Best REAL medieval weapons to use against DRAGONS: FANTASY RE-ARMED

[@jessicagalvin4598]

The best defense against a dragon is protagonist-level plot armor.

[@RestlessHarp]

True! Just check to make sure you're the main protagonist before going up against the dragon, and you're fine. :) If you're a supporting character, though...run away.

[@TheSupercowkiki]

RestlessHarp or at the very least comic relief sidekick level armor.... They can't die either ( though we wish Jar Jar could with all our heart)

[@RestlessHarp]

Yes, that armor is good too (maybe too good sometimes...) :)

[@nobodx]

Story revelant NPC, you might get knocked out, but will be up again in a minute

[@mattes4929]

Unless it's a legendary dragon, then you are screwed.

[@yasheryuan]

What's the best weapon to fight dragons? "Traditional" medicine. Just advertise that dragon organs could cure impotence. They'll be extinct before you know it.

[@pineforest1442]

Yasher Yuan or will they? Dragons are likely to figure out humans are attacking them, and, like we would if they were eating our livestock, retaliate. I mean, the more social they are, the higher the likelihood it will be to start going after humans. Even if that weren’t the case, they would likely develop some sort of change that would prevent humans from killing them, like light sleeping, plated eyelids (in case someone tries to sneak up on them and skewer them through the eye in their sleep), even stronger scales, anything that will save them from human attacks.

[@antaresmc4407]

@@pineforest1442 evolution doesnt work like that and isnt that fast anyways

[@suisiwara2036]

AntaresMC yeah lol thatll take them like 10,000 or so years to develop even the slightest of changes

[@popenieafantome9527]

Yasher Yuan the effectiveness of this would depend on intelligence of dragons. Most fantasy settings have dragons be long lived creatures, so evolution is likely not going to kick in time to adapt to sudden increase in attacks. However, if they are intelligent enough, they would form herds (or what ever you call a group of dragons) and develop tactics to fend of people and teach these to rest of dragons. This would lead to less frequent attacks overall, although it might also lead to larger scale planned attacks by armies which they might not do since this would require lots of resources.

[@loserface3962]

@@popenieafantome9527 if they are in herds couldnt the humans use artillery as catapults since a herd is a larger target and less flexible movement wise?

[@tidyheidi9143]

I like how Dark Souls portrays dragons. You run onto a bridge, a dragon sees you, and then it spits napalm at you and you burn to a crisp instantly. Just like in the real world.

[@r.w.9631]

That ones a wyvern. There's only like three or four actual dragons in the Souls series. Kalameet, Seath, Sihn, and midir. I may be missing one or two.

[@ender7278]

@@r.w.9631 Wyverns are dragons.

[@isodifbrakiul6387]

@@ender7278 Not in Dark Souls, Dragon isn't a generic word but rather a explicit type of flying lizard. Wyverns are a degenerated offshoot of Dragons proper.

[@karnagefails333]

Agreed.

[@aldeenithegreat]

I, too, frequently get incinerated by napalm-spitting dragons on my daily commute to work.

[@kodakodiak3949]

One interpretation of "dragons fire" that I think is a really interesting one is instead of it being literal fire, its more of a chemical spray like that of the Bombardier beetle. It sprays chemicals together which cause an exothermic reaction as they mix. Think of a dragon doing this on a much much larger scale and peoples homes and things being set on fire and people burning alive from it. They might not be spewing actual fire, but people probably wouldve called it fire anyway because it burned everything it touches.

[@jirojhasuo2ndgrandcompany745]

Acid Dragon

[@anon9579]

Maybe like Reign of Fire

[@Captain_Insano_nomercy]

@@anon9579 great movie 🎥👌 Loved VanZant

[@danielaramburo7648]

If the dragon’s body could produce methane gas to shoot flames, how much could it produce? How much could it store?

[@Jpeg.g]

@@danielaramburo7648 interesting idea, having dragons have limited “ammo” in a fight. Where the methane or chemicals tun out mid spew

[@KageMinowara]

"Who are these suicidal nutcases trying to take on dragons in melee?" We prefer to be called paladins, thank you very much!

[@9051team]

KageMinowara Words written on a paladin’s gravestone:Pffft cowards.....

[@DottaNatural]

Leeroy Jenkins

[@Cory_Dora]

Chi Pa Pa Leerroyyyy!

[@thatchannel195]

KageMinowara dragonborns

[@Bluesonofman]

Melee? What are you an Orc or Elf? Unless it's a bayonet no one in the Blue army of the Republic of Man uses a melee weapon. An Howie strike or Air strike or costal bombardment could take out that beast.

[@Papperlapappmaul]

For the large, intelligent, fire breathing dragons I'd recommend an AIM-26 Falcon nuclear-armed air-to-air missile. Just to be safe.

[@isaacibbotson4632]

@@HerrMasterLizard rail guns for that one. High velocity penetrating projectiles ftw

[@legessi]

You want Godzilla? Cuz that's how you get Godzilla..

[@luck_adiante]

@Rikhard von Katzen and it crushes you too

[@soil5942]

try strap it to a spaceship and launch it into space it can't breathe and it would depressurise it's wings can't push it due to lack of air and if it uses it's dragon powers to survive in space launch a chicken at almost the speed of light at it and that should be around the equivalent power of 50 of the nukes dropped on Hiroshima if my math is correct

[@Secret_Moon]

So no one tries using net?

[@Judgement_Kazzy]

When you just say "dinosaurs" because you're scared to pronounce "Quetzalcoatlus"

[@paxonite-7bd5]

Thanks this summoned a lovecraft god in my room

[@nfwrambo]

sagar chowdhary honestly would explain a fair bit about the Aztecs...

[@RichoOutlaw]

They ain’t even Dinosaurs

[@noobpro9759]

Ket-zo-co-otle There now he'll pronounce it better.

[@xthyl9855]

I tried to say that and summoned 3 Aztec fitness gods

[@j_money_tv]

2:24 "According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way that a dragon should be able to fly. Its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The dragon, of course, flies anyways..."

[@isaccorubinato799]

They had to have a medium body a not to much long tail and one wing have to be are 10 times their body and cave bones if they can fly they are very weak but really difficuilt to kill because of fire if they can breath fire

[@isaccorubinato799]

So if they have a body of 8 meters they hawe two wings of 80 meters so massive wings not to massive body

[@yourmum69_420]

Or it's Spyro

[@billcasey9672]

A magical organ that has two purposes. 1) extensive , beautiful, flight, whilst playing with mass and momentum, at the will of the dragon, not you. Not You. Specifically NOT. YOU. 2) SHOULD THE FOCKER OF A PHYSICIST ATTEMPT TO IMPOSE HIS WILL, THE FOLLOWING EFFECTS TAKE PLACE: A) You, and your family line, both forwards and backwards in time are smitten with the following effects: loss of tongues , eyes, opposable thumbs, external and internal genitalia, the inability to digest plant or animal matter, no gastrointestinal tract, no calcium or cartilage internally in skeletal system, and herpes. And a lifespan of 190 years. Which would defy physics. Which is kinda the point. The dragon, physics limitations , nullified, rides the wind. On the wind, soars it's pre, and post battle cry. " Neener, neener , neener.🌈🐱🐶🐲🐉🦄🐉🦖👍🥾🍆

[@SakuraLikesGames]

Not true. Dragon wings are equally as long as their body if not longer than their body from tip of their snout to the tip of their tail. Also, fantasy says "Fuck you, dumbass" bees should not be able to fly, their bodies are twice as large as their wingspan, they still fly somehow, moron. If a real-life creature that has no possibility to fly going by the laws of Aviation can do it, a Fantasy creature can do it, too. Bees are too big with wings way too small to be able to fly, yet, bees still fly, idiot.

[@poundbagcom]

Step 1: Pray Step 2: Arrows in mass to punch holes in wings and add weight to the wings to slow the beast Step 3: Pray even more Step 4: Javelins( if possible) and batiste to add more weight and hopefully find soft spots such as eyes, under arms, joints in hide etc. Step 5: Pray in unison Step 6: Trebuchet to throw heavy rocks and assorted imported vehicles on top on dragon Step 7: Gregorian Chants Step 8: If Dragon is on the ground and immoble, Charge with Lances on horse, if moving, pike wall. If near Carthage, rush elephants.

[@muffledgiraffe4303]

En mass about 100 dudes 40 archers, 20 velite style javelin men, 10 pikemen and 10 dudes with harpoon things like what they used to kill whales modified for dragons. And 20 priests to bury the rest

[@SpectralKnight]

@@samarnadra Honestly they are just going for a promotion. What do you mean I can't get more power to smite people I killed a dragon in your name. Or what do you mean you aren't going to make me an actual noble/Knight I just killed a firespewing tank with wings, you sure you want to be on my bad side?

[@griffoncs6431]

Oh man I wish I could give 2 thumbs up. The Import vehicles thing made me chuckle.

[@kalenrieman3313]

Don't forget the praying.

[@jimmylaser5587]

I hate to break it for you, but the praying part doesn't actually work in reality...

[@avgurikova580]

But what about Dragons? That's a good weapon against a dragon.

[@JustAnArrogantAlien]

Indeed. Dragon-type is super effective against Dragon-type.

[@dethmettle9236]

gud luck trying to tame Chromatics XD

[@tonydanatop4912]

@@dethmettle9236 What about bribing a copper ? Or doing a lung a favor ?

[@dahelmang]

This is what made the Temeraire series interesting, in spite of the SJW nonsense.

[@tonydanatop4912]

@@dahelmang Never read it what's it like ?

[@tattersall2441]

In the Elder Scrolls series (mostly just Skyrim), it actually does explain how dragons are able to fly despite their ridiculously small wings and un-aerodynamic frame. Much like how they can use specific magics naturally to breathe fire and the like, they have a natural connection to the sky goddess Kyne, and through that connection they use magic to fuel their flight. That's actually how the shout "Dragonrend (the shout you beat the game with)" works. It artificially severs a dragon's connection to sky magics and forces them to be unable to fly for the duration of the shout. The words to the shout are actually "mortal," "finite," and "temporary," showing that it is essentially forcing a dragon to experience mortality, cutting off its "godly" power.

[@tincano-beans2114]

William Schneider in reality you yell at the dragon "you're gonna die mate!" and he gets all sad and lands for a good cry.

[@krisztianpovazson4535]

IT'S MAGICK I AIN'T GONNA EXPLAIN SHEEEIT

[@abyssstrider2547]

Kerley Gaming! it's a dragon shout, with shouts you can do some insane stuff like control weather, summon fire and alike

[@TrickyTrickyFox]

"You were adopted!"

[@Litarifa]

chad you need to take a look at the docomentry ''the last dragon' in it they explane how a dragon can fly and bread fire. it's a very good documentry if you are a nerd you will love it as mach as I did.

[@avegasuarez]

Shad: Dragons have feelings too! Shad 20 sec later: Let's see what the best way is to kill a dragon.

[@KaiHung-wv3ul]

Well, humans have feelings, we've been figuring out ways to kill each for all of history.

[@MetharosKM]

"...magicians have calculated that million-to-one chances crop up nine times out of ten.” -Sir Terry Pratchett

[@sizanogreen9900]

The power of the Narrativium strong at work there I suggest:) Sir Terry is the best.

[@isectoid9454]

There's actually a real life piece of logic that says something similar. Paraphrased, it goes "Every month millions of things happen to you. You should experience at least 1 million to one event a month." Its probably higher now, considering that logic was thought up by someone from way before our time. early 1900s I think.

[@garethbaus5471]

@@isectoid9454 that and with many complex systems having so much sensitivity that the vast majority of solutions are 1 in a million.

[@prinzeszelda3650]

Dont use the lucky arrow or its Not 1 in a Million

[@troyterry5759]

Don't forget Pratchett's further advice... Along the lines of: "Sure, but 900,000-to-one chances ... those almost never happen. So you'd better calculate your odds real carefully."

[@twenty2thirty574]

Shad: Even Smaug is a bit big. Ancalagon: *largely laughs in the background.

[@tamaghnosaha2520]

When u think about it, ancalagon will never be in the "background".

[@alonelyperson6031]

HE IS THE BACKGROUND !!

[@AncalagonX82]

Hello

[@ghostbucket]

He *is* the background

[@reakirk7624]

Dragons in "How to Train Your Dragon" actually have an explaination as to how they can breath fire, they create a flammable gas that they ignite in their mouth, if you can spark it before it releases the fire it will cause a backfire.

[@SakuraLikesGames]

Toothles proved that when he shot a tiny Plasma spark into the mouth of a Terrible Terror, the tiny dragon became stoned for a few moments.

[@ghostbucket]

Good to know

[@trevorle7382]

Problem is: HTTYD is a children’s show that isn’t good with physics In reality, that gas won’t react as violently

[@SakuragiSayo]

My personal favorite are the Ice/Frost using Dragons. Unfortunately they are often depicted as evil or very rare, almost extinct.

[@dianapennepacker6854]

Tons of ways for dragon breath or balls even. How about a mixture of pure sodium, potassium, lithium, and water. I amm sure there are better ones I just don't know them.

[@hoangminhle1964]

Shad: "It would have to be a 1 in a million shot" "Use the Force, Luke"

[@noobsaibot8780]

Use unrelenting force, Dovahkiin.

[@troyterry5759]

"Bothan spies have discovered an access hatch leading to the dragon's reactor core. This vulnerable spot is just about the size of a womp-rat..."

[@RandomGuy0400]

"I've got a bad feeling about this..." "it'd have to be a 1 in a million sh--- " "NEVER TELL ME THE ODDS"

[@driftingdruid]

or the three fairies from Sleeping Beauty

[@ender7278]

Time for a Holdo maneuver.

[@caldie4338]

You'd be crazy to take on a dragon alone, *unless you're dragon born* Skyrim music intensifies

[@Equinerhael]

Dovahkiin Dovahkiin Naal ok ziin los vahriin!

[@sirteacup1182]

Caldie FUS RO DAH

[@jasonlee8556]

Noble Viking Yol Tor Shuul

[@FuelDropforthewin]

Dragon: "Why do I hear boss music?"

[@zakl940]

Dovahkin, dovahkin, nal OK zin Los varhin!

[@plastahumana3435]

>Lightning to peel apart their scales; >Firestorms and a miasma of death and disease; >Giant bows. Easy kill

[@DJWeapon8]

>Proclaim Age of Fire >... >PROFIT

[@qwormuli77]

Even of good hunts, the dragons took three score of their hunters down with them. Gwyn's backup bitches need to git gud.

[@Glimmcomp]

...Best REAL medieval weapons...

[@GhostInTheShell29]

Glimmcomp. Best real medieval weapon the pommel. Once you throw your pommel at the dragon, and the dragon falls down laughing at you, your buddy can jump out and stab the dragon in the eye with a sword. I would recommend a good thrusting short sword for the job. Its all about speed and agility.

[@alstroemeria]

Just get a dude in a lion costume and give him a pointy stick, he'll do the job.

[@michaellight6981]

Is your goal to kill the dragon, or is your goal to survive the encounter?

[@tsulashyfox8588]

Well, killing it would lead to the latter. But I would settle for living XD

[@wyattguilliams2621]

Both

[@Krahazik]

If your goal is just survival, then you don't fight the dragon, you run (preferably not in a strait line in open terrain)

[@firenze6478]

My goal is to befriend it

[@james35124]

If you kill the dragon you'll be immortalized, if you survive the encounter..... You're the old hobbled drunk in the tavern

[@Balthizar101]

"You won't be able to kill a dragon with a single shot from a ballista." 'flashbacks to GoT S8'

[@s8theninjawarrior916]

"Maybe you wont even be able to pierce the skull" flashbacks at cercei piercing BALERION'S SKULL

[@brandonfoley7519]

Glad I didn't watch this bullshit

[@danielrenner4677]

But I think you could penetrate and destroy their wings with special ballista arrows, so you would be able to take it's abillity to fly and falling down that far would probably kill a dragon

[@intergalactic92]

To be fair it was hit by about 3 at the same time.

[@johnnyhorsewhale3116]

@Odinalf_lb I don't count game of thrones as true dragons, their Danny's pets more than anything her prized "children". They totally made them after wyverns just with fire breathing.....if they were any bigger then maybe they'd have actually won but when bad writing on their part to push s8 out fast af

[@dereknicholson3322]

There is actually evidence of reinforced bone struts within the arm bones of Quetzalcoatlus (the pterosaur shown earlier in the video). Paleontologists believe this would've allowed them to hurl themselves into to air to take off from level ground without having to jump off a cliff. Assuming the dragon is designed for flight (hollow bones aside from those that are reinforced) it could weigh less than a horse but be the size of a giraffe or elephant. That being said, this dragon would probably be far more vulnerable to attack considering it's made to fly and wouldn't have nearly the same strength as a traditional fantasy dragon.

[@miceliusbeverus6447]

I guess it would be deadliest if could only glide in the air, and trade some air capability for armour and power...

[@gamefriends1]

What if they could use mixture of napalm and helium therefore the fire and lightness explained

[@thomasf.9717]

@@gamefriends1 Hydrogen. But then you would have a potentially explosive dragon.

[@gamefriends1]

@@thomasf.9717 What if it stored the napalm in a separate gland

[@gamefriends1]

And expulsing the hydrogen periodically, explaining the periods of rest

[@SamWickens]

No, the trick to fighting dragons isn't ballistas. It's barristers! You sue to dragon and take all of its gold! Then it has nothing to live for and goes away.

[@josephdedrick9337]

what if dragon eats your suerss and comes for you as well.

[@Vherstinae]

You feed it more lawyers until they're all gone. Then humanity is better off.

[@theknight660]

Mr Luxarina Ah but if you take all it's gold then you will be attacked and then you have a Smog situation on your hands

[@СофияБаширова-щ9ю]

As someone whose English is bad I thought you mean baristas, I was so confused trying to imagine group of them throwing coffee on dragon

[@richardbonnette490]

Ah, this comment and the replies above are priceless! Thank you are sharing your thoughts. My life is so much better now. And as long as my coffee machine does not break down, I will be ready to take down any dragon.

[@TheCsel]

In Hobbit book, it inferred that the belly of a dragon is normally weaker and vulnerable to arrows (Smaug however had coated his belly with treasures to protect his belly). So perhaps against a younger or less cunning dragon, arrows or blade to the belly would work. Inversely, Sam injures Shelob the spider-queen's near-impenetrable skin when the spider drops on him, her weight providing the force to pierce. If a dragon dove on you, perhaps the downward force could impale it.

[@Ledabot]

TheCsel the lego effect. It only hurts because we're big.

[@NxAllie]

TheCsel No, in the Hobbit book the dragons have impenetrable scales that first have to be damaged by a special one-of-a-kind arrow and then the same kind of one-of-a-kind arrow must be shot off a giant tower ballista pin-point into the damaged area in order to kill it. Sometimes it takes a generation or two between each shot.

[@TheCsel]

lol no that was Peter Jackson's fan fiction. The Real Hobbit had no ballistas, the Black Arrow was a normal, albeit ominous arrow with some superstition attached to it.

[@zuhtru]

"You have my Sword." "And my Bow." And MY Axe."

[@Servellion]

Csels right. Only truly special thing about the Black Arrow was that Bard had always managed to retrieve it each time.

[@The_Viscount]

One of my favorite ideas for how Dragons both fly and breath fire: the bacteria in their gut produces hydrogen as a byproduct. If they have organs that act as hydrogen storage, they could lighten their bodies to help with both flight and store the hydrogen for fire. That said, the more they use fire, the more desperate they are because they eventually lose flight ability.

[@jerrykwan150]

Considering how large a dragon's body is, wouldn't it have the potential to host so much bacteria that hydrogen production might require regular venting? I assume the storage is flexible of course but I don't think it'd be practical to just have a large protrusion on the body because of drag in flight. It'd be an interesting problem to determine how much hydrogen a dragon would prefer to hold for flight.

[@anonymm3152]

I've had a similar idea, but with methane instead

[@robertromero8692]

No, that doesn't work scientifically. What you're describing is a beast with a hollow body, essentially a big gas bag, with no room for bones or internal organs. This is because it would take well over a thousand cubic meters of space replacing organ tissue with hydrogen to generate the kind of buoyancy needed. There simply isn't that kind of internal volume available. You're better off saying dragons can fly and breathe fire because "fantasy".

[@Dummb]

@@jerrykwan150 what if the dragon farts hydrogen?

[@Dummb]

@@jerrykwan150 what if the dragon farts hydrogen?

[@nathanblissett9470]

"What's the best way to fight a dragon?" Shadiversity: "You don't"

[@u.v.s.5583]

Miyagi: No be there.

[@thatundeadlegacy2985]

Tame it,

[@michaellight6981]

The dragon's biggest weakness is probably the wings. Pierce the wings and then you can use siege weapons easily.

[@user-ft3jq5vi2l]

You have been watching how to train your dragon, haven't you?

[@avocato1180]

Then it would just rn at you with its castle evaporating fire

[@Julian-pw5mv]

@@avocato1180 yeah and even if it cant for some reason it is still a gigantic fucking lizard and if it hits you you are gonna go flying

[@garethalford682]

Like Gobber said it’s the wings and tails you want downed Dragon is a dead dragon

[@majed8192]

If I am correct you could actually damage the dragon's wings in Skyrim

[@AshenDust_]

The best weapon to use against a dragon is magic missile (because it ignores AC) cast by a level 20 evocation mage from al level 9 spell slot

[@codyallison8093]

Spell resistance. 🙁

[@walrideralp6275]

@@codyallison8093 I'm actually pretty sure that dragons don't have spell resistance.

[@codyallison8093]

How do low level drow have spell resistance but dragons don't? That's just silly.

[@goldflame3390]

If you cast magic missile at level 9 someone needs to burn your spellbook

[@illumin4t152]

@@codyallison8093 as a level 20 mage with some skills and metaskills for your spells you can break thourgh spell resistance. and you are right dragons have some spell resitance but allways to their elements. a red dragon has problems with ice magic.

[@crazypomp927]

Shad: Killing a dragon with a single ballista shot would have to be kind of a 1-in-a-million shot. Euron Greyjoy: Laughs

[@blazecrep7849]

Well, that cost him like 3 or 4 shots, and he took the dragons from surprise, so...

[@jacktheomnithere2127]

then there's Bard the Bowman from The Hobbit Battle of The Five Armies.

[@leoneyamada5408]

@@blazecrep7849 actually evidence shows a ballista would be overkill on the dragons shad is talking about. shad said the dragon was in between horse and elephant size.... and as ANYONE WHO IS ANYONE can tell you... there was an absolutely massive elephant that spent his days drinking with his trainer that was killed by a train in 1 hit... so the biggest of elephants falls to an early design of a train. early trains are probably going to hit about as hard as a ballista. i say this because the train wasnt going full speed and it isnt built to ram into things... so... i would say a ballista that is built to turn castles into swiss cheese is about that strong... so comparatively a ballista would absolutly 1 shot a dragon almost EVERY time... along with the fact it would pin the dragon into the ground and stop it from running away.... it would be like using a thumbtack on a beetle... it would be stuck and unable to fight back in any meaningful way other then struggle and breath fire in the general area its in... but yes it would absolutly be killed... and even if it didnt go all the way through (and it would...) the size of the bolts are so stupidly large it would be like having half of your chest turned into a hole and saying "tis but a flesh wound"... your just going to die instantly or bleed out VERY quickly

[@scatman9166]

@@leoneyamada5408 I think the main point is actually hitting it in the first place. Also even an early train is going to have leagues more force behind it than a ballista

[@Aethuviel]

Ice spears. Thrown by a bald blue eyed guy who's over 8000 years old. Crazy effective.

[@spartanwar1185]

I'm thinking Avatar: The Last Airbender But i don't think Aang ever killed a dragon... And i don't remember how old he is...

[@OtachiKaiju68]

The white walker from GoT?

[@sweepyourspeech8350]

Frida Nyberg long live the viserion

[@CriKnight]

It's from the latest season of Game of Thrones. SPOILERS kzbin.info/www/bejne/i5SWg2Cmh8mmbbM

[@MWMTEE]

in korra theres someone with boomy mans power and she shoots zukos dragon out the sky

[@darthvader6533]

Its very easy to kill a dragon: *Dragonrend* *Sword spam* Then simply absorb the soul and go home to your wife and kids. Easy peasy

[@CrankyBonesGaming]

Unless Miraak takes the soul haha

[@Xterminator8411]

With Emphasis on Elemental Fury XD

[@devilravenninja9597]

Sorry to disappoint but the "Dragons" in Skyrim are Wyverns... Meaning Dragonrend is specific to the Wyvern subspecies

[@darthvader6533]

@@devilravenninja9597 Dragonrend, the rending of dragons. Its a big lizard with wings, let me have my moment :p

[@devilravenninja9597]

@@darthvader6533 Sorry, I just have those moments where I get overly pedantic

[@gabrielathero]

Fron the makers of "But what about dargons?" We bring you: "Because dragons!"

[@forgerofsouls9126]

In DnD, Dragons do have hollow, but, reinforced bones. And, they also use magic to reinforce their flight.

[@samuellawrencesbookclub8250]

If dragon are intelligent, you could try talking to it - you might be able to reach an agreement.

[@ThunderClawShocktrix]

Why does every one always assume we are dumb *rolls eyes* you know thatmost times dragons dont clause problems till we are provoked

[@samuellawrencesbookclub8250]

Thankfully, my old school taught me not to tickle sleeping dragons

[@mrslinkydragon9910]

Or you could make love to the dragon...

[@sushitime8622]

CMMC ; sure, but the problem is, Dragons tend to be smarter than most people you are likely to find.

[@sosig6445]

@@mrslinkydragon9910 Or ally with them to kill all the humans sick enough to try to lay with them....

[@jacobdelaney9465]

Ambush tactics with things like triggering an avalanche, flood from a breaking dam, things of that nature. Or in most settings with Dragons, plot armor, prayer, and divine intervention help.

[@Spiceodog]

Yeah but what if your fighting a dnd dragon who wields powerful time and reality warping magic as well?

[@driftingdruid]

ooh! ooh! CAVE-INS!!

[@slayeroffurries1115]

I think that the best way to defeat a dragon in real life would be to lure the dragon to a cave with a single entrance, then and colapse said entrance. The dragon would, hopefully, be unable to escape and starve to death

[@HeraldOfOpera]

@@Spiceodog Honestly, stuff like avalanches would still hit them pretty damn hard. Especially since thye have per-day limits on most of that stuff.

[@bulletbill1104]

Use another dragon since dragon is super effective against dragon

[@dragonfistelite1962]

Pokémon

[@geofff.3343]

*Claps*

[@monkeykong6230]

BulletBill110 or fairy

[@loganmason5421]

Throwing a snowflake at it could work as well.

[@SerpentKnight555]

Something I thought of is how much can a dragon breathe fire? When you start applying more realistic logic to a dragon is that the fire isn’t endless and they do run out which could change how you would approach it by

[@blazecrep7849]

The only thing I can imagine is 3 Dragon rider as Second World War British pilots "Situation?" "Roger, Captain my "Smaugy" has run out of fuel"

[@TsulaAngenati2292]

@@blazecrep7849 “Smaugy” brings me such joy

[@Kurse_of_Kall]

One key thing in fighting a dragon that I think you missed here is how their fire actually works. In every fantasy work I have personally seen, the fire hasn't been napalm, it's been more like a giant blowtorch or flamethrower, (depending on the kind of flame thrower, some use napalm esque things, some don't). The point is that fire, like from a lighter or blowtorch, and lit napalm behave *very* differently. The reason why napalm is so deadly is that is a jelly, made of gasoline that has been thickened with other products, this jelly is extremely flammable and sticks to things and burns. A normal kite shield could theoretically protect you from a certain amount of dragon fire, as the fire is usually portrayed as a single, relatively thin stream and wood could be covered with other materials to make it more fire resistant. Napalm on the other hand doesn't tend to care too much about makeshift fireproofing measures as would've been used with medieval technology, and because it is a physical jelly it can arc and splatter over/around the shield as well as sticking to it and making it burn much faster - whereas normal fire takes a decent amount of time to burn thick wood under the right circumstances. Another thing about the fire is that is relatively short ranged and the dragon usually appears to have a limited supply of it that will sort of recharge over time, so if you had some sort of protection, probably a large shield and some sort of wool armor because wool is somewhat fire resistant. Depending on the heat of the flames you could potentially use plate armor with layers of cloth underneath it to protect you from the heat: you don't need to be able to sit in the fire for long, there's only so much fire and you only need to last long enough that you can get close enough to hit it with some sort of spear or mace (depending on the specifics of the dragon's anatomy) or maybe just run away if melee weapons aren't feasible against the dragon's defenses. I could see some sort of cutting weapon working to cut off the wings, the base of the wing where it attaches to the body looks like it is fairly thin and could be a week point.

[@pixelpopproductions1745]

Some flame throwing tanks can shoot over 70 meters

[@MastaBlastaS99]

That's true to some extent, but the weird thing is that dragon fire is usually given the characteristics of both a flamethrower and napalm. It travels in a small stream but as soon as it touches an object, the object becomes enflamed, regardless of whether or not it's protected or even flammable :P and and then even worse in some media dragon fire is portrayed as much hotter than normal fire. So it essentially has instakill properties :0

[@kevgmei]

So basically, a super badass paladin?

[@LunarOverdrive]

Unless the dragon is a skyrim dragon on legendary difficulty, in which case you're fucked if you don't have resist fire enchants

[@j.m.s.5901]

Adopting the dragon is much more efficient than to try killing it. Emphasis on TRY.

[@prinzeszelda3650]

Hikkup is proud of you

[@peel6128]

@@prinzeszelda3650 * *happy toothless noises* *

[@joaovitorfarinabraga690]

Not really large lizards are naturally dangerous and aggressive and they lack Limbic system with means that they are always in their primitive survivor state, unable to learn behaviour patterns, learning and emotions so yeah you can’t actually train a dragon

[@augustorojas9371]

@@joaovitorfarinabraga690 I see dragons the same way I see dinosaurs, more like birds rather than lizards.

[@fluffdragon6305]

@@augustorojas9371 but with scales strong as a ballistic armor and able to spit fire/ice and cast spells if are eastern dragons. P.s. some dragons are Gods, so are essentially invulnerable against everything of phisical.

[@jamesp8164]

For an actual fire breathing dragon, I'm thinking an F-15 looks pretty good as a weapon :D Serious answer...your best bet might be asymmetric tactics. A stand up fight is not your best choice. I'm thinking like using bait and traps. A large pit with some kind of bait to attract the dragon, then immobilize with heavy nets once it drops into the pit. With it immobilized, you have options. Siege weapons or some suicidally brave guys with warhammers. What about the use of naval forces? One of the problems using a ballista or other siege weapon is that it's cumbersome and immobile. If you could build a ship / modify one such that it would be fire resistant, you might have an option for a stand up battle. Ship mounted ballistas, far more mobile than land based siege weapons. It was not common to clad ships in iron in medieval times, but as a one off special anti-dragon ship, it might be viable, if shockingly expensive for the industry of that time. Might also consider the massed fire tactic. Equip an army of men with arbalests, and throw enough bolts to block out the sun. Death of a thousand cuts. This might be effective if you have your troops attack the wings instead of the body; the wings are flimsier but are vital. If nothing else, you may achieve a mobility kill which at least gives you time to put together a ground assault to take the dragon out. Was thinking on it a little more...special munitions for a ballista. Launch gigantic bolos / capture nets to try to knock them out of the air. Follow up with ground attack using conventional ballista munitions, pikes, axes.

[@anmoldeepsingh7907]

A 10 would be more useful in my opinion. As they are specifically meant to use against tanks

[@jamesp8164]

@@tommykirk3403 No objection to using poison gas. I think the problem for a medieval tech base is 1) making a viable chemical agent that would work 2) transporting it and 3) delivering it, of course. Those kinds of things are, if not easy, well within the abilities of an industrial tech base. For a medieval tech base...kind of iffy.

[@kagetsu13]

The one time a volley of war arrows will work

[@matthewlong9369]

In defense of the ballista, there are records of the Romans killing elephants with them in "De Re Military" by Flavius Vegitius Renatus, and in fact he recommended them for the purpose. He also records a centurion killing one with a short sword, but doesn't recommend trying to repeat the feat

[@JasonVanderwyk-91Bravo]

When i was in the Army i was around a airplane called a A-10 warthog and I think A-10 is pretty good comparison to a dragon . So if you think about what a dragon does when its in flight is it leads with its buisness end right so its firepower is front and center. In GOT when Drogon flys in to attack the lanister army . Drogon essentially does a attack run . If the dothraki are the soldiers on the front lines then the dragon is providing the air support essentially. Air strikes. Well an A-10 also has its firepower front and center it features a 30mm gatling gun right on the underside of the nose basically. So it can come in for an attack and its firepower also coming out front and center and so like how drogon makes a trail or row of fire and its like flying lawn mower right then flamethrower just mows down anything in its attack run path. Well the A-10 does that too where it fires in a attack run style. Flys in drops its ordnance and flys out and maybe the plane comes around for another attack run but . Like drogon also he comes in leaves his row of fire his path of destruction and then he flys away and comes around for another attack run and on and on. It does attack run after attack run . But that tactic or that strategy requires drogon to get closer or at least within a certain range of the enemy which means hes also putting himself in danger of the Scorpion . The A-10 and other planes that provide this type of air support i think it puts the plane in danger of being shot down by surface to air weapons like missiles. So i feel like the Scorpion and the ballista is essentially providing surface to air firepower. But keep in mind the Ballista is an unguided round essentially. So that would be like trying to shoot a fighter pilot with a Sniper rifle . The sniper rifle bullet is an unguided round . So if the dragon is. Intelligent and is really good at flying maneuvering. That really could be a 1 in Million shot . Not to mention dragons can fly well out Of range of the ballista . But the dragon would be most vulnerable ironically when its coming in to Napalm you because to get close enough to the target to accurately use the flamethower . That line of low flying would be when the ballistas could do real damage but you better not miss your shot

[@LieutenantSilver]

Best weapon against a dragon is lightning magic because it casts with hitscan. No need to lead your shots.

[@houselightkell]

Lieutenant Silver why are we all talking fantasy settings? a futuristic setting makes more sense with genetic engineering.

[@houselightkell]

Kevin Nguyen for what reason? we have to go for realism and genetic engineering is the only way I can see dragons becoming real

[@Benjamin1986980]

Arrows with poison? That's stupid. You'd be giving bee stings to them. Cows with poison painted on their fur / bags of poison strapped to them. Driven into the dragon's lair for dinner. Much better.

[@Yal_Rathol]

Clark Dauphin right, but in reality, we also wouldn't be fighting actual dragons with swords in the modern day. we would use firearms and missiles, which are effective at shredding nearly anything.

[@brandonvelde5774]

Imagine in the future where we have poachers flying around in WWII fighter planes hunting dragons for sport.

[@Redbeardblondie]

I've always imagined dragons using their breath to lay down a field of flame to create a zone of updraft to gain altitude. Best way to dispatch a dragon? Chain net. A weighted, metallic net to bind it and keep it down, then drop boulders on it, drown it, pike it, or anything else. Really though, traps should be the way to go. Ballistas would be last ditch for when dragons attack a city or village or something; for defense, not to hunt them.

[@kalakumiho5029]

Agreed. Lead them into a cave or passage to lay a trap. There was actually a medieval manual on doing just such things to hunt dragons.

[@kalakumiho5029]

Best option really is to just stake out its lair and set an ambush at the entrance. Or just cave it in to bury the sucker alive. Why bother fighting?

[@ANotmyname]

If we make a comparison between the jaws of a dragon and the jaws of a tyrannosaurus, nothing wearable even today could save you. A test was done using a replica t-rex jaw and a press applying pressure at a strength estimated by looking at the jaw structure and how muscles would be attached to it. The subject was a cow carcass, and it folded like origami. The thickest bones in the cow were broken in half. A t-rex is small in comparison to many depictions of dragons. tl;dr Don't get bit.

[@cobraglatiator]

how tall were t-rexex? (i mean,i could totally look this up,but naaaaww,i mean,who even likes google anyway? shitty company,not like it's ever brought us anything good(he says ironicallypleasedon'tbanmeizjustjokesm8izjuhsgaemyyuhev2bmedgoobyplznu.) would the jaw strength of a dragon the size of a giraffe be comparable?

[@bmxriderforlife1234]

i think i know what test you are talking about. if so yeah thing was rag dolled. shit was kinda scary. but what i find really scary would be spinosaurus or Giganotosaurus both are larger then the t rex.

[@TzarBomb]

Hum... at the end of the day been bitten by any of the three would result in a pretty quick death with or without plate armor.

[@doubleaja3415]

Alex Notmyname AR500 steel would likely just make teeth break, but the pressure from the impact would kill you.

[@franohmsford7548]

T-Rex grew to 40ft in length incl. the tail so height would be around 30-33ft standing erect. The AD&D Great Wyrm Red Dragon = Average 180ft body length PLUS 165ft tail length! That's approximately 4 blue whales end to end!

[@bulshock1221]

This one made me think of some of the mythological dragons I've read about. One of them was killed because they decided to slaughter a herd of cattle and lace them with heavy amounts of poison and then let the dragon 'steal' them. This allowed them to kill it with more conventional means (as it was weakened from the poison, and might have died from the poison if given long enough but also might have recovered).

[@hawks1ish]

Best weapon to kill a fire breathing dragon? A hammer to smash it's eggs, eventually no more dragons humans are good at driving animals extinct

[@magnusanderson6681]

Joshua Lansell-Kenny Except that... its eggs are in the lava of the volcano, or at the peak of the Pillar of the Sky, and always in reach of immortal beings feared by all and ready to incinerate you.

[@obsydainfox7604]

to note that a female dragon will probably protect its egg and youth till they can fly , and female dragons like other female reptile that are much more scary and there for nope it’s impossible

[@DZ-1987]

Plus dragons in general are immortal...

[@Yal_Rathol]

Darthzilla 1987 that would depend on the story. st. george would disagree that dragons are immortal, for example.

[@DZ-1987]

Yal Rathol (i have to say your name like like a shout in skyrim) St. George has killed a dragon according to the story... i'm talking about the more widely known version of dragons, like the size of elephants or even a... is a giraffe taller than an elephant? eh whatever the big ones not man on horse big. Also immortal not invincible. Immortality basically mean's you'll live forever but can still die, Invincible mean's your practically god.

[@TheSaneHatter]

As is often the case in these discussions, the first part of the video goes a long way towards vindicating a certain Prof. Tolkien's storytelling ability. His now-classic tale of the slaying of Smaug seems to satisfy all of Shad's criteria for a credible victory: a dragon with a specific, anatomical weakness (the soft underbelly), to which a master archer (Bard) gets tipped off in advance (the thrush), furthermore using a specialized weapon for the task (the Black Arrow). And it is, indeed, a once-in-a-lifetime shot, openly described as such. I might also point out that the varying nature of draconic locomotion could be a factor, such as non-flying dragons that walk, slither (which proved a specific weakness for Glaurung, also by Tolkien) or even *swimming*, since many early dragon tales associate them with water. How does an aquatic dragon fight? How do you fight THEM? But finally, has anyone here considered the merits of POISON? Right now (Feb. 2019), the channel "Because Science" has a great video on exotic, botanical poisons from around the world (a Batman-themed video called, "Evil Plants Poison Ivy Could Control"), which describes some ridiculously powerful toxins which, even if not proving lethal, could cause a level of pain even a dragon can't tolerate. Stick that on the tip of an arrow, and you're potentially on to something.

[@jamesforgie6594]

Because science also have a video specifically about dragon slaying now. Just so you know.

[@jankom.7783]

Is it only me, or is Smaug the only actual good guy in The Hobbit trilogy. He was keeping the gold to himself, because he knew, that it would cause a war, if he wouldn't guarding it. The last movie is proof of it.

[@AllNiin]

Most dragons are immune to poison or worst in medieval periods they woudnt be able to deal or create a poison strong enought that would have little volume to work on the dragon Second, about dragons in water... You dont fight they with boats, ships or anything that is in the water, dont even think of try to catch it like a whale... It is way worst then trying to fight against a landbound dragon or even one that fly and trow napalm at you... remember they way to cut a diamond? it is with water... pressurized water... now a water dragon uses?

[@bladewolfvii6383]

Thank you for the poison Idea. I kinda feel stupid now.

[@P7777-u7r]

A water dragon assuming it has to be in/near water would be easy to deal with just dont live near deep enough water

[@aldrickfondracul9297]

I wonder if there would be a way to foul the wings somehow. Perhaps a catapult/trebuchet that launches some kind of chain shot with two large metal balls connected by a chain. A well-placed shot with something like that could foul, sprain, or even break a dragon's wings, thus grounding it. The impact from a sudden free-fall from the sky could potentially injure the creature. Once the creature is grounded, you could either pepper it with heavy ballista, or swarm it with enough ground fighters to where it simply couldn't kill them all fast enough before it is overwhelmed.

[@boooster101]

I'm genuinely impressed. I know of chained shots and them being used against sails and masts but I never thought about using that logic here.

[@RestlessHarp]

That is a really good idea.

[@weaponizedpizza8825]

chain shot could destroy the dragon's wings, but it could probably also destroy a dragon's neck, severing bones and crushing the throat. a cannon or catapult would be capable of grounding a dragon, if not killing it outright.

[@katarinatrembova808]

@@weaponizedpizza8825 You idealy want to kill it as fast as possible, so breaking dragon's neck is ideal.

[@Ontarianmm]

Another point is that a war bow could probably puncture the wings too. Basically volley it with bolts and chain shot till it is dead. I like it.

[@zweihanderpancakes1855]

I love how he uses skyrim dragons as the example of when fire is taken out of the picture, despite the fact that skyrim dragons can VERY MUCH breathe fire.

[@HeraldOfOpera]

In all fairness, that's kind of a weird case where they're actually just casting a type of fire spell that they happen to be especially good at.

[@backonlazer791]

@@HeraldOfOpera Not really even just that, they're basically just talking their language which manifests as their elemental breath. As to why they aren't triggering different effects with every other word beats me.

[@HeraldOfOpera]

@@backonlazer791 The language in question is inherently magical. The fact that it's their native tongue doesn't change the fact that anyone can learn to breathe fire by speaking it.

[@backonlazer791]

@@HeraldOfOpera Yes, but just because it's magical doesn't make it "magic", or at least the Stormcloaks don't seem to think so, since they don't really respect magic but do respect the Thu'um.

[@SakuragiSayo]

Not all of them. Some use Frost/Ice.

[@kingroberto9580]

It’s the wings and tails you’d want to go for. A downed dragon is a dead dragon. ;Gobber- How to train a dragon

[@playlikesarix8705]

You have to remember tho: If Dragons actually lived, humans might have found a way to live with them, like giving them gold or treassure or something like that

[@bigbadcatbigbcy2933]

Or ride them like horses

[@mennograafmans1595]

Humans would've hunted them to exctinction or competed them away by killing it's prey. We're talking about humans, not some civilized fantasy race.

[@monkeykong6230]

playlikeSarix oh ok slavery

[@kevgmei]

@@mennograafmans1595 So basically what Gwyn does in Dark Souls.

[@MonguinAssassin]

I actually categorized them in my world building as animal precursors to flying vehicles, something like heavy bombers in World War 2 for example, or even science-fiction gunships, dropships, and Gundam-style mechs, the same way horses were historically precursors to automobiles. Also, I theorized that if you were to combine science fiction with fantasy, magic would fade as technology improves and takes over, meaning that the most magical period of time would be the time of tribal and clan societies, which would predate even the age of pyramids. Therefore, I faved this picture in my "Primitive Era" collection: www.deviantart.com/black-wing24/art/Family-791605026 That being said, it might take one or two or several of entire units to take down one fully grown dragon, and they either have to be flying themselves or otherwise have some siege equipment in a unit led by a wizard. So, if you do want to have a knight against a dragon, a normal horse would not do good at all. It would be like going up against an Air Fortress on just a motorcycle with a spear. You need a squadron of decent pegasi and a few good harpoons and bolas to entrap the dragon when it gets tired. The target is the Wings. Best example of this I've seen is How to Train Your Dragon during the final battle, followed closely by Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Avatar: the Last Airbender (although I was actually referring to how antagonists handled Appa the Sky Bison, which would be a similar type of deal)

[@RamenBowl2.0]

Inheritance cycle book 1: Eragon "their stomachs are armored, their armpits are not"

[@funnyguy5746]

Click: noice

[@Bastardson_]

Was it Brom who said that? I don't remember that line, but that sounds like something Brom said early on when Eragon was still pretending not to be a Rider.

[@Bitter_Beauty_Music]

Yeah, and in the last couple of books, there was this spear which was barbed and enchanted with magic.

[@F1rstWorldNomaD]

Sure and if Eragon was the ultimate authority on dragons I'd take this advice... Since it's not I would not take the risk of this being incorrect with the Dragon I'm facing.

[@PunkZombie1300]

@@F1rstWorldNomaD Don't they were saying anything about Eragon being an authority on Dragons, just that it's an example of a story that clearly states Dragons' strengths and weaknesses.

[@Percy1800sDetective]

The problem with the 'side being the weakest' theory is that with birds, there's a lot of muscle in that area, as the wings need it to actually be able to fly...but we're talking about fantasy hexapodal dragons, SO WHADDA I KNOW

[@thearisen7301]

I imagine specialized weapons would be developed. Problem requires solution which is then developed. That is one of the issues with medieval weapons here, they're meant to fight people.

[@Noone-rc9wf]

C Whitmer ...what about dragons?!

[@spilbeen5213]

shut up you git!.

[@micha-elcleveland1265]

Very valid point

[@EnigmicIdentity]

Exactly my thought. Military picks of some variation, perhaps even with mechanical assistance, like a trap or a catapult with a big pointy spike.

[@Electric999999]

What could you actually do better with medieval technology? A more specialized pole arm might be an option, but that still only works if they can't breath fire.

[@Onitaris]

Nice thing about the german RPG The Dark Eye. Dwarves as major enemies of dragons use tons of ballistas ... also big axes and spears to get through the hide and possibly crush bones or pierce organs. Fun talking about killing stuff! :D

[@Gunnar_Konig]

What about javelins? They're not going to kill it, but can weaken it via bleeding, maybe blind it. By the way, elephants are fast as hell, Shad. You will NOT run away from an elephant that wants you dead. Hell, many offroad vehicles would not be able to escape if the terrain was rough.

[@LouisKing995]

Gunnar Konig I doubt a typical fantasy dragon could be Pierced by a javelin, in any meaningful way at least

[@Gunnar_Konig]

I think you're underestimating them, considering the heavier, shorter ranged javelins are strong enough to stick into lower end plate on a flat hit. Assuming the dragon can't breath fire (either doesn't have it, or already used up his three breaths) a rain of projectiles from siege-level crossbows and/or bows and a hail of javelins from the pikemen ought to do some damage. Hell, war darts might be an option too, to add to the volume of fire.

[@martinsordyl8517]

I would say, using roman's Scorpio would be better option. It is smaller version of ballista, has higher maneuverability, higher range than javelins,. I am not sure how strong it is in poundage, but i would guess it is tronger than warbow and uses heavier munition than are standart arrows, maybe even javelins.

[@LouisKing995]

Gunnar Konig I'd Say a decent dragons scales would be much harder than low end plate.

[@j.f.fisher5318]

Someone needs to do penetration testing against various parts of alligator or crocodile hide - both the relatively thing flexible scales, and the thick back plates.

[@joaovitorfarinabraga690]

Fighting a dragon with a sword is the same as fight a t-Rex armed with a grenade-launcher with a knife

[@xyzaxy230]

So... fun?

[@nilsdock]

@@xyzaxy230 actually a grenade launcher would probably scare away the T-rex.

[@precisionbowx6984]

@@nilsdock he means the T-Rex has the grenade launcher. Not you.

[@SakuraLikesGames]

Fighting a Dragon at all is the same as having a nuke or atomic bomb dropped directly onto your head.

[@justguy-4630]

@@nilsdock The T.rex wields the grenade launcher, you donut.

[@alexanderthegreat6109]

Best real weapons for centaurs,or best real weapons for fighting against chimeras

[@joaozitogameplays]

The fox king Of warchester knight weapons for centaurs I guess?

[@koffieslikkersenior]

Polearms

[@joaozitogameplays]

The fox king Of warchester curved bows too

[@Noone-rc9wf]

The fox king Of warchester But what about DRAGONS??

[@TheThaiBuddy]

Warbows, lances, greatswords.

[@larsprins3440]

A medieval style dragon is already very bad news to humans in a realistic medieval setting. But just imagine the amount of destruction a dragon from the fantasy world of Dungeons&Dragons could bring. We're talking about gargantuan intelligent killing machines who could potentially command their own armies of worshippers. Also, not all of those dragons breathe fire, some of them breathe massive bolts of lightning, some spit out a waterfall of acid, others exhale clouds of poisonous gas and there are even dragons whose breath can freeze an entire army, not to mention the dragons whose breath attack litterly is a miasma of death. There are even stories about dragons which can cast magic spells and can even gain access to immortality by becoming a dracolich. The "realistic" medieval dragons aren't that bad compared to these.

[@marcosdheleno]

an easy solution would be to have your army throw a large amount of dices at him, at least one of them is bound to get a critical success!

[@Prometheus720]

Yeah but you have magic and metallic dragons to help fight back. You could also use oil of impact on your arrows, special poisons, enchanted weapons, cleric magic from the gods, etc.

[@zoltanz288]

Lars Prins yeah but d&d dragons are intelligent. You can reason with them. Even bribe or make a deal with them. Also a good wizard can easily take out several dragons.

[@grayscribe2125]

The Dragon Magazine even had an article 'How to talk to a Dragon... if slaying is not an option.'

[@AeneasGemini]

Pfft, there's an easy solution to deal with such meager wyrms! Cower in a corner, swear undying fealty and welcome your new scaley sociopathic overlord!

[@yuuri_]

if dark souls has taught me anything, the best weapons against dragons are i-frames

[@ottodavis-octane3839]

DON'T FORGET LIGHTNING IMBUED WEAPONS!!!

[@noodles24601]

I feel like treating dragon fire as synonymous with napalm is a mistake. Most ways I've seen people justify dragon fire, which is in line with most fictional portrayals I've seen, shows it more like a flammable gas than a sticky liquid, and that's probably easier to fight since it doesn't linger unless it finds something flammable on the target.

[@IvanBarsch]

It depends on the kind of dragon, too.

[@justguy-4630]

Some dragons do fire napalm

[@F1rstWorldNomaD]

Hollow bones would make sense if they also live in the genre of fantasy where *dragon scales* are just about indestructible... That would essentially mean they have a very hard and strong Exoskeleton defence with rather light weight

[@kriegerh]

There's also the concept of a flame sack organ. Maybe it acts as a gas sack that help the dragon achieve a level of flight the same way a blimp floats. Helium is extremely flammable after all.

[@MiTheMer]

@@kriegerh You mean hydrogen; Helium is almost inert.

[@seanwhitehall4652]

Plate armor vs Dragon... I think of crocs eating turtles. Crocs tend to win that.

[@MIghtyEpson]

like biting an aluminum can. Not that I would recommend it (bad for your teeth) but it can be an effective way to get inside a can (or a piece of plate armor.)

[@-DeScruff]

Yeah... I don't think Platemail was designed with the idea someone would essentially be put in a box compactor - before you even account for the teeth.

[@isitnotwrittenthat1680]

"Canned lunch"

[@BennysGamingAttic]

You can't defeat a dragon. All you can do is offer it tons of gold, cattle, your first born, gems, etc, and hope for the best.

[@windwalker5765]

You forgot virgins, mate.

[@harrymanocha4533]

Rule #1 of dragon taming: You can NEVER forget the virgins

[@Neferkariusz31]

Naaaah, a lamb stuffed with sulfur can do the trick. Didn't know the legend of Wawel Dragon? :D

[@Noone-rc9wf]

Ben Walters BUT WHAT ABOUT THE DRAGONS?!

[@gearandalthefirst7027]

Sounds like the dragons may have just been the Danes XD

[@dougthedonkey1805]

I was thinking “nukes” but then Shad said it had to be medieval weapons

[@siegeheavenly3601]

There's also trapping it in it's Dean and lighting the den on fire with oil to burn up all the oxygen and make the dragon suffocate to death.

[@MonguinAssassin]

The best weapon to use before usage of beasts for transportation becomes obsolete is actually the Gatling Gun. In real life, the Old West and the Victorian British Empire was the last glory time period for horses and carriages. World War 1 proved cavalry to be obsolete by then, and that's when people started using armored tanks and aircraft. Therefore, I pick the Gatling Gun being the best weapon while you still have a flying beast on your side, along with the beast itself. "Steampunk age" arrives and you have the biplanes, the winged fortresses, and the zeppelins. However, I would say the bola would be an effective weapon if we are limited to the high fantasy setting, even in the tribal age, because my pondering on the storytelling patterns suggest that the tribal period would be the time when dragons would be very common, very much like dinosaurs. People wouldn't slay the dragons, but trap them and train them like How to Train Your Dragon. Also, magic would be practiced, even just simple tricks.

[@ghostbucket]

A10 go brrrrrrrt

[@mrgreenboy644]

This does bring up an interesting idea about how the modern citizen could fight a dragon with what he can (legally) buy, however. I'm interested

[@SakuragiSayo]

@@MonguinAssassin Most depictions of Dragons show they are more intelligent than humans, thus you can't actually tame one.

[@Rocketman1219]

Surprised no one has mentioned the Korean Hwacha, a battery of those would probably mess up a dragon pretty well

[@garethbaus5471]

It might not kill a dragon or even get through the scales but such an Installation would probably ground it and might even blind it if some arrows hit it in the eyes.

[@zenebean]

Would probably work in a world with gunpowder

[@That_Guy_Ty]

Gareth Baus especially if almost all of them went into its wings, a whole barrage of giant bolts punching holes in the wings would take it down to the ground real quick.

[@thegreenknight1147]

Yee

[@thegreenknight1147]

Finally

[@grugnotice7746]

Fighting a dragon would be very much like killing a whale. In fact, the analogy would lead us to a situation where the attackers would use mobile fire-resistant roofs that were heavy enough they couldn't be flipped by the dragon, with their harpoon balistas on the edges, with the lines attached to the carts, and men with war picks (long polearms with a spike facing forward) ready to pour out once the beast got tired enough to approach. They would slam those into him from all sides, pull him to the ground, and then deliver the coup de gras.

[@djinn666]

If dragons were intelligent, they would pick up boulders from afar and drop them onto the carts from a great height. Even if the carts weren't crushed, they would soon be buried and immobile.

[@Zappygunshot]

I feel the major flaw in this plan is "mobile fire-resistant roofs" and "heavy enough they couldn't be flipped by the dragon." There's some serious logistical and architectural challenges that would need to be overcome here if you wanted to achieve that.

[@grugnotice7746]

All depends on how strong the dragons and their fire are. Realistically, I would say "not very". Say twice as strong as an elephant. You could certainly make something that rolls that could resist being picked up by an elephant. If the dragonfire was like a flame-thrower, it wouldn't be too hard to defeat. Layer it in asbestos and you're done (and 20 years later your squad gets mesothelioma, but they are probably already dead from plague anyways).

[@whiterunguard7109]

Thomas M Hopefully they realize that they or a loved one may be entitled to financial compensation.

[@XMysticHerox]

Building asbestos tanks isn´t really feasible in medieval times. Wagons couldn´t really go of road especially if they were that big. Your best bet would probably be to have a large number of ballsitas waiting and try to shoot the thing down. If you manage to get it to land you have a few dozen lancers ready to charge it from all sides and finish it.

[@JewishMemeMan]

Dark Souls has taught me that lightning and lightning infused weapons are the most effective. Also that the weapons need to be able to pierce directly through their their scales into flesh, like the very heavy dragon slayer arrows and Ornstein’s Dragonslayer Spear. Dragonslayer Greatbows are basically hand-held ballistas.

[@zoroearc2582]

The method of shooting a serrated ballista bolt tied to a tree reminds me of a moment from the How To Train Your Dragon book series where Hiccup takes out a dragon army with a grappling hook. In the books, its mentioned several times that dragons hate being restrained, so he just tossed the grappling hook at the leader, who became so panicked from being tied up that they fled once they broke free. I haven’t seen this trait in any other fantasy series, but your method would definitely work in that universe

[@diegeilesau31]

Hi Shad! Here is my idea of fighting a dragon: As I am very sure, that fighting a dragon would, no matter if he could breath fire or not, could fly or not, would be as big as a elephant or a fortress, need a big amount of time, money and men. And as a medival king, I would want my people producing food and preparing for winter, and not be slaughterd. So my descision would be, not to fight it activly, but passive. A big animal, as a dragon certainly is, need a huge amount of food, water and air. The question is, where does he gets that from? I could poison the lake he is drinking from, I could burn the forest, he is hunting in, I could try to make a big fire in the cave he lives, so that he would die from oxygendefect. There a many ways, to damage his resources, with out loosing any single man (or woman, if I had some sexy shieldmaiden ;). Yeah, thats the way I´d do it. Have a nice day, Jakob :)

[@GodActio]

diegeilesau and then he razes all your villages and burns down your caste in revenge. Then the tail of the lone survivor begins on his quest of revenge.

[@gabriel300010]

all you would get is endless revolts and a very alive dragon. It flies. it eats les than the german army. you cant russia your way out of this engagement. you cant abandon your castles if it eats your peasants faster than they evacuate. to pull this one off you would need to slow down the dragon, without loosing much men, and unles magic is a thing you cant put booby traps on the sky. what you could do is try to poison it and have said poison kill or weaken it enough so that you can take it on a fight

[@josephdedrick9337]

caves are known for not being very flammable and whats to stop the dragon from rushing you when you set u outside the cave.

[@geofff.3343]

I believe Kipling said it best about elephants, "They never run, but they get wherever they're going very quickly." They're deceptively quick creatures when they want to be. Shad: It's not the jaw muscles that give bites power, it's the jawbones. Sure animals do have bigger jaw muscles, but muscles add less to strength and more to the snap of a bite. It's the jaw bones more than than the muscles. Look at any jawbone and you'll see that it's a very powerful, compact lever.

[@P7777-u7r]

Elephants can also basically plow their way to where theyre going too plus each step is quite long

[@whimsicalwayfarer5776]

Thank you Shad! I'm currently working on a fantasy novel and wasn't sure if the battle scene against an army of dragons was believable or not. Your videos are so fun and insightful, they really help out a lot.

[@dragonfell5078]

After watching your video on Giants, I'm pretty sure the best weapon against Dragons would be a giant with a sling and some rocks.

[@SakuraLikesGames]

Well, you would be wrong. The best weapon against a Dragon is another Dragon. Griffins work well also, but another Dragon would be best

[@TsulaAngenati2292]

A giant with a bow would work too. Realistic dragons could even be taken down with war bows, maybe even just hunting bows depending on how realistic they are

[@dragonfell5078]

@@TsulaAngenati2292 A giant throwing a goblins works too

[@TsulaAngenati2292]

@@dragonfell5078 yesss

[@komiks42]

@@TsulaAngenati2292 Honestly, depending of the gigant size, they propably could use balista like a crossbow.

[@LunarOverdrive]

"Shall we continue to trust the strength of our walls? WHAT ABOUT DRAGONS!?!?" -Jarl Balgruff The Greater

[@pepeinternationalnews12yea57]

LifeyRoi jarl ballin the greater

[@jimothyjimmz8372]

“Riverwood’s in danger, if that dragon is skulking in the mountains...”

[@quanahriddle3065]

Funny how they talk about how dangerous dragons are, but when I went to rorikstead(I think I spelled it right) one guard dude came out and killed the thing in about 45 seconds.

[@RustyMerc4Hire]

@@quanahriddle3065 yeah, they're kind of pathetic in Skyrim considering how they tried to hype the Dragonborn being the ultimate weapon to kill them. There's no difference between you & an npc against them... unless they have a bow, because they're able to constantly hit them with stupid good accuracy even when they're flying all over the place, & they have magically infinite arrows even if they have "just 1 daedric arrow"...

[@quanahriddle3065]

@@RustyMerc4Hire I had serana as my companion and she killed the dragon before it even appeared on screen.

[@FarseekerGaming]

“Who are these suicidal nutcases trying to take on a dragon in melee?!” My favorite part of the entire video.

[@driftingdruid]

crunchy snaccs that taste good with ketchup

[@isitnotwrittenthat1680]

"Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup."

[@njambagachoki9010]

My condolences to all the families of those knights that tried to rescue Princess Fiona from the dragon in Shrek 😢

[@silvertheelf]

Paleontologists when you show a pterosaur and call it a dinosaur: “That’s not a dinosaur, it’s not a F***ING DINOSAUR! ITS A PTEROSAUR! DINOSAURS DONT FLY! And pterosaurs are not dinosaurs, thank you” 😂 Also, I would bring giant spider string/silk because it’s stronger than titanium steel. The brain can take damage, the brain stem can’t. By the way large pterosaurs like the Quetzalcoatlus, they ran, some were on long flat lands, when they ran they flapped their wings and sometimes they fell over but they took off like an airplane, if an airplane ran on legs and flapped their wings. Edit: Actually pterosaurs pole-vaulted off the ground with their wings before flapping off the ground in order to take off.

[@victormillen8393]

All that I can think of now is a plane running with small legs and vigorously flapping wings lmao I'm dying

[@Oaglor]

The consensus these days seems to lean more towards "pole vaulting" with the wings like a vampire bat due to the reinforced arm bones and huge amounts of musculature in the wings compared to the minuscule amounts found in the legs. Birds, on the other hand, have stronger bones in their legs than in their wings.

[@acr08807]

Lots of dinosaurs flew.

[@patrick_j_lee]

@@acr08807 Yes! Represent those birds!

[@eliburry-schnepp6012]

Yeah pterosaurs didn't take off like a plane or albatross, they catapulted themselves into the air with their forelimbs

[@khuzaimaadamaly505]

I would think the wings should actually be the main target. They are extremely exposed and vulnerable.

[@brandonfoley7519]

How to train your dragon, "it's the wings and tail you want, a down dragon is a dead dragon"

[@kevgmei]

Yes, and even better if you can poison the arrow or ballista bolt.

[@Theshocker0045]

@@kevgmei the problem is actually penetrating the wing itself, it isn't soft and isn't skin. It is scales that are very hard and thing, and they would likely blow the bolt away because of the wind from the wings to keep themselves in the air

[@ducky36F]

Wings are also a much more difficult target than the rest of the body, especially if the dragon is diving

[@VelociraptorsOfSkyrim]

Well then, ZeniMax Online listened to you, Shad. The only way to Solo a dragon in the Elswyer expansion for Elder Scrolls Online is to literally shoot it with a ballista in the chest, and even then that doesn't kill it.

[@P7777-u7r]

A lot of the times dragons are magical to an extent. I know magic is also somewhat of a "it can because" but its technically an explaination

[@TheThaiBuddy]

Dear Shad, Could you do a video series on fantasy races and what kind of armor (any time period, you could base it on real-world civilizations), cavalry (horse, elephant, etc.), and fighting tactics they would use? I know you did one on weapons, but the full package would be even more awesome. Also, what real-life civilizations would correlate the most accurately with each fantasy race? You wouldn't have to pick one over the other, just pick a few that would apply. Any civilization before the introduction of gunpowder is fine. P.S. I'm gonna reply to this comment and list off different ideas in my head as to what might be plausible. Anyone reading, feel free to add on.

[@TheThaiBuddy]

Orcish Mounted Archers: Heavy Warbows atop horseback.

[@TheThaiBuddy]

Spartan Dwarves: Bronze alloy weaponry and armor, large shields and sarrissae for phalanx.

[@Noone-rc9wf]

michael compton BUT WHAT ABOUT DRAGONS?!?!

[@TheThaiBuddy]

Dragonback Archers: orcs atop dragons with heavy warbows.

[@cobraglatiator]

oh god....orcs and dragons...yea,you're not winning that war without direct interference from gods,or without a fuckton of RAELLY powerful magic users.

[@LordAnestis]

Use a giant with a bow!

[@ZGuy0fSci]

I read your comment as "a Giant with a BOWL" at first....... meh, works against Spiders. ^-^

[@bennetthibner7551]

"let me show you how Gough hunts dragons"

[@houselightkell]

LordAnestis since dragons have really tough scales, your best off using concussive force. hammers

[@ZGuy0fSci]

idk.... still going to need a Greatsword or Lance user if want that tail drop though....... ^~^ (I hear having a hunter-horn user is also nice)

[@sereggtor2327]

Use a giant bow that shoots javelins

[@Sleepless_Sam]

Feed it sheep laced with belladonna.

[@Erewhon2024]

First Last , I was thinking any projectile points needed to be dipped in a strong poison (wolfsbane in N. Eurasia, lots of toxic stuff in the tropics), but luring it with deadly food does seem less risky than letting it know you are fighting it!

[@malcomalexander9437]

Given how big dragons tend to be, you're gonna need a lot of poison.

[@stoffhimel]

@@malcomalexander9437 in all honesty, it depends on the type of poison. or venom. a potent neuro toxin would do considerable damage.

[@jacobmcneer609]

But I like Blake! :(

[@The136th]

My idea is that Dragon fly simply using levitation magic, their wings simply help them to maneuver more efficiently. This allow dragon to be huge and well armored.

[@marscaleb]

DID YOU EVER THINK TO TRY NEGOTIATING?!?! Stop trying to kill the dragons! Sit down and talk!

[@Jonconji]

Well talking to dragons didn’t go so well in the hobbit movie lol

[@koorssgamer]

@@Jonconji that's why you use your Bard with 19 charisma and not your Rogue, to negotiate with him

[@MegaPokefan97]

@@koorssgamer Next thing you know your bard gets visited by half dragon babies. You give him "the look" that tells him: "You did this, raise your children you horn-dog"

[@koorssgamer]

@@MegaPokefan97 If he is not a halfling. If he is, it's better you give him a helmet with 2 holes

[@piergiorgiocaroli9201]

I tried to talk with Kalameeth in Dark Souls. Didn't go well.

[@piculra7441]

Wait for the dragon to fall asleep or use harpoons to rope it’s wings to the ground (and then wait). When it’s too tired to fight, go up to it and either smash it’s scales or stab it in the eye with poison on the blade. Or for later medieval times, fill the gaps between its scales with sulphur, tie a rope to a post in the sulphur, take the rope as far away as possible, light a fire, set the end of the rope on fire...some people just want to watch the dragon burn...so they blow it up with sulphur.

[@jameslightfoot1872]

a giant bola fired from a siege engine might be very effective at neutralizing flight capabilities by entangling its wings.

[@ianluk6385]

How to Train Your Dragon anybody?

[@am8776]

you won't be able to hit it mid air, it's like trying to shoot an arrow to hit a ww2 plane.

[@eliburry-schnepp6012]

13:18 This is true for birdlike flight, but pterosaurs were able to obtain such great sizes by using their WINGS to push off of the ground, with a sort of catapult like structure in their bones, allowing them to take off much more easily. So if a dragon had that, it changes things a lot

[@alexhnot5662]

Logic: Do you want to fight something? Shoot! It's trying to kill you? Shoot from a great distance!

[@jipper9]

game of thrones writers should have watched this video before S8E4

[@thedanielhicks]

Haha yeah, makes those 3 long range shots all hitting seem even more ridiculous.

[@xxlCortez]

They only watched it before 5.

[@alpaslankilavuz5470]

It has dragons? Since when?

[@thomasroutt380]

My soul died with that graceful beast

[@nicklpantis]

@@alpaslankilavuz5470 since episode 1 or episode 2 i forgot (dragon eggs)

[@nicholasstone3705]

Hey Shad, I've been reading a book on dragons that looks at then from a scientific point of view, and it's really interesting...I watched this video on the best weapons against dragons and thought of the book - you might like it. The title of the book is "The Flight of Dragons" by Peter Dickinson. I recommend you check it out since you seem to enjoy the subject. Last, but not least, I enjoyed your video - keep making great videos man, you're great at it!

[@neurofiedyamato8763]

Never heard of that book but I can't imagine anything meaningful methods to take down a dragon reliably without treading in to the industrial age. The altitude advantage of the dragon renders literally every weapon pre-modern and earlier useless

[@David_Alvarez77]

The Flight of Dragons is a great book! So is the movie that is based upon its theory of dragons.

[@dhruvchandra6049]

Shad: Size matters a lot! It'll determine the weapons we'll use Master Yoda: Size matters not

[@somebod8703]

If it has bat-like wings, you could used hooked arrows to ground it.

[@theviewerofart]

That's a good point actually. You could even make specialized arrows with broad, bladed arrowheads to create large rips and tears in the wing membranes. Kind of like modern hollow point bullets, designed to leave large exit wounds.

[@AdamWhistle1]

Technically any damage to the wings would ground it. Actual birds are rather fragile creatures and flight is a very high-stress thing to do with your body, especially if you are large.

[@theviewerofart]

Sure, but dragons aren't birds. Shad stipulates in this video that for the sake of the analysis he's taking dragons as they are, and not necessarily as they logically should be. (For instance "Dragons can fly BECAUSE" and "Birds and some other flying creatures have hollow bones but dragons seem to have fairly solid bones" etc.) This means that you've got to take the dragon's sheer toughness into account, especially in regards to its scaly hide. The wing membranes seem to be one of the only spots not covered in scales, and so as such are considerably more vulnerable. I certainly don't see the mild discomfort of arrows plinking away at the "arms" of the bat-like leathery wings grounding the dragon, so employing techniques and weapons specially designed to reduce the wing membranes to tatters still has it's merits.

[@horvathbenedek3596]

theviewerofart This begs the question: Why don't dragons HAVE scales on their wings? It certainly doesn't change the flighr characteristics of the wing, and as we've agreed, the weight is really not an issue. I mean, birst have feathers; feathers are preeety good at repelling light stings, for example, a bee can't easily sting through feathers. An arrow to a dragon is like a bee sting to a bird. So even if dragons don't have scales, a thick layer if feathers would be advantageous to leather wings, especially since from a real life perspectice, the closest you can get to dragons is, as said, dinosaurs. And dinosairs HAD feathers. Pterosaurs are actually much different types of creatures. Dinosaurs HAD bode heat regulation, like modern birds. Pterosaurs didn't.

[@AdamWhistle1]

It's a fantasy creature, so in the end you put in what assumptions you want. less scales would make sense because that's how wings look like and would save weight. Also consider that there are arrows and there are arrows. Arrows from a warbow are much more substantial than those used for target practice or Olympic shooting. If dragons bleed and an arrow hits an artery, then the dragon can bleed out like anything else (unless it can't, again whatever assumptions).

[@halfjack2758]

The best weapon to use against dragons... Is bigger dragons.

[@VeryAmazingGrace]

This is possibly the nerdiest channel I have ever happened upon. I love it

[@Kevin-gg2bl]

"Story telling needs tell us why with dragons!" Uh, the hard part about a "universal" dragon, is that every setting DOES tell us the why. It's just that the why is different for the dozen main fantasies.

[@dhawes2582]

But what about the droid attack on the woo- BUT WHAT ABOUT DRAGONS!!!

[@jimothyjimmz8372]

Execute order 6- BUT WHAT ABOUT DRAGONS

[@dhawes98]

@@jimothyjimmz8372 this made me laugh! Thanks

[@jimothyjimmz8372]

super waddledom you’re welcome, have a nice day.

[@dhawes98]

@@jimothyjimmz8372 you too!

[@caioferreira117]

Just a scientific correction: the creatures at 2:44 were not dinosaurs. They were specimens from the Pterossauria clade (looks like from the genus Pteranodon). What we call dinosaurs today were part of the Dinossauria clade. The two are different clades. Plus, the Pteroussaria more likely glided rather than flew, as most of them lived on cliffs.

[@M0oseTacular]

I would say the the animal in the picture is an ahzdarchid (funnly enough ahzdar meaning dragon-like) and judging by its size it is probably a Quetzalcoatlus. though i am not conviced about the gliding part as we have evidence to suggest these animals could migrate extreme distances.

[@caioferreira117]

M0oseTacular Really? That's awesome! Do you know the name of these studies? I would like to read them :)

[@M0oseTacular]

Though i havnt read it fully, the work of mark witton and Mike habib seems pretty well accepted.

[@SpectrumDT]

At least one of those pictures is a Hatzegopteryx, I think. It matches the image in this article: primeval-fanon.wikia.com/wiki/Hatzegopteryx_(PAS)

[@M0oseTacular]

Very possibly

[@philiphockenbury6563]

If I had to kill a big elephant sized fire breathing dragon with medieval weapons/technology, my first tactic would be to poision the crap out of the beastie. Livestock toataly stuffed with arsinic and maybe some nasty disesed stuff. Leave it out in front of its lair, and you have a dead dragon. But if I needed to use force, I would still poision it and try to trap it in its lair. or colapse the lair ontop of the dragon. If it was out in the open taking a power nap, and I had set up time, I would try to skewer the dragon (the weapons are also poisioned) and at least try to dammage the wings to limmit its flight at least a tiny bit. I would also fire a lot of catapults and trebuches pre aimed at that spot. Pound it with big rocks. I would also have just a slew of dudes trying to keep it busy with war bows with big arrows (again preferably also poisioned) I would also use a ton of balistas (all bolts would be poisioned). I dont thing rope would help as the dragon would burn through it or just snap the rope or the bolt (or the anchor would get pulled along). I would also use seige cannons, if it can crack stone, it can crack bones. I would just try to beat it down with all the nastiest most powerful weapons avalable, and a lot of them. And even if it kills everyone, or gets away, we poisioned the be-jesus out of it. It wont feel to good after that. Or I just use a pommel to end it rightly. and yes Chuck Norris can kill a dragon, but he would probably instantly command it and make it do whatever he wants. Like try to light his grill. Or be his ride.

[@ultramarinus2478]

Or sit and be a good boy.

[@carmaproductions4644]

Thanks for the information Shad, I'm writing a series where advanced scifi clashes with fantasy, and as such I enjoy exploring science behind fantastical creatures. Dragons with hollow bones is DEFENENTLY something I am going to use, thanks