Draconian
The Draconians were a race of reptilian humanoids from Draconia. They built an empire so large it rivalled even Earth's own empire. Despite this, the two largely co-existed with both races believing strongly in high morals and honour.
Biology
The Draconians were a tall, reptilian species. They had pointed ears and bulging foreheads. They also had scaly skin on their necks and bodies. (TV: Frontier in Space)
Strands of their DNA were found in the DNA of the chicken-like animals encountered by Bernice Summerfield. (PROSE: Cuckoo)
Unlike most other humanoid species, Draconians had two stomachs (HOMEVID: Mindgame Trilogy) and three hearts. (AUDIO: The Draconian Rage)
Draconians hatched from eggs. (AUDIO: Paper Cuts)
Culture
Classes
The Draconians' interstellar empire was a monarchy, led by the emperor and his court of nobles. (PROSE: Doctor Who and the Space War) Former emperors, known as the Deathless Emperors, were kept in orbit of Draconia. (AUDIO: Paper Cuts) There could be several princes at the same time. (PROSE: The Scarlet Empress) Respect was expected towards superiors. Before speaking to the emperor, nobles asked to speak, bowed and kissed the emperor's claws, then said, "My life at your command". Lower classes and women were not allowed to speak to the emperor at all, (PROSE: Doctor Who and the Space War) though by the time of the Galactic Federation women had more rights. (PROSE: The Dark Path) Draconians had no freedom of speech. Only nobles were allowed to express opinions publicly. In general, nodding was expected when talking to a superior. (TV: Frontier in Space)
Society
The Draconians were a very formal race, known for their adherence to rules and traditions. They believed that rules were made to be followed. Draconians also believed that men should not show sadness or cry, (PROSE: The Dark Path) and that females were to serve the needs of the males. (HOMEVID: Mindgame) They had a strong sense of honour, symbolised by their weapons. (COMIC: The Warrior's Story)
Like a million other worlds "right across the universe", Draconia had "the representation of the horned beast" in its myths and legends. The Beast claimed to be this "devil", along with all of the others in every religion which had such a figure. (TV: The Satan Pit) Mr Smith told Luke Smith that Draconia was one of many worlds in the universe which had developed a form of astrology, (TV: Secrets of the Stars) but, in the 34th century, Salamanca said that Draconians had no astrology. (PROSE: The Dark Path) Draconians also played a chess-like game with sazou. (AUDIO: Paper Cuts)
Houses had curved walls and no straight lines and were coloured green. A typical Draconian clothing style was black robes with high pointed shoulders. Nobles like the prince and ambassadors wore a large green crystal hanging around their necks. Their emperor, whose shoulder plates rose to the highest peaks, wore a blue crystal. (TV: Frontier in Space)
The walls of Draconian houses were typically made of paper, likened by the Sixth Doctor to fusuma screens. (AUDIO: Paper Cuts)
Draconian branka was a drink that made the consumer think they had courage, although that was not actually the case, and it could be fatal in large doses. (PROSE: Prisoner of the Daleks) The Draconians also made sake. (PROSE: Prime Time)
Technology
In the 26th century, the Draconians used battle cruisers. These were large, imposing ships covered in guns and carrying neutronic missiles. They used hand weapons similar to those of humans. (TV: Frontier in Space) Draconians also had a form of land cruiser. (PROSE: Ghosts of India) The Draconians made use of Hybrid Draconian War-Sauruses. (AUDIO: The Forever Trap) Draconian swords were made from the finest steel in their galaxy, as were shurk'ns, small blades carried in sets by warriors. (COMIC: The Warrior's Story)
History
Early history
In 102, the Draconian were among the races who joined the Pandorica Alliance. They came to Stonehenge and helped imprison the Eleventh Doctor in the Pandorica in order to save the universe. (TV: The Pandorica Opens)
The Avanonions fostered some Draconians as though they were their own race. Mabe found Draconian DNA in an Avanonian egg. (PROSE: Cuckoo)
In the year 1645, an outbreak of Skreeths was discovered. The Time Lords dispatched the Seventh Doctor to enlist allies to stop the infection. After telling the Draconians, they decided to adopt a "scorched galaxy" policy which involved obliterating any worlds that developed signs of infection. The Doctor later regretted this, though he managed to prevent the infection from spreading. (PROSE: The Devil Like a Bear)
The first emperor of the Draconian Empire was known as the White Emperor. (AUDIO: Paper Cuts)
In 1896, The Thirteenth Doctor encountered a Draconian in West Ham on Earth. The Draconian was a procurement clerk who was supervising the construction of a Draconian Galaxy-class battlecruiser by the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, which she said was because her civilisation was deemed too advanced to carry out such lowly labour. (PROSE: The Simple Things)
In the early 21st century, the MI6 Branch Wonderland had an agent by the name of Jabberwock who was investigating the Draconians and reported back with "No Evidence Of Hostile Intent To Home Shores". Hugo Wilding, head of the branch, stated that it made a pleasant change. (COMIC: Hunters of the Burning Stone)
In the reign of the fifteenth emperor (during the 21st century), Draconia was afflicted by the Great Space Plague. (PROSE: Catastrophea) The Second Doctor came to the planet and cured the plague. He was commemorated in a painting in the Emperor Palace. (PROSE: The Dark Path) He was also granted a rank among the nobility, (TV: Frontier in Space) High Earl of the Imperial House. (PROSE: Catastrophea)
When Sam Jones went missing in the 22nd century, the Eighth Doctor lodged a missing person report with the Draconian authorities. (PROSE: Dreamstone Moon)
Contact with the Earth Empire
In the 24th century, the Draconians purchased Oort cloud asteroids from Aristotle Halcyon. (PROSE: To the Slaughter)
By the 25th century, the Draconians had spread out from their home planet and dominated the Galaxy. Theirs was the largest empire, rivalled only by the Earth Empire. As the two empires were on the opposite sides of the galaxy, there was an agreement to avoid each other and only attempt to colonise planets on their sides, with a buffer zone between. (PROSE: Doctor Who and the Space War)
In 2417, the Draconians were involved in a war with Earth. (PROSE: The Menagerie)
In 2487, two Draconians were at New Memphis. (PROSE: Judgement of the Judoon)
In the 25th century, the Doctor was in a high-stake poker game with a Draconian. The Doctor won a planet in the Magellanis system. He gave it to the Earth colonies but retained nominal ownership. (PROSE: Lonely Days)
In the 26th century, the Draconians contested United Planetary Association's colonisation of Catastrophea (Kastopheria) and blockaded the planet. General-Baron Kryll and Captain-Lord Samzyre of the ambitious House Kryll organised a suicide mission hoping to provoke a human attack and justify Draconian seizure of the planet. However, the mission failed as it coincided with an uprising of the planet's natives, the People. The Draconians and UPA agreed upon a non-intervention treaty respecting the People's independence, and the Draconians agreed to help evacuate the human colonists back to Earth. Kryll was awarded the Grand Sunburst of Draconia, Second Class by the Emperor. It was a rare example of Human/Draconian co-operation and some political commentators were optimistic that it would foster in an era of good relations between the two empires. Other commentators, however, expressed the view that future relations may in fact be more difficult. (PROSE: Catastrophea)
To decide on the buffer zone between the Earth and Draconia, a neutral planet was chosen for discussion in 2520. The Earth ambassador attended, along with John Williams and the future President of Earth. The ship ran into a neutron storm. Most of the crew was killed, leaving Williams in charge. When he arrived at the planet, he was panicked by the armed Draconian ship and attacked it. With the Draconian peace convoy killed, the Draconians declared war, leading to a war which only lasted three days but had over half a billion casualties. (TV: Frontier in Space)
By 2540, there was an uneasy peace between Draconia and Earth. The Daleks intended to attack the Galaxy, but thought the two Empires would pose a threat. Their agent, the Master, used hypnosound and his Ogron soldiers to attack ships, with the hypnosound making it look like it was the opposite side who did it.
The Third Doctor and Jo Grant were accidentally caught on an Earth ship when it was attacked. The device made them look like Draconians and then Draconian agents. They were brought to Earth as prisoners. They were eventually taken prisoner by the Master (who intended to bring the Doctor to the Daleks), but the ship was captured by Draconians and brought to Draconia. After the Ogrons' botched attempt to rescue the Master, the Draconians saw the truth, joined forces with the Earth Empire and pursued the Master. (TV: Frontier in Space)
They participated in the Second Dalek War, which started in 2540, along with the Earth Empire and many other races. They refused to help the humans against the Daleks in the next war. (PROSE: Deceit)
In 2570, the planet Heaven was a neutral ground between the Earth Empire and the Draconian Empire. It was settled after the Dragon Wars. (PROSE: Love and War)
At the beginning of the 27th century, the Draconian Empire attempted to take back the asteroid which housed the Braxiatel Collection. They found themselves at war with the Mim, until the Mim were destroyed by Hass. The Draconians, falsely accused for this crime, were blamed by all the galactic community. (PROSE: Nobody's Children)
In the 30th century, some Draconians lived in the Minerva system. (PROSE: The Fall of Yquatine)
The Draconians became members of the Galactic Federation. In the mid 34th century, several Draconians, including Salamanca, worked on-board the Piri Reis. When the Darkheart was used, the Draconians were all turned into humans. (PROSE: The Dark Path)
In the aftermath of the Dalek-Movellan War, the Draconians fought with their human allies to annihilate the Movellans when they enroached on the humanoid sectors of space, leaving both empires in a secure position prior to the Time Destructor Incident. (PROSE: The History of the Daleks)
The Draconians were among several galactic powers which fought the Daleks in the Great War, which began in 4000. Towards the end of the war, they contributed to the list of Dalek disasters by annihilating half of the Dalek Fleet along the Draconian frontier. (PROSE: The Evil of the Daleks)
Later history
By the 82nd century, the Draconians, along with the Federation of Worlds, the Dalek Empire and the Cybermen, fought the Skeletoid invasion of the galaxy. (COMIC: Kane's Story, Frobisher's Story)
By the 101st century, the Draconian Empire had became a Republic. (PROSE: The Crystal Bucephalus)
Other events
The Draconians were part of the Supremo's alliance in the war against Morbius. (PROSE: Warmonger)
A Draconian ship was flying to an outpost when it crashed on Earth. (COMIC: War-Game)
The Sixth Doctor, Jason and Crystal visited the Bar Galactica in their search for a missing US Peace Envoy. A Draconian was among the bar's customers. (AUDIO: The Ultimate Adventure)
When the Tenth Doctor was being sent to Volag-Noc, he was sent with Draconian, Ogron and Sontaran prisoners. Though they all had grievances against him, they worked together to take control of their transport and steal a Judoon ship. The Draconian was able to contact their Empire, which fought against the Judoon loyal to the Advocate. (COMIC: Fugitive)
Iris Wildthyme once had tea with a Draconian noble. The meal was a live Kaled mutant. (PROSE: The Scarlet Empress)
The Second Doctor, Ben, and Polly encountered Venusians, Draconians and Alpha Centaurans at a spaceport bar. (PROSE: The Murder Game)
Following the establishment of the New Dalek Paradigm, the Daleks built a series of space fortresses along the border of Draconian space, amongst other species. (PROSE: Dalek: The Astounding Untold History of the Greatest Enemies of the Universe)
The Eleventh Doctor and Kazran encountered the Draconians at one point. (AUDIO: The Top of the Tree)
A Draconian played a role in the Siege of Trenzalore when he arm-wrestled the Eleventh Doctor. (TV: The Time of the Doctor)
Alternate timeline
In an alternate timeline created by the Black Guardian where the First Doctor never left Gallifrey and became Lord President, the Draconians were one of many aliens that invaded Earth, and fought over the planet with other races. This timeline was destroyed when the Seventh Doctor retrieved the Key to Time. (COMIC: Time & Time Again)
In an alternate timeline known as the "Cyberverse" which started with a change in history in 1927, the Draconians were one of several major powers in the universe who were conquered by the Cybermen by 1951. (WC: Real Time/AUDIO: Real Time)
Behind the scenes
- The Draconians were Jon Pertwee's favourite monsters because their make-up was so realistic and allowed Pertwee to converse properly with the characters. (DOC: Monsters Who Came Back For More!)
- Jim Mortimore's "Director's Cut" of PROSE: Blood Heat puts forward that the Draconians, as well as the Ice Warriors, were descended from spacefaring Silurians.
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