Board Thread:Staff Discussion/@comment-27901943-20190908135840/@comment-27624304-20190929152200

Yes, I believe there were some physically pictured connections, but I have to come across them again and it might be a bit.

As far as connections with the Books and Franchise, it is a little deeper than just characters and some dragon species with the same name. The underlying plot and story elements are closely allied, too.

As far as connection to the Books, that has turned out to be mostly fan speculation (or hopeful thinking). There has been no official indication that RR is based solidly/directly from the Books, other than the usual loose base.

Jack C. Thomas is the producer of RR, who also worked on RttE extensively and I think some on Riders and/or Defenders. Any mention of main franchise species (such as Submaripper or Hobblegrunt) is no coincidence, and IMO clearly meant to connect to those species in the main franchise.