:: PERNESE DRAGONS ::

Pernese Dragons



Pernese dragons differ from those of Terran legend. They have no scales, instead having an almost suede like hide. The structure of the dragons allows for no spines or spikes. The books vary on how the tail looks, it is supposed to split at the end though it is pictured most often in ending in a spade. They have four legs, two wings and multifaceted eyes. There are 5 dragon colors Golds and Greens are female (g=girl). Blues, Browns and Bronzes are males (b=boy)

[For the purposes of this site and ease of use, we'll use the closer to 9th pass measurements for dragons so I don't have to go through and refigure dragon sizes. If you want a smaller dragon of any colour, just draw up their measurements in your bio for being small on the spectrum of their respective colour. If you want a true runt, let a admin know, and we'll work something out.]


Gold Dragons
Also called queens, are the largest dragons (38-42 meters long) and the only fertile females. Gold dragons are by far the rarest dragons on Pern, at just less than 1% of the population. They are dominant over all other colors; any non-gold dragon will invariably obey a queen's orders, even against the wishes of its own rider. Queens are incapable of digesting firestone and producing flame; however, they do fight Thread - they fly in the lowest wing, with their riders armed with specially designed flamethrowers to flame any thread missed by the above wings. Queen eggs are significantly larger than other dragon eggs, and bear distinctive coloration. Gold dragons Impress only to heterosexual women.

Bronze Dragons
The largest males (35-38 meters long), although they are significantly smaller than the queens. Bronzes only comprise of about 5% of all dragons. They are almost always the ones to mate with queens, as the smaller colors generally lack the stamina to chase and catch the gold dragons. Due to the 5-1 bronze/gold ratio and the infrequency of gold mating flights they often mate with greens (the losers of a gold flight almost always seek a green for their needs), but their size often puts them at a disadvantage in chasing the agile smaller females. Bronzeriders are always heterosexual men.


Brown Dragons
The next largest color (30-35 meters long). About 15% of all dragons are brown. They may occasionally mate with queens, although this is rare, and becomes even more rare as the dragons increase in size; by Ramoth's time in the Ninth Pass it is unheard-of. All brownriders in the Pern novels are men, most are straight but bisexual or masculine homosexual brownriders are not rare.

Blue Dragons
The smallest males (25-30 meters long) and make up about a third (30%) of all dragons on Pern. They are nearly as agile as greens, but unlike the greens, they often have enough stamina to last for an entire Threadfall. They mate only with greens, as they are simply too small to keep up with a massive queen over a long mating flight. There are few prominent blue dragons or blueriders in the books. The blueriders who do appear in canon books are always male and can be straight, masculine homosexual or bisexual.

Green Dragons
The smallest normal color (20-25 meters long), and make up about half of all dragons on Pern (50%). They are female, but unlike the queens, they are infertile and can produce flame. They are extremely valuable in Threadfall because of their agility, but they lack the stamina to last an entire Fall and generally fly in two or three shifts.Originally, greens Impressed to girls, however, after various natural disasters and plagues decimated Pern's population, women were needed to help repopulate the planet. Since going between during pregnancy can induce miscarriage and because removing pregnant riders from the Wings reduced the effectiveness of the Wings, it became impractical to present large numbers of women as candidates for Impression. Thus, green dragons began Impressing to boys who were generally effeminate homosexuals but could also be bisexual  or simply flight bisexual; by the time of the end of the 2nd Pass female greenriders are becoming rare. By the time of Moreta in the 6th Pass female greenriders are entirely forgotten, although greens gradually begin Impressing to women again in the 9th Pass.

In our roleplay, women will impress to green dragons but not exclusively. Only really exceptional characters will be impressing to the very rare dragons.



(Chart by KaiserFlames on Deviant Art)
*Larger Gold= Ramoth (45 meters)
*White dragon= Ruth (approx. 11 meters)

Greens and Blues reach full growth at about 1 Turn and 6 months which is when they may rise to mate. This is of course the average and some will rise slightly earlier or later depending on the dragon. Queens rise at 2 Turns of age or later. Bronzes and Browns may rise between those times depending on size and personality.

Growth Chart TBA

Bark: Surprise, astonishment
Bellow: Alarm, irritation, calling for attention
Bugle: Joy, triumph, happiness, Challenge (when rising) greeting, information, joy
Chirp: Confusion or embarrassment
Croon : Love, affection, pleasure, reassurance, apology
Gurgle: Calmness or enjoyment
Growl : Anger, warning
Grumble (or mumble) : Minor annoyance or frustration
Humming: hatching
Keen: Death of a human, dragon, or other
Mew: Sadness, hunger
Moan: Distress, anxiety
Purr: Content, assured, happy
Roar: Anger, confusion, pain
Rumble: Amusement or happiness, draconic equivalent of a laugh
Squeal: Fear, surprise
Trill: Curiosity, pleasure or enjoyment, satisfaction
Wail: Sadness, worry
Warble: Complacent, gratitude
Whimper: Deep sadness



Blue/Green ~ Contentment
Yellow ~ Fear
Reddish Yellow ~ Battle
Red/Orange ~ Anger
Red ~ Hunger
Lavender ~ Stress
Purple ~ Mating Lust
White ~ Danger
Grey ~ Pain
Rainbow ~ Agitation

Eyes seem to whirl with emotion (the faster the motion the stronger the emotion).

Under strong influence, a dragon's Rider's eyes may change colour with that of their dragon.



[BIG THANKS TO CAOIMHE FOR PUTTING THIS INFO TOGETHER -Els]