Gold dragons are the ones most often killed by humans, who consider their scales to be extremely valuable. These golden scales grant them a high level of protection, similar to armor, and they use this to their advantage in battle.

Dragons are highly-intelligent reptilian creatures that—from a human perspective, at least—appear to live forever. Many different varieties of dragon exist, each with their own unique qualities, habitats, and behavior. Adolescence in dragons is usually marked by the growth of a hatchling’s wings, although not all breeds of dragons grow wings and some breeds have other traits that indicate the beginning of maturation. In Galsreim, dragons and humans coexist peacefully.

Tsai Shen Yeh, in addition to being golden himself, has an instinctive feel for gold and jewels, and can find where they lie under the ground. Thus, his hoard is quite large. He is a very generous dragon, however, and does not keep his hoard exclusively for himself—he will often seek out poor, but good and worthy people to assist with his wealth. (Dragons don't need wealth as much as humans do—there are cattle and other animals, as well as fruits, vegetables and herbs aplenty for all, thanks to judicious use of fertility magic, and a dragon mainly uses gold and other shinies for decoration to help attract mates. True wealth, to a dragon, is found in new knowledge and new experiences.) He is also a brave fighter who works against evil in all of its manifestations.