Dragonlord

From Dragon Quest Wiki

"I am the Dragonlord, master of masters, king of kings! Long have I awaited this moment. Come! Take thy rightful place at my side! Do so, and I will grant unto thee dominion over half the world!"

—Dragonlord

"Dragonlord"
Dragon Quest
The Dragonlord in his first form.
Sprite(s) Dq1dragonlord-sprite-NES.gif
Romaji Ryu-Oh
Race Unknown
Family Dragonlord's Grandson (Descendant)

The Dragonlord (King Dragon, DracoLord) is the main antagonist and final boss of the original Dragon Quest. Before the game starts, he steals the Sphere of Light from Tantegel Castle to unleash his forces of darkness upon Alefgard; he then kidnaps Princess Gwaelin to hold her hostage and prevent her father from challenging his new tyranny. It is also interesting to note that the Dragonlord looks much like Maleficent of Disney's Sleeping Beauty, who also turns into a dark purple dragon.

At the end of Dragon Quest, the hero defeated the Dragonlord and returned peace to all of Alefgard.


Characteristics

The Dragonlord resides in Charlock Castle, which is located to the southeast across the water from Tantegel Castle. Within the castle, the Dragonlord resides on the bottom-most level. Throughout the game, the Dragonlord never leaves the castle, similar to Hargon in Dragon Quest II.

Personality

Being the first villain of the series, the Dragonlord displays several traits that would define the archetypal arch-fiend; he is a vain, power-hungry despot who will stop at nothing to get what he wants, whether it be imprisoning a maiden deep beneath the earth or wiping an opposing town off the map just to make a point.

Though brutal and mindlessly savage at first glace, these actions are actually well planned tactics meant to secure the scaley lord's political power in Alefgard. As mentioned above the kidnapping of the princess is meant to keep the king and citizens from so much as daring to think about standing up to him, and the obliteration of the kingdom's highest commerce center meant that trade with outer lands would be crippled. Indeed, the very fact that the Dragonlord's first move in his plan was to steal the Sphere of Light shows that the would-be despot plans his actions very carefully.

When confronted by the Hero, the Dragonlord offers him the chance to split the world and rule half of it as his ally. This was an unprecedented move for a video game villain in 1986, when most antagonists had either no personality to speak of or theirs was confined to the pages of a manual. By offering to make a deal when cornered by the Hero, the Dragonlord proves that his aspirations are truly political in nature, and not blindly dedicated to chaos for chaos' sake.

In battle, the Dragonlord appears as a humanoid sorcerer who possesses the skill of magic but is fairly weak, physically speaking. After receiving enough damage, the Dragonlord transforms into a more powerful, dragon form (his "true" form). The music also changes to the final battle theme.

Select Quotes

"So, thou art come before me at last, Hero! And bearing tribute unto my glory in the form of a fair princess no less! Hm hm hm! I am honoured in deed!"

"I am the Dragonlord, master of masters, king of kings! Long have I awaited this moment. Come! Take thy rightful place at my side! Do so, and I will grant unto thee dominion over half the world!"

"What say'st thou? Wilt thou rule beside me?"

"Thou art a fool!"

" Very well. Then half of the world shall be thine. And if ever thou should fall in battle, I shall revive thee at no cost! Now, fall into a deep, dark sleep! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"

Origins

This section requires verification.

Originally, he is an unhappy man of Alefgard who dwelt in a cave. One day he explored deeper into his cave and found a dragon. He was more astonished when he found he could control the beast. From this point on, he was known as the Dragonlord, and he moved to Charlock Castle.

Descendants

In Dragon Quest II, a more friendly descendant of the Dragonlord resides in the ruins of Charlock Castle. The child is very proud of his grandfather's attempt at world domination, and is very annoyed at Hargon's own attempts, seeing the effort as an upstaging of his family's legacy. He aid's the party by giving vital information regarding the 5 Sigils.

Appearances

Dragon Quest

The Dragonlord is the villain of the original game. He is the last obstacle the player must overcome before peace in Alefgard is ensured. The original NES sprite is on the left, while the remake SNES sprite is on the right.

When spoken to, the Dragonlord will present the Hero with an opportunity to rule half of Alefgard with him. Answering 'no' results in the start of the battle with the Dragonlord. Answering 'yes' varies between the different versions. In the originals, the Dragonlord will give control of the World of Darkness to the hero, the screen fades to black, and the menus become red, as if the Hero had been fainted/killed in battle. He will also state he will revive the hero if he falls in battle, even giving him a password in the Japanese Version. Gameplay will stop at this point. In the remakes, accepting the offer simply causes the hero to faint, and reappear outside Tantegel Castle.


Dragonlord
Original (NES)
Sprite HP MP Experience Gold Attack Defense Agility
Dragonlord DQ NES.png 100 40 0 0 90 75 55
Spell(s) Fizzle, Sizzle
Location(s) Charlock Castle
Evasion Fizzle Resistance Snooze Resistance Sizz & Sizzle Resistance
164 1516 1516 1516
Remakes (SFC, GBC, Mobile)
Sprites HP MP Experience Gold Attack Defense Agility
Dragonlord DQ SNES.gifDQ-GBC-DRAGONLORD.png 240 40 0 0 107 110 55
Spell(s) Sizzle, Midheal, Snooze
Location(s) Charlock Castle
Evasion Fizzle Resistance Snooze Resistance Sizz & Sizzle Resistance
164 77 77 47



Dragonlord (Second Form)
Original (NES)
Sprite HP MP Experience Gold Attack Defense Agility
Dragonlord2 DQ NES.png 130 0 0 0 140 200 90
Spell(s) Breathes fire (16~23)
Breathes intense fire (65~72)
Location(s) Charlock Castle
Evasion Fizzle Resistance Snooze Resistance Sizz & Sizzle Resistance
164 1516 1516 1516
Remakes (SFC, GBC, Mobile)
Sprites HP MP Experience Gold Attack Defense Agility
Dragonlord2 DQ SNES.gifDQ-GBC-DRAGONLORD-SECOND-FORM.png 361 0 0 0 130 150 90
Spell(s) Breathes fire (16~23)
Breathes intense fire (65~72)
Location(s) Charlock Castle
Evasion Fizzle Resistance Snooze Resistance Sizz & Sizzle Resistance
164 77 77 27


Dragon Quest II

The grandson of the Dragonlord resides in the same location in Dragon Quest II. He is a character of core importance as he informs the heroes of their need to collect the Crests and contact Rubiss.

Dragon Quest III

Although not specifically mentioned, the Dragonlord inherits Charlock Castle sometime after Zoma was defeated by the hero at the end of Dragon Quest III. Also, according to the Emblem of Roto manga, the Dragon Queen's egg is most likely Dragonlord.

Dragon Quest IX

#295 - Dragonlord
King Dragon.png
HP MP Experience Gold
1600
15066 (99)
255 63600 2490
Attack Defense Speed
900
1286 (99)
450
675 (99)
190
304 (99)
Dropped Item Mini medal (common, 100%)
Red Orb (rare, 5%~10%)
Locations Grotto
Family ???
Bestiary # 295
Game Dragon Quest IX
Console DS
Description "Lizard lord who ravages all with great gusts of flame, and whose fire-retardant scales stop any such scorching in return.

"This proud and mighty beast rules over all the dragon clans of the world with a high and haughty hand."

Additional Attributes
Fire Ice Wind Earth Light Dark
75 100 100 100 100 100
Blast Dazzle Sleep Death Drain MP Confusion
150 25 0 0 100 0
Fizzle Inaction Paralyze Poison Charm Magic Res
0 0 0 0 5 50
Blunt Sap Decelerate
10 25 75


The Dragonlord appears as a Legacy Boss in Dragon Quest IX. His map can only be obtained as a rare drop from Greygnarl in grottoes. Unlike most other legacy bosses, he does not use magic, relying on breath attacks and physical strikes, and is enraged by anyone that inflicts a critical hit or haywire spell on him. Note that the Dragonlord is classified under the ??? family, which means Dragon Slash and related effects do not apply to him.

Treasure

Level Range Secondary Drop Orb
1-3 Alefgard boots 15% Red Orb 5%
4-8 Alefgard helm 15% Red Orb 5%
9-15 Alefgard armour 15% Red Orb 6%
16-25 Psaro's Map 10% Red Orb 6%
26-40 Psaro's Map 15% Red Orb 7%
41-56 Psaro's Map 20% Red Orb 7%
57-68 Psaro's Map 25% Red Orb 8%
69-80 Psaro's Map 30% Red Orb 8%
81-90 Psaro's Map 35% Red Orb 9%
91-99 Psaro's Map 40% Red Orb 10%

Skills

Level New abilities
Initial Scorch, critical attack, sometimes attacks twice per round
16 Always attacks twice per round
24 Party Pooper
33 Hellfire
41 Begins attacking 3 times per turn, stops using Scorch
48 Dark Breath
57 Disruptive Wave

Dragon Quest Monsters

Dracolord
Dragonlord DQM GBC.png
HP MP Experience Gold
2/5 5/5
Attack Defense Speed
2/5 2/5 5/5
Spells Firebal, Meditate, BeDragon
Family Boss Family
Game Dragon Quest Monsters
Console GBC


Dracolord
Dragonlord2 DQM GBC.png
HP MP Experience Gold
2/5 4/5
Attack Defense Speed
3/5 2/5 5/5
Spells FireAir, Massacre, Surge
Game Dragon Quest Monsters
Console GBC

The Dragonlord (DracoLord at the time) acts as the boss of the Gate of Ambition and will attempt to draw Terry over to his side in the same way he attempts to bargain with the Hero in the original Dragon Quest. but even if you replied yes, he would laugh and still challenge you.

In addition, a Dragonlord may be bred as a useable monster in both his human and dragon forms.

Dragon Quest Monsters 2

DracoLord
Dragonlord DQM2 GBC.png
HP MP Experience Gold
5/10 9/10
Attack Defense Speed
6/10 5/10 7/10
Locations Breed a Servant with an Andreal or GreatDrak
Spells Firebal, Meditate, BeDragon
Family Boss Family
Game Dragon Quest Monsters 2
Console GBC


DracoLord
Dragonlord2 DQM2 GBC.png
HP MP Experience Gold
6/10 9/10
Attack Defense Speed
7/10 6/10 7/10
Locations Breed a DracoLord (human) with a Divinegon
Spells FireAir, Massacre, Surge
Family Boss Family
Game Dragon Quest Monsters 2
Console GBC


Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker

Game Description: This monarch was once bested by the Legendary Dragon Warrior in the days of yore.

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2

Both forms, known as Dracolord for his humanoid form and Dragonlord for his dragon form, appear in the game as usable monsters. His humanoid form is a Rank S monster and can be made by fusing together a great dragon and a demon-at-arms.

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 Professional

The Dragonlord in his second form. This Dragonlord is from the Sofubi Monster merchandise series.

Both forms, humanoid and dragon, appear in the game as usable monsters.

Dragon Quest Builders

The nature of Builders is a what-if story in which the Hero fell for the Dragonlord's ruse and took his offer for half the world. Warping the hero's mind into that of a bumbling barbarian, none stood in the Dragonlord's way as he cast the entire archipelago of Alefguard into darkness. Furthermore, the scaled sovereign placed a curse upon the population that blocked all memory of building from their minds--while a person may recognize the individual materials used to construct something, the moment they move to craft the curse activates and seals the person's memory of how the materials are used, effectively sending the population to the stone age and forcing them into an arduous existence living off the bare expanse of the despoiled land.

From his perverse perspective, the Dragonlord considered this to be an act of mercy--he stats that through building humans rebel against their fates and in turn only bring upon more miserable ones to their lives. He explains that he had no choice but to muddle minds, for if he did not the world would be thrown out of balance and fall into ruin. As the Builder is the last remaining vestige of the spark of creativity, they must be snuffed out under his heel.

The Dragonlord is unimpressed with the Builder, stating they are nothing more than but a mere puppet of Rubiss. Privy to the Goddess' forsaking of the Builder near the end of Chapter four, he attempts to use this schism and uncertainty to cloud the child's mind when he is bested in his humanoid form. Offering half the world, the Dragonlord states that the Builder's role in Rubiss's scheme has ended and they should now allow themselves to be a slave to one that has already abandoned them. Whispering with a forked-tongue, he sweetens the deal by promising the land the Builder will inherit will not be one of ashen darkness that Alefguard has become, but one of light where they may build their own kingdom as they see fit. If the Builder refuses the offer, the Dragonlord points out that if they fail to defeat him then all the towns, villages, and friends they have made will be rent asunder.

Dragon Quest Heroes II

Itadaki Street Special

The Dragonlord, in his human form, is a playable character in Itadaki Street Special.

In Animation

The Dragonlord appeared as an antagonist to The N Team in Captain N: The Game Master, and worked with Mother Brain in his first appearance. He appeared in:

  • Episode 7: "Three Men & A Dragon"
  • Episode 23: "Trojan Dragon"
  • Episode 24: "I Wish I Was a Wombatman" (Robotic replica)

The Dragonlord is the only character from a Dragon Quest game to appear in both episodes, with a Blue dragon appearing in Episode 7, and Slimes, as well Axe knight appearing in Episode 23.

In the show, he is merely a giant red dragon and lacks a human form.

Related Monsters

Gallery