Tortle

Tortles aren't well known in the human parts of Altoa, as they tend to keep to themselves and not concern themselves with worldly things and travel very seldom. Those that know them speak of their gentleness and love for peace and the life that surrounds them. The Tortles that you do come across may very well be some of the best philosophers you would ever come across.  
Personality Tortles tend to be slow moving, unselfish, and unconcerned in most things. Tortles value family life above all other things and are content living as simple farmers and scholars. Those who make enemies of the tortles, however, learn just how strong and quick they are to strike back and that usually the hardest to provoke are the toughest to defeat.
Tortles are a people of deep thought and feeling. They enjoy mental pondering, thoughtful conversation, and the collect ion of ancient lore. Tortles value a considered and deliberate course of action, and they arrive at decisions only after a thorough examination of all possible courses of action. Once decided on a course, however, they are steadfast and immovable in executing it, unless new information suggests an alternative.
They posses legendary memories; tortle elders often cite experiences from their early childhood or stories they heard once from a traveling bard decades ago to the most minute detail. 
Villages of tortles can be found along the coasts of oceans and some large lakes and rivers, where several families have choosen to make the land of La'Bestia their home. 
Tortles value and seek meaning in the simple acts of life, from tilling the fields of their farms to harvesting the natural bounty of the sea to simply observing the majesty of nature all around them. Such respect for the mundane leads some to view tortles as naive, slow, or primitive, but in reality tortle society is ancient and indeed very complex, driven by centuries of learning and careful thought, collected not in books but in the minds of each tortle elders. 
Elders are at the center of tortle society, though they would deny that position. Each village is governed by a council of the oldest members of the community, each commonly approaching two centuries in age; this council hears disputes among villagers and regulates relations with the outside world. The elders, however, do not ask for servitude or patronage; in fact, they consider themselves to be servants of the young, for whom the world is yet new and who may yet discover new knowledge and new ways of living that the set minds of elders cannot conceive.
While tortles value the everyday, they also value knowledge. Tortles collect tales, history, science, and any other know ledge they can from travelers who pass through their communities. Thus tortles have been known to feed and house weary travelers while asking only for stories in turn for their shown hospitality. 
Adventuring Tortles take up adventuring for the purposes of learning more about the world around them to gain a deeper understanding of life, or for the purposes of retribution of wrongs done to their family unit. Tortles find life among most races moving at a pace far too fast for them, and as a result they will usually try to find occupations that allow them to move more to their liking. Tortles enjoy deep debates on difficult issues, regardless of who the race they are dealing with is.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Tortles appear like large, bipedal turtles and have no hair and dull green, gray and brown scaley skin. Tortle eyes have 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. A tortle's head is dominated by its curved, toothless beak, with the eyes set back under bony brows that occasionally appear to obscure the eyes altogether.

Biological Traits

Every tortle has a shell on their back that they can retreat into with some effort. 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. A tortles feet resemble pillars, with padding on the soles like those of an elephant. This structure helps support their disproportionate weight but hampers attempts at swift movement.

Genetics and Reproduction

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.

Ecology and Habitats

Tortles build simply, often living in small thatched huts that strike other races as crude and uncivilized. Tortles raise rice and other crops dependent on water in communal farms that feed the entire community and harvest fish, crustaceans, and some aquatic plants from the waters. T

Additional Information

Social Structure

Tortles tend to keep to themselves and be peaceful, and as such any race that is not openly threatening to them will usually be able to pass through their homes and seek aid from them. Tortles most sympathize with the lizard-kin that live near them, but they also are on friendly terms with most of the other major races (humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, gnomes, and so on). Tortles generally distrust and dislike half-orcs, used to their humanoid and goblinoid relatives raiding their villages and killing their children.
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.   Tortle families are unusual, since parents do not live long enough to raise their children. Thus, a tortle family might consist of a small number of adult tortles and a number of their nieces and nephews of varying ages.  The "family" is usually very close.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Tortles are given a single name at birth and use this name their entire life. Though they keep themselves closely grouped in family, surnames are neither needed nor practiced by their culture, as they know who they "belong" to by what village they live in.
Male Name Chul, Hennas, Jung, Lau, Quan, Xchi.
Female Names Anoi, Kai, Lenna, Mai, Pao.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Tortles speak their own tongue, a slow and tedious language called Tortle. As a reflection of the slow pace of their life, an entire conversation in Tortle may take over an hour whereas it would take no more than fifteen minutes in Common. Tortles that speak in Common usually do so painfully slow to their listeners, which is a reflection of their normal pace.

Common Dress Code

Most tortles wear little or no formal clothing as it interferes with their shells and usually is not designed to fit them. Headbands, belts, wristbands, and simple shoes are the most complex their clothing usually gets. Tortle craftsmen do produce armor for tortle warriors to use, and most tortles trained for combat can retrofit a standard set of armor to fit themselves with a few hours' work.

Common Myths and Legends

Tortles never refer to fathers or mothers, except in reference to the Immortals, including Mother Ocean (Calitha, their protector)and Father Earth (Ka, the bringer of life). 
Tortles tend to be more spiritual, with their worship restricted to primal forces of the planet and nature around them. Good choices are those who have special interest in water, forests, and philosophical thought.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Tortles craft simple tools for their work and are usually uninterested in grander products; for this reason traveling merchants rarely visit their villages. Those who do , however, usually receive a warm welcome, with the exception of a few tortle villages, scarred by attacks and betrayals by outsiders, that have become somewhat xenophobic and guard their villages with staunch militias.

I caught a big fish. Now i search for a good friend.  To Share my lunch with.

- Tortle Haiku

Stat Block: Tortle

Lifespan

A typical tortle lives about 50 years.

Average Height

Tortles stand between 5 and 6 feet in height with both males and females at about the same height.

Average Weight

They can weigh anywhere from 500 to 700 pounds as they have massive shells on their backs.

The Tortle Village of Va'Wepi