Pipio Pygmies are a hardy—but not very intelligent—species able to survive in most places. They communicate with each other using chirps, coos, and clicking sounds. They are very easy to tame, and as they breed readily in captivity and aren’t terribly picky eaters, these small dragons are a common sight in human settlements. However, Pipio Pygmies are still dragons, and are bolder in groups: when a group of these pygmies feels threatened, they may take off all at once in a disorienting swarm, and if the threat is great enough, they will attack the instigator with razor-sharp claws and teeth. Predators hoping for an easy meal, or abusive caretakers, have been known to lose an eye.

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.

Pygmy dragons are the smallest category of dragons, being on the same scale as domesticated animals. They are often found around concentrated populations of dragons, relying on their larger brethren to ward away potential predators and leave scraps. As such, the majority of a pygmy’s diet is scavenged. Due to their tiny size, pygmies do not breed with larger varieties of dragons.

Scuzz was named for her habit of frolicking or sitting in unpleasant places: mud holes, chimneys, cow pats, trash bins, and the like. When her handler wants to bathe her, she's either nowhere to be found or has located and joined the city's roaming pipio flock as defense. Luckily, she's gullible and easily enticed by food scraps. Anyone can hold a treat right in front of Scuzz and lead her to the tub. After the inevitable splash, she has a number of colorful words she learned from various townsfolk to shout at the trickster responsible for her misery, but again, she can be quickly shut up by feeding more treats. She stays put until she dries off, but it's almost impossible to prevent her from getting dirty again after that. The handler is considering spritzing her with water every so often.