Talk:Reptile

The question of what is and is not a reptile (in D&D terms) is a valid one, at least it was in 2nd edition. On page 185 of the Dungeon Master's Guide 2nd edition is described a sword +1, +4 vs. reptiles and it goes on to say this means "dinosaurs, dragons, hydras, lizards, snakes, wyverns, etc." I believe later editions do not classify dragons as reptiles, so that would be one reason for this page to exist, i.e., to explain the change. If that's not the case, then yes, I would delete any page that just defines a dictionary word. &mdash;Moviesign (talk) 03:52, June 5, 2015 (UTC)


 * Thanks for the feedback.


 * In later editions, no, dinosaurs and dragons (and wyverns, which are dragons) are not reptiles.


 * However, do we have any reason to think that the term "reptile" in your example applies to anything beyond that sword? In other words, for this sword, the monsters that apply include "blah, blah, and blah" without it being a global definition of "reptile". Even if "reptile" means the same thing on Toril as it does on Earth, that doesn't prevent there from being a magic sword that does extra damage to reptiles and dragons and dinos. Also, the whole "+x, +y vs. foo" thing is crunch. It's not like anyone on Toril actually calls it that. They just know that their magic sword does extra damage to reptiles, dragons, and dinos.


 * Interestingly, The Jungles of Chult, a 2e book, says that dinos are warm-blooded, implying that they are not strictly reptiles in 2e either.


 * ~ Lhynard (talk) 04:27, June 5, 2015 (UTC)

Anyone else have any thoughts? ~ Lhynard (talk) 17:31, June 11, 2015 (UTC)


 * In biology there seem to be always exceptions. I think most reptiles will follow the definition given in the article, but in the real world there will be animals that do not follow it but will still be considered reptiles due to relation. So how about we apply the definition to all D&D creatures without a real-world counterpart, but follow the biologists where there are real-world counterparts (except if a D&D source directly contradicts)?
 * In that vein: Wikipedia says that archosaurs are reptiles, and that dinosaurs are reptiles but not ectothermic. Daranios (talk) 19:04, June 11, 2015 (UTC)