Tortoise

No ridersWith riders
Tortoise
Released	24 April 2006 (Update)
Members	Yes
Combat level	79
Size	3x3
Examine	A large tortoise.
Combat info
XP bonus	+0%
Max hit	10
Aggressive	No
Poisonous	No
Attack style	Crush
Attack speed	4 ticks (2.4 seconds)
Respawn time	50 ticks (30 seconds)
Combat stats
Aggressive stats
Melee defence
Magic defence
+0	20% weakness
Ranged defence
Immunities
Poison	Not immune
Venom	Not immune
Cannons	Not immune
Thralls	Not immune
	Open in DPS calculator
Advanced data
Monster ID	6075
Link	MOID

The Tortoise (Testudines giganteus) are trained tortoises used by the Gnomes in battle. They can be found north-west of the Grand Tree in the Tree Gnome Stronghold, just north of the swamp. Trainer Nacklepen is in charge of their combat development.

Locations

Location	Levels	Members	Spawns	Map	League region
Pen in north Tree Gnome Stronghold	79, 92		3	Show map	Kandarin✓
The Battlefield of Khazard	92		2	Show map	Kandarin✓

Fighting

Tortoises with riders carry three gnomes on their back: a level 5 Gnome Driver, Gnome Archer, and Gnome Mage. While the tortoise is alive, the gnomes will attack one at a time at random: the mage will use a bluish spell, the archer will shoot a steel arrow, and the driver will direct the tortoise to attack with melee. The archer and mage have a max hit of 6 while riding a tortoise, which is significantly higher than their max hit from the ground.

The tortoise will not chase the player unless they move out of ranged/magic range, so standing at a distance and using the Protect from Magic prayer is the most effective way to reduce damage taken. If using melee, Protect from Magic should be used except for at extremely low defence levels. In spite of the higher max hit with melee, a player takes more damage from magic at level 35 or above defence (with no equipment bonuses) due to the significantly higher magic accuracy of the mage. Additionally, the tortoise stops attacking with melee when Protect from Melee is on but uses all three styles when the other protection prayers are on. Therefore, using Protect from Melee means the player is always attacked off-style while using Protect from Magic will block the damage from 1/3 of attacks.

When a mounted tortoise is slain, three gnomes spawn and attack the player, corresponding to the three riders. In single-combat areas, the Gnome Driver will attempt to attack first using melee, followed by the Gnome Archer after the driver is killed, and finally the Gnome Mage after the archer is killed. (If the driver cannot immediately reach the player, the archer may attack first.) In multicombat areas, all three are aggressive at once. In either situation, they can prove somewhat dangerous for low-levelled players, as they are more accurate than their low level may indicate. Whether attacked or not, they despawn after 48 seconds.

There are some other quirks to the gnome aggression and spawning mechanics. The gnomes are actually aggressive to all players, whether they dealt damage to the tortoise or not. In single-combat areas, once the aggression timer expires, only the Gnome Driver is aggressive to the player, although the archer and mage will still spawn. Finally, if an ironman account and main account both attack a tortoise, gnomes may not spawn; the conditions under which this occurs are unclear.

After a mounted tortoise is slain, the gnome riders will cry out for "Dobbie", evidently the tortoise's name, and accuse the player of tortoise murder.

Drops without riders

The following drop rates are provided by Jagex, unless otherwise specified.

The average tortoise kill is worth 962.13.

100%

	Item	Quantity	Rarity	Price	High Alch
	Bones	1	Always	35	0

Runes and ammunition

Item	Quantity	Rarity	Price	High Alch
Nature rune	1–3	10/128	105–315	108–324
Steel arrow	12–23	20/128^{[d 1]}	144–276	84–161
Earth rune	10–14	5/128	50–70	20–28

^ There is a 10/128 chance of steel arrows dropping alone, and a 10/128 chance of steel arrows dropping with the seed drop table.

Herbs

There is a 10/128 chance of rolling the herb drop table.

Item	Quantity	Rarity	Price	High Alch
Grimy guam leaf	1	1/51.2	224	7
Grimy marrentill	1	1/68.3	140	8
Grimy tarromin	1	1/91	154	9
Grimy harralander	1	1/117	390	9
Grimy ranarr weed	1	1/148.9	5,383	18
Grimy irit leaf	1	1/204.8	1,794	10
Grimy avantoe	1	1/273.1	1,719	10
Grimy kwuarm	1	1/327.7	2,521	12
Grimy cadantine	1	1/409.6	2,802	13
Grimy lantadyme	1	1/546.1	1,652	13
Grimy dwarf weed	1	1/546.1	1,786	14

Seeds

There is a 10/128 chance of rolling the general seed drop table, with the exception of one set of cabbage seeds that are also an individual drop. Upon rolling the general seed drop table, steel arrows are always dropped.

Item	Quantity	Rarity	Price	High Alch
Cabbage seed	10–19	10/128	20–38	10–19
Potato seed	4	1/57	16	4
Onion seed	4	1/76	16	4
Cabbage seed	4	1/114	8	4
Tomato seed	3	1/228	9	6
Sweetcorn seed	3	1/456	9	12
Strawberry seed	2	1/913	30	20
Watermelon seed	2	1/1,910	204	66
Snape grass seed	2	1/2,627	17,694	112
Barley seed	4	1/181	28	4
Hammerstone seed	3	1/182	18	3
Asgarnian seed	3	1/241	18	3
Jute seed	2	1/243	10	6
Yanillian seed	2	1/365	14	6
Krandorian seed	2	1/730	14	8
Wildblood seed	1	1/1,434	60	8
Marigold seed	1	1/433	4	1
Nasturtium seed	1	1/655	5	6
Rosemary seed	1	1/1,013	6	2
Woad seed	1	1/1,370	12	6
Limpwurt seed	1	1/1,716	12	7

Consumables

Item	Quantity	Rarity	Price	High Alch
Cabbage	20–59 (noted)	20/128^{[d 1]}	140–413	0
Pineapple	1	10/128	206	1
Worm batta	1	8/128	2,465	1

^ There is a 10/128 chance of cabbage dropping alone, and a 10/128 chance of cabbage dropping with the herb drop table.

Other

Item	Quantity	Rarity	Price	High Alch
Swamp toad (item)	1	20/128	342	1
Nothing	N/A	10/128	N/A	N/A
Tortoise shell	1–3	10/128	3,252–9,756	600–1,800
Mahogany logs	1	2/128	209	30
Teak logs	1	2/128	116	18
Teak logs	2	1/128	232	36

Drops with riders

The following drop rates are provided by Jagex, unless otherwise specified.

The average tortoise with riders kill is worth 1,299.1.

100%

	Item	Quantity	Rarity	Price	High Alch
	Bones	1	Always	35	0
	Bones	3	Always^{[d 1]}	105	0

^ Three sets of bones are dropped if killing the three gnomes spawned after killing the tortoise.