The night is a shroud, cold and thick, but it is your only ally. The scent of woodsmoke from the border patrol's camp barely reaches your hidden perch high in the mountain ash. Below you, the ravine is a tangled knot of shadow and stone—a route only a fool or a Proverant would dare take. You adjust the heavy pack containing the illegal alchemical reagents, the weight familiar and comforting. Every step through this unforgiving wild is a testament to your craft: the stillness of the hunter, the silent breath of the exile. You do not ask if the money is clean, nor if the cargo is moral; you only conquer the distance. You have proven yourself master of the trail and the evasion, an agent who exists outside the reach of the King's law and the forest's fury. The patrol is shifting; the fire is dying. Time to move.

You are a Proverant, a specialist whose life is dedicated to conquering the obstacles that lie between civilization and the untamed wilds. You operate on the fringe, where your expertise in tracking, stealth, and survival is put to use moving secrets, contraband, or refugees across forbidden borders and hostile terrain. The nature of your cargo is often less important than the skill required to get it where it needs to go, defining you as a highly-skilled agent whose moral compass is their own.

Ability Scores: This background does not provide any fixed bonus to your Ability Scores. When determining your scores, you should follow the standard rules established by your Dungeon Master for race, class, and background selection.

Feat: (Optional) This background does not grant a specific feat.

Skill Proficiencies: You gain proficiency in Stealth and Survival.

Tool Proficiencies: You gain proficiency with Thieves' Tools (to help bypass security and lock mechanisms along your illicit routes) and one type of Musical Instrument (which often serves as a passable cover identity or a means of entertainment during lonely travel).

Languages: You gain proficiency in one language of your choice. (This reflects the necessity of communicating with isolated tribes, criminal contacts, or foreign clientele.)

Equipment: You start with the following equipment: a set of common clothes, a coil of hempen rope (50 feet), a set of Thieves' Tools, a small hunting trap, a simple trophy taken from a creature you killed (such as a large feather or claw), and a pouch containing 15 gold pieces.

Spell List

A Proverant who ventures into the use of magic often focuses on spells that aid in their core duties: concealment, rapid movement across difficult terrain, and protection from unexpected threats in the wilderness.

Spell Level	Spells

LevelSuggested Spells (Example)CantripGuidance, Minor Illusion1st LevelFog Cloud, Longstrider, Disguise Self2nd LevelPass without Trace, Find Traps, Misty Step3rd LevelMeld into Stone, Nondetection

Suggested Characteristics

Suggested Characteristics Proverants are a mix of world-weary and fiercely independent. They value freedom above all else and possess deep suspicion of large organizations, trusting only those who have proven their worth on the trail.

• Personality Traits: I judge people by their actions, not their titles. I have a rough exterior, but I am fiercely loyal to those who earn my trust.

• Ideal: Freedom. The open land and the open road are the only places where true freedom exists. (Chaotic)

• Bond: I am protecting a secret route or secluded location that only I know, as it is key to my survival.

• Flaw: I am extremely uncomfortable in crowds and large cities, often bordering on paranoia when far from a secluded hiding spot.

Contacts

You have one contact in a major city's criminal underground who deals in smuggled goods, and one contact in an isolated, rural settlement who acts as a fence and a reliable source of local information. Both are highly cautious and will not risk their own safety for you.