Dragonborn
Basic Information
Anatomy
Dragonborn are powerfully-built bipedal reptiles, typically standing between six and seven feet tall when fully grown, and weighing around 300 pounds or more. They are covered in fine scales, usually of a dull bronze colouration; more rarely they might take on a brighter metallic hue or the colourful scales associated with the chromatic dragons - such colourations are often familial, though do occasionally occur spontaneously. They have three clawed fingers and a thumb on each hand and foot, though the claws are rarely strong enough to be used as an effective weapon.
Dragonborn have a number of unique internal organs similar to those of dragons, which produce the chemicals responsible for their breath weapon (a misnomer, as these organs are connected to their digestive system rather than to the lungs). The precise means by which these organs function is poorly understood by those who have not studied the matter in detail.
Rarely, dragonborn hatch with tail-stubs or even a fully formed tail. As with scale colouration, this tends to run in families.
Genetics and Reproduction
Dragonborn reproduce through sexual means, laying a clutch of two or three eggs around three weeks after fertilization. The eggs hatch after a further eight months or so.
In common with certain other draconic species such as Kobolds, undergo a process of cyclical hermaphroditism in which they undergo physiological changes in response to changes in their environment, allowing them to either produce eggs or fertilize them. These changes are for the most part internal, and dragonborn do not display any overt sexual dimorphism. Over the millennia, many dragonborn cultures have discovered methods by which these processes can be deliberately triggered through magical or herbal means; it is thus in principle possible for dragonborn to alter their reproductive sex at will, though the process takes a few weeks.
Growth Rate & Stages
A dragonborn is able to walk within a few hours of hatching. They grow and develop quickly in the first few years of life, reaching a size and comparable level of physical and mental development equivalent to a ten-year-old human within around three years; however their development then slows markedly, reaching physical maturity only towards the end of their teenage years.
Barring accident or illness, most dragonborn can expect to live to an age of eighty years old, though a handful live substantially longer.
Lifespan
80 years
Average Height
6-7 feet
Average Weight
300lbs
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