I'm designing an RTS, where one side is dragons. But as I started getting into it, I'm finding that powerful magical dragons are actually white bulls in disguise. I can't figure out things about their habits life styles. They were essentially peaceful, brought into a war with humans taking over their planets.

Can someone give me ideas as to what a dragon culture might be? What do they do, what do they want? How do they live? what do their houses look like? or perches of caves? What about dragon cities? Jobs?

So far I've imagined them as elegant magic users, with great wisdom, but I'm open to making them more balanced with good and evil, like humans.

tell me about how you see dragons. what would dragon societies do?

thanks.

EDIT: The biggest question I have is about their cities, what are the structures like? what structures do they need? (Sheep farm, Scale mending, Nursery, Mages Guild, Wizards Guild, Library, nesting grounds, mana shrines[magic source]) any ideas would be great, I'm very flexible, thanks.

I already had a bunch of ideas, but I didn't want to limit myself to one mind. two are better than one :) Here is what I was originally thinking. The only reason I didn't want to post it, was to hear other people ideas without being pigeon holed.

Why wouldn't dragons develop in similar ways to humans, I.e. cloths, belts, bags. Posessions, houses?

Naturally they have certain advantages, and don't need certain weapons like spears, and likely, nothing is threatening to an adult dragon, or any dragon past a year of age.

But they might have wars, or histories of wars.

I'm picturing a dragon eggs might take a while, and instead of being raised by a single or two parents, they are raised by the community, as a group effort to teach and protect them. So dragon eggs remain in a nursery with other eggs until they hatch, where they are raised in an academy, which is kind of like a boarding school where other dragons of all types come in to help teach and pass on wisdom. Once they are old enough, and have passed at least one test, (different tests for different characteristics, like battle, magic, medical, farming, etc..) they are released to live in the wild for a year. where they will try to employ their knowledge.

On their return, they have various jobs. At this point, they will seek masters. Dragons will use multiple masters, but in different trades. Their culture believes you do best when you spread out your knowledge further, and learn to apply helpful things from multiple industries to improve them.

Some are farmers, raising sheep, cows and bears for food. Others run restaurants. Other ones are minors, raising up stone for buildings.

By human standards, dragons live in huge buildings. carved stone of intricate work. Much of which is done by hand, but dragons still use tools, and have use of metal smiths and wood workers to produce them.

There is more than one type of dragon, but they tend to live separately. larger dragons can sometimes miss the smaller ones and step on them. it just doesn't work out.

the smaller ones are a little more like man, and do work for the larger dragons, and vice versa. The larger dragons are often the large structure builders, and smaller dragons often do the detail work.

Older dragons are revered as wise in their culture, and are the most sought after masters, but will often set strong standards for who they will teach.

I was searching through Deviant Art, for pictures of dragons doing things aside from just sitting there looking cool. I found one what was spitting fire to help a black smith. but It also occurred to me that they are easily artists, like a bohemian dragon dreaming. Does anyone have recommendations for short stories about dragon society. I don't tend to like hundreds of types of dragons with what appears to be their only purpose being what they are genetically designed specifically for, like ramming, flying, spitting acid, stomping, etc... but dragons that take on additional roles in society. I haven't read anything like that, and I'm having a hard time finding references. Creating dragons as a society of craftsmen is tougher than I thought it would be.

I think it would be cool to see a dragon wearing a smoking jacket, smoking a Meerschaum pipe, lounging in a comfy chair by a cozy warm fireplace. Pictures of dragon loved ones adorn the walls. A floor lamp over his shoulder as he reads a book on a Kindle.

As for the city, I think that depends on the type of dragon. If we're talking Chinese dragons, then the city should be smoggy, with a mix of old and new.

If we're talking European dragons, then the city should be picturesque, with some architecture going back hundreds of years, and cobblestoned streets.

With Jetsons-style traffic lanes and traffic lights floating in the sky (since dragons can, after all, fly).

I think it would be cool to see a dragon wearing a smoking jacket, smoking a Meerschaum pipe, lounging in a comfy chair by a cozy warm fireplace. Pictures of dragon loved ones adorn the walls

I immediately pictured a dragon form of Gandalf, until the Ipad, but then I figured thats what he was reading.

This is very helpful though. I'm getting a picture of a dragon relaxing. at leasure.

Aside from reading, what other non-genetically imposed past times do you think dragons like? What would be their sports. Something like Quittage? and the ball is a boulder. and the snitch is a bird, a large one, fast.

Races? Archery? Magic competitions? What does every dragon watch on TV? Or presuming a magic world, what do all dragons what to be spectating at? Dragon foot ball. perhaps steam punk takes off more for dragons, because they just have to breath on the water tank and instant pressure . (My wife wants to make sure she gets the credit for suggesting this to me) Steam punk would be interesting. Dragons driving trains by sitting on them and blowing fire at the water reserves.

What would be their sports. Something like Quittage?

You mean Quidditch. I imagine dragon extreme sports -- sliding down glaciers, with jump ramps and chasms to arc over. With their flame breath, they'd be able to melt snow or ice and form new shapes to slalom on -- building the course in real time, while engaging in the sport.

I imagine dragons have a very large natural life-span, and actually never stop growing, so the man-size dragons are relatively young (maybe up to 100 years old for example) with larger barn-size dragons being closer to 1000 years old.

I would also borrow from a lot of reptile physiology, so they have poor hearing due to small ears, so music isn't very important in their culture. They are probably cold blooded, so the like warm conditions and are vulnerable to ice-magic or ice-weapons.

I imagine they don't fly much because it uses a lot of energy, especially due to their size, but reserve it for sports, battles or emergencies. There is also a group which is extremely good at flying though and does it often (their version of the Air Force).

I like your idea of having nurseries where many eggs are looked after. I imagine they have a long incubation period and that they do not reproduce often, which makes protecting eggs almost sacred to them (after all, one of the reasons mammoths died out it because they had a 3 year gestation period, so just couldn't keep their numbers up.)

I like the idea of them living in cliff faces in huge cave structures, but if you want them a bit more down to earth I think their homes would be one huge room (they probably like to stretch their wings.

I thought of more but I was at work so couldn't write them down, will check back later...

[quote name='hpdvs2' timestamp='1358292149' post='5021967']
They were essentially peaceful, brought into a war with humans taking over their planets.
[/quote]

Is this a genre that you are more basing on interplanetary travel/space combat or would you be referring to interdimensional travel i.e. portals.

[quote name='hpdvs2' timestamp='1358292149' post='5021967']
So far I've imagined them as elegant magic users, with great wisdom, but I'm open to making them more balanced with good and evil, like humans.
[/quote]

If the dragons have spread out over a number of planets. Have they themselves been conquerors of other races or simply settled unihabited/primitive worlds. I did note your comment as to being peaceful but was this always the case? Your good/evil might also be looked at from an argument of Manifest destiny, where the morality/ethics of the culture is subsumed into the greater belief.

[quote name='hpdvs2' timestamp='1358297713' post='5021989']
There is more than one type of dragon, but they tend to live separately. larger dragons can sometimes miss the smaller ones and step on them. it just doesn't work out. The smaller ones are a little more like man, and do work for the larger dragons, and vice versa. The larger dragons are often the large structure builders, and smaller dragons often do the detail work.
[/quote]

Are you looking to have Dragons in classic form i.e. Western / Asiatic dragon types or looking to anthropomorphise them to (essentially) humanoid dragons eg. Something like this ? Or perhaps species differentiations within the kingdom of Dragons i.e. in similar vein to how humans, gorillas, monkeys might be said to inter-related? The scale of size difference implied by a large dragon stepping and squashing a smaller dragon type implies an order of magnitude in size difference which can imply a completely different set of living conditions required i.e. a second form of architectural requirement esp. if dealing with a differentiated physical type.

Defining the physical abilities/limitations of your dragons can strongly influence the type of technology/culture that you choose to evolve.

[quote name='Stormynature' timestamp='1358813779' post='5024097']
Is this a genre that you are more basing on interplanetary travel/space combat or would you be referring to interdimensional travel i.e. portals.
[/quote]

It is a terrestrial surface battle, without the use of starships. When you have warp technologies, why use the energy to escape the atmosphere?

[quote name='Stormynature' timestamp='1358813779' post='5024097']
If the dragons have spread out over a number of planets. Have they themselves been conquerors of other races or simply settled uninhabited primitive worlds. I did note your comment as to being peaceful but was this always the case? Your good/evil might also be looked at from an argument of Manifest destiny, where the morality/ethics of the culture is subsumed into the greater belief.
[/quote]

My thought, is that the dragons have left (for the most part) inhabited planets alone. Though they did visit the earth a few times in the dark ages, (Merlin/King Arthur's time) and a few times prior, they ultimately decided that though humans were smart enough to communicate, they were too aggressive and their presence typically brought war to the humans unintentionally. The dragons have plenty of undeveloped worlds. Plants, some animals, but not lacking significant logical communications. They often like solitude and meditation in learn more in their abilities. Though I would imagine there may be a few other relatively intelligent races in their explorations, and some of which they are at peace with.

However, despite the externally facing peaceful nature when it comes to other worlds, internally, two of their races have gone to war in the past on numerous occasions. Some times the masters put a stop to it, but only if the raucous is significant enough.

[quote name='Stormynature' timestamp='1358813779' post='5024097']

Are you looking to have Dragons in classic form i.e. Western / Asiatic dragon types or looking to anthropomorphise them to (essentially) humanoid dragons eg. Something like this ? Or perhaps species differentiations within the kingdom of Dragons i.e. in similar vein to how humans, gorillas, monkeys might be said to inter-related? The scale of size difference implied by a large dragon stepping and squashing a smaller dragon type implies an order of magnitude in size difference which can imply a completely different set of living conditions required i.e. a second form of architectural requirement esp. if dealing with a differentiated physical type.

Defining the physical abilities/limitations of your dragons can strongly influence the type of technology/culture that you choose to evolve.
[/quote]

I presumed closest to the Western appearance for two races, and 1 dragon race is a little closer to human, but taller and more athletic.

The largest though well meditated, and aware, have accidentally squashed some of the smaller dragons, Everyone knows its accidental, but to avoid too much issues, you typically won't see the largest race casually around the other races.