Dragon Scale Armor

Why It Is So Great?

Dragon scale armor has many reasons for being really great. Most of these reasons are very practical considerations. First, its durability is hard to compete with. It is many times stronger than steel. Yes, it is possible to be harmed if someone hits you in an area that isn’t covered by armor so you aren’t invincible or anything. That said, not a whole lot of anything is going to hurt you through the armor. Sword generally aren’t going to pierce it. Arrows definitely aren’t getting through. Even a hit with a mace, flail, or warhammer won’t be anything to worry about.

Besides being really durable, dragon scales are generally going to be fireproof. This is true regardless of the type of dragon the scales were acquired from. Pretty much all dragons are fireproof. This includes water dragons and elemental ice dragons. They all have resistance to fire. This doesn’t mean that you can’t be harmed by flames at all because there are probably going to be gaps in your armor. These are your weaknesses. Assuming you were able to have a suite of armor that covered your entire body without gaps, then yes, you would be effectively fireproof.

This armor is a huge advantage if you are planning on making a career out of slaying dragons. Fighting a dragon is tremendously easier if you are wearing a set of dragon scale armor. Without it, there is a good chance that they will basically just burn you to death before you can even get close. If you do get close, a dragon won’t hesitate to rip you to shreds with their claws. Normal armor can help but for more direct hits you would do well to have armor made of a dragon’s scales. This will keep you much safer. Do try to avoid being bitten by a dragon. If you find your way inside a dragon's mouth you are as good as dead. Their jaws are so powerful that your armor won’t be of much help no matter how good it is. Don’t get eaten.

Prestige

Besides practical considerations, prestige is another great reason that dragon scale armor is so sought after. This is just about the most prestigious type of armor that one could hope to wear. Usually, if you own a set, it means that you had to kill a dragon to get it. Even if you didn’t kill the dragon yourself, someone did have to go through the trouble of killing a dragon to get the materials. So, you either acquired them yourself or paid for them. If you paid for the scales and crafted the armor yourself, it means you are at least somewhat wealthy as the scales are expensive. It also means that you have the skill to craft such armor. This says a lot about your armor crafting skills. Now, even if you just went out and bought a full set of dragon scale armor, already constructed and ready to wear, it still says something about you. It says that you are very wealthy. The scales are extremely valuable and the people who craft them are well paid. So, if you have this armor, it means that you are either very brave, skilled, rich, or a combination of these things.

That is a lot to consider about bravery, skill, and cost. The specific things that the set of armor says about you go a long way but don’t forget, this is dragon scale armor we are talking about. All of those things that people might infer about you are just secondary. The real, main point is that you possess a really, really amazing set of gear. Just having it is enough. It looks incredibly cool. No one will question your credentials when wearing it. It is just beyond cool.

Constructing Dragon Scale Armor

Constructing dragon scale armor takes a great degree of skill. Don’t attempt this if you aren’t already good at crafting armor from just about every other type of material out there. Also, don’t try constructing it yourself for the first time if you haven’t seen someone else do it.

Before you get started, you will need to be sure to have all of your tools and raw materials. The most important and hardest to find will be the dragon scales. You will need something to bind the individual scales together. Some people use steel for this which is fine but you are better off using strands of dragon skin as it is more natural and durable. You will have a better set of armor that way. Plus, it normally comes together with the scales. Don’t use steel for your bindings if you can help it. You will also need something capable of piercing holes in each scale so that they can be bound together. This is tricky because they are really, really durable. Normal steel bits won’t work. You will need either an enchanted drill bit or a drill bit that has been crafted out of a dragon’s teeth. Note that dragon’s teeth are known to be stronger than their scales.

Once you have everything you need, you will need to make sure that you have enough scales and that they are the right shape for the entire set of armor. You can use the same layout and patterns that you would use for steel scale armor. Remember, the big difference here is that you are not working with hundreds of identically shaped pieces of cut metal. You are working with hundreds of scales taken from a dragon. These may or may not all be the exact same size. They may or may not all fit exactly the way you want. Arranging them and fitting them together is one of the challenges you will face. Once you have the layout figured out and you know where each piece is going to go, label them.

Now you are ready to start punching/drilling holes. Do this as you normally would but using your enchanted drill bit. Be careful not to scratch the scales as this will mess up the look and they are really expensive and hard to acquire. Not a whole lot will be able to scratch them later on but this is one way in which it actually is possible to get your armor scratched.

Scale Source

OK, so lets say you want some dragon scales. Where do you get them? From dragons! You generally either need to kill a dragon or buy them from someone else who has killed a dragon. Remember, when setting out to slay a dragon, it is a good idea to wear dragon scale armor. Fire resistance and extreme durability make this a really important safety precaution.

One issue that comes up is that this is sort of like a chicken and the egg type scenario. You need the scales to build the armor before going out to slay the dragon but you need to slay the dragon before you can get the scales. This leaves you with two options. One, you can just slay your first dragon without a proper set of armor. Two, you can buy the armor and use that before slaying the dragon. You may ask what the point of option number two is. Well, the scales are still valuable even if you already have a suite of armor. Just sell the scales to a local shop so someone else can have a set (kind of like paying it forward). Besides that, there are lots of reasons to slay a dragon besides just harvesting the scales (saving a princess, defending a village, claiming dragon treasure, etc. ).

Actually, there are other options besides just these two. You can join a dragon hunting group and split the profits. Usually, the way this works is that most of the experienced members of the team do have proper gear and they would charge in first. As an alternative, you might also be able to either buy or rent proper gear.

Type of Dragon

Not all dragon scales are the same. Everything depends on the type of dragon the scales were collected from. So a set of armor is only as good as the dragon that it was made from.

Young Dragons

Most of your more affordable scales come from these dragons. This is the case for two reasons. First of all, younger, smaller dragons are a whole lot easier to kill. Some people even feel guilty having slain a younger dragon. It just doesn’t seem fair. It still isn’t super easy as they can still tear a group of experienced knights to shreds (this happens a lot). The other reason for the price is that they just aren’t as strong. They are still really good and really expensive but nowhere near the level of old scales.

Old Dragons

I’ve never heard of a dragon dieing of old age. I can’t imagine that they live forever but they may as well. Hunting and killing an old dragon is not an easy undertaking. You really, really need to know what you are doing. That said, their scales can be used to make some of the strongest armor ever. It is totally worth the extra effort and risk to acquire these. If you are buying armor, it is important that you know the difference and know what you are getting.

Elemental Dragons

Some dragons are elemental dragons. Standard, normal dragons are fire by default. Some of the basic types are water, ice, and electrical. Water dragons generally tend to spew water. They are every bit as dangerous as fire breathing dragons. Ice tend to spew out a powerful freezing breath that will pretty much cause a target to freeze to death within seconds. If they choose to keep blowing it is not uncommon for a knight to become encrusted within a huge chunk of ice. You don’t recover from that but I guess you don’t recover from being burnt to a crisp either. Electrical dragons don’t exactly breath lightning. That would just be goofy. They generally just breath fire like a normal dragon. The clouds of smoke may sometimes be electrically charged. They do also have a tendency to cause the surrounding area to become electrically charged which can get super dangerous. Also, just touching this type of dragon will often be enough to electrocute an attacking knight. Don’t ask how people end up actually killing them (enchanted arrows maybe?).

Resistance

Dragon scales are great not only because of their strength but because of the resistances provided. All dragons are fireproof. It doesn’t matter if it is a water or ice type dragon, they are all still very much fireproof. Scales from a water dragon are going to tend to be more water resistant, for whatever that is worth.

Scales from an ice dragon are resistant to cold. You won't be frozen as easily if you are wearing a full suit of armor made from ice dragon scales. If you are hunting an ice dragon, wear scale armor made of scales from another ice dragon. Theoretically, two ice dragons could breath on each other without causing any harm. Actually hitting an ice dragon can actually cause damage to the attacker. For example it isn’t uncommon for a knight’s sword to freeze and shatter into pieces when striking this type of dragon. I’ve actually heard of cases where the sword froze and the attackers hand was actually frozen to the sword. That didn’t end well for the attacker. When making armor form ice dragon scales, you get this same advantage. Anyone that strikes you will suffer a similar effect. As you could imagine elemental ice scale armor is even more rare than normal dragon scale armor. It is also an order of magnitude more expensive.

I’ve never actually seen a set of armor made from electrical elemental dragon scales. They are super rare. Besides being almost impossible to kill this type of dragon (if you can even find one) it is really hard to work with the scales. Just touching them can cause a shock. Touching the armor can also cause a shock. Once the armor is on it is generally safe for the person wearing the armor. I can’t even imagine how they would ride a horse. You would have to go on foot or ride in a chariot or wagon or something.

Where to Buy Dragon Scale Armor

It is possible to just go out and buy a set of dragon scale armor. This is the route you will go if you just want to have an awsome set of armor but aren’t quite ready to slay a dragon. Also, a lot of people who are actually ready to slay dragons themselves will still purchase the armor outright without even providing their own scales because they just don’t have the time or energy to deal with it. They just want the best armor and they want it now. Keep in mind that this is very expensive. Be prepared for a shock when you first see the price. If money is no issue to you, go right ahead and buy a set. This is the fastest way to get yourself geared up in some of the the best armor available.

If you want to buy from a local shop, you can find great deals on customized sets of armor. If you want a set that is created from the scales of a dragon that normally lives in a specific region, you might want to buy from a local shop in that specific region. Depending on where you are buying, you may only have small local shops.

On the other hand, large shops, commonly found in larger cities are more likely to actually have dragon scale armor in stock and will have a larger variety of things to buy in general. Larger shops, while not having the same unique character, will tend to have more consistency. You will generally know what to expect and all items sold will usually follow some sort of quality guidelines. These shops are also usually well funded especially if they are connected with the local government. Government run shops are the same shops that service the king and the king's military. The people running these shops know what they are doing. They order large quantities from the same smiths. Having crafted large quantities of weapons and armor over time, these smiths tend to be much better experienced. A side effect of this is that while each smith is really good at making one thing, they won’t be as good at crafting other items and they won’t be as used to customizations. It isn’t a bad idea buying from the same people who supply the king's troops.