Dragonfly Turtle

From the neck down a dragonfly turtle is all turtle, with a heavy shell and four stout legs. The head and four gauzy wings, however, belong to a giant dragonfly. Owners rarely leave the shell bare. Using sovereign glue, wizards fix padded seats, strongboxes and other comforts to its back, so the usual sight is a mage lounging in an upholstered chair while the creature drones overhead with its legs tucked away.

The beast has no notion of treasure, yet the furniture bonded to it often holds valuables, depending on what its rider needs to carry. Any chest mounted on the shell is fitted with a heavy lock so it cannot spill open in midair.

The only weapon is a pair of razor-edged mandibles that bite for 3d4 damage per round. It can hover and matches a giant dragonfly's airspeed, but the weight of the shell drops it to maneuverability class C and leaves it unable to dodge missiles the way the insect can. Its head and wings are AC 3, while the shell is AC 0.

The wings are the weak point. Hitting one requires a called shot, and a wing that takes 4 points of damage is ruined, which grounds the turtle at once and sends it crashing down if it was aloft. Damage to the wings is tracked separately and does not reduce the creature's own hit points.

In practice, foes usually face the rider more than the mount. Because the turtle holds so steady when hovering, anyone on its back can shoot or cast spells with no penalty.

Hovershells are an artificial breed made by wizards for travel, and wild ones are almost unheard of. They are stabled between uses. The animals are dim enough that they will not try to escape a building as long as they cannot see outdoors, so any barn will hold them. Left outside, they need a stout chain, since they bite straight through rope. Trained ones follow simple orders and are steered with bridle and reins.

A wizard who makes a male and a female can coax them into breeding, a much easier business if the female's shell is free of glued-on furniture. Her clutch numbers 2-5 (1d4+1) leathery eggs, which take about 4 months to hatch. Hatchlings are wingless swimmers (movement 3), about 3 feet long, with 1 HD and a 1d4 bite.

Each year a youngster gains 1 HD and a foot of length, and every three years its bite grows by another 1d4, reaching the full 3d4 at age 6. Wings sprout at age 4, and from then on the creature avoids water because wet wings work poorly. The lifespan is about 20 years. Its diet is mostly insects snatched on the wing plus fish, with a little plant matter, algae in particular.