Dragons



"Never laugh at live dragons."

- Bilbo Baggins

Dragons were mighty reptilian creatures, which the first Dark Lord Morgoth created during the First Age of Middle-Earth. They were immortal, powerful, cunning, and may possibly have been Maiar. The Withered Heath was a known breeding ground for Dragons. The first Dragon ever seen in Middle-Earth was Glaurung, who was known as the Father of Dragons. Dragons are sometimes referred to as great worms or drakes. Dragons lived through-out the first, second, and third ages of Middle-earth and may have lived longer.

There is an Inn in The Shire called The Green dragon, and a type of flower and firework called a Snap Dragon. For Bilbo Baggins 111 birthday, Gandalf made a special dragon firework. The greatest heirloom of the house of Hador was the Dragon-helm of Dor-lómin, which was a helm of great weight that bore an image of the head of Glaurung the Dragon as its crest.

Types of Dragons
The taxonomic system for dragons in Middle-Earth is based on two factors: means of locomotion, and Fire breathing.
 * Urulóki (Urulok&euml;, Fire-drakes) - Fire-breathing dragons.
 * Cold-drake - Dragons who could not breathe fire.
 * Wingless dragons - Dragon with no wings that walked on four legs.
 * Winged dragons - Dragons that had four legs but also had wings enabling them to fly.
 * Worms - dragons with no legs and no wings (but sometimes used as a general term for all dragons)

Characteristics
Other then being long-lived, powerful, and cunning, dragons also shared subtle intelligence, great physical strength, and a love of treasure (especially gold). Dragons live long and slow lives. They also had a hypnotic power called "dragon-spell", when a dragon questions you under the influence of this spell it is best not to directly give it the information it wanted while also not denying it an answer. Therefore, it is best to be vague and to speak in riddles when speaking to a dragon – as apparently, dragons find it hard to resist wasting time with riddles. In addition, when a dragon is speaking to someone it seems to have the ability to plant mistrust in ones mind.

Dragons have a strong sense of smell, and can sleep with half an eye open keeping on eye out for intruders if they are suspicious. Dragons were well known for sleeping on piles of treasure.

Dragons have strong scales, which can resist most weapons, though young dragons have to grow into their armoury. Mithril is said to be as strong as dragon scales, though lighter in weight. The underbelly of the dragon is often its weak-spot. The Dwarves appear to have some skill at fighting dragons as seen when they held off Glaurung for a time in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad. This may have something to do with the age-long fight between Dwarves and Dragons.

A great stench went before Glaurung, and his blood contained some sort of venom, though it is not known if all dragons had these two traits. The Dwarves commented on the reek of Smaug that filled the Lonely Mountain's halls after the dragon's long stay there.

Dragon Fire was possibly (however unlikely) hot enough to melt the Rings of Power, indeed four of the seven rings gifted to the Dwarves were consumed by dragon fire. Gandalf himself suggested that another way to destroy the One Ring was to burn it with Dragon Fire; unfortunately he also said that there were few dragons that would and/or could.

Named Dragons

 * Glaurung - Slain by Túrin Turambar, also known as the father of Dragons.
 * Ancalagon the Black - Slain by Eärendil, possibly the mightiest Dragon to have ever lived.
 * Scatha - Slain by Fram, the hoard Scatha guarded was taken from the Dwarves, thus Fram taking it lead to arguments and his eventual death by the Dwarves.
 * Smaug - Slain by Bard the Bowman

Non-Canonical Dragons
When the licensing right for games made from Tolkien’s novels was possessed by Iron Crown Enterprises, they expanded the selection of named dragons considerably in both their Middle-earth Role Playing game and middle-earth trading card game The Wizards.

EA Games created the character of "Drogoth the dragon lord" as a hero for the Goblin faction for their game The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II.

In the Peter Jackson film adaptations, the Fell beasts looks very dragon-like, though in the books the Fell beast is more pterosaur-like.