MORE THAN A NAME
The story of Puddlep.
The Puddlep line combines a turtle's sheltering shell with hooked crab pincers. Along Glasswater Coast, its expanding coral structures and layered metal-bearing plates form living barriers around tide pools, reef passages, and vulnerable companions.
The fishers at Lanternpool blamed a blocked channel for their empty shallows, but every stone they cleared appeared in a new pile by morning. A child waiting beside the pools noticed a Reefclaw moving only the stones that sheltered stranded hatchlings. The creature was not closing the passage. It was building a slower route through it, giving the smallest swimmers time to reach deeper water.
The fishers changed their plan. They left the sheltered pools connected and opened a narrow outer channel instead. During the next great coastal storm, an Abyssentinel braced beside their unfinished breakwater, its huge pincers placing debris where the current could no longer pull it loose. When the sea withdrew, the familiar stepped pools remained. The community now measures a repair by what can live around it, and a small gap in every new wall is called a Reefclaw door.
Origins & background
Glasswater's reefs include natural coral shelves and old metal wreckage softened by marine growth. This line settles where both provide shelter, incorporating a visible Iron character as its shell develops. Its heavier right claw performs the slowest placement work, while the smaller claw handles delicate inspection. Coral on an individual's back records the places where it has rested.
A PLACE TO BELONG
Life in Glasswater Coast.
Tide pools, coral shelves and sunken metal reefs.
Behavior
Puddlep investigate objects by holding them briefly in shallow water. Adults sort loose rubble near their shelters and pause when small swimmers approach. A raised claw may simply be testing the current; repeated sideways steps usually mean the creature wants more room around its pool.
Diet
Algae, soft seagrass, small shellfish, and edible growth scraped from submerged stone. Older forms use their precise smaller claw to separate food from living coral.
Place in the ecosystem
Their careful rubble placement preserves connected pools and slows erosion around vulnerable reef edges. Shell surfaces offer temporary shelter to small marine animals, carrying them between nearby coastal habitats.
Neighbors & bonds
Dewbulb benefit where coastal seep water reaches freshwater reed beds, and Reefclaw keep those outlets open. Ferritot occasionally inspect exposed wreck metal at low tide, watched closely by the reef's larger residents.
ONE BOND, FOUR CHAPTERS
The Puddlep lineage.
Evolution combines experience with a meaningful milestone. A WildKin may keep its current form until its keeper is ready.
Puddlep ↗
A small blue dome rests above paddle feet and bright gripping claws, with a short coral ridge beginning along its shell. Curious and deliberate, it carries one interesting pebble at a time between neighboring pools and remembers where each belongs.
Reefclaw ↗
Raised shell scutes, the first swept sea fins, and larger asymmetric claws broaden its silhouette. The right pincer becomes a substantial working tool. It begins maintaining a passage between pools, learning which gaps should remain quiet and sheltered.
Tiderook ↗
A darker armored shell and copper crest give this form the profile of a low coastal tower. Wider guards protect its sides while both hooked pincers remain mobile. It often waits beside an exposed route until smaller companions have crossed safely.
Abyssentinel Current
A seawall crown rises over broad shell guards and huge pincers held visibly beside the body. Its back supports an intricate coastal garden. Experienced individuals choose their footing with exceptional care, becoming steady shelter where storm water would otherwise strip a reef bare.
INSTINCT & ELEMENT
How it holds its own.
Shellguard
Reduce the first direct hit received each turn by 15%. Damage from lingering effects does not consume this protection.
Breakwater
TideSend a broad wave forward, dealing standard damage and pushing enemies 1 space. Self and adjacent allies gain 10% maximum-Health shields for 2 turns.
A WildKin equips up to four moves. Its secondary element joins at Prime, alongside its signature move. Read the battle and evolution rules →
FROM THE KEEPER’S NOTEBOOK
Meeting in the wild.
- 01
Search connected tide pools as the water begins to fall.
- 02
Help remove litter without dismantling a sheltered rubble pile.
- 03
Give the heavier right claw a clear working space.
“I mistook a Reefclaw's rubble pile for a blocked drain. It patiently moved my cleared stones back, then showed me the hatchlings beneath them.”— Hearthwild field notes