Tortoise mount

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Revision as of 09:24, 9 September 2025 by HOST-GSKEBECHET (talk | contribs) (Minor updates per Gswiki:Style guide/Item scripts and consistency across mount articles. This mount article is still missing a LOT of verb messaging and ambient messages. If you have it, please add to it!)
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Tortoise mounts were released at Rumor Woods in 2020 as the second installment of available mounts. Tortoises are summoned by leads, which are a summoning item that stores their information but is considered a separate item. Similar to horse mounts, there are three tiers: common, uncommon, and rare. All tortoise mounts share a similar set up with their appearance. As with other mounts, tortoises can be given a name visible to the owner with a Potion of Naming, available at Evermore Hollow. The Cog and Zephyr saddle is a highly scripted saddle that can be used with a tortoise mount.

Appearance

The giant tortoise stands about 2 feet high at the shell base. He/she has a small face with a flat beak, and large folds of smooth skin form his yellow neck. He has a domed shell with round scutes outlined in beige, and a thin tail peeks out from the base of his shell.

Common

Common mounts are the least expensive option when considering purchase. They are restricted to being just "giant tortoise", and are limited in alteration options that may be allowed through the Ostler.

Usage

Verb Who First Third
Arrival All <Mount> plods in.
Departure All <Mount> snorts and plods off into the distance.
APPRAISE All You look over <mount> and determine that <he/she> stands approximately <height> high at the shell base. You also notice that <he/she> has <shell> shell with <scutes> scutes <scute detail, if applicable>. (If applicable: <His/Her> head is retracted into <his/her> shell.) <Character> gives <mount> an appraising look.
ATTEND Owner, unmounted You attend to the lower edge of <mount's> <shell> shell, removing bits of dried mud and debris. <Character> attends to the lower edge of <mount's> <shell> shell, removing bits of dried mud and debris.
Non-owner You move to attend to <mount>, but <he/she> side steps away from you. <Character> moves to attend to <mount>, but <he/she> side steps away from <him/her>.
Owner, mounted You attend to the <skin> skin covering your <mount's> neck, removing bits of dried mud and debris. <Character> attends to the <skin> skin covering <his/her> <mount's> neck, removing bits of dried mud and debris.
DISMOUNT You climb down from a smooth green giant tortoise's neck and carefully detach some green hemp leads from him. This section has not been added yet; please add to it now!
FEED This section has not been added yet; please add to it now! This section has not been added yet; please add to it now!
HUG All, unmounted
Tortoise head out
You hug <mount>. <Character> hugs <mount>.
Owner, mounted
Tortoise head out
You lean forward and hug <mount's> neck. <Character> leans forward and hugs <mount's> neck.
KICK All, unmounted That wouldn't be wise. N/A
Owner, mounted Holding tightly to <summoning item>, you lean forward and press your heels against the <mount's> shell. Well, that was fun but completely unproductive. <Character> grabs <summoning item> with both hands, leans forward, and presses <his/her> heels against <mount's> shell. Not much else happens.
KNOCK All, unmounted
Tortoise head out
You firmly knock on <mount's> shell, causing <him/her> to turn <his/her> head toward you to investigate. <Character> firmly knocks on <mount's> shell, causing <him/her> to turn <his/her> head toward <him/her> to investigate.
Owner, mounted
Tortoise head out
You reach back and firmly knock on <mount's> shell, causing <him/her> to look around and investigate. <Character> reaches back and firmly knocks on <mount's> shell, causing <him/her> to look around and investigate.
NUDGE This section has not been added yet; please add to it now! This section has not been added yet; please add to it now!
SHOUT This section has not been added yet; please add to it now! This section has not been added yet; please add to it now!
THUMP This section has not been added yet; please add to it now! This section has not been added yet; please add to it now!
TICKLE This section has not been added yet; please add to it now! This section has not been added yet; please add to it now!
TOUCH This section has not been added yet; please add to it now! This section has not been added yet; please add to it now!

Ambient Messages

This section has not been added yet; please add to it now!

Uncommon

Uncommon mounts are the second most expensive option when considering purchase. They only have one noun available: cryptodira. They have a wider array of feature alterations at the Ostler. Their appearance is similar to the common tier.

Usage

Note: Only the verbs differing from the common tier will be included below.

Verb Who First Third
HUG Owner, unmounted
Tortoise head out
You wrap your arms around <mount's> neck and hug it tightly. In response, <he/she> tilts <his/her> head, opens <his/her> beak, and licks you with <his/her> nubby tongue. <Character> wraps <his/her> arms around <mount's> neck and hugs it tightly. In response, <he/she> tilts <his/her> head, opens <his/her> beak, and licks <him/her> with <his/her> nubby tongue.
Owner, mounted
Tortoise head out
You wrap your arms around <mount's> neck and hug it tightly. In response, <he/she> bobs <his/her> head up and down. <Character> wraps <his/her> arms around <mount's> neck and hugs it tightly. In response, <he/she bobs <his/her> head up and down.
Non-owner
Tortoise head out
You wrap your arms around <mount's> neck, but <he/she> slowly retracts <his/her> head into <his/her> shell and hides. <Character> wraps <his/her> arms around <mount's> neck, but <he/she> slowly retracts <his/her> head into <his/her> shell and hides.
KISS Owner, unmounted You lightly stroke <mount's> <face> face, and <he/she> nuzzles your hand in response. Puckering your lips, you place a kiss on <his/her> <beak> beak. <Character> lightly strokes <mount's> <face> face, and <he/she> nuzzles <his/her> hand in response. <Character> puckers <his/her> lips and places a kiss on <his/her> <beak> beak.
Owner, mounted You tap your <summon prop> lightly against <mount's> neck and make a *tsk tsk tsk* sound with your tongue, urging your <mount> forward. <Character> taps <his/her> <summon prop> lightly against <mount's> neck and makes a *tsk tsk tsk* sound with <his/her> tongue, urging <his/her> <mount> forward.
Non-owner Moving close to <mount's> head, you pucker your lips as if to plant a kiss near <his/her> <beak> beak, but <he/she> recoils from your advance and blinks slowly at you. Moving close to <mount's> head, <character> puckers <his/her> lips as if <he/she> intends to kiss <his/her> <beak> beak, but <he/she> recoils from <Character's> unwanted advance and blinks slowly at <him/her>.
POSE This section has not been added yet; please add to it now! This section has not been added yet; please add to it now!
PUSH This section has not been added yet; please add to it now! This section has not been added yet; please add to it now!
SMOOCH This section has not been added yet; please add to it now! This section has not been added yet; please add to it now!

Ambient Messages

This section has not been added yet; please add to it now!

Rare

Rare mounts are the highest tier available for purchase and offer additional verbs unavailable at common or uncommon tiers. Rare mounts are also locked into their feature as the additional verbs are specialized to the design. They are only available during their initial run, and are normally discontinued in concurrent runs. For 2020, the rare tortoise mount was a thin-scaled olive green Megalochelys atlas. The Megalochelys atlas was also sold at the 5th anniversary of Rumor Woods in 2023.

The Megalochelys atlas has unique appearance fields unavailable to other tortoise mounts:

The Megalochelys atlas stands about 5 feet high at the shell base. He has a wrinkled face with a hooked beak, and large folds of thin-scaled skin form his olive green neck. He has a shield-skirted shell with peaked scutes surrounded by rough nodules, and a barely visible tail peeks out from the base of his shell.

Usage

Note: Only the verbs differing from the common and uncommon tiers will be included below.

Verb Who First Third
Departure All <Mount> languidly gazes about the area, <his/her> expression indecipherable as <he/she> nods once and then plods off into the distance.
LEAN Owner, standing Taking a few running steps, you attempt to mount <mount> from the side. You scramble a short way up <his/her> <shell> shell before you lose your grip and slide back down, landing on the ground in a heap. Taking a few running steps, <Character> attempts to mount <mount> from the side. <He/She> scrambles a short way up <his/her> <shell> shell before <he/she> loses <his/her> grip and slides back down, landing on the ground in a heap.
Owner, kneeling/sitting You move to sit directly in front of one of <mount's> massive forelegs and lean back against the sturdy, leathery pillar, stretching your arms above your head in a melodramatic yawn. <Character> moves to sit directly in front of one of <mount's> massive forelegs and leans back against it, stretching <his/her> arms above <his/her> head in a melodramatic yawn.
Owner, mounted You lean exceedingly far to the left/right and cross your ankles beneath <mount's> neck to firmly secure your position. Impressive! <Character> leans exceedingly far to the left/right and crosses his/her ankles beneath <mount's> neck to firmly secure <his/her> position.
Non-owner, standing You lean casually against the <mount's> <shell> shell but are quickly rebuffed as <mount's> massive head swivels around and firmly nips at your backside. <Character> leans casually against the <mount's> <shell> shell but is quickly rebuffed as <mount's> massive head swivels around and firmly nips at <his/her> backside.
Non-owner, kneeling/sitting You move to sit directly in front of one of the <mount's> massive forelegs and lean back against the sturdy, leathery pillar. <Mount> sniffs at you briefly, and then sweeps <his/her> foreleg across the ground/floor, dragging you in the process. Ouch! <Character> moves to sit directly in front of one of the <mount's> massive forelegs and leans back against the sturdy, leathery pillar. <Mount> sniffs at <him/her> briefly, and then sweeps <his/her> foreleg across the ground/floor, dragging <him/her> in the process.
POKE This section has not been added yet; please add to it now! This section has not been added yet; please add to it now!
SCRATCH This section has not been added yet; please add to it now! This section has not been added yet; please add to it now!
SWOON This section has not been added yet; please add to it now! This section has not been added yet; please add to it now!

Special Ability

As with all rare mounts, the Megalochelys atlas has a special ability unique to it. Associated with one of their random ambient messages, an atlas may forage around and drop the foraged plant onto the ground.

Ambient Messages

This section has not been added yet; please add to it now!

Additional Information

Feeding Your Mount

Feeding a mount is not mandatory, but it is a fun roleplaying option. Mounts will not eat anything that is not part of the basic food system OR a foraged item, but they all trap on specific nouns. Below is a list of those nouns for each mount subtype in the tortoise category.

Tortoise & Atlas - apple, apricot, banana, bulrush, cabbage, cactus flower, cauliflower, carrot, cherry, chicory, clover blossom, collard greens, corn, cucumbers, dandelion, fig, grape leaves, grapes, grass, green bean, green beans, hibiscus, kale, kiwi, leaf, lettuce, mango, melon, mulberry leaves, mushroom, orange, pansy, pansy blossom, papaya, parsley, peapod, pear, pineapple, Plum, pumpkin, rose, rosemary, sage, seaweed, squash, strawberry, thyme, toadstool, tomato, turnip, violet, watercress, worms, snails, grubs

See Also

Resources

Tortoise mount Information
Type Mechanical
Item Classification Creature
Item(s) Applied to Mount
Alterable Yes
Light/Deep No
Original Release Venue Rumor Woods
Original Release Year 2020
Tiered Yes
Number of Tiers 3
Corresponding Item Scripts Summoning item
Cog and Zephyr saddle
Restrictions Mounts can only be altered at the Ostler's Den at Rumor Woods. They CANNOT be altered at merchants or via Sadie.
Item Verbs
APPRAISE ATTEND DISMOUNT FEED
HUG KICK KISS KNOCK
LEAN NUDGE POKE POSE
PUSH SCRATCH SHOUT SMOOCH
SWOON THUMP TICKLE TOUCH