World of Warcraft®

Before you go on, ask yourself one question.

Do you -really- want to roleplay a dragon?
Dragons are one of the most controversial things to roleplay, and fairly high up there.

Another question.

Alright, do you REALLY REALLY want to roleplay a dragon?
Dragons keep their identities generally secret. Walking in to an inn and declaring that you're a dragon will not get you a fanclub following you ever. Rather, you will most likely get mocked and challenged. You'll also be asked to prove it. Dragons do not meddle with mortal affairs and usually will let them do what they will, unless they're endangering the world.

No, you can't go Kalecgos, have a curse, and wander around as a halfling for fun to boot.
Welcome to massive clichéland if you do.

There's always loopholes.
With any cliché, there's a loophole. If you read Cirque de Freak, some vampires (And possibly San'Layn) would have servants. Therefore, you could be a vampire's servant. Dragons work the same way.
I personally roleplay a black Dragonsworn (http://www.wowwiki.com/Dragonsworn). Being a dragonsworn offers a similar thrill to being a dragon, without the discrimination. If a friend roleplays a dragon, and you've wanted to follow a similar path, you can become a sworn.

Let's get serious.
So you do want to be a dragon that bad. Alright, well, here's some traits to take account of for your character;

Which flight?
Every dragon is part of a color, but these flights are the least frowned upon;
Red: Noble, honorable, protectors of life.
Blue: Powerful wielders of magic.
Green: Upholders of nature and balance.
Bronze: Maintains time.
Black: Selfish, and cruel. Former protectors of earth.

Try to build your character around one of these flights.

Not for beginners.
If you're new, start off with something else. Just...don't.


Sadly, level still means respect.
Despite the best efforts, people still discriminate based on level. Therefore, roleplaying a level one as a dragon will usually not involve you being taken seriously. It's best to be at the level cap as you can obtain armor that easily applies to your character, and that is much tougher to do at level one.

Zomg! Alchemy!
Hey, alchemists get a dragon form in Cataclysm. Predicting, you will get some respect just being in that form considering how expensive it is to get and how low the recipe chance is. Considering that sandstone isn't a dragonflight, but a subsidiary of the blacks, it might be tough. But I bid you good luck as I'll be trying to get the Vial of the Sands also.

Things not to do.
NEVER use the term mortal unless, and only unless, the person you're speaking to knows you're a dragon, somehow. (Either capital deduction skills, or a sworn.)
NEVER randomly use draconic. Some well-educated scholars know draconic, and suspicion will rise about you. However, communicating to another dragon or sworn in draconic is sometimes alright.
NEVER godmode. Never. Even if you're not roleplaying, don't godmode. People will pay no attention if you do something like;
"Tarastrasza sighs, bored, and turns dragon, burning everyone within 9001 yards."

Thanks. Please help me add to this list below, should I have made any mistakes or if there's anything else I should point out.

How to Roleplay a Dragon:

You don't.

What is the point of playing one? If you are never to expose your true self to anyone, what is the point?

When you roll a Blood Elf who is actually a dragon, you lose the awesome, amazing lore that goes along with the race you rolled. You lose the Scourge Invasion, you lose the the Fel Magic, you lose all the things that make your Blood Elf a Blood Elf. This goes with any race you roll to be your dragon. You lose that fabulous lore which, in my opinion, is much more interesting than dragons.

When playing a dragon, you gain a secret, where if you don't tell someone, it's irrelevant, but if you do tell someone, you're doing it wrong.
You lose your interest in petty mortal affairs, such a relationships, dating, family and even Horde vs Alliance, which is terribly petty to dragons.

Dragons do not meddle with mortal affairs

Then why is one in Stormwind? Why is one having a drink in Silvermoon? Dragons have a lot more to deal with that petty discussions about social gatherings and relationships in a bar.

If you really want a dragon in your storyline, I suggest making one an NPC in stories you write. This way you can have a character that deals with the race you rolled and your dragon all in the same storyline.

Hey, alchemists get a dragon form in Cataclysm.

No, they get a potion that allows them to turn into a dragon for a period of time. To me, it's not the same and I know my alchemist character isn't going to be claiming he's a dragon if and when he gets the potion.

Also, Dragonsworn, according to the WoWWiki entry, state they are extremely rare in the past and even now, they are still pretty rare. Why not make a character that has a fascination with dragons or a character who is just obsessed with them for whatever reason? You don't need to give your characters a crazy title just to justify their love for dragons.

I don't approve of dragon RP. I don't like to RP with people who claim to be dragons and when someone whispers me ((Oh, it's because my character is actually a dragon!)) I tend to find a way to leave the RP. I don't want to deal with a character that can't be normal like the rest of us, I don't want to deal with a super powerful dragon. If I did, I'd go to Dragonblight and hang out with the Reds and get them their wing cozies for those long winter nights.

I am a believer in playing what you roll at the character screen.

*grin* Good to see a post on this.

I've seen some really well-played dragons and some really poorly-played dragons, and what it seems to boil down to is this: The good ones don't let on that they're dragons. Same thing as with demons, Scourge agents, assassins, wanted criminals, etc. If you have to tell us you're a dragon, you're doin' it wrong already. The most fun part of playing something like a dragon is roleplaying that dragon roleplaying as something else--layers are delicious!

This fellow is something of a joke character, created when a group of my guildies decided to attempt dragons done right. He is, in fact, a drake rather than a full-grown dragon, and already involved in another of my character's stories quite a bit--he's a brat, and got stuck with supervising her out in Dragonblight (because really, no one wants a possibly-Dragonmaw clan dragonscale leatherworker wandering about unattended), then decided to stick around for a bit. I've played him as an NPC in elf form already when she's had guests, and so that's what most people know him as.

His 'persona' is that of a snooty elven noble--without actually being a noble. He has a very idealized view of them, and wants to be one, you see. He claims to be my other character's lover's older brother (perfectly reasonable, as his father sowed his wild oats far and wide), tells all sorts of wild stories about their childhood (all complete fiction), and flirts with any noblewomen he meets (no worries about half-dragons, folks, thanks to the escapades of a certain bronze drake* that exists on the server, he's required to have Ken doll anatomy in elf form).

Thus far, no one's been able to tell that there's anything off about him--he's one of the more blood elf-y blood elves around. (Though, since once of the better-played nobles on the server is a demon in disguise, your mileage may vary.) His only 'tell', for lack of a better term, is that he's often referred to as Red, a nickname from before all these elf-form shenanigans. Of course, he also has bright red hair, and it's a shortened form of the name he claims as an elf, Jared. So it might only be a clue to those in the know already.

As for the low level--he knows that if he starts anything, short of throwing a very weak punch, he's getting sent back to Wyrmrest and that's it. Exactly how many dragons there are out and about in mortal forms seems like something the Flights wouldn't really want to have become public knowledge, after all. (Not to mention, he might be just a little bit less welcome around Silvermoon.)

*Ticky is actually win and awesome, and I recommend looking up Patience's blogs on rp-haven.com for a good laugh whenever their site issues get resolved. But he's also an excellent excuse to play a very, very chaste dragon.

Both of you have extreme points that contradict eachother.

Also, Dragonsworn, according to the WoWWiki entry, state they are extremely rare in the past and even now, they are still pretty rare. Why not make a character that has a fascination with dragons or a character who is just obsessed with them for whatever reason? You don't need to give your characters a crazy title just to justify their love for dragons.

Dragonsworn are extremely rare, but they're more common than dragons. So far, I've only found one other person that roleplays a dragonsworn.

Lanuria, you pose all dragon roleplayers as bad roleplayers. What do you think the point of this post was? To attempt to make better ones, rather than ones roleplaying "lul i dargon"

What is the point of playing one? If you are never to expose your true self to anyone, what is the point?

The point is layers and deceiving, like Erilasz said. Roleplaying a dragon is like roleplaying a wanted criminal. If you tell someone you're a wanted criminal, you're doing it wrong. Being a dragon just gives your character generally different traits.

When you roll a Blood Elf who is actually a dragon, you lose the awesome, amazing lore that goes along with the race you rolled. You lose the Scourge Invasion, you lose the the Fel Magic, you lose all the things that make your Blood Elf a Blood Elf. This goes with any race you roll to be your dragon. You lose that fabulous lore which, in my opinion, is much more interesting than dragons.

Perhaps we've already roleplayed blood elves, and we want to do something else. There ARE ten character slots, you know.

Then why is one in Stormwind? Why is one having a drink in Silvermoon? Dragons have a lot more to deal with that petty discussions about social gatherings and relationships in a bar.

Dragons are highly intelligent beings, who enjoy knowledge. Perhaps a dragon wishes to study the nature of mortal races, or perhaps the dragon wants a change of scenery.

He is, in fact, a drake rather than a full-grown dragon.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that only fully grown dragons had the ability to use a mortal form?

He is, in fact, a drake rather than a full-grown dragon.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that only fully grown dragons had the ability to use a mortal form?

I think you're right, I can't think of a single drake taking a humanoid form.

There's actually a black drake that takes human form and gives you quests in the Searing Gorge or Burning Steppes, I forget which zone specifically. After you finish the questline for him, he turns into his true form and flies off.

Edit: Found him.

http://www.wowpedia.org/Kalaran

*shrug*

Point is, there was a drake that transformed. In that entry, I saw he gets a new title and appears as a full grown dragon in Cataclysm. Maybe he was close to growing into his new form when we first found him, or maybe he already was fairly old as a drake. I don't know dragon lifespans, so I'm not sure how long you have to be a drake before you're an adult dragon.

How to Roleplay a Dragon:

You don't.

I've never met a good dragon roleplayer.

Clearly this means that someone out there is an excellent dragon roleplayer, because I don't know that they're a dragon in order to think that they're bad for RPing one.

Whelp to drake is one year. Drake to dragon, several thousand. And he wouldn't be described as "ancient" if he was a fresh dragon.

He wasn't fresh, though. I remember a dragon molt in the chest by his servant at the end of the chain. If he was several thousand years old, then I assume he'd be considered ancient by mortals and he'd grow into his adult form by the time Cataclysm comes.

We have one guy who RP's a dragon but the only indication that he is one, is it's on his RSP. He uses enlarge effects, and his character is black. Beyond that, he doesn't advertise it and he seems respected enough.

If it's on his RSP he's doin it rong.

Furthermore, enlarge effects are for lulz, and wtf does skin color have to do with anything?

The only way I could see rp'ing a dragon as "ok" was if it was because the character was part of a big rp plot that involved many other player characters, and the story called for a dragon to be present.

Trying to rp as a dragon who just chills in Stormwind or Silvermoon all day sipping wine and chatting with other "mortals" is a surefire way in my opinion to gain a very negative reputation very quickly no matter how well you pull it off.

Dragons are amazing creatures that have motives beyond the minds of those that sit in a tavern and watch half-naked night elves dance for gold. Just don't RP a dragon.

It was a dragon describing him as ancient, not a mortal

My bad, then. I'm on the beta, but I haven't leveled enough to get to that questline.

I have a character that's a Black Flight dragon. Does anyone know? No. Are there even any hints toward him being a Dragon? No. Does it make his RP lesser to have him essentially be RPing as someone else the entire time I play him? No, it doesn't. It makes it more fun. He does have motives, but as he's Black Flight, they're mostly chaotic and destructive. He's set his plans in motion and is now awaiting the right time for them to come to fruition. Cata may be that time.