Armored Turtle (3.5e Monster)

 "Before you is a clockwork turtle roughly 3 feet in diameter with a turret of some sort in its shell. Obviously it must be a Gnome creation, only they would be so gauche..."

Armored Turtles were created by the Gnomish nations to meet a need for armored soldiers, as most of their own people were unwilling to fit that description. They became immensely popular, and many variations were made, some quite large. Armored Turtle battalions were snuck into enemy territory and allowed to lay waste to it with their fire before being mothballed until the next time they were needed. Most of them are the size of a particularly fat halfling, and weigh about 200 pounds or more.

Combat
Armored Turtle are pretty straight forward. They simply hold position and fire away with their Lesser Orb of Fire. If anyone gets close they bite. Usually though, their masters try to ensure the battleground is highly flammable, making crossing to the turtles difficult.

Lesser Orb of Fire : Once every other round the Turtle may 'cast' Lesser Orb of Fire from the turret in its back. Caster level is equal to the Turtles Hit Dice. Some Turtles have one of the other Lesser Orb spells, but these are uncommon (it's always been said Tinker Gnomes were closet firebugs). Medium or larger Armored Turtles are usually upgraded to the Orb of Fire spell.

Construction: An Armored Turtle is made from 235 pounds of steel treated with rare alchemical compounds costing at least 500 GP. Assembling the Body requires a DC 20 Craft (clockworks) check.

CL 11th; Craft Construct (see MM page 303), Animate Object, Geas/Quest, Lesser Orb of Fire, Caster must be 11th Level. Price 6000 GP; Cost 3000 GP + 120 XP