Tortle Guide 5e

What is this guide?

This guide is meant to give you an idea of whether or not the tortle will be right for your 5e character build.

The color code below has been implemented to help you identify, at a glance, how good that option will be for your tortle. This color coding isn’t a hard and fast rule; there are plenty of sub-optimized options out there that will be viable to your party and will be fun to play.

• Black is a trait shared by many races and or will not impact the effectiveness of your character build
• Red isn’t going to contribute to the effectiveness of your character build at all
• Orange Situationally good, but a below-average option otherwise
• Green is a good option
• Blue is a great option, you should strongly consider this option for your character
• Sky Blue is an amazing option. If you do not take this option your character would not be optimized

What are Tortles in 5e?

Tortles are a simple and friendly race of turtle-like humanoids. Beginning life crawling like regular turtles, they soon are able to walk upright and keenly begin their adventures, living nomadically and exploring the remote regions of the world. Tortles are adeptly in tune with nature and need little more than the pristine views of beautiful landscapes to be happy.

Tortles are a playable character race found in The Tortle Package (a Tomb of Annihilation supplement).

Tortle 5e Traits

Ability Score Increase: +2 STR and +1 WIS works nicely for several classes, but the tortle’s Natural Armor may be detrimental to some of those builds or allow some characters to choose a tortle even if they have little interest in STR. More on this below.

Size: Medium is the typical size of most races, and is neither good nor bad.

Speed: Tortles have a standard walking speed of 30 feet.

Claws: Improved unarmed strikes aren’t particularly useful unless you find yourself without a weapon in a dire situation.

Hold Breath: Not nearly as long-lasting as a water breathing spell, but Hold Breath can still come in handy. One hour isn’t very long if you are doing a whole underwater adventure, but this trait can also be used in other situations.

Natural Armor: On the right build, Natural Armor is incredible. Getting a base AC of 17 without DEX or armor affecting this value beefs up many characters that struggle with AC and survivability. Conversely, builds that can get more than 17 AC with armor or a high DEX score will be negatively impacted by this racial trait. It is important to note that shields do work with Natural Armor, so Tortles can have a base AC of 19 if they so choose.

Shell Defense: Shell Defense is like an alternative to the Dodge action with different use cases. Dodge gives advantage on DEX saving throws, while Shell Defense gives +4 to your AC and advantage on STR and CON saving throws. If playing a caster, it is far easier to maintain concentration using Shell Defense because of the CON saving throw advantage. Additionally, Shell Defense remains active until you emerge from the shell (as a bonus action), freeing your action up for your next turn. The biggest issue with this trait is that it makes you go prone, giving all melee attacks against you advantage, thereby drastically increasing the odds of a critical hit.

Survival Instinct: Free skill proficiencies are always nice to have, and Survival pairs well with the WIS boost that tortles get.