put the dragons in” his story, most of us might never have met Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, and Princess Rhaenyra. Those fantastical beasts have cast a spell over mankind—transcending both culture and time—for as long as people have told stories. They’ve also continued to capture our imaginations since the moment we started putting moving pictures on screen. And without dragons, Westeros might not be the magical phenomenon it’s become.

Dragons have been part of mankind’s myths since the beginning of civilization itself. The first such legend dates back to Ancient Sumer during the 4th or 3rd millennium B.C.E. Those mythical animals started appearing in stories from China, Egypt, and India not long after. Ancient Greece then followed with its own famous dragon tales starting 4,000 years ago, with more societies around the world independently contributing their own tales to dragon lore. (Possibly after finding dinosaur skeletons.) The classic English dragon tales that endure to this day—ones where brave knights battle giant beasts of fire—began earlier than many realize. The Medieval story “Saint George and the Dragon” traces its origins back to around 300 C.E.

The specifics surrounding tales of large reptilian monsters differ throughout history. In some parts of the world dragons are benevolent and heroic. In others they’re cruel and dangerous. Some fly and breathe flames, while others swim or crawl on land. Others have no wings at all, but sport great horns or even antlers. But while their features, size, and personalities change, dragons’ enduring place in our myths and folktales do not. That didn’t change as the way we tell stories do, either. Just as they’ve long adorned works of art, scrolls, and books, they’ve been part of our movies and TV shows for as long as we’ve had those.

The first dragon appeared on screen in Austrian director’s Fritz Lang’s 1924 “Die Nibelungen.” A dragon made its animated film debut in Disney’s 1931 film The China Plate. (They’ve remained a staple of Disney movies ever since.) Those magical beasts then made the jump to TV in 1946 on Kukla, Fran and Ollie. (The final name in the show’s title refers to the puppet Oliver J. Dragon.) The advent of CGI has only made dragons’ place on screen more ubiquitous during the 21st century. Between live-action stories, cartoons, video games, and tabletop adventures, in many ways dragons are more prevalent in society than ever before. The 21st century makes Arthurian legends seem dragon-light.

Dragons owe their oversized place in modern pop culture to the written word just as much as moving pictures, though. J.R.R. Tolkien’s tales of Middle-earth began with The Hobbit, an adventure about defeating a greedy dragon. We’ll never know if that novel would have been beloved without Smaug. Nor if publishers would have gone forward with The Lord of the Rings had the author’s introduction to his fantasy world not been so well received. But we know Bilbo’s journey led to us meeting Frodo, Gandalf, and Sauron, as well as generations of fantasy stories inspired by the Fellowship of the Ring. Without a dragon at the start we wouldn’t have many of the most beloved and influential fantasy epics we have today. That very much includes George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire.

Westeros is not interesting merely because it has dragons. It’s too rich and layered a world to only define it by one element. But it wouldn’t be the same without dragons. Those creatures add a grandeur and mystical quality the story might not otherwise have. (And, let’s be honest, dragons are always cool.) But most importantly they give A Song of Ice and Fire a timeless quality that speaks to people everywhere.

There’s a reason countless cultures, separated by both time and distance, came up with their own dragon myths. It’s the same reason their place in our stories, both for kids and adults, remains steadfast to this day. Dragons represent the power, beauty, and danger of nature. They represent both the perilous challenges and incredible possibilities all humans face. Dragons are supernatural yet made of flesh. They’re seemingly impossible to defeat or even tame, yet vulnerable as any creature. They can be good or bad or something in-between, same as us. They are a fantasy that capture the horror and wonder of the real world.

And George R.R. Martin almost didn’t include them in his story.

Martin originally considered giving House Targaryen a dragon sigil but no actual dragons. Instead he would have imbued Targaryens with “a psionic power” that was like a “pyrokinesis” where “they could conjure up flames with their minds.” Ultimately, though, his friend and fellow fantasy author Phyllis Eisenstein wisely told him to include actual dragons, forever changing the trajectory of not only Martin’s novels but the entire world of pop culture. Would his books have been as good or successful without dragons? Would HBO have adapted them without that success? And would Game of Thrones, a true global phenomenon, have found its massive audience minus an element that has long been a part of mankind’s stories everywhere?

We’ll never have answers to those questions. We don’t want to know or need to know them anyway, because we know what happened with dragons in the story. We’re reminded of that every time we watch or discuss House of the Dragon, a prequel about the time when House Targaryen had its highest total of dragons ever in Westeros.

Martin dedicated 2000’s A Storm of Swords, arguably the best book in his series, to his friend. But while Phyllis Eisenstein saw the world embrace Game of Thrones, she passed away in 2020. She never got to see dragons take to the sky on House of the Dragon.

Every time they do, though, we should remember her role in making it all possible and be grateful for what she did. Because she recognized something mankind has always known: dragons always have—and always will—make any story better.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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Imagine joining 5,000 new friends in the German countryside for six days of live-action role-playing (LARP) fun. DrachenFest is the second largest LARP gathering in the world and celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2022. No matter where you hail from, you’re welcome in one of the 13 camps. One of the camps is just for orcs, if that’s your cup of tea. Here you’ll transform yourself into a fighting medieval alter ego and play a real-life version of a video game. But don’t worry, you get unlimited lives. Watch the video below for highlights of every aspect of LARP life at DrachenFest, from scrimmages to showers.

The video shares some of the rules of DrachenFest. The quest for dragon eggs and dominance played out this year at the first in-person event since 2019. Each of the 10 dragons has a camp of supporters. The costumes are intricate and almost everything in the festival simulates life in a fantasy realm. There’s plenty of battles and one-on-one fighting, but there’s also healers, taverns, and lots of singing.  

The Sonjas Adventures YouTube channel includes lots of other LARP videos, including costume and makeup tutorials. We learned about her DrachenFest video thanks to Boing Boing.

Interested in LARP festivals but not sure how to get started? Maybe you’ve known about the pastime for decades or just saw it recently thanks to the fun Hawkeye sequence. Either way, you can learn some skills at the Witcher School, which teaches fencing, archery, and alchemy, among others. We also have a to-do list for setting up your own small-scale LARP event. And when you’re ready to head out to a large camping convention like DrachenFest, make sure to check out this packing list.

Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. She also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth. 

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Are dragons too big to fly? Many a scientist and over-thinker has asked this question. Sure, Game of Thrones is fantasy. After all, there’s dragons. And there’s even more in the prequel House of the Dragon. But that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy a good thought experiment, similar to last month’s, what do dragons smell like? Thankfully, someone has already done the calculations for this one. An aeronautical engineer did the math. We saw it on Scientific American, but the story was originally published on The Conversation back in 2016. Let’s find out if the dragons of Westeros could actually fly.  

The Quick Math

There’s a few factors that go into this, but most people assume dragons are too heavy or their wings are too small to get lift. The author, pilot and aviation professor Guy Gratton, estimated an adult dragon’s size and mass by comparing it to Daenerys. He reached the conclusion that it was 42 feet long, or a little bigger than a school bus, and weighed 5,700 pounds, about the size of a small elephant. 

The wing size and stalling speed (the slowest it can fly) are also needed to calculate the amount of lift needed to get a dragon in the air. Assuming Earth’s gravity and air density, a dragon that heavy could not get off the ground with wings that size. Rather than giving up and saying, “then some magic happens,’ Gratton assumes Westeros itself must have different atmospheric conditions. 

How It Works

Delightfully, the author uses everyone’s ability to throw swords and spears so well to back up this theory. What would help lift a dragon would also give characters seemingly superhuman abilities. It’s like Superman’s red versus yellow suns. If you increase the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere, it would make the atmosphere more dense. And dragon flight more possible. Everything would also be more likely to catch fire. But again, that is backed up by just how quickly things burst into flame in Westeros.  

In order to bump the numbers up enough to lift a dragon into the sky, the remaining nitrogen in Earth’s atmosphere would have to be replace with denser argon. Gratton admits this mix would be “moderately narcotic” but adds, “Perhaps this might in part explain the regularly irrational and downright aggressive behaviour seen among many citizens of Westeros.” So not only do we get an explanation of how dragons are able to fly, but also why everyone is such a murderous grump.

What About Pterosaurs?

But wait a minute, Earth has been home to enormous flying animals already. Pterosaurs, with wing spans over 30 feet, lived between 65 and 215 million years ago. How do we explain that? This question has also been answered thanks to The Conversation. According to the fossil record, they had hollow bones like living birds today. So even though they were massive, they may have only weighed about 1,000 pounds. The increased oxygen levels during prehistoric times also tips the calculation in favor of flight.

A recent simulation of how Pterosaurs might have launched themselves into the air using their massive legs and wings looks quite similar to the dragon lift-offs in Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon. So whether or not the show bothers with the math or just makes it look cool, now you know it’s actually possible for those Westeros dragons to fly.

Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. She also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth. 

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Game of Thrones is back with its prequel series House of the Dragon. And of course it opened with sweeping shots of a blonde riding her dragon. The creators promise us lots of dragon content but for now let’s ponder the most pressing question. What does Princess Rhaenyra smell like after riding her golden steed Syrax? And what does a dragon smell like? Do dragons smell like other things you ride, like a horse? Syrax does wear a saddle, so maybe the smells of leather and oil mix with animal and fire scents. Or maybe the king and queen got a whiff of the clouds. Are Targaryens better at picking up the scent of a dragon? Let’s dive in to the possibilities of what a dragon might smell like on House of the Dragon!

What Could a Game of Thrones Dragon Smell Like?

Space

When you’re riding a dragon, you’re exposed to parts of the atmosphere you wouldn’t usually be. Earth’s ozone, or trioxygen, smells like burnt electricity or chlorine, depending on who you ask. Outer space also has a smell, described by various astronauts as gunpowder, burned cookies, raspberries, and rum. NASA devised a formula to simulate the smell of space. Recently, a Kickstarter perfume called Eau de Space was released based on this combination. When astronauts return from a spacewalk, they smell of space. So maybe it follows that when a dragon drops you off after a ride, you smell of the air you flew through.

Dinosaurs

An exhibit at the Field Museum in Chicago lets visitors smell Sue the T. rex’s breath. Scientists determined rotting flesh as the likely smell. They diluted it down enough so that paying customers wouldn’t gag. Apparently the team also considered hyena poop as the closest smell to T. rex fecal matter because both species eat animal bones as well as flesh. It’s possible our House of the Dragon dragons could smell something like this.

Bats

Bats, with their leathery wings, certainly cut the same profile as dragons. Some species have a wingspan of five feet. The strongest smell associated with bats is urine. It’s often the most telling sign that you have an infestation in your attic or are entering a cave they call home. Amorous male bats rub urine and “other secretions” over their bodies to attract females. One bat researcher, however, describes different species as smelling like burnt oranges, fungus, and even corn tortillas, which doesn’t sound all that bad.

Komodo Dragons

Their eight-foot size is nothing compared to Westeros’s favorite pets, but Komodo dragons are the closest living animal. So what do Komodo dragons smell like? “Reptiles do not have sweat glands,” says Kim Gray, curator of herpetology & ichthyology at the San Diego Zoo. “They do scent mark, as all monitor lizards can, and are territorial. But we humans, with our relatively poor sense of smell, can’t detect anything really.” Perhaps the Targaryen’s sense of smell zeroes in on subtle dragon scents. Considering their important bonds, this would make sense.

As for their breath, Komodo dragons ambush deer and other prey, but also feast on dead or dying animals. Though they eat them raw instead of cooking them the way George R.R. Martin’s dragons do. “Perhaps dragons simply smell like their food items, so depending on what they are eating…hopefully not humans?” says Gray. “Galapagos marine iguanas smell like seaweed a bit, obviously that is their main diet and the older animals even have algae growing on them. So Godzilla or a water dragon would smell like seaweed. Being a bit of a D&D nerd myself, one might debate they smell like ash and burnt coals if it is a fire breathing sort.”

Barbecue

Grilled meat and campfire is probably the most logical guess for what dragons smell like. The ability to cook your food using fiery breath certainly comes in handy if you refuse to eat raw meat. But we also know barbecuing gives off certain smells. And those linger on whoever is at the grill. That smokey smell permeates your hair and whatever clothes you were wearing. Some of those smells are delicious. But anyone who’s accidentally singed their arm hair or cooked sweet meats knows there can also be some funkiness mixed in. Depending on each dragon’s favorite foods, a mix of ash and that burning smell is likely.

With all the questions House of the Dragon already put forward in episode one, I doubt there will be any canonical information about what Syrax and other dragons smell like. But that’s why you count on Nerdist for these types of thought experiments. We can’t be the only ones wondering about what a dragon smells like.

Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. She also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth. 

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HBO’s House of the Dragon premiere is only weeks away! And are you really prepared if you don’t have your own baby dragon? Even if it’s an AR Dragon? Luckily the House of the Dragon: DracARys app premiered last week at San Diego Comic-Con. It’s Tamagotchi meets augmented reality. Pokémon Go but with higher stakes. Steal a dragon egg, raise the hatchling, and train it to your will. What could possibly go wrong?

The app helps you learn commands—in the Valyrian language, of course. A voice recognition system means the dragon only listens to you. But from what we know of George R.R. Martin’s lore, even getting the egg to hatch may not be simple. Much less training a baby dragon. Its temperament will develop based on each individual’s interactions raising the dragon. Adults dragons are then free to roam the AR world and interact with other users. And because “Dracarys” is the most fun word to say, it seems likely that the virtual world will just constantly be on fire. 

We learned about the app on DesignTAXI. It immediately transported us back to the stress of the Tamagotchi days. We’ll be much more sad if these baby dragons are neglected than we ever were seeing the tombstone icon on that little ’90s handheld game. This also isn’t the first fantasy realm to come to life in this way. Project Porg from ILMxLAB brings the invasive Star Wars birds into your house. And there’s even an R2-D2 Tamagotchi. 

The House of the Dragon: DracARys app is now available in the Apple and Google Play stores. The Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon starts up August 21, 2022 on HBO Max. 

Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. She also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth. 

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You don’t have to be a Mother of Dragons to appreciate how cute baby Komodo dragons are. Three recently hatched in an Australian zoo and are winning hearts with their frisky behavior and striped snouts. Mother Daenerys and father Kraken are the first successful breeding pair of Komodo dragons in Australia. Their babies represent new hope for the future of this endangered species. And also bless our social media feeds with adorable content.

The Australian Reptile Park in New South Wales documented the whole journey. Every step, from narrated footage of Daenerys and Kraken mating to a real-time video of the first baby hatching.

Keepers monitored Daenerys and Kraken’s first meeting. Komodo dragons are solitary in the wild, only coming together to mate or if there’s a big enough meal to share. They had been able to smell each other and were eager to meet. They mated and Daenerys laid eggs in her enclosure. The keepers uncovered the eggs and kept them in an incubator until they were ready to hatch.

There’s still a lot to learn about Komodo dragons. The first scientific expedition to study them was in 1926 and is thought to be the inspiration for 1933’s King Kong. Scientists and zookeepers only recently learned that Komodo dragons can also lay eggs without mating. Called parthenogenesis, this process doesn’t require fertilization by a male. Female dragons in captivity sometimes reproduce this way, as do other isolated species. As part of the cell division process, all of the babies born are males.

This endangered lizard species can use all the help it can get. They live on Indonesian islands, mostly in Komodo National Park. Human poaching of both the dragons and their prey threaten the population. Sea level rise due to climate change puts them at further risk. With only about 100 in captivity around the world, and roughly 1,400 in the wild, every new addition helps the survival of the species.

Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. She also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth. 

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There’s nothing like a size comparison of stuff from fictional universes to help develop a better sense of their scale. Knowing how big Arrakis from Dune is relative to Pandora from Avatar, for example, will help you get a better sense of both planets’ size. Here, from the same maker of that comparison, MetaBallStudios (MBS), is a new one that looks at dragons. And the fire-breathing beasts literally grow up to astronomical proportions.

MetaBallStudios recently posted the dragon size comparison to his YouTube channel. MBS, a Spanish animator named Alvaro Gracia Montoya, has created numerous other size-comparison videos like this one; looking at everything from a comparison of sci-fi starships to fictional flying vehicles.

In this video, MBS goes for what can only be described as the fiery heart of fantasy: dragons. As usual, the YouTuber starts with the smallest of the small and ends up talking about things so large they’re literally unthinkable. (Our imaginations begin to fail beyond galaxy clusters, anyway.)

MetaBallStudios

The smallest dragon in the video is Azymondias from The Dragon Prince, who only measures about 23 inches tall. From there, MBS looks at successively larger dragons shoulder to shoulder, including a large handful of the most popular dragons from television, books, and movies. Amongst the winged monsters, for example, is Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon, Drogon from Game of Thrones, and Ruined Dragon from Super Mario Odyssey. The dragons, incidentally, measure out to 25 feet long, 164 feet long, and 530 feet long respectively.

As for the largest dragons, they put the rest to shame. By a few trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion miles. Probably more trillions than that, but suffice to say, the biggest dragons in this video are Carl Sagan-documentary huge. Aurelion Sol from League of Legends, for example, is large enough to hold the Sun in the palm of his hand. And Super Shenron from Dragon Ball Super is larger than multiple galaxies combined. It’s still possible, however, to imagine dragons (pun!) even larger than our entire universe.

MetaBallStudios

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Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation teamed up for the upcoming animated film Wish Dragon. Today, the first trailer arrived, and the film looks positively delightful. It’s bursting with bright color and imagination; everything you’d want in an animated film about a talking dragon. The premise also brings to mind other classic animated tales like Aladdin. In addition to the dazzling visuals and heartwarming tale, Wish Dragon has a super impressive voice talent. Check out the trailer below.

If that dragon voice sounds familiar, that’s because it’s John Cho. The beloved actor is also known for his work in the new Star Trek films as Sulu, and in acclaimed movies like Columbus and Searching. He’ll also be starring in the upcoming live-action Cowboy Bebop remake.

It’s so much fun to hear him step into the world of animation. In this first trailer, we can hear the fun he brings to the titular dragon, named Long. Cho isn’t the only star power behind Wish Dragon, either. Constance Wu (Crazy Rich Asians), Jimmy Wong (Mulan), Natasha Liu Bordizzo (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny), and Bobby Lee (MADtv) are just a few other talented performances voicing characters in the film.

Netflix / Sony Pictures Animation

The behind-the-scenes talent is also impressive. Chris Appelhans, who previously worked in animation on films like Coraline and Fantastic Mr. Fox, is the writer/director for Wish Dragon. Aron Warner, producer of Shrek, is producer here as well, along with Chris Bremble and Jackie Chan. Yes, that Jackie Chan.

Here’s the full synopsis for Wish Dragon, straight from Netflix:

In Sony Pictures Animation’s Wish Dragon, Din, a working-class college student with big dreams but small means, and Long, a cynical but all-powerful dragon capable of granting wishes, set off on a hilarious adventure through modern day Shanghai in pursuit of Din’s long-lost childhood friend, Lina. Their journey forces them to answer some of life’s biggest questions – because when you can wish for anything, you have to decide what really matters.

Additionally, Netflix released the first poster for the film as well, which shows off its vibrant color scheme and fantasy elements.

Netflix / Sony Pictures Animation

Wish Dragon comes to Netflix on June 11.

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Teachers, students, and administrators around the country are trying to figure out how to safely begin the 2020-2021 school year. But the truth is there probably aren’t many good options for formal learning right now. At least not for humans. When it comes to puppies, though, this video proves there’s already a formula that works. Just let a talking toy dragon read to a litter of them.

This video shot in Redlands, California, comes from the YouTube channel ViralHog (which we first saw at Laughing Squid). It’s from April 2020, which means this might be the one good thing to come out of that month. It features Dalton the Storytelling Dragon reading to a group of four week old golden retrievers, whose interest in hearing Jack and the Beanstalk ranges from totally into it to very unimpressed.

And just like a class of human children, this reading group has some students who are much more interested in hanging out with their friends than listening to their teacher. (Even “challenging” human students would probably be enraptured by/terrified not to listen to a talking dragon if it stood in front of them.)

ViralHog

Not that this group was misbehaving. They were actually a very good class. Yes they were. Compare that to this other group of golden retriever pups from February. Hansel and Gretel did not interest them at all. But every teacher or classroom guest reader knows what that’s like. However, being smelled by your students as they surround you is definitely weird.

Obviously Dalton the Storytelling Dragon isn’t the answer to our 2020-2021 school year issues. Especially since stuffed animals are notoriously bad at remote teaching…. we presume. But if you need your dogs to be distracted while learning or teaching from home, Dalton might be the best teacher’s aid you can hire.

Featured Image: ViralHog

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The most wonderful time of the year is just around the spooky corner—Halloween is almost here. We’re not sure how much we’ll be able to celebrate with others in 2020. But nothing will stop us from adorning our homes with our most macabre decorations. And this holiday season we’ll be able to put up one of the most frightening items we’ve ever seen. Home Depot is selling a giant, fog-breathing dragon for your front lawn. That’s not why it’s so terrifying.

It’s because it’s a scary reminder of Game of Thrones‘ final nightmare season.

Home Depot/Home Accents Holiday

Home Accents Holiday’s “Animated Giant Dragon in Grey without Fog Machine” (which we first learned about at Winter is Coming) stands a massive 69-inches. That’s 5-feet, 9-inches total. The interactive, moving decoration features dark-colored scales, a snarling mouth full of pointy teeth, and comes with blue eyes that glow red when the fog machine is activated. The only downside is that even with Home Depot’s hefty price tag of $399 the fog machine is not actually included. That’s how they getcha!

And seven bloody hells are they gonna get us. Photos don’t really do this huge item justice. It looms much larger than its impressive height indicates.

While the piece is not officially connected to Game of Thrones, it certainly looks like it was inspired by the HBO series. This dragon is very similar to Viserion after the Night King resurrected the felled dragon for his army of walking dead.

And that’s why this is the most terrifying decoration anyone will put up this Halloween season. Forget skeletons, ghosts, and monsters. Nothing will ever be as scary as Game of Thrones‘ final season.

Hopefully they won’t start selling Halloween decoration that looks like King Bran. That might be too much for even us to handle.

Featured Image: Home Depot/Home Accents Holiday

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Forget the water cooler, daily office dwellers! For what you have before you is what you’ve really always wanted to gather around for discussions of the latest bingeable series or your poorly executed lunch order: It’s a giant paper dragon that spans nearly 43 feet from tail tip to end of flaming breath, made in honor of the final season of Game of Thrones.

The giant dragon is the masterwork of artist Andy Singleton, who worked with the British office supplies company, Viking, to create the incredibly well-crafted paper sculpture. Although Viking, which is located in the U.K., originally uploaded the clip of the scaly beast to honor the final season of Game of Thrones, it’s now calling for people to check it out once again because of World Dragon Day taking place on October 5. And while that sounds like another twitter holiday that’ll only result in a mildly amusing hashtag, there’s no excuse needed to check out this paper dragon.

Viking

Not only is the paper dragon enormous—its wingspan is nearly 20 feet long and its body is nearly nine—it’s also made with the utmost attention to detail. Viking notes that the dragon took Andy and company 100 hours to build across ten full work days; the installation took another 10 hours on top of that and was complicated by the fact that the one of the goal’s of the project was to surprise Viking employees with something incredible.

But the dragon was built and installed, seemingly without a hiccup, and it literally made employees’ jaws drop. Which will happen to you as well if you check out Singleton’s work on Instagram. Seriously though, who else wants a paper sculpture in their home now?

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by andy singleton (@andysingleface) on May 4, 2018 at 6:25am PDT

What do you think of this enormous office dragon? Do you love the paradoxical nature of a fire-breathing creature made out of paper as much as we do? Let us know in the comments!

Images: Viking

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Kyle talks about slaying dragons, responds to your comments, and more!

The post Dragon Fight Physics | Because Science Footnotes appeared first on Nerdist.

How do you defeat a dragon? With science, of course! Kyle breaks down this mythological battle in this week’s Because Science!

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The dragon lamp (which sounds like the name of a tavern in Westeros) comes in at 25cm (9.8 inches) high. So basically, a little smaller than the actual dragons on the show were when they were hatched for Dany way back in season one of the series. This super cool lamp was created using 3D printing technology,  and is available for fans to buy via etsy for $63.59. The design of the lamp features a base that makes it look like the dragon is breathing fire once it’s turned on, and then it switches to looking like ice when the lamp is turned off. So you can say it’s Viserion by day, Drogon by night. The lamp has three color options: white, blue and red.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

3Д принтирана лампа под формата на дракон, който бълва огън. #got #gameofthrones #daenerystargaryen #khaleesi #drogon #lamp #lamps #diy

A post shared by Kvant 3D Printing (@kvant.3d.print) on Apr 6, 2019 at 12:42pm PDT

The artist has also made some other cool Game of Thrones inspired 3D printed art, including one of Jon Snow and Ghost  and all three dragons as baby hatchlings. You can check out these as well as some nifty 3D printed art of Marvel characters like Iron Man and Spidey, on the Kvant 3D Printing Instagram page.

Images: HBO

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As every Game of Thrones fan knows, “dracarys” in High Valyrian mean “dragonfire,” or in plain English “hey Drogon, how about you tear it all up for Mama?”  Regardless of what you might think of recent developments in Westeros on this season of Game of Thrones, one thing is usually true; it is always fun to watch those dragons unleash hell like Medieval nuclear warheads. As a tribute to Dany’s Dragons (or, I suppose just “Dragon” singular now), a YouTuber by the name of Mosko has created a dragon almost entirely out of matchsticks. And yes, it goes full Dracarys on us. You can watch the video down below.

The time lapse video shows everything that went into making the rather large facsimile dragon, and although Mosko made it from common household items, it was clearly very time consuming. In fact, the entire thing took over 150 hours to make. But without a doubt, the final result is truly a thing of beauty. And while part of me wishes that its creator had just let it be and just kept it for display, it is really cool to see it breathe fire. The matchstick sculpture’s creator even laments the fact that he has to burn his baby, and you can see him get kind of emotional about it in the video. But as Jaime Lannister once said “the things we do for love.” Or in this case, the love for one’s subscribers.

Despite being essentially a how-to video on how to make your own Game of Thrones style dragon from matchsticks, Mosko warns his fans that this is not something you’d want to try at home.  If one doesn’t know what they’re doing, it could lead to disaster. Not everyone is cut out to be the mother (or father) of dragons after all. Just ask Daenerys Targaryen. Too soon?

Images: Mosko / HBO

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The night is dark and full of secrets, but a little bird told us that the Spider himself, Lord Varys, may have major plans for Daenerys Targaryen that could shake up the finale of Game of Thrones. Join our maester with the mostest Jessica Chobot as she delves in to what Varys’ schemes could mean for the final episodes of the series. Plus, we interviewed Varys himself, Conleth Hill, at the season 8 premiere to hear what the little birds have been telling him.

The post Will Varys Betray Daenerys on Game of Thrones? (Nerdist News Edition) appeared first on Nerdist.

Go to the crypt, they said. It’ll be safe, they said. Yeah, right! Jessica explains how the Night King could use the crypt to his advantage in today’s Nerdist News!

What do you think is going to happen in the Winterfell crypts? Let us know in the comments!

The post Why the Winterfell Crypt Plan Is the Worst Idea in Game of Thrones! appeared first on Nerdist.

Warning: This post contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the premiere of Game of Thrones final season.

If you watched the Game of Thrones season eight premiere with a fan of the novels, you may have noticed they grew visibly angry when Jon Snow climbed on the back of Rhaegal and went for a dragon ride alongside Daenerys and Drogon. The problem isn’t that he did it – both readers and viewers have been predicting it would happen for years – it’s that the show didn’t treat the moment with the seriousness it deserved. It revealed the truth about Jon’s birth before Sam told him.

Only descendants of Valyria can ride a dragon. They are fickle creatures and will only accept a rider – an exclusive relationship for both so long as each lives – who have the “blood of the dragon” themselves. Even then, dragons have been known to burn, maim, or eat Valyrian descendants who tried to claim them as their mount, Targaryens included. Non-Valyrians have no shot of riding a dragon. (The only exception is when a dragonrider takes someone else for a ride with them. Dragons allow that.) Daenery’s joke about how it was nice knowing Jon Snow if Rhaegal didn’t want him to climb on wasn’t really a joke. At least it shouldn’t have been.

Jon riding Rhaegal have been a powerful, revelatory moment confirming the truth of his birth. It should not have preceded Sam telling him about it. And the moment it happened Daenerys should have known Jon had the “blood of the dragon,” and the bastard with an unknown mother was certainly a relative. That’s why it’s been such a highly anticipated scene for so many years.

Want to read more about dragon riders? Read our piece on whether Bran Stark will be able to warg into one.

There are two possible defenses for the way the scene played out. The first is Daenerys doesn’t know who dragons will accept as a rider, and her love for Jon was why he was the first person she ever offered the chance to. The other is that Game of Thrones has never officially established the rules of dragon riding on the series, and therefore is not bound to follow all of the lore of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. Both feel hollow, though.

Daenerys grew up with her brother Viserys, who knew all about dragons. As do two of her closest advisers, Jorah and Tyrion. What are the chances someone as smart as she wouldn’t have done her own research after hatching the first three dragons in nearly 150 years? Also, she has never offered any close ally, not Jorah, Daario, Missandei, or Grey Worm, the opportunity to ride one of her other dragons, despite there being numerous times when a second rider would have been an immense help. If it’s not a big deal like this scene indicated, why wouldn’t she have?

Even if it hasn’t been explicit, the show has implicitly acknowledged the dragon lore of the books by indicating it takes a special connection with dragons to ride them and withholding that payoff.

That delay made Jon Snow’s petting of Drogon on Dragonstone feel so momentous, and why Tyrion unchaining them was important enough it could be evidence he’s a secret Targaryen too. But rather than using that highly anticipated ride as a game-changing confirmation of Jon’s true birth, it was used to set up a fun joy ride that ended with a big laugh. The show seemed so determined to get the (genuinely funny) scene of the Mother of Dragons two large adult sons being overprotective, they sacrificed something far more important that was years in the making.

In the next episode, a dragon expert like Tyrion might learn about Jon’s ride and explain to everyone what it means, but it won’t have the same impact. Jon Snow, dragonrider, deserved better, and Daenerys – and the show – should have known that.

Don’t miss our full breakdown of Game of Thrones S8E1: “Winterfell” on All Kings Considered! Join Jessica Chobot, Dan Casey, and special guests Terri Schwartz (IGN) and Yolanda Machado (The LA Times, The Wrap) as they unpack everything from the premiere.

All Kings Considered airs Mondays at 12 pm PT on Geek & Sundry’s Twitch and Nerdist’s YouTube channels. Send your questions, complaints, thoughts, and theories to us @Nerdist on Twitter and you might be featured on our next episode!

Explore the rich, complicated, and controversial lore of George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire — and how it connects to HBO’s Game of Thrones — in our deep dive series, History of Thrones.

Images: HBO

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Bran Stark may be the most powerful person in all of Game of Thrones, but can the Three-Eyed Raven use his powers to take control of a dragon? Strap on your Valyrian tinfoil hats as we dive deep into this theory on today’s episode of Nerdist News Edition!

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Since the Game of Thrones season four finale, when the Three-Eyed Raven told Brandon Stark he “will fly” one day, fans have wondered if Bran will warg into a dragon. Season seven raised a far more explosive question though: can Bran warg into a dead dragon? Perhaps the answer can be found in another story of good and evil, when He Who Shall Not Be Named accidentally bonded himself with The Boy Who Lived.

It’s likely Bran can warg into a living dragon. Whether he can warg into the Night King’s undead dragon Viserion is a different beast entirely. It seems unlikely even someone with Bran’s incredible abilities could control a creature resurrected by a magical ice demon. However, in his quest to destroy his most dangerous enemy, the Night King might have unknowingly given Bran that awesome power when he touched him, just like how Voldemort inadvertently made a direct connection between himself and Harry Potter.

White Walkers raise the dead without touching them – except, quite notably, when the Night King brought back Viserion by placing a hand on him. The bond between Walker and wight is very strong; when a White Walker is killed, all the dead soldiers they resurrected die too. The Night King and the still-very-much-alive Bran also have a mystical bond.

In season seven, Bran warged into a raven to do reconnaissance beyond the Wall, and he spotted the army of the dead near Eastwatch. As he soared over the tens of thousands of wight soldiers, he passed the White Walkers, and as he did the Night King stared right at him. He knew Bran was there watching him, and Bran instantly left the raven and opened his eyes back at Winterfell’s weirwood tree.

Maybe the Night King can sense the presence of any warg nearby, but we know what it took for him to find Bran and the Three-Eyed Raven originally. In season six’s “The Door,” an impatient Bran went into a vision alone. There he found the army of the dead. Bran walked through the wights who didn’t move, unaware he was there. But when Bran walked up to the White Walkers on horseback, the Night King looked right at him. Despite not physically being there, the Night King could clearly see Bran then too.

The rest of the dead then turned to look at Bran as well, and when he turned back the Night King was standing next to him and he grabbed Bran’s arm. Immediately Bran woke up back in the cave of the Three-Eyed Raven, where he said the Night King had seen him. The Three-Eyed Raven told Bran the White Walkers now knew where they were and would come for them soon. When the dead arrived, the magical spells keeping the Children’s cave safe were gone, as White Walkers and the dead went in without exploding like they had before. If you need a reminder, everyone except Bran and Meera died because someone held the door.

The Night King’s powers let him do the seemingly impossible. Bran was in a vision, but he saw him. Bran wasn’t physically there, but the Night King touched him. That let him both know where the Three-Eyed Raven’s cave was, and it broke the magic that had kept it safe from the dead. That’s a connection beyond anything else we’ve seen in Game of Thrones, and to find a parallel we need to head to Hogwarts.

On two separate occasions, Voldemort, another soulless killer set on world domination, inadvertently bonded himself and Harry Potter in ways that ultimately helped destroy the Dark Lord. The first was when Voldemort’s attempted murder of Harry. Voldemort’s arrogance blinded him to how Lily Potter’s sacrifice cast an old type of protective magic, and he accidentally turned Harry into a secret Horcrux, connecting their minds and souls. That’s how Harry was able to see and experience important events and insights through Voldemort’s mind, and how he gained some of Voldemort’s powers in him (like how Harry could speak Parseltongue).

Voldemort made arguably an even greater mistake when he used Harry’s blood to regain a body. That tethered the two yet again, and when Voldemort finally did “kill” Harry, Lily’s magic lived on in Voldemort, which kept Harry alive.

What happened in Harry Potter isn’t evidence for possible events in Game of Thrones, but something the original Three-Eyed Raven said could be. After the White Walker leader grabbed Bran’s arm and he left the vision, Bran screamed, “He saw me!” The Three-Eyed Raven responded, half asking/half knowing, “He touched you.”

“I don’t know, he was close but-” Bran answered.

“He touched you,” said the Three-Eyed Raven with conviction, “He knows you’re here. He’ll come for you.” He then told Bran the magic of the cave wouldn’t work anymore, because the Night King’s “mark” was on him. The blue spot on Bran’s arm proved the (dark) mark was not metaphorical. But how did the Three-Eyed Raven know the Night King had touched him? Is it because he could see through time and knew it would happen? If so, why did the Three-Eyed Raven let Bran go into that vision alone in the first place?

Because he wanted the Night King to touch Bran.

Physical contact was the only way to create an intimate connection between the two, just like Voldemort had with Harry. The Three-Eyed Raven couldn’t leave the cave himself, his ancient body was only kept alive thanks to the deep roots of the weirwood tree, but Bran is young and can still return to the land of the living to help fight. This seemingly terrible mistake by Bran was a brilliant, secret plan by the wise Three-Eyed Raven who was four moves ahead of everyone in a game they didn’t know they were playing. He pulled a Dumbledore.

Bran being bonded with the Night King would answer the questions raised by the theory that says they are the same person. Harry wasn’t Voldemort, but they shared parts of their mind and soul. And if Bran is connected to the Night King, he’s also connected to the Night King’s dead dragon, the only dead creature we ever saw the Night King physically touch to resurrect.

We’ll find out if Bran can warg into a dead dragon and neutralize the dead’s greatest weapon, but thanks to the Night King it certainly looks like he has the right touch to do it.

Images: HBO

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“You’ll never walk again, but you will fly.” With those words the Three-Eyed Raven helped launch one of Game of Thrones’ greatest theories: Brandon Stark will warg into a dragon and help the living defeat the army of the dead. Even if he’s not powerful enough to overcome the might and magic of a dragon right now, his other powers could help him learn how to do so.

Brandon Stark’s abilities make him arguably the most powerful person in the world. His ability to warg into another creature and control their mind—which makes him a skinchanger or beastling—is a rare skill. On top of that, he has greensight. His “green dreams” give him prophetic visions of things that will come to pass. Like most prophecies, they are difficult to discern until after the events happen. Someone who is both a warg and has “the Sight” is known as a greenseer.

These powers come from the Children of the Forest. It’s believed the first greenseers were the wise leaders of that ancient race. Only one in a thousand Children are skinchangers, and only one in a thousand of them also have greensight. The odds of Bran, a human born thousands of years after the Children fled north, being a greenseer are even more remote.

The First Men believed the greenseers carved faces in weirwoods so they could see through the trees, maybe through time itself to the past and future. It’s why they cut so many down during their war with the Children. From what we know about Bran’s and the original Three-Eyed Raven’s powers, the First Men were correct. Jojen Reed, who only has greensight, tells Bran in A Storm of Swords the greatest of the greenseers “could look through the eyes of the weirwoods” to “see the truth that lies beneath the world.” We know Bran can do that. He has found hidden truths in the past, like Jon’s birth at the Tower of Joy, and he’s had visions of what would happen in the future, like when he saw Cersei blowing up the Sept of Baelor with wildfire before it happened.

But it might be something else Jojen said that could be our best clue about whether Bran can warg into a dragon. Jojen told him the most powerful greenseers “could wear the skins of any beast that flies or swims or crawls.” Dragons definitely qualify as beasts that fly.

Not all skinchangers’ abilities are equal. A normal warg can only enter and control the mind of a dog or wolf, but the most powerful skinchangers can control far bigger creatures. We’ve seen wargs enter the minds of eagles, owls, and ravens in the TV series, but in the books, a wildling known as Varamyr Sixskins controls three wolves, an eagle, a snow bear, and a shadowcat—the last two being much larger animals.

While some skinchangers can warg into another human, it’s considered a monstrosity. An injured, desperate Varamyr tries to do that anyway in A Dance of Dragons when the White Walkers are nearby. It doesn’t work when the woman whose body he tries to enter goes mad, biting off her tongue and ripping her eyes out,  to make him leave. Bran, on the other hand, wargs into Hodor with ease; it’s unclear if that’s because Hodor is simple-minded or willingly lets Bran control him during moments of crisis. Or maybe Bran is just that strong. No matter the answer, Bran’s other amazing greenseer ability to use a weirwood to see through time points to his warg skills being formidable—or maybe the better word is destructive, since using those two powers together led to him destroying young Wylis/Hodor’s mind.

Those abilities are all impressive, but can any warg, even if he is a great greenseer, control a dragon?

No record, nor a tall tale, of anyone doing that exists—dragons didn’t exist until after the Children of the Forest had mostly disappeared from the world. No one knows for certain where the first dragons came from. The legend varies from place to place. In Qarth they say a second moon split open and dragon eggs fell out. In Asshai they say the great beasts came from Beyond the Shadow Lands and they tamed them. But the greatest dragonlords the world has ever known, the Valyrians, said they found them in volcanoes.

The Valyrians used magic to control their dragons, thought to be magical creatures themselves. Magic in the world decreased when the dragons went extinct; summers got shorter while winters grew longer. The Valyrians’ spells let them build the greatest empire the world has ever known, but their methods were lost to time after the Doom of Valyria.

Daenerys proves it’s still possible to ride a dragon without magic. Dragons will sometimes accept someone with Valyrian blood (“the blood of the dragon”) as their dragonrider, though being of Valyrian descent doesn’t guarantee they will accept you.

If a dragon accepts you, it is an exclusive bond and no one else can ride them. If a dragonrider climbs on the back of a different dragon, even if that dragon knows them and has a different dragonrider, they will throw the person off. And dragonriders can only mount their own dragon so long as their dragon lives. Only when one of them dies can either a dragon or rider make another connection. Dragons seem to know instinctively if their rider dies. They don’t have to be physically near them when they pass.

(Note: a dragon will allow their dragonrider to bring others along for a spin. That’s how Daenerys was able to rescue the survivors of the Frozen Lake.)

Just because you are a dragonrider doesn’t mean your dragon will always obey you. “A dragon is not a slave,” Daenerys says. The Mother of Dragons has been unable to control her children sometimes, including her own mount Drogon.

There’s no guarantee Bran—who is not the blood of the dragon—can control one. When you warg into any creature you control them, and dragons are not slaves. If he enters one of their minds, he could accidentally turn them into a chaotic weapon of death.

Dragons are still creatures however, and Bran might be the most powerful warg who has ever lived. That alone might be enough to wear the skin of a beast as mighty as a dragon.

The Valyrians controlled their dragons with magic that has been lost, but nothing is lost to Bran who can see through time. Whether the secrets to taming dragons is in Asshai or in the annals of Valyria’s Freehold, he can access them. He could use warging, taming a dragon with spells, or a combination of those abilities to establish control.

And we have other reasons to think he will.

Benjen Stark told his nephew that when the Night King finds his way to the world of men, Bran “will be there waiting for him” and he “will be ready.” Jojen once told Bran that when the White Walkers come “the Night’s Watch can’t stop them, nor can the kings of Westeros and all their armies,” because as Jojen also said, “The only one thing that matters” is Bran…That might be because Bran will be there to greet the the Night King, not on the ground in his own body, but in the sky as the greatest weapon the world has ever known, in the skin of a dragon.

“You’ll never walk again, but you will fly,” the Three-Eyed Raven told Bran, and he has. But he possesses the skills to do it like no greenseer ever has.

Of course, that raises an important question: can Bran warg into the Night King’s dragon?

For that answer you’ll have to wait for part two.

Images: HBO

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A new trailer for Game of Thrones’ final season has hit the internet, and it’s got more details in it than their are swords in the Iron Throne! Jessica hammers out all the hidden hints in today’s Nerdist News!

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Tyrion Lannister drinks and he knows things, but is he 100% positive about his parentage? Put on your Valyrian tinfoil hats as we dive in to the popular fan theory that claims Tyrion Lannister is secretly a Targaryen on a new Nerdist News Edition.

The post GAME OF THRONES’ “Tyrion is a Secret Targaryen” Theory Explained (Nerdist News Edition) appeared first on Nerdist.

When piecing together the backstory of a new Dungeons & Dragons character or looking for inspiration for the campaign you’re currently running, it’s easy to turn to pop culture for ideas. From Buffy the Vampire Slayer to, naturally, Lord of the Rings and beyond, some of pop culture’s most beloved stories can fit easily into other tales. How To Train Your Dragon, a kids book series and smash hit movie franchise, is no exception! Everyone loves Toothless, a fiercely loyal dragon who’s more cat than catastrophic, so why not add a dragon just like him to your campaign?

Redditor Daimon5hade first shared his take on adding the Night Fury to Fifth Edition in 2016, but has since updated the text based on community feedback. The “unholy offspring of lightning and death itself,” described How To Train Your Dragon protagonist Hiccup, Night Furies are as deadly as you’d expect. (Not all dragons can be as cute as Toothless, after all.)

In these homebrewed rules, the Night Fury is more creature than companion; Toothless and Hiccup had a hard-won friendship that was incredibly rare, after all. The creator also made an effort to draw from D&D lore when bringing the Night Fury to the world.

“I wanted to give them interaction with the official content, and everything about White Dragons perfectly encapsulated a Night Fury’s enemy,” he commented.

Check out Daimon5hade’s Night Fury homebrew content and decide if you’re bringing the terrifying dragon to your own campaign! And be sure to tell us how it goes when your players first encounter the jet black master of the skies. (Did they give it a fish?)

More D&D Goodness!

• The next adventure from Wizards of the Coast will be called Ghosts of Saltmarsh.
• Did you see the most epic D&D group ever on The Big Bang Theory?
• Meet the heroes of Relics and Rarities.

Featured Image: Dreamworks Animation

Homebrew Content Image: Daimon5hade

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Game of Thrones finally returns to screens this April after a nearly two-year hiatus, much to the joy of fans everywhere. But also to their sadness, as the upcoming eighth season will also be the show’s last. But that doesn’t mean Thrones won’t occupy pop culture conversations for eons to come. Now it’s even making waves in the science world.University of Nebraska entomologist and professor Bret Ratcliffe recently named three new species of beetle after the dragons on Game of Thrones: drogoni, rhaegali and viserioni, the Latinized versions of Daenerys‘s dragons, Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion.

“I’ve often thought that scientists take themselves too seriously,” says Nebraska entomologist. So he named three new beetle species after dragons from “Game of Thrones.” https://t.co/HgHFNF93zw

— AP Central U.S. (@APCentralRegion) December 30, 2018

All three beetles are from the genus Gymnetis and have orange features that evoke dragon fire. Drogoni and viserioni can be found in Colombia and Ecuador, while rhaegali is found in French Guiana. According to the Omaha World-Herald, Ratcliffe is a fan of the show, but also chose the names as a way of “drawing attention to biodiversity and the huge amount of undiscovered species.”“When you create names like these, you do it to gain a little bit of notoriety and bring public attention to it,†Ratcliffe told the World-Herald. “We’re still discovering life on Earth. One of every four living things on Earth is a beetle. We haven’t discovered them all. We’re not even close.â€That means there are plenty of opportunities for even more Thrones-inspired beetle names. Maybe direwolf beetles are next? A beetle named after the Night King? The possibilities are endless!

Image: HBO

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“Aegon Targaryen changed the rules. That’s why every child alive knows his name three hundred years after his death.”Those were the words of Tywin Lannister about Aegon the Conqueror and his dragons, which forever altered warfare in Westeros. Now a woman and her dragons threaten to change the world once more, but we’re not talking about Daenerys. We’re talking about someone who is changing the rules of Christmas decorations, and her dragons might also lead to a war.Diana Rowland, an author from Louisiana, had a very different type of decor for her outdoor Christmas display this year: an incredible setup featuring two giant inflatable dragons. While many are bound to love it, one anonymous neighbor does not. A real-life Cersei left a note (wrongly) saying dragons are not appropriate for the holiday season, and suggested they might represent a satanic cult. (Not totally fair to the followers of the Lord of Light, but not totally unfair either.)

Our dragon holiday display got fan mail! (And apparently the “true meaning of Christmas” involves judgmental bullshit?) 😂 pic.twitter.com/7NLZKkEW2x

— Diana Rowland (@dianarowland) December 15, 2018

Of course, Rowland did the only thing she could after receiving such a concerned letter—she added way more dragons and gave them more of a Christmas feel.

An update to yesterday’s tweet re the letter I received from an anonymous, judgy-mcjudgyface neighbor who disapproved of my dragon display and asked me to consider removing them: I have added more dragons. pic.twitter.com/OxsFQs5yQ1

— Diana Rowland (@dianarowland) December 16, 2018

Everything about this is amazing (which is why even George R.R. Martin retweeted Vice‘s story about it), including how plenty of dragon supporters wanted to donate money to Rowland to buy even more decorations. Instead of taking them up on that silly offer, she asked for donations to actual worthy causes instead.

Hi, everyone! I’ve been getting a lot of messages about fundraisers/collections to buy me MORE DRAGONS, but I would much rather any Dragon Army money be donated to a worthy charity of your choice. Let’s make this holiday season about joy and charity for all. Thanks!!

— Diana Rowland (@dianarowland) December 16, 2018

Will this escalation lead to a war among neighbors? Maybe. War seems to follow dragons wherever they go. So who will win? We know who Tywin Lannister would bet on.

Featured Image: HBO

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While actress Emilia Clarke’s days as Daenerys Targaryen will soon be behind her, she will forever carry the title of Mother of Dragons—as well as her children—with her. Literally. It turns out, the Game of Thrones star got a triple dragon tattoo to commemorate her most famous role.

Clarke shared a picture of her new tattoo on her Instagram account, a small, all-black piece on her wrist featuring three dragons in flight. Her reason for getting it is just as good as the actual design (whose simplicity we really love), because she said she wanted to make “sure this mamma ain’t NEVER forgetting her babies.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by @emilia_clarke on Sep 19, 2018 at 6:36pm PDT

Rather than getting a copycat tattoo we want to see someone get “MOD 4 LYFE” done.

We also love how an actress who played a character with so many titles (Khaleesi, Stormborn, Breaker of Chains, The Unburnt) seems to love being the “Mother of Dragons” so much she refers to herself that way. We hope she’s still doing it when she’s 90. How cool would it be for some young kid to introduce his friends to his cool grandmother with the tattoo, only for her to say, “Please, don’t call me Nana Emilia. I’m the Mother of Dragons.”

What other tattoos should cast members of the show get? Ink our comments section below with your best ideas.

Featured Image: HBO

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We’ve accomplished a lot with drones so far, whether they’re clearing power lines with fire, putting on light shows, or saving dogs that got stuck in drains. These achievements, and virtually everything else worthwhile that drones have ever done, have one thing in common, though: They all took place outdoors. Drones do well in big open spaces, but when it comes to the small confines of the great indoors, they’re not quite as nimble. Some smart folks at the University of Tokyo decided to address this, and the solution they came up with is pretty fascinating (via BoingBoing).

The robot in the video above is appropriately called DRAGON, the name of which is derived from “Dual-rotor embedded multilink Robot with the Ability of multi-deGree-of-freedom aerial transformatiON” and is a real stretch of an acronym. Regardless, it does what a lot of drones can’t: Decide by itself what shape it should transform itself into in order to best navigate its environment. As the technology develops, it’s also possible that it will be able to be used as a flying arm that can pick up objects.

IEEE Spectrum notes:

“DRAGON is able to autonomously decide how to transform when given the constraints of the space it needs to pass through. There’s more potential here than just fitting through small spaces, though: The researchers conceptualize this robot as a sort of overactuated flying arm that can both form new shapes and use those shapes to interact with the world around it by manipulating objects. Eventually, DRAGON will wiggle through the air with as many as 12 interlinked modules, and it’ll use its two ends to pick up objects like a two-fingered gripper. And we can imagine DRAGON wrapping itself around stuff to move it, or using direct contact with the environment to do other exciting things.”

What do you think of DRAGON? Can this robot bring drones to the next level? Let us know what you think down in the comments!

Featured image: IEEE Spectrum/YouTube

Let us drone on, in a good way…

• Flamethrower drones clear off power lines.
• Drones playing Fruit Ninja seem pretty dangerous.
• If these drones knew you were coming, they’d have baked a cake.

The post This Flying Drone Looks Like a Dragon Transformer and Is Just as Mystical appeared first on Nerdist.

Anybody who caught the latest season of Game of Thrones vividly recalls the “Loot Train Attack,” at which point Daenerys and Drogon literally burned the joint down with an unholy display of fiery dragon breath. So what if you wanted to cross paths with the very same sort of giant dragon spitting massive amounts of roiling flame here in reality? You’d go to Russia, of course! And you’d visit the Kudykin Mountain Safari Park, where you could stand eye-to-eye with a giant three-headed dragon statue that breathes fire. All we have to say is we will bend the knee right freaking now. 

A post shared by Оля Марочкина (@mmarochka) on Sep 3, 2017 at 1:55am PDT

Although the 50-foot-tall metal and concrete beast, which we found via Vice, looks like it belongs directly in the middle of Old Valyria, it’s actually a statue made in the likeness of Zmey Gorynych, a dragon-like creature with three heads from ancient Slavic folklore. Zmey was apparently the focus of his own set of tall tales, including a great battle with the mythical warrior, Dobrynya Nikitich. Although we bet Nikitich never charged Zmey with a spear on horseback like some kind of… not so intelligent, yet super brave person.

A post shared by Alex ѦѪ (@a.prokhoda) on Sep 10, 2017 at 8:42am PDT

According to Sputnik News, the statue has been under construction since 2015, but is now fully operational with all three heads ready to spit hot fire like they’re tryin’ to drop a mix tape! It’s not exactly clear what kind of system the park uses to make the dragons breathe fire, but it has to be some variation of pressurized fuel source, tube, and ignition device. (There’s a reason flamethrowers have been around since the 1st century AD, right?)

A post shared by Ксения (@ksenitru) on Sep 23, 2017 at 9:45am PDT

When the dragons aren’t active, they’re simply a part of a large array of carnival festivities, which include a life-sized Trojan horse as well as some farm animals. Farm animals that should be extra grateful Zmey doesn’t have a Drogon-esque appetite.

What do you think about this three-headed fire-breathing dragon? Does this thing give Drogon and Co. a run for their money or is not even close? Give us your thoughts in the comments below!

Images: YouTube / денис кондаков

More from Game of Thrones!

• Game of Thrones‘ final season may cost $15 million per episode
• Neil deGrasse Tyson attacks Game of Thrones‘ dragon physics
• Nikolaj Coster-Waldau thinks Jaime will kill Cersei

[brightcove video_id=”5569860630001″ brightcove_account_id=”3653334524001″ brightcove_player_id=”rJs2ZD8x”]

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While we are all still reeling from the end of the fast paced — and way too short — seventh season of Game of Thrones, and eagerly awaiting the final season (which may not even come until 2019), we all have to find other avenues to show our love for all things Westerosi.

And while there is a ton of Game of Thrones merch out there to buy, and Game of Thrones theory videos on YouTube to get sucked into for hours, we think we might have found the coolest expression of love for the series made by any fan so far.Thanks to Bored Panda, we’ve learned of the absolutely incredible micro sculptures celebrating the series from an artist in Thailand named Salavat Fidai. And when we say “micro sculptures,” we mean micro — these were all carved on the tip of a pencil! Among Fidai’s amazing pencil sculptures are the sigils of the major houses of Westeros, a White Walker, the Night King, one of Khaleesi’s dragons, and, of course, the Iron Throne itself. The sculptures were displayed at a special exhibit in Thailand this past month.

You can check out images of some of these amazing sculpture down below:

Hey Bangkok! Open for free! World-class art on the tip of the pencil “Game of Thrones A Pencil Microsculpture in Bangkok”. And characters from the Game of Thrones series by Carver Artists. @Salavat.Fidai Russian people, who are recognized around the world, are skilled in carving miniature art. เปิดให้ชมฟรี! งานศิลป์ระดับโลกบนปลายดินสอ “Game of Thrones A Pencil Microsculpture in Bangkok” พบกับผลงานแกะสลักขนาดจิ๋วเป็นรูปสัญลักษณ์ และตัวละครจากซีรีส์ Game of Thrones โดยศิลปินนักแกะสลัก @Salavat.Fidai ชาวรัสเซียซึ่งเป็นที่ยอมรับทั่วโลกถึงฝีมือการแกะสลักงานศิลป์ขนาดย่อส่วน #GOTPENCILART is open to Game of Thrones fans and the public for free! From 28 Jul – 31 Aug 06 at AIS D.C., 5th Floor, The Emporium Shopping Complex. เปิดให้แฟนๆ Game of Thrones และประชาชนทั่วไปเข้าชมฟรี! ตั้งแต่วันที่ 28 ก.ค – 31 ส.ค. 60 ณ AIS D.C. ชั้น 5 ศูนย์การค้าดิเอ็มโพเรียม Free Admission. Opens to public at AIS D.C. till 31 Aug, 2017.

A post shared by Salavat Fidai (@salavat.fidai) on Aug 23, 2017 at 8:59pm PDT

Houses of Westeros. Which one your favorite? #Targaryen #Greyjoy #Stark #Lannister #Baratheon Welcome to Game Of Thrones A Pencil Microsculpture Exhibition By Salavat Fidai The Exhibition on from April 22 to June 4 at K+ Curatorial Space, Scotts Square, Singapore. The exhibition is free and organised by HBO Asia @hbo_asia and K+ @kplussg ⚔️ The seventh season of #GameOfThrones premieres July 17 on @hbo_asia #GoTPencilArt

A post shared by Salavat Fidai (@salavat.fidai) on Apr 27, 2017 at 4:56am PDT

Drogon Welcome to Game Of Thrones A Pencil Microsculpture Exhibition By Salavat Fidai The Exhibition on from April 22 to June 4 at K+ Curatorial Space, Scotts Square, Singapore. The exhibition is free and organised by HBO Asia @hbo_asia and K+ @kplussg ⚔️ The seventh season of #GameOfThrones premieres July 17 on @hbo_asia #GoTPencilArt

A post shared by Salavat Fidai (@salavat.fidai) on May 1, 2017 at 8:42am PDT

Brace yourself Singapore… Winter Is Coming in 2 days ❄️ #GoTPencilArt ⚔️ More details here: http://hboasia.com/HBO/en-sg/gotpencilart ✏️Game Of Thrones A Pencil Microsculpture Exhibition By Salavat Fidai The Exhibition on from April 22 to June 4 at K+ Curatorial Space, Scotts Square, Singapore. The exhibition is free and organised by HBO Asia @hbo_asia and K+ @kplussg ⚔️ The seventh season of #GameOfThrones premieres July 17 on @hbo_asia

A post shared by Salavat Fidai (@salavat.fidai) on Apr 20, 2017 at 2:45am PDT

There are also several other pencil sculptures based on other beloved geek properties like Harry Potter and more, all on his Instagram account. You can check those all out by clicking here.

What do you think of these amazing pieces of art? Be sure to share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

Images: Salavat Fidai

WANT MORE GAME OF THRONES?

• Read The Winds of Winter as written by a neural network
• Why are there no female White Walkers?
• How Dany’s House of the Undying vision prepares us for Thrones‘ future

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If any character on Game of Thrones has a 100% approval rating among viewers it’s Bronn… or rather he had unanimous support before last week’s explosive “The Spoils of War,” where he got behind Qyburn’s scorpion and fired a shot into the side of Drogon. Because even if you still love him despite almost killing a dragon at least one person was not okay with it, actor Jerome Flynn‘s mailman.In a post-episode interview Flynn did with the show’s production diary “Making Game of Thrones,” where he discussed how much fun it was filming the sequence and how he felt when he saw it all come together, he dropped this little nugget into just how much some people love dragons.

“I was surprised when I was watching it. I spent weeks on that sequence, but I was on the edge of my seat, the adrenaline was running–they really nailed it. Although since the day the battle aired, I’ve been a little unpopular, I have to say. My postman won’t speak to me because I shot the dragon.”

We understand why people have such strong feelings about Daenerys’ dragons (because they’re freaking dragons), but that postman is way out of line. What was Bronn supposed to do? Just sit there and wait to go up in dragonflame?Way out of line.If we had a chance to speak with Flynn we’d tell him how impressed we were by his marksmanship with a weapon he clearly had very little time to train with, especially because Flynn really did fire it on set.I mean, nobody has successfully brought down a dragon in over 150 years. Who wouldn’t want to talk about that?

How did you feel about Bronn shooting Drogon? Let us know in the comments below if you are mad at him.

Images: HBO

The post People Have Stopped Talking to GAME OF THRONES’ Jerome Flynn Since Bronn Shot a Dragon appeared first on Nerdist.

In Game of Thrones‘ season seven premiere, sharp-eyed viewers spotted an illustration of a dagger Sam found in an old book looked identical to the one used by Bran’s would-be assassin in season one. Rather than just a fun Easter egg though, that dagger took on added meaning when Baelish “gifted” it to Bran last week.

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But while we were busy wondering what scheme Littlefinger is working on, we might have missed out on the show answering one of the great mysteries of Valyrian steel. If so it’s a revelation that would be far more important going forward than anything Littlefinger is planning for the future.This was the dagger used by the cutthroat (catspaw in the books) assassin in season one, which Catelyn brought to Littlefinger who lied about it belonging to Tyrion Lannister.Compare that to the illustration in Sam’s dusty forgotten book.They are exactly the same, and that’s not by chance. John Bradley who plays Samwell Tarly talked about the filming of that scene with The Huffington Post after this season’s premiere, and he had this to say about that specific page in the book.

“I was literally told make sure that you linger on this page. They were shooting over my shoulder and said make sure to linger on this page. Make sure we get a good shot of this page before you turn the page over.”

The actual dagger from the show, from the Making of Game of Thrones Production Diary

In the moment the only thing any viewer could really notice on that page is the dagger, but the show’s creators had to know that fans would decipher what the text had to say, which is exactly what Reddit user rataface did by making an exact replica of it.

[EVERYTHING] I replicated a page from Sam’s book about dragonglass from gameofthrones

His reproduction is so accurate it can be a little difficult to read, so here’s what it says (bolded section ours):

The Valyrians were familiar with dragonglass long before they came to Westeros. They called it “Zirtyl yierzyll,” which translated to “frozen fire†in Valyrian, and eastern tales tell of how their dragons would thaw the stone with dragonflame until it became molten and malleable. The Valyrians then used it to build their strange monuments and building without seams and joints of our modern castles. When Aegon the conqueror forged his Seven Kingdoms, he and his descendants would often decorate their blades with dragonglass feeling a kinship with the stone. The royal fashion for dragonglass ornamentation soon spread throughout the Seven Kingdoms to those wealthy enough to afford it. Hilts and pommels were and are the most common decoration for dragonglass if too brittle to make a useful crossguard. Indeed, its very brittleness is what relegate it to the great houses and the most successful merchants.

It’s more than a little curious that an illustration of a Valyrian steel dagger doesn’t mention the word “steel” one time. This entire entry speaks only of dragonglass, almost as though the two are one and the same.We wrote extensively about Valyrian steel before, about how no one knows how the Valyrians made it, their secrets dying with them in the Doom. All we know for certain is that it is lighter, stronger, and sharper than even the best castle-forged steel. It is thought to have been forged in dragonflame, and it was cast with magic and spells. (George R.R. Martin himself has called it a “fantasy metal” because magic played a role in its making and it contains magical qualities.)Because no one knows exactly how it was made there is a finite amount of it in the world, making it is almost priceless. That was true before anyone knew it could kill a White Walker.There is something else we know about Valyrian steel though: it has a very dark color.In A Storm of Swords as Tywin is having House Stark’s ancestral Valyrian steel sword Ice reforged into two swords for House Lannister, he has this thought:

“Most Valyrian steel was a grey so dark it looked almost black, as was true here as well.”

That dark color could be because it was likely forged in dragonflame, but remember that bolded line from Sam’s book that seemed to discuss Valyrian steel and dragonglass interchangeably?

“…eastern tales tell of how their dragons would thaw the stone with dragonflame until it became molten and malleable.”

Only dragonflame is hot enough to turn obsidian molten, and dragonglass is usually black.Was Valyrian steel forged with dragonglass, which is why it both looks especially dark and can kill White Walkers?The Children of the Forest made the White Walkers by inserting dragonglass into the heart of a man. We might not know the specifics of how that worked, but we know dragonglass is both magical and the White Walkers weakness.We assumed Valyrian steel could also kill White Walkers because it was forged in dragonflame, but what if it’s actually because Valyrian steel is partially made of dragonglass itself?Whether or not the steel was forged in dragonflame wouldn’t matter, the dragonglass would have had to have been melted by dragons, so dragons were still needed for the process, which is why no one has been able to make it since the Doom of Valyria.But if Sam has come across this information and can somehow piece it together, at Dragonstone right now are three dragons and a “mountain” of dragonglass. Valyrian steel swords and daggers in the hands of gifted fighters like Jon and Arya would be much more desirable to fight with in the Great War than dragonglass spears or arrows.Of course the magic the Valyrians forged the steel is still required, and they’d need skilled blacksmiths to quickly make them since the White Walkers seem poised to finally arrive at the Wall.Is Melisandre heading to Volantis, the oldest of the Valyrian outposts and home to the Lord of Light’s most devoted followers, to find that lost information and return to Westeros with it? Is long-lost blacksmith Gendry finally going to return when the living need him most?It would be quite the convergence, but Bradley did also have this to say in that interview:

“All of these storylines, no matter how spread out they feel sometimes, they are a lot of the same storyline and in the equation.”

The show wanted him to linger on that page because they wanted us to pay attention to it, and that might be because it contains an answer to one the great mysteries of making Valyrian steel.With the dead marching it’s sounds like it could be a recipe for victory.What do you think? Is Valyrian steel made with dragonglass? Is that why it kills White Walkers? If so what might all this mean going forward? Forge all of your thoughts in our comments section below.For more information on the significance of the dagger that Littlefinger gave to Bran, click here.To understand how Jaime Lannister possibly sank so deep so close to shore (lol), click here.Is Gendry actually coming back? Here is what we think about that.

Images: HBO

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Game of Thrones has many signature aspects, but dragons and the giant wall are the most iconic of the fire and ice of the story, but which one is stronger? Kyle melts it down on this week’s Because Science!

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This week on TableTop, it’s Dragon Farkle! Wil Wheaton is joined by Brandon Routh, Derek Mio, and Neil Grayston. The objective: build an army and defeat the dragon!

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Envision yourself as a bit of a career burglar; perhaps you’re an elven thief looking to uncover new treasures for your clan or a Robin Hood-type stealing to give back to the poor. Now, picture that you’ve uncovered a fantastic cave filled with riches, everything glittering gold, imbued with gems, and worth more than you can imagine. The only thing standing in your way are the other thieves thirsty for the same riches… Oh, and a giant a dragon waiting to destroy you all if you don’t make it out in time.

This is the premise of the deck-building board game, Clank!. Each of the players takes on the role of one of four burglars trying to gain as many riches as possible before the dragon can knock them out.

The red piece is clearly the best piece.

Clank! is fun two-to-four player game for all ages and doesn’t take too long if you’re playing the basic side of the board (yes, there are two sides and one will murder you). Regardless of which side you’re playing, the goal is simple and every move is transparent. Since everyone starts off with the same deck and all players can see which resources you’re buying, everyone is aware of what everyone else has. That doesn’t mean it’s not competitive, but it won’t ruin friendships like Monopoly. Or is that just me?

The mechanics to Clank! are simple. You have a deck of cards, each of which allows you to do one of three actions: move, buy more cards, or attack a monster. Some cards have effects that allow the player to do special things; such as draw an extra card or remove Clank, which is the amount of noise you are making while moving around the board. On the other hand, some cards have you add Clank, so not every effect is helpful. You normally have to play all five cards in your hand each round, so if you have a regular card that makes you add clank, you have to use it.  Each player has different color cubes that act as their Clank and the more you have on the board at the time of a dragon attack, the more likely you are to take damage.

In addition to treasure, the dungeon you’re exploring is also full of monsters. Each of the monster cards have a sword rating of two or more, which you’ll have to match with cards in your hand in order to beat. While monsters normally come with treasure, some will also make you add clank, so be wary when you choose to fight them.

The most evil cards are the ones with the little dragon in the corner. Every time one of these is drawn during the game (save for the very beginning), you trigger a dragon attack. If you’re lucky, none of your clank cubes will be drawn and if you’re all lucky, then only the black dragon cubes will be drawn. If the black cubes are drawn, no one takes damage, but the cubes are then get set aside so that there are less and less as the game goes on.

My arch nemesis: Smaug the Burninator.

As soon as a player gets knocked out or a player makes it to the top of the board with an artifact, the end game begins. A dragon attack is instantly triggered and players have three rounds to escape the dungeon. Anyone above the depths of the dungeon is safe and can still win as long as they have an artifact, but anyone still below is automatically out. The players who make it all the way back to the top get an extra twenty points for not being knocked out, and all-in-all, the player with the most riches wins.

Overall Clank! is a great game for people who enjoy a light fantasy setting, an easy to follow deck building game, and want something that doesn’t take five hours to finish. It’s a lot of fun and I highly recommend Clank! for all people of all ages.

If you’re curious and want to learn more about Clank! then you can check it out over on Dire Wolf Digital’s website.  Check it out and enjoy responsibly.

Feature Image Credit: Dire Wolf Digital

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If you’re a fan of Critical Role, you probably know that our plucky band of adventurers is in the middle of a months-long mission to defeat the Chroma Conclave, an alliance of dragons. Vox Machina has defeated a number of the powerful beasts, and they’re setting their sights on the most monstrous of them all: Thordak, the Cinder King.

Is Vox Machina’s crusade to vanquish a conclave of dragons giving you the itch to go dragon slaying yourself, but you don’t have months to spend on your quest? You can go on a dragon hunt — or be the dragon ON the hunt — with these five tabletop games that you can play in less than an hour.

DragonFlame

You are the dragon stalking the skies over castles and villages in this crowdfunded card game. But beware, you’re not the only dragon on the prowl. Players draft cards to place on castles to score points and loot even more treasure than their fellow dragons.

Cards that can be played on castles include different kinds of treasures, relics with special abilities, knights and other cards that cost negative points, and the titular dragonflame. Players then select the stack of cards on a castle to take for themselves. For each dragonflame card they receive, players place one fire token on a village. Breathe fire, burn, and plunder to earn your way to victory.

2-5 Players, Ages 8+

Dragon Slayer

In this push-your-luck dice game, you are a knight on a quest to slay a dragon. Well, not just a dragon, all of them. You’re not only up against all of those dragons, but your fellow fearless knights as well who are on the same crusade.

Not only do you have to get lucky with the rolls of your dice to get the winning combos to slay the dragon, but once per game another player has the ability to challenge you after victory is yours. If you take the challenge and defeat another dragon, you earn more hard-fought points. Back away from the dare, and you score less on the dragon you did defeat, and the challenger earns five points. Push your luck and push your opponents in Dragon Slayer.

2-5 Players, Ages 14+

Dragonwood

If you’re looking to get your kids started on a path to Dungeons & Dragons, this card and dice game is a fantastic place to start. Dragonwood turns you and the kids into adventurers traipsing through an enchanted forest. As you make your way through the dangerous terrain, players will draw cards to challenge monsters and creatures in their path.

Fight creatures based on the cards in your hand and defeat enemies with a roll of the dice to earn points. Once you feel ready, you can challenge the two dragons hiding in the creature deck. Will you make it out of Dragonwood alive?

2-4 Players, Ages 8+

Drako

It’s dwarves vs. dragons in this two-player card game. Drako comes with miniatures and a gorgeous game board. Players move their pieces and take actions with the six cards in their hands.

On each turn, players can draw two cards or play one from their hand. Each dwarf has a special ability, such as a crossbow attack or a net throw, and the dragon can take flight or breathe fire, all depending on the cards in your hand. When attacked, a player has the option to play a defense card to block it. When either the dwarves or dragon are defeated, the game is over. But if the dragon survives until all the dwarf cards are played, the dragon wins and flies away to fight another day.

2 Players, Ages 8+

Seven Dragons

Original art by Larry Elmore takes this dragon-themed card game to the next level. Seven Dragons is a color-matching card game with gameplay similar to classic dominoes. Each player has a secret goal card featuring a color; they then place the cards around the silver dragon in the middle to match the colors. Connect seven dragons of the color on your goal card and you’re the winner.

But there’s a little more to it than that. Action cards let you shake things up by moving or removing cards or trading around players’ hands or goal cards. Instead of slaying dragons, you’re playing dragons, making Seven Dragons a great pick for young players.

2-5 Players, Ages 6+

Do you prefer to fight the dragon or be the dragon? Tell us in the comments below!

Top Image: Gamewright

Other Images: Minion Games, Indie Boards & Cards, Gamewright, Rebel Games, Looney Labs 

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There are few things in gaming as satisfying as a successful dungeon crawl with your party. Enter the dark unknown, battle the horrors within, and escape with your loot and your lives.

Dungeon crawls are fun for the entire group, but sometimes you don’t want your game night to actually be a crawl. You don’t need to buy miniatures or set aside an entire evening the next time you want to grab a torch and explore a pitch-black dungeon. These four dungeon-themed games give you all of the adventure, just in less time–under an hour.

Cave Troll

This recently updated board game has a party of adventurers, treasure to collect, and yes… a cave troll. Cave Troll is an area-control game in a dungeon crawl setting. Vie against other players to hold more rooms in the dungeon and claim the most treasure.

On each turn, players draw and play cards to enter the dungeon with their heroes (portrayed with the included miniatures), place monsters in the dank rooms, discover artifacts, and distribute treasure chests to score even more loot. Orcs and wraiths also stalk the dungeon, along with the namesake cave troll, removing heroes from the board and closing off rooms and their gold. Points are tallied throughout the game, earned by having the most heroes in a room. How much treasure can you loot before the cave troll takes a massive swing?

2-4 players, Ages 14+

Dungeon Fighter

Dungeon Fighter adds something completely unique to the typical dungeon crawl: throwing dice at an actual target. There’s still a dungeon with a few different paths to follow as players explore and along the way, the hilariously illustrated heroes will attack monsters drawn from a deck of cards.

Different heroes have different abilities, triggered when a symbol shows on one of the colored dice. To score a hit on the monster, the dice must bounce on the tabletop at least once and onto the target board. Some monsters even have special instructions for how to throw the dice, like with players’ eyes closed or under a leg. Dungeon crawls easily turn into dungeon LOLs with this zany game.

1-6 players, Ages 10+

One Deck Dungeon

One Deck Dungeon from Asmadi Games is a cooperative card game that’s all about removing the slow pace and clutter from the dungeon crawl. No miniatures, no sprawling dungeon game board–with just a deck of 54 colorful cards and a set of 30 dice, your heroes are ready to enter the labyrinth. Cards, earned by defeating monsters, can be used in a variety of ways depending on the player’s choices. Each hero plays their cards right to reach the bottom of the dungeon and the dragon waiting in its depths.

This recently crowdfunded dungeon crawl card game is planned for a wide release at the end of the year, but the print and play version is available now for free.

1-2 players, Ages 14+

Welcome to the Dungeon

This is another big adventure stashed in a small box. Welcome to the Dungeon is a push-your-luck card game where the players take control of one hero–all sharing the same adventurer–with special weapons and items. Unlike the other games in this list, the hero has yet to actually enter the dungeon, and players must decide what dangers he or she will face within.

On each turn, players choose a card from the monster deck and decide, based on the hero’s equipment, if that would be a worthy foe to face in the dark depths. If it isn’t, taking the monster out of the game means taking a piece of the hero’s inventory as well. Players can pass and bow out of the round if they decide the adventurer would be at a disadvantage with the enemies lurking in the dungeon. The last player brave enough to face the horrors within then enters the dungeon with the items that remain in play. The first person to successfully enter the dungeon and come out alive twice wins the game.

2-4 players, Ages 10+

Do you prefer your dungeon crawls to be short and sweet, or sprawling epics? Let us know your favorite in the comments!

Featured Image: iello games

Other Images: Fantasy Flight Games, iello games, and Asmadi Games

The post 4 Dungeon Crawls You Can Finish in Less Than an Hour appeared first on Nerdist.

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We have all seen Daenerys Targaryen survive fire, but does that mean she could be the ultimate beachgoer and be immune to sunburn? Kyle has the irradiated answers in this week’s Because Science!

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The Justice League transformed into a troop of gorillas once, and the X-Men even became a whole menagerie of zoo animals. Neither makeover was nearly as metal as the one artist Lynton Levengood deigns upon a smorgasbord of Marvel and DC familiars in his gallery. Indeed, if Disney princesses can enlist in Warhammer, why can’t superheroes and supervillains be dragons? From Batman to Iron Man, Levengood vividly illustrates how these characters would look as fire-breathing reptiles, trading spandex for scales and billowy capes for spiky wings.

What’s most impressive is how all the characters’ personalities persist through the mutation. Scroll this sampling and see Batman as a brooding blue dragon, and Nightcrawler as a cavalier dragon in a puff of purple smoke. Contrast the anger of the Hulk dragon with the Venom dragon’s more insidious malice.

Thunder lizards are very much Levengood’s forte, and his blog/portfolio–titled the Modern Dragon–features these creatures in almost every situation and permutation. His Patreon goes even deeper, with prints and even coloring books featuring these terrible, beautiful beasts.

There are plenty of pieces depicting dragons as fearsome and majestic animals of the air, but it’s the ones showing them as small, quirky characters which are even more delightful. These are less about awe and more about “Awww…” Anybody who ever wondered what cute between-the-scenes shenanigans might’ve occured during the early months of Daenerys Stormborn single motherhood should scroll below. Go on and giggle at the lil’ dragons getting into scraps with junk food, and grin at the lil’ dragon getting spooked by his own reflection, and nod warmly as one chubby dragon unsuccessfully tries to fit in with a couple basic pigeons.

Which dragon here has seized your imagination? What other pop characters might look that much cooler as winged lizards? Fill the talkback with your thoughts!

Image Credits: Lynton Levengood

The post Superheroes Look Just As Cool When You Turn Them Into Dragons appeared first on Nerdist.

Mild spoilers ahead. What is read may never die.

As we await the aftermath of Tyrion’s controversial mission on last week’s episode of Game of Thrones, it seems only fitting to highlight the show’s scaly beasts. We watched in awe as The Imp entered Rhaegal and Viserion’s holding cell, braving the odds to free the pair of dragons from their shackles. It was a valiant display of BAMF-ery no doubt, but something interesting caught my eye during the scene: Dany’s dragons walk on their wings, indicating that they aren’t dragons at all, but wyverns.

[mpx_video type=”alpha” guid=”Sy6Mi79cbVT449PGtJe3xOR0xWbudoyT”]

To understand the difference, we have to take a dive into mythozoology, which much to my excitement, is a real thing. In medieval mythology and heraldry – the practice of devising coats of arms – wyverns are described as serpent-like creatures with wings, often having spiked tails. The word “wyvern” is derived from the French “wyvere,” which means both “viper” and “life.” As a symbol, the animal represents war, and is a sign of strength to those who bear it.

It all sounds pretty dragon-esque, but here is where things start to diverge: unlike their pop-culture-pervasive kin, wyverns only have two legs. The forelimbs are absent, replaced instead by bat-like wings with claws that can be used to make contact with the ground. Exhibit A:

European dragons, on the other hand, traditionally have four limbs and wings. Think Toothless:

Or Sean Connery:

By morphology alone, Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion are more like wyverns than anything else, but modern fantasy has been breaking the old rules for many years. Tolkien’s Smaug is a great example. Smaug is clearly described as being a “dragon,” but his on-screen self is depicted with wyvern-like characteristics. George R.R. Martin was certainly aware of the difference between the two when he conjured up Westeros’ fauna.

“According to the rules of heraldry, dragons have four legs and wyverns two, yes,” he wrote on his blog. “But have you ever seen a heraldic ‘seahorse?’ Heralds didn’t know crap about biology. Now, there are no actual dragons, to be sure. But there are bats, and there are birds, and once upon a time there were pterodactyls. Those are the models to use when designing a dragon. No beast in nature has four legs and wings.”

He’s right. And there’s a reason for that: wings evolved from walking limbs. We know that birds, for example, evolved from small two-legged, meat-eating dinosaurs with fluffy feathers. The fuzz on their arms eventually gave way to flight feathers, and their arms became wings. It’s thought that bats, on the other hand, evolved from small gliding mammals of the order Insectivora. In both cases, winged structures arose from existing limbs. To make four-legged flight possible, an animal would have to possess three muscle-anchoring bone girdles, and that body plan simply doesn’t exist. Your body has two: the collarbone-breastbone combo, and the hips, or pelvic girdle. That basic blueprint is shared with all the vertebrates on Earth.

Some have pointed out that there were four-winged dinosaurs, and while this is true, those animals did not possess an additional set of limbs. To our knowledge, a quadrupedal flying animal has never walked the planet.

“Besides,” adds Martin, “the best dragon ever shown on film, Vermithrax Perjorative, has two legs and two wings. My dragons have two legs.”

Fair enough. And like Vermithrax Pejorative, the GOT dragons also breathe fire, something that – in most accounts of medieval lore – wyverns do not do. Plus, “the mother of wyverns,” doesn’t quite roll off the tongue.

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3D printing technology has grown a lot in the last year, and it has been interesting to follow what is being created. A few creative gamers have posted up their creations online for other people to download such as enemies and even whole dungeons that you can build one plastic piece at a time. It is exciting to see what is being built and how all the files are being shared as well.

3DnD Gold Dragon – mz4250

Reddit user mz4250, posted up the Dungeons & Dragons creatures he made with his 3d printer. Thumb through the gallery to check out all the dragons and creatures that he spent a year assembling and scanning into his printer. His players will be able to engage with the different dragons from the Monster Manual completely free, minus the process of actually printing out these plastic beasts like magic.  If you want to print out those dragons with your own printer, they are up on Shapeways and are free to anyone with an account.

We also saw Reddit user sasuke_so_cool, post up the Dungeon that he made for his campaign. That dungeon goes beyond old graph paper and really brings the table to life. You can find these pieces up on Thingverse.

Image Source: 3DnD Dungeon – donsam

If you want to pick up your own printer, there are a few options, such as the Printrbot. For those of us that don’t have that sort of cash laying around, there are other options such as 3dHubs, which offers a 3d printing service. Eventually Kinko’s may have their 3D printing service set up, but until then we will just have to take a look at what is being created in the community.

Another factor that we have been following is the creative license of the artist when making established characters. For mz4250, Wizards of the Coast reached out to him and asked him to put the dragons on Shapeways, so everyone could have access to them for free. Though, as a larger community learns how to create and build, how will the miniature game industry adapt?

What kinds of creatures would you make with a 3D printer? Let us know in the comment section below.

Feature image credit: mz4250/imgur

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