Boneknapper

**Abilities:** | Bone armor

The **Boneknapper** is a large, bone-clad Mystery Class dragon.

## Development

Concept art by Nico Marlet shows that the Boneknapper's design went through several revisions. Some of these designs had extra skulls on their bodies, two pairs of wings, numerous tails, and armor made of sharp weapons. Nico Marlet also provided the only illustration of a Boneknapper without armor.

## Physical Appearance

### Egg

The Boneknapper's egg looks like any other avian egg, with no distinguishing characteristics. The egg appears to have a long crack running down its side, but this could be protective bone armor.

### Hatchling to Adult

Boneknappers are bipedal dragons with only one pair of wings and no forearms. Their ubiquitous bone armor is typically dirty white or light gray. Their dominant skin color appears to be olive green, though individuals with more vibrant colors do exist. Boneknappers have a penchant for very specific bones, particularly the skull of an unidentified dragon species.

According to concept art, the unadorned Boneknapper has a long, slender tail and a narrow head with a small nasal horn and tendrils on its chin.

### Titan Wing

According to *Dragons: Rise of Berk*, the Titan Wing Boneknapper has orange skin with brown dots on its wings. Their bone armor is mostly unchanged, except for the clubbed end of the tail, which has been replaced by a smaller dragon skull. Like most dragons, the Titan Boneknapper is bigger than its Broad Wing counterpart.

## Abilities

### Firepower

1/2

Boneknappers can expel large amounts of reddish-orange flames, which emit a lot of carbon dioxide. This fire does not appear to be particularly hot, as humans can approach it without suffering permanent damage. When the fire comes into contact with solid materials, such as bones, it simply chars them.

### Bone Armor

1/2

Unlike most dragons, the Boneknapper's scales are thin and soft. To compensate for this weakness, they cover themselves in the bones of deceased dragons and other animals. They can also form a defensive and offensive club at the end of their tail.

The Boneknapper seeks out bones to defend itself and will do whatever it takes to find the ideal fragment, even if it means putting its own life in danger. Their heavy armor is highly durable and can withstand numerous attacks from enemy forces. It's been shown that they can add more layers of protection beneath or on top of their bone armor, including lava, ice, moss, various Viking items, dragon scales, and so on.

This bone armor is sometimes required for the dragon to perform basic actions, such as roaring. The Boneknapper will frequently go to great lengths to locate the bones it seeks, hunting for fragments for years.

### Strength and Agility

1/3

Boneknappers have incredible strength due to their large size. They carry the weight of their bone armor for the majority of their lives, and they are unaffected by the additional weight of seven Vikings and a sheep.

Boneknappers can easily outmaneuver humans and make tight turns both on land and in the air. Their necks are extremely flexible, allowing them to turn their heads nearly 360 degrees. These dragons can grip small objects with their talons, as demonstrated by Gobber's Nemesis clutching a small chest with their feet. Boneknappers are also skilled at silent, extremely delicate movement.

### Thundering Roar

1/2

Boneknappers can produce a powerful roar when in possession of a specific sternum bone. A Boneknapper's roar can blow away most nearby objects and be used as a call to attract others of their kind. Despite rumors that the Boneknapper's roar can deafen people and melt the flesh off their bones, Gobber and the teens were able to endure it with only minor discomfort. According to the *Book of Dragons*, a Boneknapper's roar has the power to rip someone's clothes off if they are within striking distance of the dragon.

## Weaknesses

### Armor Dependency

While armor is not required for survival, the Boneknapper is extremely vulnerable to its surroundings and attacks without it. A lack of a complete set of bone armor can impede certain bodily functions, such as roaring.

## Behavior and Personality

1/2

Boneknappers spend a lot of time searching through bone piles for the perfect piece of armor. The armor is made primarily from the bones of other dragons, but Boneknappers will also use bones from humans and other vertebrates. These dragons are highly determined and perfectionists when it comes to maintaining their armor, as they might spend years looking for the perfect piece.

Though Boneknappers spend a lot of time keeping their bone armor clean, some individuals will occasionally combine other materials into their armor, such as Skullcrown utilizing ice, and the Cryptic Collector donning moss. It has also been demonstrated that once their bone armor is complete, Boneknappers can be very calm and friendly towards humans. This was evident when Gobber gave up his lucky bone, and instead of attacking, the Boneknapper nuzzled him and asked for pats. When given affection, the dragon began to exhibit more stereotypical puppy dog behavior, such as lying on its back and wagging its tail.

According to Boneshedder's description, Boneknappers will annually discard any old or broken bones in favor of newer, stronger ones.

According to *Dragons: Titan Uprising*, Boneknappers tend to be solitary for most of their lives, at least until their bone armor is complete.

## Training

According to Gobber, to train a Boneknapper, one must give it whatever it desires. It will then become like "an overgrown puppy dog".

## Appearances

### *How to Train Your Dragon*

The Boneknapper makes a brief appearance in the first film. Hiccup is reading the Dragon Manual when he comes across a page that describes the Boneknapper.

### *Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon*

The Boneknapper was the main antagonist in the short The Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon. The dragon, which had been chasing Gobber since his youth, made its first physical appearance on a distant island after Gobber set out to capture it. Hiccup realizes Gobber's belt buckle is the bone that the Boneknapper desires. Gobber reluctantly gives the dragon the piece of bone, after which it becomes quite docile and playful. The Boneknapper offers Gobber and the teens a ride home as a "thank you." The Boneknapper let out a triumphant roar, attracting female Boneknappers to follow him back to Berk.

### *Book of Dragons*

The Boneknapper and its abilities were mentioned in the Book of Dragons, where Gobber explains how he trained it. He tells a story about how his ancestor, Bork the Bold, met a Boneknapper while he was collecting bones. The wild dragon stole all of Bork's bones and roared at him, depriving him of his clothes.

### Comics

#### *The Ice Castle*

The Boneknapper appeared briefly as a captive dragon freed by the Riders in this *Dragons: Riders of Berk* comic.

### Games

#### *Dragons: Rise of Berk*

In Dragons: Rise of Berk, the Boneknapper appeared as a "rare" dragon that could be unlocked once Toothless reached level 40. While traveling to the Dragon Graveyard, the player may come across its egg. Other characters introduced include Gobber's Nemesis, Boneshedder, Brute Boneknapper, and Defender Boneknapper.

Refrenches

https://howtotrainyourdragon.fandom.com/wiki/Boneknapper