This article is about dragons in tabletop and video games. For broader coverage of fictional dragons across all types of media, see List of dragons in popular culture.
Representation of a dragon as it appears in the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons
This is a list of dragons in tabletop and video games. If there are many dragons, then only the most notable are mentioned.
Dragons in video games
Roles
Player character – The dragon is the main character, and is controlled by the player throughout all or most of the game. (IE Spyro, Trogdor)
Playable character – The dragon is a character that, if selected, can be controlled. (IE Liu Kang)
Companion - The dragon is a character that usually accompanies the player and can often be controlled as a riding mount. (IE Flammie, Azurda)
Boss – The dragon is a boss that the player must defeat. (IE, Volvagia, Lord of the Lightning, Elder Dragons in Monster Hunter)
Final Boss – The dragon is the final boss in the game. (IE Alduin, Ridley, Grigori, Jack of Blades, Deathwing, Ender Dragon, Singe)
Optional Boss – The dragon is an optional boss.
Playable Character Transformation – The dragon is an alternate form that the player character can take. (IE Kameo)
Enemy – The dragon is a general enemy in the game.
Trainable Monster – The dragon is a monster used in battle against other monsters. (IE 'Dragon type' Pokémon, 'Dramon's in Digimon)
Supporting Character – The dragon helps the player at various points throughout the game. (IE Valoo, Paarthurnax)
Unit – The dragon is a controllable battle unit in the game. (IE dragons in Warhammer Total War)
Collectible Card – The dragon is a digital card in a digital collectible card game which can be obtained to customize and improve player's decks. (Dragons in Hearthstone, Clash Royale)
Various – Dragons play multiple roles in the game.
Dragons in role-playing video games
Dragons appear in numerous role-playing games and their fictional settings as bosses, final bosses, and enemies, as well as player characters, companions, and supporting characters.
Some Pokémon who are not dragons in their base forms can transform into one in various ways. Others are not dragons originally, but can evolve into a Dragon-Type Pokémon.
Dragon Knight is a Playable Character Transformation on the Dragon Shire battleground. Heroes can liberate the Dragon Knight by activating the shrines and interacting with the Knight's statue in the middle lane of the battleground, taking control of him temporarily.
Elder Dragons who have been dormant for centuries and have now awoken to unleash a cycle of destruction upon Tyria, the world in which the game is set. They each have control over an element.
Appearing exclusively in Zombies mode, dragons appear as a gameplay mechanic on the map Der Eisendrache, and both as a hazard and as a boss on the map Gorod Krovi.
Listed as "Black Dragon" in game files, but referred to by fans as "Great Dark Dragon". It was sealed away by an ancient civilization prior to the game's events.
Trip is able to transform into a golden-yellow dragon with the power of the Chaos Emeralds, allowing her to fly around and breathe fire.
Spyro's objectives vary depending on the series. However, as of The Legend of Spyro and Skylanders, he is a purple dragon capable of controlling all elements, but is classified as Magic element in Skylanders.
Cynder is a former servant of Malefor in both versions, but the result of her corruption results in different effects on her. In The Legend of Spyro, she gains control over shadows, poison, fear, and wind, while in Skylanders, she is an Undead element Skylander capable of using spectral lightning, summoning ghosts, and turning into a shadow form.
Dragons appear as NPCs, starting with a giant, anthropomorphic, amphibious, bipedal Chinese dragon named Denize who debuted in the game's third episode. More than a decade later, her baby children get trapped in the game's levels and must be rescued using the game's tile-matching gravity mechanics to bring them to certain tiles to be freed.
Dragon Story is a game where the player breeds and discovers many dragon species on an island known as the Dragon Islands. The dragons must be fed with food from the farms. Dragon types include Red, Green, Yellow, Blue, Purple, White, Pink, and Black.
A Half-Dragon race, based on a completely homebrew ruleset and worldsetting. Features ability to take a Dragon form, as well as a unique new strong female bodytype.[11]
Dragons in tabletop games
Dragons in tabletop role-playing games
Dragons are common (especially as non-player characters) in Dungeons & Dragons and in some fantasyrole-playing video games. They, like many other dragons in modern culture, run the full range of good, evil, and everything in between. In Dungeons and Dragons, the color of the dragon shows if it is evil or good. Metallic dragons are forces of good and they are led by the mighty dragon-god Bahamut. Chromatic dragons are evil creatures ranging from white (the weakest) to the mighty red (the strongest). The chromatic dragons revere Tiamat, a five-headed dragon-god with heads of each color of the evil dragon (red, blue, green, white, black).
Various Great Feathered Serpent dragons, Great Eastern dragons, Great Western dragons, Great Sirrush dragons, and others in Shadowrun
Carcassonne - The Princess & the Dragon, an expansion for Carcassonne (board game), centers around a dragon represented by a large wooden piece
Mimring (the evil red dragon), Charos (the green dragon), Braxas (the black dragon queen), and Niflhelm (the white dragon king) are some of the most powerful characters in Heroscape.
Dragons in card games
Fantasy card games often feature dragons, often many of them, and thus this sub-section only mentions the more popular or important ones.
The Primeval Dragons in the Invasion block, namely Crosis, the Purger; Darigaaz, the Igniter; Dromar, the Banisher; Rith, the Awakener and Treva, the Renewer
The Elder Dragon Legends from the Legends block, namely Arcades Sabboth, Chromium, Nicol Bolas, Palladia-Mors and Vaevictis Asmadi
Draco, an extremely powerful artifact dragon, that has the highest mana cost in the game (16 colorless mana).
Rorix Bladewing, a Shivan dragon who fights in the Otarian Grand Coliseum to reclaim his nation's honor: upon his death, Rorix is reincarnated as a "dracolich", under the name Bladewing the Risen.
The Guardian Ryuu of Kamigawa, including Jugan, the Rising Star; Keiga, the Tide Star; Kokusho, the Evening Star; Ryusei, the Falling Star; and Yosei, the Morning Star.
Niv-Mizzet, the insightful but short-tempered dragon wizard and leader of the Izzet League.
The Planar Chaos set introduces a new cycle of legendary Dragons bearing many similarities to the Invasion cycle - Oros, the Avenger; Intet, the Dreamer; Teneb, the Harvester; Numot, the Devastator; and Vorosh, the Hunter.
The Future Sight set contains a legendary dragon called Tarox Bladewing in its "futureshifted" sheet. Tarox is apparently the son of the above-mentioned Rorix Bladewing, and according to his flavour text, "despises his siblings as insults to his line, finding and devouring each in turn". According to the magicthegathering.com article that previewed Tarox, he wants to be just like his father Rorix - although smaller than his father, Tarox's controller can discard another Tarox from their hand to double his size, making him a far heavier hitter than Rorix.
There are also numerous other dragons, which have appeared in almost every set and every block. The most notable such dragon is Shivan Dragon, which has appeared in all but one of the Magic Core Sets.
Tathamet in Diablo is the First Ultimate and True Prime Evil and Seven Headed Dragon who battle Anu and also create Seven Great Evils from his heads and Hell.
The Blue-Eyes White Dragon and its incarnations, including Paladin of White Dragon (A ritual monster and younger version of Blue Eyes), Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (the fusion of three Blue-Eyes White Dragons), Dragon Master Knight (A fusion monster composed of Black Luster Soldier and Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon) and Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon, and Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon (A Toon version of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon).
The Red-Eyes B. Dragon, and its incarnations, including Red-Eyes B. Chick, Paladin of Dark Dragon (A ritual monster and younger version of Red Eyes, but called Knight of Dark Dragons in the anime), Lord of the Red (A ritual monster and almost a human form of Red Eyes), Red-Eyes Wyvern, Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon, Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, and its many Fusion monsters.
Baby Dragon which morphs into Thousand Dragon using Time Wizard. In the TCG/OCG, Thousand Dragon is a Fusion monster with Time Wizard and Baby Dragon and its materials.
Curse of Dragon and its Fusion form Gaia the Dragon Champion (A fusion monster composed of Gaia the Fierce Knight and Curse of Dragon)
Slifer the Sky Dragon (Sky Dragon of Osiris), the Egyptian god Osiris card avatar.
The Winged Dragon of Ra
The Eye of Timaeus, The Fang of Critius, and The Claw of Hermos, and their human knight counterparts; the Legendary Dragon Cards|Three Legendary Dragons
Cyber Dragon variants, though actually classed as Machine type monsters, can easily be compared to the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
Rainbow Dragon, the Crystal Lord, and Rainbow Dark Dragon
Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End
White Night Dragon
Five-Headed Dragon (originally known as F.G.D.)
The Five Dragons linked to the Signers: Stardust Dragon, Red Dragon Archfiend, Black Rose Dragon, Ancient Fairy Dragon, Black-Winged Dragon, and Life Stream Dragon. This also includes their "Buster/Assault Mode"(Stardust Dragon /Assault Mode and Red Dragon Archfiend / Assault Mode) "Majestic/Savior"(Majestic Star Dragon and Majestic Red Dragon) Cosmic Sychro Monster Forms(Shooting Star Dragon, Red Nova Dragon, and Cosmic Blazar Dragon, technically both Shooting Star Dragon and Cosmic Blazar Dragon are both Accel Synchro while Red Nova Dragon is Double Tuning) and Limit Over Accel Synchro(Shooting Quasar Dragon).
Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste (A fusion monster composed of 1 Dragon-Type Synchro monster + 1 Warrior-Type monster)
Hundred Eyes Dragon ( A dragon who serves the Earthbound Immortals)
The Inca archetypes, Sun Dragon Inti and Moon Dragon Quilla
Jormungardr The Nordic Serpent
Several evolutionary dragons, such as Armed Dragons, Horus the Black Flame Dragon and some others.
The Malefic Dragons the evil or the corrupted versions of the signature dragons throughout the Yu-Gi-Oh! series e.g. Malefic Stardust Dragon, Malefic Cyber End Dragon, Malefic Rainbow Dragon, Malefic Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Malefic Blue-Eyes White Dragon and most notably the Malefic Paradox Dragon and Malefic Truth Dragon.
Cardfight!! Vanguard
Several races and clans within the Cardfight!! Vanguardtrading card game are heavily based around dragons. A few of the races that are based on dragons include:
Flame Dragon, found only in the Kagero and Narukami clan this race is the typical fire breathing dragon archetype. Notable units include Dragonic Overlord, Dragonic Overlord the End, Dauntless Drive Dragon, Gattling Claw Dragon, and Vortex Dragon.
Cosmo Dragon, a powerful race considered holy and usually associated with bringing judgment upon evil forces. Notable units include Soul Saver Dragon and Satellitefall Dragon.
Abyss Dragon, the abyss dragons are known for their strength and willingness to sacrifice allied units to gain extra power. Notable units include: Phantom Blaster Dragon, Phantom Blaster Overlord, Spectral Duke Dragon, Revenger, Raging Form Dragon and Revenger, Dragruler Phantom
Dino Dragon, unique to the Tachikaze clan. As their name would suggest, they appear more dinosaur-like than dragon-like. Notable units include Tyrant, Deathrex, Dragon Egg, and Sonic Noa.
Winged Dragon, the typical flying dragon. Many of these units are mechanized. Notable units include Wyvern Strike, Tejas, Wyvern Strike, Jarran and Hex Cannon Wyvern.
Dragonman, are units that share the features of both man and dragon. Notable units include Lizard Runner, Undeux, Wyvern Guard, Barri, and Demonic Dragon Berserker, Yaksha.
Thunder Dragon, found only in the Narukami clan this race are dragons that are attacking with lightning or thunder base. Notable units include Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion, Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion "THE BLOOD", Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon and Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant.
Cyber Dragon, found only in the Link Joker clan this race are mechanical looking dragons and capable of locking your opponents rear-guards. Notable units include: Star-vader, Mobius Breath Dragon, Gravity Ball Dragon, Gravity Collapse Dragon, Schwarzschild Dragon, Star-vader, Infinite Zero Dragon, Star-vader, Nebula Lord Dragon and Star-vader, Chaos Breaker Dragon.
Tear Dragon, found in the clans of Kagero and but mostly Aqua Force these dragons are water-based attackers and can attack up to 3-5 times in 1 turn. Notable units include Blue Storm Dragon, Maelstrom, Blue Storm Supreme Dragon, Glory Maelstrom, Blue Flight Dragon, Trans-core Dragon, Last Card, Revonn, Blue Wave Dragon, Tetra-drive Dragon.
Zeroth Dragons is a race featured on one card of each nation, The Zeroth Dragons are weapons of mass destruction born from the Dragon Deity of Destruction, Gyze. The apostles of Gyze plan to use these dragons to revive him. These dragons can be played to any clan that represents their nation and also if this Grade 4 units failed to attack your opponent's Vanguard you cannot use your G-Zone cards anymore during the Cardfight This units are United Sanctuary's Zeroth Dragon of Zenith Peak, Ultima, Dragon Empire's Zeroth Dragon of Inferno, Drachma, Star Gate's Zeroth Dragon of Destroy Star, Stark, Dark Zone's Zeroth Dragon of End of the World, Dust, Magallanica's Zeroth Dragon of Distant Sea, Megiddo and Zoo's Zeroth Dragon of Death Garden, Zoa.
Duel Masters Trading Card Game
There are many cards focusing on dragons in Duel Masters such as the ones included in the Epic Dragons of Hyper Chaos set.
^Game Informer provides information on who the character is, why the character is important, and what is next for the character in "Faces of Warcraft: The Essential Introduction to Characters," Game Informer 183 (July 2008): 101.
^Peeples, Jeremy (26 November 2013). "Review: Crimson Dragon". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on 5 December 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
