Dragons?

I was just about to post when I saw that Psyra had already.

Grendel's children is an AWESOME group of sims, not only for the fantastic and inexpensive AVs (Amazing work, Psyra... I really need to IM you some time... *grin*), but also for the build itself!

One word of warning, though. If you do decide to go drakeling hunting, be prepared for a new addiction! It's one of the more brilliant ideas I've seen in SL and have spent many hours wandering around this gorgeous sim group, looking for hatching spots, throughly enjoying every moment.

Just so I don't appear biased, I have to say that the Wyrms are rather amazing, as well. They were the first dragons I saw in SL all that time ago. They wowed me then and continue to wow me every time I see 'em.

For a sample of what GC has in picture form, here's a pic of all my Grendel dragons. The purple and blue ones (there are several of them in the pic) are my personal modifications. All the colored Elders are shown, as well as one of the old and new style Uthgolians, the Plushdragon, Armored Riding Drake and Rider, The three draconians, Briassus and Canis Eastern Dragons, Whelp (addon glasses, ribbons, bows, and scarf on all dragons by Psyra). There's more dragons than this but these represent the "major families" of dragons from the World of Avaria.

http://www.psyra.ca/artwork_2ndlife/grendel's_dragons.jpg

Edit: Note that all dragons are fully mod/copy enabled and most of them are also available in plain white format for easy recoloring or texturing how you want. HUDs and scripted color systems may be easier to USE, but you just don't get the level of detail you can get by hand editing... and you can always make adjustments.

Recommended Reading: Always make a backup of your dragon before editing.

The Isle of Wyrms Dragons and avatars are very nice due to the large amount of variety, they are copy/mod, and they come with nice HUDs which not only give the avatar some cool functions, including roaring sounds, breath weapon / aura effects, and posture control, but also make it very easy to customize the avatar to one's individual taste. While it is true that hand-adjusting every prim is best, the HUD does a very good job by itself (and can be a good starting point to work from for hand-customization ). We will soon be releasing a bevy of new avatars, as well as our 4th generation update, which keeps (and adds to) all the existing features, but reduces the demands on the sims (ie, MUCH less "lag". There are also new products in the works which take advantage of sculpties to significantly reduce prim count as well.

Our avatars are indeed a bit more costly than most, though it is far from being unreasonable for the level of artistic and functional effort and detail put into them, let alone the support. The vast majority of the revenue from the avatars goes directly back into the community, presently supporting 9 sims (5 normal, 4 OS). We also don't sell the full-sized Dragons all the time; they are a limited-edition product, released in batches four times a year (with new breed releases occasionally sprinkled in-between). This next week happens to be one of the times (Fall Equinox) when people can vie for the opportunity to own one of these limited-edition avatars.

Quite a few people don't agree with Daryth's business model, and that's OK; it's at least a semi-free virtual world. Artists all over the real world use a similar model in an effort to give the owners of their works a sense of value and pride in the ownership. Many artists use limited numbered runs of prints, for example (look around at some of the art in your families' or friends' homes -- if you see a number in the corner of the picture that says "17/300" or something similar, that's a limited-edition run print). It's far from being "elitist", as we do not discriminate against anyone based on their choice of Dragon avatar.

We believe competition is good, and welcome it. Daryth and the Isle of Wyrms community has always been very welcoming and supportive of all other creators of avatars, especially Dragons. For a long time, she offered free market space to her competition. We foster a very strong and supportive Dragon community, the oldest and largest in SL, not just for the owners of Daryth's products, but for any and all who wish to participate.

Ultimately, the choice of avatar is influenced by a number of factors, including taste, cost, support, and community. We understand and support the choice anyone makes, whether it be one of Daryth's, or another, and welcome anyone into our community irrespective of that choice.

Thank you both for all the info and pictures! I haven't had much time today to go inworld and when I finally did I was griefed or whatever they call it,lol. My son is going to help me pick one out tomorrow. He's all excited. I think he is more excited that I will actually let him play my "game" for a few minutes then to buy the dragon,lol. I don't let him near SL.


Thanks again!

Okay I think I found my dragon. I have so many questions though! Is anyone from Grendel's online right now? I am there right now.


I want one of the big ones of course. I think the plain species. Now the white ones I can color myself,correct? Also,does it become my avatar or does my avatar ride/control the dragon? Also,what is a welp? I might get one of those too cause they are so cute.


Where does one ride these dragons? Any cool designated dragon places?

1. Now the white ones I can color myself,correct?[/b]

Yes, they are tintable and retextureable through the standard built tools. One can also add and remove prims if they wish, add more horns, jewelry, etc...

2. Also,does it become my avatar or does my avatar ride/control the dragon?

It becomes your avatar. The saddles for the Riding Drakes are a vehicle object that you and your rider both sit upon... the rider is a passenger in the saddle, while the dragon gets to choose where to fly.

3. Also,what is a welp? I might get one of those too cause they are so cute.

Dragon whelps are, in a nutshell, baby dragons. They're about three or so feet tall and have two AO's included, for either a quadrupedal (four legged) or bipedal (two legged) stance, walk, run, etc.

4. Where does one ride these dragons? Any cool designated dragon places?

The four (at the moment) Avaria sims are very dragon friendly, with lots of open sky or obstacles to dodge and race around. I'm pondering sort of an aerial flying race course that may come to fruition soon. Racing around the tunnels under Avaria Kro's surface and dodging rocks, stalactites and stalagmites are a big challenge, but perhaps is best for smaller dragons, whelps, and draconians.

Avaria: Location of the public meeting centre. Sandstone Canyon area. Open skies, deep canyons and rock bridges, good potential racing course.
Avaria Sav: Location of the skydocks. Savannah-Forest area. Open skies, tree cover for hiding.
Avaria Tor: Location of the shop. Desert area, open skies
Avaria Kro: Location of the Underground Warrens. Underground, waterfalls, tunnels, caverns, and open sky above the surface.

Thank you Psyra! I will be stopping in tonight.

One more thing. This elder dragon is going to be huge right? I don't suppose I can take him to my little rented house and color him there without him sticking through my little roof. Can I color him in Avaria? I guess I can go to a sandbox too,scare some kids...

If nothing more, you can take it to the Isle of Wyrms sandbox to color it. There's almost always a headless, legless, bodiless dragon there

Unfortunately, due to the large amounts of griefing and abuse we have been experiencing in our sandbox, we're having to set it to Citizens only, which requires one to belong in the Isle of Wyrms Citizen's group to be able to build there. It is a regrettable decision, but a necessary one, as many of our Citizens had been telling us that they would not build there anymore because of the issues.

So, basically for now, it is a semi-private sandbox.

As for a place to fly in, the Isle is very open, with the openspace sims surrounding Cathedral and Limbo.

Typo...

The wyrmling avatars are just breathtaking. Unfortunately, my avatar is poor right now. I will be there soon though.

That's only for build though, right Talarus? Coloring can still be done in the IoW sandbox as long as you don't need to rez things to the ground. Coloring them while you're wearing them should work just fine..

Correct, Sindy. It will basically be no-build unless you are in the Citizen's group. For the time being, script is being left on, since many avs use HUDs and other things to change their appearance. You can modify any part of your av while it is attached.

This hasn't gone into effect just yet, but I figured I would let folks know it was just around the corner, to not catch anyone by surprise.

No worries, Rioko. Having a Dragon avatar period is what is important, if you wish to be one among us.

Check my Online Indicator and feel free to ring me with it if I'm online. Flea also gets back from LL tonight, so you can probably contact her too. or anyone else.

I wish to argue with that point.... You were all more than welcoming when I came to visit and do some building as a faerie. ^_^

I finally bought my dragon. Coloring it is a PITA though,lol. So he is white,purple and black right now... Not sure what colors I am going to make him yet. But he flies great!

I hear that calumny a lot. Silly, really. Look up the meaning and definition of "elitism" and "limited edition" first.

Besides, the dragons on the Isle of Wyrms inspired a community and it's for that reason many of us hang out there.

But, as has been said, each to their own tastes. I like some of RaptonX's new dragon designs. Much less gut and more lung capacity

Talarus, Grey, other dragons...

I liked the Grendel's Children dragons, but wanted to see what else was out there. I'd heard of Isle of Wyrms, so I tp'd there one day.

I've never seen a place where it was so hard to find something to actually buy. I saw a number of things like accessories, but no actual dragon avs.

There also seemed to be some sort of roleplay/initiation ceremony/whatever involved in getting a Wyrms dragon, but just what it was was very unclear.

I finally gave up in frustration and left. Grendel's got my business.

But this isn't an angry rant...I'm sure I must have missed something, or misunderstood something. Please...enlighten me.

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My, a couple of necroposts today, no?

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I know you wanted dragons, and have gotten one, but I just wanted to post a picture of my dino. hehe

Unless they've rearranged things since I was last there, there's a cathedral on a cliff sort of forward and to the right of where you tp in as you go towards the shopping area. If you fly straight up from the tp point, you should see it.

You have to go into the huge Cathedral. Find the eggs, touch one, Then look behind you (or beside you or. . . ok, the rezzer is in the middle of the floor where the eggs are). The dragon will rez full size in a circle to show you what it looks like. It has been many months, though, so I might not recall that correctly.

I only add my note because when I was first there I looked around and saw eggs. I'm buying an egg avatar? What will it look like? Eh? Didn't at first realize that I needed to click on something to see the avatar rez full size in the circle.

Oh, and unless they changed things, you can buy baby dragons and mid-sized dragons directly at anytime. Adult dragons are bought during special occasions.

Again, it has been maybe 6 months or more since I was last there.

I think the main LM (the one with the big traffic in search) will drop you at the front door of the cathedral.

You don't have to do all the rezzing stuff to actually buy one. People probably should anyway tho, unless they show up knowing exactly what they're looking for.

I sorta agree with Lindal in that it's not like buying stuff elsewhere and a little confusing if you haven't done it before - there's no series of flat prims lined up, each showing a picture of what the avatars look like. Maybe having that would make it easier for people new to the area but it's actually a pretty nice and unique process, once you've figured it out. There's also usually people (and... things) around to help out, if you get stuck. Always nice folks at the IoW.


...unless you already have an adult dragon/wyrvern. Once you've got one, you don't have to wait for hatchings. And you can get a Tiamat..