TORTLE – 5e stats

Medium humanoid (tortle), lawful good

Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 22 (4d8 + 4)
Speed 30 ft.

Proficiency Bonus +2
Proficiency Bonus +3 (5th Edition Advanced Mode)

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
15 (+2)	10 (+0)	12 (+1)	11 (+0)	13 (+1)	12 (+1)

Skills Athletics +4, Survival +3
Senses passive Perception 11
Languages Aquan, Common
Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)

Hold Breath. The tortle can hold its breath for 1 hour.

ACTIONS

• Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit : 4 (1d4 + 2) slashing damage.
• Quarterstaff. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) bludgeoning damage, or 6 (1d8 + 2) bludgeoning damage if used with two hands.
• Light Crossbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, range 80/320 ft., one target. Hit : 4 (1d8) piercing damage.
• Shell Defense. The tortle withdraws into its shell. Until it emerges, it gains a + 4 bonus to AC and has advantage on Strength and Constitution saving throws. While in its shell, the tortle is prone, its speed is 0 and can’t increase, it has disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws, it can’t take reactions, and the only action it can take is a bonus action to emerge.

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DESCRIPTION

Tortles are land-dwelling, humanoid tortoises that walk upright with a ponderous, rolling gait. They have leathery, reptilian skin and shells that cover their backs and bellies. Only their heads, limbs, and tails stick out of their shells. An adult tortle stands about 6 feet tall and weighs more than 500 pounds. They have no hair; their skin is mostly olive or blue-green. Their back shells are usually shinier and darker than their skin, while their front shells tend to be lighter, with a yellowish cast. A tortle’s eyes look something like the eyes of humans, except that the pupils are horizontal ovals in shape. The irises are vibrantly colored, usually blue, but sometimes green or red. A tortle’s mouth is beaklike and toothless and can deliver a vicious bite. Tortles are stocky, but most of their weight comes from their shells, so they tend to remain at the same weight throughout their adult lives, never growing fat or thin. Their arms and hands are shaped like those of humans, but thicker and tipped with sharp claws. Tortles can wield most weapons as easily as humans. Their tails measure about two feet long. Tortles prefer warm climates and enjoy sunning themselves; they have little tolerance for cold.

COMBAT

Tortles are not very agile, but they are strong and resilient. They can use weapons and shields, but they cannot wear armor due to their shells. Their shells provide them with a natural armor class of 17, which is comparable to medium or light armor. They can also withdraw into their shells for extra protection, but this makes them immobile and unable to see. Their claws and beaks can inflict considerable damage, especially if they surprise their enemies with a sudden bite. Tortles tend to favor order and law, and most of them are good-aligned. They will fight to defend themselves, their friends, and their ideals, but they are not aggressive or warlike by nature. Despite their ancestry, tortles are not especially slow, either mentally or physically; however, they are thinkers who might ponder a question a little longer than most before answering. Most tortles are peaceful and slow to anger. While they have the same range of emotions as humans, tortles are not as demonstrative and often seem cold and distant to more passionate races. Chaotic or evil individuals are quite rare among them.

HABITAT / SOCIETY

Tortles are nomadic wanderers who seek knowledge and stories to share with their kin. They have a strong sense of curiosity and appreciation for the beauty of the world. They rarely settle in one place for long, preferring to explore new lands and cultures. They are friendly and sociable, and often form bonds with other races, especially humans, halflings, and elves. Tortles have a unique life cycle: they only reproduce near the end of their lives, which last about 50 years. They lay eggs in a secluded spot and spend the rest of their days teaching their young everything they have learned. The young tortles become orphans after a year, when their parents die of old age. They then set out on their own adventures, carrying the legacy of their ancestors.

Tortles speak their own language, simply called tortle, but most speak common or some other local language as well. They worship gods of nature, knowledge, and travel, such as Eldath, Oghma, and Tymora.

Native tortles have an advanced stone-age level of technology, using bows, staves, and other relatively modern implements. Most of the tortles of the Savage Coast have adapted to the ways of their neighbors, using metal tools and weapons, and tortle smiths are capable of making the finest implements. Tortles tend to restrict themselves to the tools of the culture in which they live.

This adaptation to neighboring cultures carries over into all aspects of tortle society. Tortles who live outside the boundaries of other nations (the “free” tortles) tend to be simple farmers, many still using ancient “slash and burn” methods.

Other free tortles live the simple, if demanding, lives of hunter-gatherers. However, most tortles dwell within other nations, where they are peasants (usually farmers), living in the style of peasants of that nation.

Tortle legends claim that the creatures once built cities of grandeur, but little real evidence exists to support this, other than the Monoliths of Zul, near Eusdria.

These ruins include carvings, statues, pyramids, and obelisks, and a number of small buildings. Though sages debate incessantly, these are in fact the ruins of the tortles’ brief flirtation with civilization just over 1,000 years ago. The monoliths are sacred to free tortles, who sometimes refer to themselves as “the Free Tortles of Zul”.

Tortles are most common in Bellayne and Renardy and on the beaches south of Renardy. Most modern free tortles live along the beaches in small familial groups, typically in huts made of mud and wood. A cluster of huts forms a village center, with outlying huts forming a perimeter of several hundred yards.

Each tortle dwelling has an alarm of some sort, usually a horn or gong. Tortles stay in contact with their neighboring tortles, depending on one another for defense and assistance on major building or farming projects.

The Free City of Dunwick is also located on the tortle beaches. Most Dunwickers are tortle peasants, but other residents include members of just about every intelligent race, including goblinoids. Dunwick was built around the site of an old monastery of the Brotherhood of Order; this is now the mayor’s residence.

The site later became a trading post owned by the LB Trading Company, based in Cimarron. Today, many businesses in Dunwick are either owned or financed by the LB Trading Company, with tortle workers, the hired protection of the Texeiran Navy, and a corps of Torre-ner swordsmen.

ECOLOGY

Tortles are omnivorous, eating both plants and animals. They prefer warm and temperate climates, especially near coasts and forests. They can swim well, but not as fast as other aquatic creatures. They can hold their breath for over an hour, which helps them cross swamps, mud, and quicksand. They are not very affected by diseases or poisons, thanks to their hardy constitutions. Tortles have few natural predators, as most animals avoid attacking them due to their shells and claws. However, they may face threats from humanoids who covet their shells for crafting or trading purposes. Tortles are generally peaceful and respectful of nature, but they will fight back if provoked or endangered.

A typical tortle lives about 50 years. The creatures mate only once in their lives and invariably die within a year afterward. (Tortles who do not mate can live to become extremely old, with little loss of vitality.) Mating takes place in late summer, egg-laying during the fall. All females ready to produce eggs gather in a specially prepared compound, which the males guard against all attacks.

Tortle eggs are considered delicacies, so the location of the egg – laying grounds is always defensible. Tortles from all nations travel to these egg-laying grounds in the lands of the free tortles. Each female lays 4-24 eggs, which hatch about six months later. Some young fall prey to predators, but most survive to be raised by adults, usually under the tutelage of aunts and uncles.