🐉 Playable Dragons

Ever wanted to BE the dragon instead of taming one?

Playable Dragons is an addon for [Book of Dragons] that lets you possess a wild dragon and live as it. No saddle, no taming, no rider — your character vanishes and you simply are a wild dragon: its wings, its genetics, its hunger, its life.

✨ How it works

Find a wild dragon and /possess it — or use a Dragon Transformation item to be struck by lightning and rise as a freshly-rolled dragon. From that moment:

🧬 The dragon keeps its full genetics — every color locus, every marking, growth stage, personality, stats. Works with user-made genetics packs and 3D flight.
🫥 Your character is completely hidden. Other players see only a wild, unsaddled dragon.
🕹️ All of Book of Dragons' rider controls work: throttle, ascend/descend, barrel rolls, free look, breath attacks, secondary abilities, and the full riding camera.
❤️ You share one life. Your hearts mirror the dragon's health, attacks aimed at you strike the dragon instead, and you can't suffocate, drown, or starve while transformed. If the dragon dies — you die. If you die — the dragon dies.
🚫 No dismounting. You are the dragon until /release or death.

🍖 Live like a dragon

Hunger is real — flying drains your dragon's food, and it won't regenerate health while hungry. Hunt! Kills feed you, and your dragon gobbles up meat lying on the ground.
Dig your own den — hold the dig key (default LMB) to excavate a 3-wide, 2-high tunnel at iron-tool quality. Aim down to dig floors. (Server-configurable.)
Bite (default RMB) — the dragon's real bite attack, animation and all.
Armor matters — gear you wear silently toughens your dragon's scales.
Roleplay keys (all rebindable): sit / lie down · threat display · prowl stance · roar.

🎲 Geno hunting

There's no way to hand-pick genetics — that's the game:

Transformation items (one per species, single-use, soulbound — death can't take them) roll fresh wild genetics each time.
Spot a wild dragon with perfect colors? /possess exactly that one.
Found a keeper? /save <name> stores your dragon — markings and all — to a personal slot. /possess <name> brings it back any time, in any world. Trade slots with friends by sharing the file!

⚰️ Dragon lives (optional)

Give each species a limited number of lives, balanced by agility — e.g. Gronckle 15 · Zippleback 10 · Nadder 5 · Skrill 3 · Night Fury 1. Deaths are announced server-wide ("☠ Toothless the Night Fury has fallen! 2 lives remain." — nickname mods respected). Spend your last life and that dragon is gone. All counts configurable; off by default.

📋 Commands

Command	Description
`/possess`	Possess the wild dragon you're looking at
`/possess <savename>`	Respawn a saved dragon and become it
`/release`	Set your dragon free (it becomes truly wild again, genetics intact)
`/save <name>`	Save your current dragon to a named slot
`/playas <species> [growth]`	(op) Instantly spawn & become a dragon

⚙️ Server owners

Server config includes: lock /possess & /release behind OP, dragon digging toggle + speed, dragon lives & announcements, and a dragon visibility range fix (BoD dragons pop in at ~80 blocks by default — this mod raises it, configurable).

Building a roleplay server? Check out the companion mod Dragon Lobby — a choice-hub dimension where players pick human or dragon, with remembered species, respawn-as-dragon, and limited lives.

📦 Requirements

Minecraft 1.20.1 · Forge 47+
Book of Dragons and AzureLib — required on server and all clients
This mod must also be installed on both server and clients

Playable Dragons is an independent addon and is not affiliated with the Book of Dragons team. It contains no Book of Dragons assets — you need the original mod installed.

🎮 Supported species

Night Fury · Deadly Nadder · Skrill

Book of Dragons: Playable Dragons