Tortle Parentage

A tortle hatches from a thick-shelled egg and spends the first few weeks of its life crawling on all fours. They may have up to ten siblings hatched from the same clutch of eggs or be the only one.
After they mature, an adult tortle stands 5 to 6 feet tall and average 450 pounds. Their shell accounts for roughly one-third of their weight. The shells they carry around provide all the shelter they require, though some tortles enjoy the convenience of additional housing.
Though not quite aquatic, tortles are adapted to life by the sea. While they aren't expert swimmers, they can remain underwater for up to an hour before needing to surface for air. Where a tortle decides to live ultimately is a personal choice.

Tortle Traits

You have a pool of 16 points to spend between your two birth parents. If either or both of your birth parents are tortles, choose from the following.

Claws (1 Point)

• 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 (1 Point)

• You can hold your breath for up to 1 hour at a time. You aren’t a natural swimmer, but you can remain underwater for some time before needing to come up for air.

Natural Armor (4 Points)

• Your shell provides some protection, giving you a base AC of 13 + your Dexterity modifier. If you are using a shield, you can apply the shield’s bonus as normal.
• If you already have the Natural Armor trait inherited from your other birth parent, your shell hardens and thickens. You have a base AC of 17, but your Dexterity modifier no longer affects this number and you gain no benefit from wearing armor.

Shell Defense (1 Point)

• You can withdraw into your shell as an action. Until you emerge, you gain a +2 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.
• If you already have the Shell Defense trait inherited from your other birth parent, you gain a +4 bonus to AC with this trait.