Homebrew Eltrot Species Details

Eltrot Culture

Eltrots believe that they “carry their homes on their backs”, and that’s largely due to their upbringing. Eltrots are raised and protected for only a year or so before their parents die of old age. Each eltrot learns the skills and stories of their progenitors then strikes out into the world alone. They learn to survive in the harsh wilderness while extremely young, brought up to be explorers from the start. Then once they are near the end of their lives, they seek out mates to raise a new generation. It’s in this final stage that they finally settle down, building impressive fortifications to protect their young.

It’s for this reason that there aren’t many eltrot towns to speak of. They’re fully capable of building permanent residences but they see no need for it, not until their twilight years anyway. The eltrot communities that do exist are more like moots or simple meeting places. Places where eltrots can converge to share stories of far-off lands, and skills obtained from experience.  Each eltrot saves up new experiences and stories from as many far-off places as possible, then shares them with the next generation.

Beyond wanderlust, eltrots are usually pleasant and non-obtrusive. They respect the opinions and territories of others and will usually opt to wander elsewhere if unwanted. They have no gods or religion of their own, but they have a curious affinity for the sun and moon, which they believe to be the “eyes” of day and night that watch over them in their adventures. They get uncomfortable underground or anywhere they can’t see at one or more of these celestial guardians.

Eltrot Appearance

Eltrots don’t have much of a real description beyond “looks like a turtle”. We do have a couple pieces of official artwork though and it seems that “like a turtle” includes all sorts of turtles and tortoises. Don’t think of this as a lack of description, instead, take it as a mostly blank slate for you to design your new character with.

I highly encourage you to look up some images of real-world turtles and tortoises to gain some inspiration. Does your eltrot have the mottled patterns and smooth face of a sea turtle? Or maybe the spiked shell and sharp beak of an alligator snapping turtle? Do you have the smooth, black, almost Kevlar-like shell of a leatherback? Or how about just the plate-like shell and long neck of a tortoise? 

What is your shell like? What is your face like? What’s the coloration and texture like of your skin? Try to visualize the elements you want in your character and really bring them to life. You could settle for “looks like a turtle” but you have so much creative canvas to play with. 

Eltrot Names

Eltrots have single non-gendered short names without any family or clan names to speak of. They also frequently change their names so even mid-adventure you can feel free to swap it out for something else.

Eltrot Names: Babe, Derdlak, Di, Ett, Id, Jepi, Juortlun, Jull, Ke, Kia, Laro, Lenog, Lilku, Qonlur, Qoppe, Plonac, Tepa, Tortec, Yon, Yurtlad

Eltrot Traits

Your Elrot character has the following racial traits.

Tortle

Your elrot character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase: Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Age: Young elrots crawl for a few weeks after birth before learning to walk on two legs. They reach adulthood by the age of 15 and live an average of 50 years.

Alignment: Elrots tend to lead orderly, ritualistic lives. They develop customs and routines, becoming more set in their ways as they age. Most are lawful good. A few can be selfish and greedy, tending more toward evil, but it’s unusual for a tElrot to shuck off order in favor of chaos.

Size:  Elrot adults stand 5 to 6 feet tall and average 450 pounds. Their shells account for roughly one-third of their weight. Your size is Medium.

Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Claws: 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: You can hold your breath for up to 1 hour at a time. Elrots aren’t natural swimmers, but they can remain underwater for some time before needing to come up for air.

Natural Armor: Due to your shell and the shape of your body, you are ill-suited to wearing armor. Your shell provides ample protection, however; it gives you a base AC of 17 (your Dexterity modifier doesn’t affect this number). You gain no benefit from wearing armor, but if you are using a shield, you can apply the shield’s bonus as normal.

Shell Defense: You can withdraw into your shell as an action. Until you emerge, you gain a +4 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.

Survival Instinct: You gain proficiency in the Survival skill. Elrots have finely honed survival instincts.

Languages: You can speak, read, and write Aquan and Common.