Heya, wanderer. Draignyth is a little hobby project we're building in our spare time. This page is primarily here for the few brave souls currently playing it, so you don't have to interrogate us every time your dragon decides that starving itself is apparently a sound strategic choice.
If you're not playing yet but something here sounds fun, you can reach us at playtest[at]draignyth.com.
You start with a young dragon (a Hatchling). Right now it's small, fragile, and needs you often — like a puppy. Your job is simple to start:
Everything else in this guide is detail on those three things.
You give commands in plain language — just say what you want your dragon to do, and (usually) name a target. Your dragon understands lots of ways of saying the same thing, so use whatever feels natural.
| What you want | Words you can use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Hunt an animal | hunt, kill, chase, slay, attack | hunt chicken |
| Eat / Feed | eat, feed, consume, feast | eat chicken meat |
| Rest | rest, sleep, relax | rest |
| Travel to a place | go, fly, travel, journey, move | fly to Embercity |
| Explore a place | explore, find, find treasures, look | explore Farmlands |
| Stop what it's doing | stop, cancel, return, come back | stop |
A quick note on feeding vs. hunting. "Feed" + an animal is read as hunting that animal (your dragon hunts its own dinner). To feed from your hoard, name the food item, not the animal — say eat chicken meat, not feed chicken.
Your dragon can only do one thing at a time. Give a new command (or stop) to change what it's up to.
Your dragon has four core needs. Keeping them healthy is the heart of the game.
How fed your dragon is. It slowly drops over time as your dragon gets hungry, and you top it back up by feeding (from food in your hoard) or by hunting (prey brings back meat). If nourish gets low, your dragon stops growing — a starving dragon doesn't build strength. Younger dragons have smaller bellies, so they get hungry sooner and need feeding more often.
Fuel for doing things. Hunting and traveling spend energy; resting restores it. A tired dragon is a weaker, more fragile dragon (see Health & Combat), and it won't grow well either. Younger dragons tire faster and can't sustain long hunts; older dragons have deeper stamina.
How hurt your dragon is. It drops when it takes damage in a fight, and recovers with rest and food. If health reaches zero, your dragon is in serious trouble — so don't send a weak or exhausted dragon after something dangerous.
How close you and your dragon are, built up through care and time together. A well-bonded dragon is a happier companion.
The golden rule: a fed and rested dragon grows. A hungry or tired one just survives. Care is not busywork — it's literally how your dragon gets stronger.
Your dragon ages in real time and passes through four life stages. As it matures its body grows — bigger belly, more stamina, more health — and its potential strength (Might) rises.
| Stage | Roughly | What it's like |
|---|---|---|
| Hatchling | first days | Tiny, fragile, needy. Needs frequent care. Very weak in a fight. |
| Youngster | ~1st month | Growing fast. Still needs regular attention. |
| Adolescent | ~1–3 months | Hitting its stride. Can take on tougher prey. |
| Adult | ~3 months on | Big, tough, largely self-sufficient. Its full potential. |
Two things to know:
Raising matters. How well you care for your dragon while it's young shapes how strong it can ultimately become. A neglected youngster grows up weaker than a well-raised one, even at the same age — so the early days count.
Might is your dragon's core power stat. Higher Might means a tougher, deadlier dragon. It's the number to watch grow.
Two things build Might, and they stack:
Might rises fast at first and slows down as it climbs — the early levels come quickly and feel great, and the top end is a long, satisfying grind. There's no hard ceiling on the very top; a dedicated dragon can always inch a little higher.
When your Might grows far beyond an animal's threat, that animal becomes trivial: it can no longer damage you, and it no longer makes you stronger. It becomes pure food and loot farming — safe, but no longer a challenge. This is why you steadily move on to bigger prey: you outgrow the small stuff and it turns into a supply run.
Chickens become harmless to you almost immediately; wolves a bit later; a cow only once you're a genuinely powerful adult. Each animal has its moment of "I've outgrown this," and then it's just groceries.
When your dragon hunts something that fights back, it can take a counter-attack. How much it hurts depends on three things:
Put together: a weak, exhausted dragon can be killed by prey a strong, rested dragon wouldn't even notice. Rest and feed before anything dangerous.
Don't over-hunt. Pushing a tired dragon to keep fighting is how dragons die — the lower its energy and health, the more each hit hurts, and it can spiral fast. The extra loot is rarely worth the risk. Know when to bring it home to rest.
When you're strong enough, weak animals can't hurt you at all (see Outgrowing prey) — then you can farm them with zero risk.
Everything your dragon does is an activity. It can only do one at a time.
| Activity | What it does | Costs | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hunt | Chase prey for meat, loot, and Might training | Energy | Counter-attacks — can be deadly if you're outmatched or tired |
| Feed | Eat food from your hoard to restore Nourish & Health | — | None |
| Rest | Restore Energy (and recover) | — | None |
| Travel | Fly to another zone | Energy | Small chance of a rough landing |
| Explore | Search a zone for hidden finds | Energy | Low |
Tip: think of a loop — travel to a good spot, hunt until energy or health runs low, feed and rest to recover, then go again.
Your dragon travels between zones. Each place has its own animals to hunt and things to find. Fly somewhere with fly to .
| Zone | What it's like | You'll find |
|---|---|---|
| Farmlands | Calm, peaceful country where farmers live. A gentle starting area. | Chickens, Wolves — easy prey and your first food |
| Embercity | A grand city and war college. Busier, more to explore. | Wolves; treasures to explore for |
More zones are on the way — grazing pastures for bigger livestock, and wilder places for real monsters. This table will grow.
A rough guide to what's out there, from harmless to dangerous. "Danger" is how much it can hurt a young dragon — most of these become trivial once you're strong.
| Animal | Danger (to a young dragon) | Good for | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | Harmless | Quick meat, feathers | Your bread-and-butter early food. You outgrow it almost at once. |
| Sheep | Low | A hearty meal (mutton) | Docile livestock — bigger, better food than chickens. |
| Cow | Moderate — real risk when you're weak | A rich meal (beef) | Beefy and worth it, but a young dragon can die to one. A grown dragon farms them freely. |
| Wolf | Low–moderate | A bit of a fight | A predator to everything but a dragon. Stays nippy a little longer than livestock. |
Rule of thumb: livestock (chicken, sheep, cow) are food and low-threat; predators and monsters are where the real danger — and the best non-food rewards — will live as the world expands.
Exact numbers for the number-crunchers. Bite = how hard it hits, Toughness = how hard it is to bring down (also how much it trains your Might), Counter = how often it strikes back, Immune at = the Might where it can no longer hurt you or train you (Might ≥ 3 × Bite).
| Animal | Bite | Toughness | Counter | Immune at Might | Found in | Drops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 1 | 1 | 5% | 3 | Farmlands | Chicken Meat, Feather |
| Wolf | 5 | 10 | 25% | 15 | Farmlands, Embercity | (predator loot — WIP) |
| Sheep | 10 | 40 | 30% | 30 | Green Pastures | Mutton |
| Cow | 20 | 70 | 45% | 60 | Green Pastures | Beef |
These mirror the world seed data — keep them in sync as you tune. "Immune at Might" assumes the current 3× rule; change the rule and this column shifts with it.
Everything your dragon brings home goes into your hoard. Items come in two broad kinds:
Eating food restores Health and Nourish. Bigger prey drops richer food — a single beef is a feast; a scrap of chicken is a snack.
| Food | From | Restores |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken Meat | Chickens | A little |
| Mutton | Sheep | A solid amount |
| Beef | Cows | A lot |
To eat, name the food: eat beef, feed mutton.
Non-food loot — feathers, flowers, precious finds — that you collect, and in time will use for crafting, prestige, and decorating your hoard.
| Item | Rarity | From |
|---|---|---|
| Feather | Common | Chickens |
| Dandelion | Uncommon | Foraging the Farmlands |
| Golden Nugget | Rare | Exploring Embercity |
How do I make my dragon stronger? Two ways, and they stack: keep it fed and rested (grows Might slowly on its own), and send it to hunt prey that's a real challenge (grows Might faster). Bigger, tougher targets train you more — but riskier ones can kill a weak dragon.
Why isn't my dragon growing? It's probably hungry or tired. A dragon only grows when both Nourish and Energy are healthy. Feed it and let it rest, then it'll start building Might again.
Why won't my dragon eat? Name the food item, not the animal — eat chicken meat, not feed chicken (the second one tells it to go hunt a chicken). Also make sure you actually have that food in your hoard.
My dragon keeps taking huge damage / dying. What am I doing wrong? Usually one of two things: it's too weak for what it's hunting (try smaller prey and build Might first), or it's exhausted (a tired dragon takes far more damage — rest before you fight). Don't over-hunt; bring it home before energy runs out.
Why do I take no damage from that animal anymore? You've outgrown it — your Might is high enough that it can't hurt you. Congrats, it's now free farming. It also stops making you stronger, so move up to bigger prey for training.
What's the point of chickens once I'm strong? Safe, fast food and feathers with zero risk. Great for topping up your hoard and keeping fed — you just won't gain Might from them anymore.
How often do I need to check in? A Hatchling wants attention a few times a day (small belly, low stamina). As it grows, it needs you less — an Adult is happy left for a day or more.
What happens if I neglect my dragon? It stops growing, gets run-down and weak, and — if you leave it long enough — can come to real harm. Early neglect also limits how strong it can ultimately become, so the young days matter most.
How do I go somewhere new? fly to — e.g. fly to Embercity. Travel costs a little energy.
How do I stop what my dragon's doing? Just say stop (or cancel, come back).
Newest first. Been away a while? Skim from the top to see what's changed.
Where things are headed. This is a wish-list, not a promise — ideas we're exploring, in rough order of how likely they are to land soon. Some are already half-built.
In progress
Planned
Ideas we're kicking around (no timeline)
Got a request? Tell the dev. This list changes as the game does.