Book of Dragons

Monstrous Nightmare

Class: Stroker

The Monstrous Nightmare eggs have a surface that looks like they were made of cloth or leather folded together, with a spotted pattern on the base. Its colors vary and they match the colors of the dragon to be born.

Monstrous Nightmares come in many different colors such as purple, blue, scarlet, or green and possess a long, snakelike neck and tail. Unlike some other breeds of dragon, it has no forelegs, and its ground-based locomotion is similar to that of Pterosaurs, except that it has a lower profile due to its sprawled wings; it can use its claw-tipped wings to "crawl" along the floor. Their horns might be used as a visual display and in defense, but the swept back position of the horns means it is unlikely to use them in combat. In most pieces of media, this dragon possesses two rows of spikes on it's back, but in Rise of Berk the spikes are replaced by two sails. Its stripe skin patterns seem to mimic that of a tiger's. The Monstrous Nightmare is 60 feet long, has a wingspan of 68 feet and weighs about 5,000 lbs. It can be noted that male Nightmares are larger than females with longer wing spikes and horns.

The Monstrous Nightmare has front legs and walks quadrupedally. It also lacks the tall, wavy spines running down its back. Other characteristics such as the head horns and coloration are the same as other parts of the Franchise. The differences may be due to the difficulty engineering a live action animatronic puppet.

While aging, they can lose their spots to have black stripes, similar to the tiger. When they are fully grown and gain barbels, some of them change color when they achieve Titan Wing age. In Rise of Berk the sails they possessed as adults become rows of separate spikes. Once they have reached this stage they grow much longer and may gain spots in more striking colors. With age, Monstrous Nightmares seem to also grow beard-like appendages under their chin as a sign of age. Though this might mean that some of the same species of Monstrous Nightmares could age quite differently than others.

Abilities

The Monstrous Nightmare is one of the strongest and most formidable dragons with a wide variety of abilities.

Firepower

Monstrous Nightmares breathe an organic Kerosene Gel, which is hotter and more powerful than an ordinary flame. Their fire is hot enough to burn down a tree in a few seconds.

Its signature attack is known as the "Fire Jacket", "Flame Jacket", or "Fire Burst". This ability makes it engulf itself in flames resulting in an intimidating, offensive, and defensive maneuver similar in appearance to napalm or other gel-based incendiaries.

They are able to set any part of their body on fire, and they are also able to fire off a larger and more powerful fire blast whilst doing this as shown in the first movie and School of Dragons. It's also said that, while running downhill, the Fire Jacket ability makes the Monstrous Nightmare appear like flaming river, spreading the fire on the surrounding ground.

Monstrous Nightmares have the ability to Fire Burst to increase their body temperature so they can dry off.

The natural form of the Monstrous Nightmare's kerosene gel was shown to be green in color. It coats the dragon's hide, allowing a Nightmare to 'flame up'. The gel is also slimy, and easy to rub on surfaces. It occurs in a large enough quantity for a Viking to collect and store for other uses.

Kerosene Saliva

Monstrous Nightmares drool excessively as babies, as many species do. However, that drool contains the kerosene gel that coats the scales and makes it very volatile.

Senses

The Monstrous Nightmare has also been observed to have a well-developed sense of smell, as Hookfang was able to find Snotlout's scent.