Hey, Innmates!
Anyone up for a spot of worldbuilding? I'm feeling creative and would like other Innmates to create a brand new world with.
I'm thinking of a dragon themed world with dragon riders, magic, dwarves, humans and elves. That sort of thing. Enemies could include dark elves, dark dwarves, dark dragons and orcs, goblins. Classic D&D.
I would prefer this to be a freeform world, just FYI.
Some basic ideas so far:

*The dragons are highly looked up to. Each ruler of each race has a dragon companion. There are also more powerful dragons who are considered gods. These rule their own domains without a human/elf companion.

* Dwarves can become dragon riders but it's rare. The reason for this is because of dwarves and dragons not seeing eye to eye with each other due to the fact both races have a great love for precious gems and metals. They both want them and disagreements often break out over who gets them. Sometimes violent disagreements. Thus, the dwarves and the dragons don't get along much.

*The elves and dragons on the other hand are great companions and both races are bonded magically with each other due to an ancient oath. The elves view the dragons with great respect and the dragons return this to the elves. It is very common to see an elf walking with a dragon with whom they have befriended.

* Humans are also friends of the dragon but not as much as the elves. Some humans still see the dragons as greedy, vicious wyrms and still don't trust them. Some still even view them as dumb, brute beasts. Some still (knights looking for renown) are bold enough to venture into a dragon's lair to steal its treasure...more often than not never being seen again as the dragon gets a free meal. But there are those humans who, like the elves, admire the dragons greatly and have formed friendships with them.

* The dragon riders are those few who have completely and seamlessly bonded with a dragon and have the ability to access a dragon's soul and use that vast flow of energy to bolster the power of their spells. They can also communicate telepathically with each other both to speak and to share what the other sees, thinks and feels. Only the riders have this perfect bond and link to a dragon.

* Haven't thought of a big bad yet who we could fight against. Maybe a human who doesn't think dragons deserve to have all the love and respect? Or an elf who's gone mad with loss over the death of his family at the claws of a dragon? Or mad with loss over the death of his dragon? Whatever the cause of his now twisted mind, he could form an alliance with the the orcs and goblins to attack the riders and eradicate them? I don't know. Like I said, haven't thought that far yet.

There is so much to add to this world. The points above are just the bare bones that need flesh. That's where you guys come in. I hope together we can build an interesting world.

1. How big is the world? Are you looking to focus on a single continent or are you looking to have a few different continents separated by oceans and such?
2. How about predominant landscapes? When I think dragons (particularly those with riders) I tend to think of "aeries" built into sheer cliffs, high in the mountains, etc.
   
   1. Are dragons bred and raised by the various races or is it more a "find a dragon, make a connection, convince the dragon to let you ride it" kind of thing.
   2. What about care and feeding of the dragons? Is livestock raised specifically in order to feed the things? Do they go off and hunt their own food when they're not being ridden, etc?

You've got some decent "seeds" here, I'm just wondering how detailed and expansive you might want to get, so the above questions are basically the start of where your set up started my brain running.

1) Originally, I was just thinking about a single landmass but now that you've mentioned having multiple continents/islands/countries I think that sounds better because not only will it expand the world but will make it deeper, richer and more interesting having different countries with different governments, religions etc. So I'll choose to have multiple countries/continents.

2) I was thinking having elemental dragons: fire dragons, earth dragons, water dragons, air/wind dragons and maybe lightning/electric/storm dragons too. The fire dragons could have caves in active/dormant volcanoes. The water dragons in sea caves/grottos. The Earth dragons in underground caverns or mountain caves. The air dragons caves high in the mountains (the earth dragons have caves that are located much lower than the air dragons'. Plus, the earth dragons and air dragons don't live in the same territories or continents).

2 a) Each year, wild dragons will give some of their eggs to the humans and elves. Also, two dragons that are bonded with a rider may also fall in love and mate. Then those eggs will also be contributed to the elves and humans. Or (but this is rare) a wild dragon and s bonded dragon may also mate. If that happens, some of the eggs will be given to the elves and humans and the rest will be wild.

2b) The dragons hunt for themselves once they are old enough. In the first year of their lives, however, they will need to be hand fed by their rider until they've learned to hunt for themselves. But even if they're old enough to hunt for themselves, they do enjoy a treat every now and then from their rider.

Hope this answers your questions. Those questions helped me thank you.

That helps clarify a few things, for sure. Enough so that I can run with a few vague ideas and turn them into something a little more substantial, anyway.

I'll start taking a run at a few things and see what I can shake loose from the old rusty brain pan.

P.S. Love the idea of "elemental dragons." I can almost see a few unique looks for each.

I've been imagining a region, somewhere in this proposed world, known as Crownspire (or "The Crownspires" if you'd prefer). Possibly a ringed formation of tall, craggy mountains somewhere in the elven domains that boasts one of the most organized/efficient "dragon hatcheries" in the world. The towns/villages at the base of these mountains are well fortified and populated with folk dedicated to the breeding/nursing/raising of dragons in the caves located higher in the mountains. Maybe something like a total of 13 cave complexes located in the Crownspires, each occupied by at least one adult dragon and, at any given time, a random number of eggs and/or hatchlings...

Just a snippet of an idea at this point, really, and could use quite a bit of development/polish before we run of on a tangent with it, but I thought I'd put it out there before it slipped my mind. Something of a seed we can plant and see what grows from it, anyway.

Crownspires sounds great, I like it. Just wondering, though: which element of dragon would this cater to? I imagine elves as living in forests, so Earth Dragons come to mind (plants, coupled with mountains puts me in an earthy vibe). Yes we'll go with the Crownspires idea for the Earth Dragons.

I was imagining different hatcheries for the different elements of dragons: mountainous caverns for the Earth Dragons, tall earies for the Air Dragons, lava pools for the Fire Dragons and sea caves for the Water Dragons or rockpools for the Water Dragons or coral hatcheries. Haven't decided on the Water Dragons' hatchery yet.

Also need to come up with better and more creative names for the different dragon species than Earth Dragon, Water Dragon etc haha.