Tortle

Summary

Originally from the sandy beaches of Meotyi on the Sea of Glinneas, Tortles wander from place to place with no particular destination in mind, so they can be found in coastal areas across Vrashyn. Despite their strange appearance and habits, they tend to be well-liked by those around them and are renowned for their capacity to make your day far more interesting than it would be otherwise.

Appearance

While it is tempting to say that Tortles look like turtles on two legs and leave it at that, Tortles are visually distinct from one another, even to other races. They have thick, wrinkled skin colored green, yellow, or brown, and each Tortle has a unique shell pattern. Tortles are the heaviest of the sentient races due to their shells, which easily weigh as much as an adult Human. Tortles don't wear clothing but are fond of decorating their walking sticks and painting their shells.

Culture

Despite living alone most of the time, Tortles share a vibrant and varied set of beliefs and practices. Tortles see life as a gentle current; while other races endeavor to swim upstream, Tortles reject this notion of free will and are content to float along wherever the current takes them. Morally neutral in every way possible, Tortles are neither self-interested nor altruistic. Some Tortles take this to such an extreme that they use chance to determine their actions. Their resulting familiarity with dice and cards would make them adept gamblers and con artists, but most Tortles have little use for money and therefore no motivation to con others out of it.

Livelihood

Tortles rarely hold down a job in the traditional sense. Instead, they spend most of their adult years traveling as anthropologists of a sort, learning about other cultures and adopting practices they find interesting. Tortles have no written script of their own, but transcriptions of their oral accounts are sought after for their historical detail and accuracy. Tortles like to say that they carry their houses with them, and this suits their nomadic lifestyle. Some Tortles take advantage of their wanderings, working as bards, merchants, sailors, or even pirates to support their wanderlust. Others like to join monastic orders, finding comfort in a life of strict rules and spiritual purity.

Upbringing

Tortles are born the same way less sentient turtles are, hatching from sand or mud-covered eggs on the sandy beaches and swampy of Meotyi. Tortles only mate at the end of their lives and sometimes only have a year to raise their children before passing on. Tortle children live in tight-knit groups until they separate in adulthood. During their world travels, Tortles show no interest in romance, even with their own kind. This urge only comes to them in late life when they return home.

Relations with Others

Tortles are a curiosity to others but have a reputation for kindness and wisdom that endears them to those they encounter. Tortles interact the most with Frogfolk. The two races have such a long history of trade that even the otherwise xenophobic Bullywugs have significant respect for them. The only people who truly hate Tortles are the vile souls who hunt them. While this practice is condemned in polite society, Tortle meat is considered a delicacy by Elves and Lizardfolk.

Racial Features

Ability Score Increase: Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Age: Young tortles crawl for a few weeks after birth before learning to walk on two legs. They reach adulthood by the age of 30 and live an average of 200 years.
Alignment: Rarely guided by any particular set of principles or values for too long, Tortles tend toward neutrality in all things, though they are more likely to be good than evil.
Size: Tortle adults stand 5 to 6 feet tall and average 450 pounds. Their shells account for roughly one-third of their weight. Your size is Medium.
Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Claws: Your claws are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal slashing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.
Hold Breath: You can hold your breath for up to 1 hour at a time. Tortles aren’t natural swimmers, but they can remain underwater for some time before needing to come up for air.
Natural Armor: Due to your shell and the shape of your body, you are ill-suited to wearing armor. Your shell provides ample protection, however; it gives you a base AC of 17 (your Dexterity modifier doesn’t affect this number). You gain no benefit from wearing armor, but if you are using a shield, you can apply the shield’s bonus as normal.
Shell Defense: You can withdraw into your shell as an action. Until you emerge, you gain a +4 bonus to AC, and you have advantage on Strength and Constitution saving throws. While in your shell, you are prone, your speed is 0 and can’t increase, you have disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws, you can’t take reactions, and the only action you can take is a bonus action to emerge from your shell.
Survival Instinct: You gain proficiency in the Survival skill. Tortles have finely honed survival instincts.
Languages. You can speak Aquan. You can also speak and read Common.

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