Introduction
Freeman: Gamera
James: Chelona
Source: Bestiary 1 pg. 35
Reading List:
Chelona Legend: https://www.theoi.com/Nymphe/NympheKhelone.html
Turtle Facts WWF: https://www.wwf.org.uk/learn/fascinating-facts/marine-turtles
Peppermint Narwhal: https://www.peppermintnarwhal.com
Pathfinder Lore
2e
· “Few sea monsters are as dreaded and feared as the two-headed baomal.”
Appearance
· Massive predatory, two headed turtle
· Snake like heads
· Lots and lots of fangs
· Spiked necks and forward flippers
Ecology
Dwell in the deepest of waters
· Compete with Krakens for food
· Tend to eat whales and other large sea creatures – sometimes hunting them to the surface
Once at the surface they tend to learn of ships, and how delicious their crew can be
Use their spikes to rip on hulls and then “leisurely” feed on the drowning crew
Sidebars
Mysterious Origins
“All too often, those who study stranger monsters make the assumption that they were created by powerful but ill-advised wizards or are the result of ancient manipulations from the alghollthu empire. In the case of the baomal, extensive research suggests that neither of these explanations are accurate. No ancient texts have yet been recovered in which a wizard claims to have created the first baomal. And while the alghollthu of today use them as warbeasts, ancient carvings suggest that in the earliest days, baomals were ravenous hunters of alghollthus.”
1e
Did not exist
Mythology & Folklore
Greek
A nymph called Khelônê AKA Chelona (means tortise) refused to attend the wedding of Zeus and Hera
· According to Aesop she said: “Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home”
· Hermes immediately threw her and her house into the ocean making her the first tortoise
Later (according to Homer), Hermes stretched cord across a hollow turtle shell creating the first lyre – then gifting it to Apollo
· Who is usually depicted holding a lyre
Roman
"For his wedding with Juno [Hera], Jupiter [Zeus] ordered Mercurius [Hermes] to invite all the gods, the men and the animals to the wedding. Everyone invited by Mercurius [Hermes] came, except for Chelone who did not deign to be there, mocking the wedding. When Mercurius noticed her absence, he went back down to the earth, threw in the river the house of Chelone that was standing over the river and changed Chelone in an animal that would bear her name. Chelone is said testudo (tortoise) in Latin."
- Aeneid
Turtle Facts
Two-headed Turtles are rare but not unknown
· 1999 – a three headed turtle, Tainan, Taiwan
· 2005 – olive ridley sea turtle in Costa Rica
IMAGE – discovered in Malaysian
· That as far as I can find out is still alive
· With independent heads
Types of Sea Turtle
1. Hawksbill
2. Loggerhead
3. Olive Ridley
4. Green
5. Flatback
6. Leatherback
7. Kemp’s Ridley
· 6 of which are threatened with extinction
· There isn’t enough info on the Flatback to determine how at risk they are
Shells are made of 50 different bones that get fused together
· Wear their bones on the outside
· Internal skeletons are light spongy bones to give them bouancy
The first 20 years are so of their lives are just lost to us
· They head to sea where they’re super difficult to study then they just show back up
Get fucking huge
· Smallest: Kemp’s Ridley
40kg / 88# - 2 SUV tires
70cm / 2.3’
· Largest: Leatherback
500kg / 1102# - Grand Piano
480 cm / 5.9’
My first dive, featuring Green Sea Turtles
Size Chart from Peppermint Narwhal
· Used without permission
· From what I can tell is a conservation group, but their website doesn’t tell me anything
· Their Instagram is great though full of beautiful infographics
Pop Culture
Gamera?
· Elden Ring
· Moonlight Altar plateau (most try hard name ever?)
· Apparently full of tortoises
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