The right size for dragons

Note: size here denotes the physical dimension(s) taken up by the creature in a natural, idling posture

One of the many fantasy tropes that make me want to Fahrenheit 451 contemporary fantasy literature is of course:

Literal power scaling (i.e: the bigger, the more powerful)

This has led to dragons the size of Metal Gear EXCELSUS and other travesties against common sense. That begs the question, just how big should a functional dragon be?

To answer that, we first have to define what functions do dragons have in my world:

• They have the resolve of a JoJo protagonist and use it
• They live in a world where guns exist and still pose a threat, even to their laughably strong, graphene-reinforced scales
• Their godstats (stats that are the most advantageous for their lifestyle/strategy) are agility and perception
• They're at the top of the food chain (even if elephants are included)
• They can attack with claws (not that effective), chompy jaws (effective), and spades at the end of their tails
• They can fly

Since matters are more complicated, and there's no definitive answer, it'd be for the beter if we defined an interval in which the criteria are met. What's the best size-category for a dragon?

posted about 5 years ago

Mephistopheles‭

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