Hey there! So, I know I just joined yesterday, but I'm an ornithologist with a specialty in brood parasitism - that is, birds who lay their eggs in other birds' nests! Brood parasitism toward other species has evolved at least seven times independently in modern birds, and same-species parasitism is even more common. They literally don't put all of their eggs in one basket, basically - it's a very efficient strategy.
So my suggestion is, what if there was a mechanic where one species of dragon might, depending on chance (and maybe some player-modified factor), remove one of your dragon's eggs and replace it with its own? They could be either randomly generated, and that would be one of the only ways to acquire one, or perhaps there could be some crazy breeding mechanic where you could only breed a pair if you already had another species' nest in your lair, and some eggs might end up in other players' nests.
EDIT: see below in that it would be voluntary - you could choose to set a nest to be either "open" or "closed". Also, in this line of thinking, it would be a new species that could only be propagated in this way.
Hey there! So, I know I just joined yesterday, but I'm an ornithologist with a specialty in brood parasitism - that is, birds who lay their eggs in other birds' nests! Brood parasitism toward other species has evolved at least seven times independently in modern birds, and same-species parasitism is even more common. They literally don't put all of their eggs in one basket, basically - it's a very efficient strategy.
So my suggestion is, what if there was a mechanic where one species of dragon might, depending on chance (and maybe some player-modified factor), remove one of your dragon's eggs and replace it with its own? They could be either randomly generated, and that would be one of the only ways to acquire one, or perhaps there could be some crazy breeding mechanic where you could only breed a pair if you already had another species' nest in your lair, and some eggs might end up in other players' nests.
EDIT: see below in that it would be voluntary - you could choose to set a nest to be either "open" or "closed". Also, in this line of thinking, it would be a new species that could only be propagated in this way.
Oh I was just trying to think of what the term for birds that do that was earlier XD
This seems like it would be a really fun mechanic but I'd only support it if the players were aware that it was happening- not like a surprise thing or by random. Some people breed dragons to sell the offspring and in a lost of cases the offspring is reserved for said folks- and I assume they'd be pretty bummed if they got some dragon they weren't expecting ^_^
Oh I was just trying to think of what the term for birds that do that was earlier XD
This seems like it would be a really fun mechanic but I'd only support it if the players were aware that it was happening- not like a surprise thing or by random. Some people breed dragons to sell the offspring and in a lost of cases the offspring is reserved for said folks- and I assume they'd be pretty bummed if they got some dragon they weren't expecting ^_^
Maybe if there was some option they could toggle off/on at any time for both a given nest, and by default? And maybe if you were breeding a pair, they might lay one egg per nest so you would have to have at least a matching number of active, open nests in your lair in order to get all the eggs.
Maybe if there was some option they could toggle off/on at any time for both a given nest, and by default? And maybe if you were breeding a pair, they might lay one egg per nest so you would have to have at least a matching number of active, open nests in your lair in order to get all the eggs.
I've spent a lot of time getting very specific dragons and ranges... If suddenly after a month of waiting for their perfect eggs I ended up with something totally random and different? I would not be a very happy moose.
It's an interesting idea, it may have potential, but I'm not sure how I would overhaul it to not actually disrupt the current breeding set up while still adding something...
I've spent a lot of time getting very specific dragons and ranges... If suddenly after a month of waiting for their perfect eggs I ended up with something totally random and different? I would not be a very happy moose.
It's an interesting idea, it may have potential, but I'm not sure how I would overhaul it to not actually disrupt the current breeding set up while still adding something...
Brood parasitism is the bomb diggity, but I don't think it would work well with the current breeding system. It would mess up:
-Breeding projects. I've been trying to breed certain dragons for MONTHS and I'd hate to have one of those nests get parasitized.
-Expensive pairs. I have a triple gened wildclaw that makes babies I can sell for 250k; I'd be pretty upset if I wound up with an ungened tundra instead and even angrier if someone else ended up with one of his kids.
-Lore/RP. Some people would have a lot of fun with the brood parasitism thing (the two of us, for one), but it could also throw a serious wrench in people's family plans.
Also how would the lineage work. Would the parasitic hatchling's parents be its birth parents or its surrogate parents?
As far as head cannons go, thinking of the unhatched eggs as parasitic eggs might be fun. I can picture it now, a wildclaw turning to her imp mate and going, "Oh look honey, there's a nature egg in our light nest. How strange."
And then it hatches a magenta/spring/thistle mirror baby.
Somewhere a mirror female is laughing.
Edit: I'd be okay with this if it was something that could be toggled on/off and the parasite babies were random. Don't know who the listed parents for the parasites would be though.
Editedit: Ooooh what if you could decide for each nest if you wanted your dragon to be a parasite (you lose an egg but have a chance of getting parasitized while your dragon is gone) or be parasitized (gain an egg, which replaces an existing egg.) Maybe that's too complicated. I'm thinking about this too much. I mean are these guys doing cuckoo style brood parasitism or coot style parasitism. Because coot style would be the best/worst thing. Run off to lay an egg somewhere, come back to find an extra egg in your own nest. HMMMMM.
Brood parasitism is the bomb diggity, but I don't think it would work well with the current breeding system. It would mess up:
-Breeding projects. I've been trying to breed certain dragons for MONTHS and I'd hate to have one of those nests get parasitized.
-Expensive pairs. I have a triple gened wildclaw that makes babies I can sell for 250k; I'd be pretty upset if I wound up with an ungened tundra instead and even angrier if someone else ended up with one of his kids.
-Lore/RP. Some people would have a lot of fun with the brood parasitism thing (the two of us, for one), but it could also throw a serious wrench in people's family plans.
Also how would the lineage work. Would the parasitic hatchling's parents be its birth parents or its surrogate parents?
As far as head cannons go, thinking of the unhatched eggs as parasitic eggs might be fun. I can picture it now, a wildclaw turning to her imp mate and going, "Oh look honey, there's a nature egg in our light nest. How strange."
And then it hatches a magenta/spring/thistle mirror baby.
Somewhere a mirror female is laughing.
Edit: I'd be okay with this if it was something that could be toggled on/off and the parasite babies were random. Don't know who the listed parents for the parasites would be though.
Editedit: Ooooh what if you could decide for each nest if you wanted your dragon to be a parasite (you lose an egg but have a chance of getting parasitized while your dragon is gone) or be parasitized (gain an egg, which replaces an existing egg.) Maybe that's too complicated. I'm thinking about this too much. I mean are these guys doing cuckoo style brood parasitism or coot style parasitism. Because coot style would be the best/worst thing. Run off to lay an egg somewhere, come back to find an extra egg in your own nest. HMMMMM.
Interesting, but I'd rather not see this. I picked my breeding dragons because I want their offspring, not anyone else's. Like a user above said, if you want to make your own head canon with the random eggs you may find/buy, that's fine. But I really don't want my nests to be effected.
Interesting, but I'd rather not see this. I picked my breeding dragons because I want their offspring, not anyone else's. Like a user above said, if you want to make your own head canon with the random eggs you may find/buy, that's fine. But I really don't want my nests to be effected.
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If writers are supposed to "show not tell," why are we called "storytellers" and not "storyshow-ers"?
Yeah, I mean, I'm not new to pet breeding sims in general, so I know there are some things you don't want messed up. Hence my caveat that it could be toggleable. For instance, my research focuses on the Brown-headed Cowbird, which almost never lays in cavities, and usually only replaces a single egg with one of its own (sometimes she just adds hers without removing one, too), and a lot of birds are capable of recognizing the egg or just chasing off the cowbird. And unlike with cuckoos, the hatchling doesn't harm the other nestlings, except for indirectly (if it's bigger than the others), but hatchlings here don't exactly beg for food. XD
And I was thinking more, it'd be a completely new species of dragon, that could only ever be bred if you had other active nests in your lair. So you could choose to either RP with it, or game it by keeping a couple cheap breeding pairs in your lair whose nests are always set to "open". It would keep the supply down while not making it TOO difficult, and you could still potentially get completely random brood parasites if you chose to leave your nests open.
I would think that the geneology would show up as normal (genetic basis), but in cases of cross-breeding, the parasitism would be based on the sex of the female.
Yeah, I mean, I'm not new to pet breeding sims in general, so I know there are some things you don't want messed up. Hence my caveat that it could be toggleable. For instance, my research focuses on the Brown-headed Cowbird, which almost never lays in cavities, and usually only replaces a single egg with one of its own (sometimes she just adds hers without removing one, too), and a lot of birds are capable of recognizing the egg or just chasing off the cowbird. And unlike with cuckoos, the hatchling doesn't harm the other nestlings, except for indirectly (if it's bigger than the others), but hatchlings here don't exactly beg for food. XD
And I was thinking more, it'd be a completely new species of dragon, that could only ever be bred if you had other active nests in your lair. So you could choose to either RP with it, or game it by keeping a couple cheap breeding pairs in your lair whose nests are always set to "open". It would keep the supply down while not making it TOO difficult, and you could still potentially get completely random brood parasites if you chose to leave your nests open.
I would think that the geneology would show up as normal (genetic basis), but in cases of cross-breeding, the parasitism would be based on the sex of the female.
I like the idea, but I don't like that it would only be obtainable through breeding. Some folks, like me, keep gen1 dragons for role play reasons, which means without breaking my background story, I cannot acquire such a dragon.. All dragons should be scrollable. Or at least the possibility they also hatch from unhatched eggs (rarely)
I like the idea, but I don't like that it would only be obtainable through breeding. Some folks, like me, keep gen1 dragons for role play reasons, which means without breaking my background story, I cannot acquire such a dragon.. All dragons should be scrollable. Or at least the possibility they also hatch from unhatched eggs (rarely)
With the exception of gen 1, then, maybe. Sorry, I'm not overly familiar with the community/mechanics yet. XD I think completely random dragons would probably just turn out ugly anyway! So I meant, the only way you could breed them - not the only way to obtain them, full stop. And there's always buying/transferring, too.
With the exception of gen 1, then, maybe. Sorry, I'm not overly familiar with the community/mechanics yet. XD I think completely random dragons would probably just turn out ugly anyway! So I meant, the only way you could breed them - not the only way to obtain them, full stop. And there's always buying/transferring, too.
I think this could be a very interesting way to introduce a breed or a gene.
I think this could be a very interesting way to introduce a breed or a gene.
