Library / Bestiary

Dragon Turtle

CR 9.00 Dragon N Huge
This long-tailed aquatic beast resembles a massive snapping turtle with draconic features.

Dragon turtles make their homes in both salt and fresh water, where they rank among the biggest threats to sailors and those who travel by ship through the waterways of the world. Skilled mariners know the territory dragon turtles claim and frequently make offerings of gold and magic for safe passage or avoid the area entirely. For its part, a dragon turtle quickly grows to appreciate and even expect such tithes and gifts, and a dragon turtle that expects gifts but is ignored is a dangerous foe indeed.

A dragon turtle's shell varies in color between individuals. Some have dull shells of brown and rust red, while others have carapaces of a deep green-blue color with silver highlights across the rocky ridges. The coloration of the head, tail, and legs is slightly paler than the shell and contains golden streaks along the crest and spines.

Dragon turtles claim vast territories in the open seas, encompassing regions often in excess of 50 square miles. Here, these dangerous beasts capsize ships that fail to respect their territories, adding the sunken wrecks and their valuable cargoes to their lairs. Dragon turtles generally make their homes in deep caves only accessible through the water, and often decorate their lairs not only with the wealth seized from ships they've sunk, but the wrecks of these unfortunate ships themselves. Their territorial natures and fondness for these types of lairs put them in direct conflict with other undersea races such as merfolk and sahuagin.

Large fish, such as tuna, sturgeons, and even sharks, rank among dragon turtles' favorite foods, but being omnivores, they also sometimes feed on large undersea fields of seaweed. They certainly aren't above supplementing their diets with the passengers of ships they sink, although such feeding is not borne of any intrinsic evil or cruelty. Dragon turtles possess shells 15 feet in diameter, with their appendages stretching a few feet further, and measure over 25 feet long from the tip of their noses to the ends of their powerful tails.

STR
27
DEX
10
CON
19
INT
12
WIS
13
CHA
12
HP
126 (12d12+48)
AC
23, touch 8, flat-footed 23 (+15 natural, -2 size)
Speed
20 ft., swim 30 ft.
Init
+4
Melee
bite +18 (3d6+8), 2 claws +18 (2d6+8)
Space
15 ft.
Reach
10 ft.
BAB
+12
CMB
+22
CMD
32 (36 vs. trip)
Fort
+12
Ref
+8
Will
+9
Racial Modifiers
+8 Stealth in water

Breath Weapon — Cloud of steam 20 feet high, 25 feet wide, and 50 feet long, once every 1d4 rounds, damage 12d6 fire, Reflex DC 20 half; effective both on the surface and underwater. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Capsize — A dragon turtle can attempt to capsize a boat or ship by ramming it as a charge attack and making a CMB check. The DC of this check is 25, or the result of the boat captain's Profession (sailor) check, whichever is higher. For each size category larger than the dragon turtle's size, it takes a cumulative –10 penalty on this CMB check.

Blind-Fight from Feat

<p class="stat-block-1"> In melee, every time you miss because of concealment (see Combat), you can reroll your miss chance percentile roll one time to see if you actually hit.</p><p class="stat-block-2">An invisible attacker gets no advantages related to hitting you in melee. That is, you don't lose your Dexterity bonus to Armor Class, and the attacker doesn't get the usual +2 bonus for being invisible. The invisible attacker's bonuses do still apply for ranged attacks, however.</p><p class="stat-block-2">You do not need to make Acrobatics skill checks to move at full speed while blinded.</p>

Cleave from Feat

<p class="stat-block-1"> As a standard action, you can make a single attack at your full base attack bonus against a foe within reach. If you hit, you deal damage normally and can make an additional attack (using your full base attack bonus) against a foe that is adjacent to the first and also within reach. You can only make one additional attack per round with this feat. When you use this feat, you take a &ndash;2 penalty to your Armor Class until your next turn.</p>

Improved Bull Rush from Feat

<p class="stat-block-1"> You do not provoke an attack of opportunity when performing a bull rush combat maneuver. In addition, you receive a +2 bonus on checks made to bull rush a foe. You also receive a +2 bonus to your Combat Maneuver Defense whenever an opponent tries to bull rush you.</p>

<p class="stat-block-1"> You get a +4 bonus on initiative checks.</p>

Power Attack from Feat

<p class="stat-block-1"> You can choose to take a &ndash;1 penalty on all melee attack rolls and combat maneuver checks to gain a +2 bonus on all melee damage rolls. This bonus to damage is increased by half (+50%) if you are making an attack with a two-handed weapon, a one handed weapon using two hands, or a primary natural weapon that adds 1-1/2 times your Strength modifier on damage rolls. This bonus to damage is halved (&ndash;50%) if you are making an attack with an off-hand weapon or secondary natural weapon. When your base attack bonus reaches +4, and every 4 points thereafter, the penalty increases by &ndash;1 and the bonus to damage increases by +2. You must choose to use this feat before making an attack roll, and its effects last until your next turn. The bonus damage does not apply to touch attacks or effects that do not deal hit point damage.</p>

Diplomacy +16, Intimidate +16, Perception +16, Sense Motive +16, Stealth +7 (+15 in water), Survival +16, Swim +31

Details
Type
Dragon
Alignment
N
Size
Huge
Environment
temperate aquatic
Organization
solitary
Treasure
double
Senses
low-light vision, darkvision 60 ft., scent; Perception +16
Languages
Aquan, Common, Draconic
Source
Bestiary
Sources Used in This Record
5 House/Core
  • Uses feat: Blind-Fight (Feat)
    House/Core — covered by the site's Section 15.
  • Uses feat: Cleave (Feat)
    House/Core — covered by the site's Section 15.
  • Uses feat: Improved Bull Rush (Feat)
    House/Core — covered by the site's Section 15.
  • Uses feat: Improved Initiative (Feat)
    House/Core — covered by the site's Section 15.
  • Uses feat: Power Attack (Feat)
    House/Core — covered by the site's Section 15.
OGL 1.0a Notice. Pathfinder-derived Open Game Content on this page is used under the Open Game License v1.0a and Section 15 notice.