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In modern fantasy fiction, dragons are often depicted as having many different races, each usually based on a particular color of their scales or an affinity with an element; much of this originated in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and similar sources.
Dragon classification
In D&D, there are many color-coded races of dragons, each of which breathes a different element; for example, red and gold dragons breathe fire, white dragons breathe frost, and blue dragons breathe bolts of lightning. Some dragons, like metallic dragons have two different kind of breathes, usually one that kills (fire, ice, acid, electricity, ...) and another one that avoid killing (paralyzation, repulsion, ...); others have two lethal forms of breath (like the gold dragon).
D&D divides these races of dragons into three general categories (with some exceptions): chromatic dragons, such as green and black dragons, which are evil-aligned, metallic dragons, such as gold and silver dragons, which are good, and the neutral gem dragons, a rare race which possess psi abilities.
In D&D, dragons go stronger and stronger as they grow older (they become bigger, more resistant to damages and magic, have a more dangerous breath, and so on). Old dragons can cast draconic magic which is a special form of D&D magic (dragons can cast spells with just a few words, they don't need a sometime long and complex ritual involving words, gestures and components like other D&D wizards), and radiate a mystical fear aura around them. After a millenium or two, a dragon reaches his maximum developement.
All D&D dragons have some innate magical abilities, but they vary from race to race. Metallic dragons are often able to shapechange into small animals or human forms, and use this ability to secretly help or watch over humans. Dragons also have some innate powers upon the element they are linked too. For example a red dragon (fire) will have some control over fires. Like all other draconic powers, they gain more as they grow older.
D&D dragons are able to eat almost everything, but each race have a preferred diet (some prefer flesh, other prefer to eat precious metals or gems, and so forth).
Dragons are inherently magical beings, but all dragons are considered to be reptiles and reproduce by laying eggs. The number of eggs lay each time depends on the race of the dragon, but is usually low (between one and ten).
All dragons are intelligent beings, and most of them are very intelligent. Dragon personality very from dragon to dragon, but dragons of the same subrace tend to have similar mindsets. This is not always true, several exceptions exist in official D&D material (like in the Forgotten Realms setting, where a good-aligned red dragon is involved against his will in the Fall of the elf city of Myth Drannor).
Dragon subraces encompass all D&D alignments, going from the very lawful-good paladin-like gold dragons to the cruel and very greedy chaotic-evil red dragons.
All dragons like to collect treasures of precious, beautiful, magical and/or shining objects. For evil-aligned dragons, this lead to a very greedy attitude, for good dragons this lust for treasure is more tempered, but they'll still appreciate gifts (but are quite insulted if offered a bribe).
Being stronger, faster, smarter and living far longer than humans, dragons tend to consider themselves as superior creatures. For good-aligned dragons, this mean they often consider humans as children and try to take care of them and educate them; for evil-aligned dragons, they consider humans as mere animals, or as toys to play with.
In many settings, the god-king of the metallic dragons is Bahamut, the Platinum Dragon, and the goddess and queen of the chromatic dragons is Tiamat, the Five-Headed Dragon. The progenitor and supreme deity of all dragons is known as Io.
The Dragonlance novels and campaign setting helped popularize the D&D-derived perspective on dragons. Here the Platinum Dragon is called Paladine, and the Dragon Queen is called Takhisis. In the "Fifth Age", chromatic dragons emerged from hiding and took over many of the humanoid-controlled nations of Krynn.
In the world of Athas of the Dark Sun campaign setting, normal D&D dragons do not exist. Dragon-like drake races exist, one for each classical element, but for most people the word dragon refer to the Dragon of Tyr, who is a very powerful sorcerer-king (the tyrannic leaders of Athasian cities, who are both masters of magic and psi abilities) who transformed himself into a dragon-like creature using very powerful (and painful) magic.
In the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, dragons are very close to the ones in Dragonlance. A sect of cultist called the Cult of the Dragon believe that dragons, particularly undead ones, will rule the world, and are trying to convert evil dragons to become dracoliches--undead lich-like dragons, which are partially bound to the cult by the rituals which grant them their undead status.Dragon abilities
Dragon biology
Dragon personalities
Dragons in campaign settings
Dragonlance setting
Dark Sun setting
Forgotten Realms setting
