General Rules: Monsters - Turtle, Sea

Sea Turtle (from Creatures of Freeport)

Small Animal

Hit Dice: 2d8+4 (13 hit points)
Initiative: -2
Speed: 5 feet, swim 10 feet
Armor Class: 15 (+1 size, -2 Dexterity, +6 natural); touch 9, flat-footed 15
BAB/Grapple: +1/-3
Attack: Bite +1 melee (1d4, bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing, 20 x2)

Full Attack: Bite +1 melee (1d4, bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing, 20 x2)

Space/Reach: 5 feet by 5 feet/5 feet
Special Attacks: None
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 1/bludgeoning, low-light vision, retract
Saves: Fortitude +4, Reflex +9, Will +5
Abilities: Str 10, Int 2, Wis 12, Dex +, Con 15, Cha 6

Skills: Listen +2, Spot +3, Swim +10

Feats: Great Fortitude
Environment: Warm aquatic
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: ½
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: -

Sea turtle are found in warmer waters. They spend most of their lives in the water browsing on sponges, corals, and other stationary or slow-moving prey. Once a year, females venture ashore to lay eggs in pits they dig on sandy beaches. A single female sea turtle can lay 30 or more eggs, which are then covered over and abandoned. A few weeks later, all the eggs on the beach hatch at the same time, and the hatchlings scramble to the sea. sea turtles can take as long as 320 years to mature, and can live more than 100 years. They are peaceful creature, but they are hunted for their meat and shells by a number of coastal communities. Sea turtle shells are used to make armor and shields as well as jewelry and other items.

While a sea turtle spends almost its entire life in the ocean, it is not amphibious. A sea turtle can hold its breath for up to two hours before returning to the surface for air.

Combat
A sea turtle will avoid conflict whenever possible, relying on its thick shell for protection. However, its beaked jaws can deliver a powerful bite if it is given no choice but to defend itself.

Retract (Ex): When threatened, a sea turtle will usually retract its limbs and head, relying on its shell for protection, While in this state, it cannot move or take any sort of physical action, but it receives an additional +4 natural armor bonus to Armor Class and its damage reduction is increased to 3/bludgeoning.

Skills: A sea turtle receives a +6 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform a special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided that it moves in a straight line.

Sea Turtle as Familiars
Sea turtles can serve as familiars for characters eligible to obtain familiars including arcane engineers, hexblades, mind weavers, shadowsworn, sorcerers, and wizards. Arcane casters with sea turtle familiars gain a +3 bonus to all Navigation checks made at sea. Arcane casters from aquatic races also gain the ability to move on land at a speed of 5 feet (oif they cannot already move on land) and the ability to survive out of water for 3 hours longer than normal for their race.

Sea Turtles as Animal Companions
Sea turtles are sometimes domesticated by members of aquatic races. They are normally raised from hatchlings and trained to carry burdens or perform other simple tasks. A 1^st-level druid, 3^rd-level outdoorsman, or 1^st-level ranger may take a sea turtle as an animal companion.

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