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OUTLOOK AND PSYCHOLOGYWARREN MAHYthem uncomfortable around one another. An ancientdragon proverb about mated pairs translates roughlyas, “Love is best fed by borders.”Combine the preference for isolation with innateterritorial instincts, and it becomes easier to see whydragons have a difficult time understanding whyhuman communities grow the way they do. Whena dragon objects to a humanoid village growing intoits territory, it might not comprehend why the peoplecannot move to a different location, or why the villagemust have so many of them.Similarly, dragons do not recognize how relativelyfragile humanoids are. They know themselves tobe physically superior, but they might not know theextent to which this is the case.Dragons and humanoids share the basic driveto find shelter—preferably a permanent home. Forhumanoids, this includes a predilection for comfort.Dragons, with their innate toughness, weak tactilesenses, and great tolerance for temperature fluctuation,rarely experience true discomfort. Temperaturebothers them only if it sinks or climbs to extremes(and, depending on the dragon’s variety, sometimes noteven then). Also, a dragon’s ability to fly renders terrainall but a moot point. Thus, just as dragons might fail tograsp why humanoids gather in great numbers, theyalso sometimes fail to understand why humanoids areso picky about where they choose to live. The notionthat one region might be more comfortable thananother region with similar resources might neveroccur to a dragon—certainly not to the extent that comfortwould justify choosing a region inside the dragon’sterritory over another region outside it.The HoardIf dragons are known for any attitude beyond allothers—above even arrogance—it’s greed. Even thefriendliest of good dragons is as avaricious as thestingiest human miser. Dragon hoards are legendary:enormous piles of gold, gleaming gems, magic items—wealth enough to buy and sell entire humanoidcommunities. Yet dragons rarely do anything with allthat wealth. They collect not to spend, but to have.The desire to build a hoard is a psychologicaldrive—even, arguably, a biological drive—in chromaticdragons. It is no less pressing than the human need forcompanionship or shelter. It has no discernable practicalreason, no underlying purpose, no goal. Althoughthe occasional dragon might fight the urge to hoardjust as the occasional human prefers to be a hermit, itis a trait to which the race as a whole succumbs.CHAPTER 1 | Dragon Lore19