Dragon Turtle

Dragon Turtle

Species	beast
No. Appearing	1
Behaviour	solitary
Range	coral reef, deep water, intertidal
Size	40 ft. long, 22 ft. wide
Weight	27,000 lbs.
Intelligence	16
Armour Class	0
Hit Dice	12 to 14
Action Points	4
Max. Stride	3
THAC0	14
Hp/Die	2d12
Attack Forms	claw/claw, snap
Damage	2–12/2–12, 4–32
Special Attacks	breath weapon, capsize

Dragon turtles are extremely rare beasts who dwell between areas of deep ocean at the edge of continental shelves and the innundated edges of enormous river deltas. They originate on the plane of Elysium; in all the world there are only 13 known creatures, though their exact whereabouts can never be certain. There are rumours of dragon turtle colonies existing in Polynesia, but this is more likely conjecture than fact. The majority of their number dwell near the East and South China Seas.

Highly intelligent, these creatures are rational and approachable, though it's well to do so without arms or untoward aggression. Many tales describe dragon turtles as a source for wisdom, as they have knowledge of the outer planes of existence and the great beyond; they live for hundreds of years and have personal knowledge of great historical figures, enabling them to view the world's history with tremendous perspective. Relationships between dragon turtles and emperors, conquerors and great religious figures are described in many texts, both recent and ancient.

It's believed that Ao, according to Chinese mythology, was an unfathomably-sized dragon turtle that dwelt in the South China Sea at the time when the world was formed. Nuwa is said to have chopped off Ao's legs and used them as supports for the world. Another myth claims that Ao sleeps in the Bohai Sea, where he supports the islands of Penglai, Fangzhang and Yingzhou upon his back. These islands are part of a group of five, where the Eight Immortals dwell.

Advantages

Because of its size, a dragon turtle is able to cause tremendous incidental damage in the waters around its body.

Its thick shell makes it nearly impossible to harm, while its powerful claws and jaws easily rip opponents to shreds. Worse still, they can belch forth a cloud of scalding steam which covers an area 6” long, 4” wide, and 4” high. This steam causes damage equal to the number of hit points the dragon turtle has, reduced by one-half if the victim makes its saving throw. Dragon turtles vary in size, age and hit points per die in the same manner as dragons (q.v.). If a dragon turtle comes up under even a large ship they are likely to capsize the vessel (chances are 95% fora small ship to 50% for a large one).

See Bestiary