Desert Marauder

You were dragged to the desert as an outsider, but the sands could not hold you. Surviving as an escaped captive, you became a phantom of the badlands—utilizing swirling dust storms and low ridges to raid caravans from ambush and vanish into the heat mirages before the dust even settles.

Feat:

Dust Phantom Your time spent escaping captivity and hiding in the barren wastes has taught you how to use the desert's unique environment to vanish at a moment's notice. You have an uncanny ability to find cover where others see only empty space. You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by swirling sand, a sudden dust devil, a heat mirage, or the low shadows of a rocky ridge.

Additionally, your keen eye for security allows you to instinctively spot the weak points in a moving caravan's defensive perimeter, an outpost's guard rotation, or a camp's blind spots, giving you a clear idea of the safest route to infiltrate or escape undetected.

Skill Proficiencies: Acrobatics, Stealth

Tool Proficiencies: Poisoner's Kit or Leatherworker's Tools

Languages: One language of your choice

Equipment: A set of dark desert wrappings, a Poisoner's Kit (or a set of Leatherworker's Tools), a small iron file used to pick at chains, a stolen map of local trade routes, and a pouch containing 10 gp.

Suggested Characteristics

Desert Marauders are defined by their hard-won freedom and an intense, twitchy vigilance. They treat the open desert not as a home, but as a battlefield where standing still means death. They rarely trust easily, but to the few who earn their respect, they are as unyielding as iron

d4	Personality Trait
1	I am always looking for the nearest exit, even in a crowded, friendly tavern.
2	I sleep with my eyes half-open and jump at the slightest rustle of cloth or sand.
3	I don't speak much; I prefer to let my axes—or my silence—do the talking.
4	I have a deep, burning hatred for cages, chains, and anyone who profits off captivity.

d3	Ideal
1	Freedom. No one will ever put a collar on me again. No matter the cost. (Chaotic)
2	Survival. The sands don't care about honor, and neither do I. I will do whatever it takes to see tomorrow. (Neutral)
3	Retribution. Those who threw me to the wastes will see me return as their nightmare. (Any)

d3	Bond
1	I carry a small iron file from the chains I broke; it reminds me of where I've been and what I'll never go back to.
2	A fellow captive helped me escape the arena guards, sacrificing themselves. I will find their family or honor their memory.
3	I stole a map of the local merchant routes during my escape; ruining their trade lines is my personal crusade.

d3	Flaw
1	I am incredibly greedy with water and rations, often hoarding them even when supplies are plenty.
2	I assume everyone has a hidden motive and that "kindness" is just a trap I haven't spotted yet.
3	My first instinct when cornered or startled is immediate, explosive violence.