<< If you add iodine to their water they develop into a full adult stage.>>
Iodine being a prime component of thyroxine, the growth hormone that
triggers the change.
<< They regenerate limbs. >>
A number of salamanders also exhibit caudal autotomy, which is fancy way of saying they can snap off their tails to escape an attacker which has grabbed them (some lizards do the same). Dunno whether or not Newtlings could do the same trick when their tails get cut off as a Praxian delicacy, although I rather suspect not.
More fun facts about salamanders:
Many have poison skin, and one species can even stab its sharp ribs through its skin to puncture its poison glands, and inject poison into an attacker.
Some salamanders don't lay eggs and give birth to live tadpoles. The fire salamander can even give birth to air-breathing miniature adults (although it doesn't always do so). I can't find Elder Secrets at the moment, so I don't know what that says about Newtlings, but River of Cradles doesn't actually mention egg-laying, just the presence of a tadpole stage. Admittedly newts are all egg-layers AFAIK.
Salamanders have complex breeding rituals to select a mate, unlike frogs who just croak a lot and then jump on each other. This would fit well with recent suggestions on the Digest, IMO.
The largest RW salamander, which lives in China, is about the size of an adult human - 180 cm, 65 kg.
One species of salamanders, the White Dragons, were considered divinities by the Chinese, with pilgrimages to their mountain lake. Which brings me to Alex:
<<I'm not sure what sort of link you have in mind -- that they're the
offspring of watery dream dragons, or something along those lines? >>
Something like that. I'm not suggesting this of your every-day RW-type salamanders, mind, though this might be believed by the Kralorelans. Rather I'm suggesting that some large magical amphibians exist with draconic links. They might even *be* watery dream-dragons, with powers to match. By having a few draconic individuals that are amphibians rather than just reptiles, we are creating more of a variety as well as being closer to the oriental concept of dragons, rather than just the European one which predominates at present. After all, why should we use a European model to define what Kralorelan dragons can and can't do?
<<I agree with you that a Firey connection is not inevitable for Dragons
generically -- look at the Thrunhin Da, most obviously. What he dreams of,
no-one is currently saying, mind you...>>
That's the fella I was thinking of. Of course, I don't deny that most draconic beings *are* reptilian, but he, and a few others like him, may dream of things that aren't in addition to the more 'typical' type he probably dreams of, too. Or it could be there's a junior Kralorelan water dragon that has a thing about amphibians, while most of the rest stick to reptiles.
Forward the glorious Red Army!
Trotsky
End of The Glorantha Digest V6 #430
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