Tech Prospectors

Most of the technology of the old world is long gone, destroyed in the apocalypse, or buried in the mysterious time that followed. Despite this, some relics of the past remain functional to this day. Advanced technology is waiting in underground facilities, weathering the elements in the wilderness or raining down alongside the survivors who escaped the End. It is up to the Tech Prospectors to find them for wealth, glory and power.

Career

Qualifications

The only qualifications required for the job are a sense of adventure and the ability to face danger. The locations one can find old technology are rarely safe and often demanding of both mind and body to navigate. Mutants, bandits and dangerous animals lurk in the wilderness, ready to prey on vulnerable wanderers. Automated security systems keep vaults and bunkers secure, primed to eliminate anyone who tries to access their bounties. Greedy competitors are willing to lie, steal and murder others to grow their hoard of loot, seeing people as just tools to help themselves. If someone's urge for riches, curiosity for the past, or hunger for power is enough to overcome these obstacles then they are more than qualified.

Career Progression

There is no defined career progression for tech prospectors, but a system of seniority exists among the industry's members. Reputations grow alongside wealth and power as skills develop, loot-abundant areas get claimed and the relics they collect make them more dangerous. Newer prospectors typically don't have much experience or equipment and tend to work in safer areas or partner with more experienced individuals. Veteran prospectors usually view them as dangerous liabilities, useful cannon fodder, or an opportunity to take on an apprentice in the field. As their reputation graduates, others may hear of them and begin contracting for specific assignments or offer premiums for particular kinds of tech. Prospectors that survive their early expeditions and become well known have unique paths to take. Some get out of the game, earning enough money to retire with a personal collection and spend their life relaxing in isolation or enjoying life in the city. Others use their connections to move into less dangerous jobs like opening a city-side business, becoming a fixer for other prospectors, or even founding their own village in the countryside. Most, however, end their careers in the field of work. Disability or death are the most common outcomes for a tech prospector, caught by the dangers of the work when their luck one day runs out.

Payment & Reimbursement

A prospector's pay is entirely dependent on their success in finding valuable technology. Metal scraps and spare mechanisms will put food in your belly, but earning a lavish life of security and relaxation requires grander discoveries.

Perception

Purpose

These individuals are the primary source of the tech and information that brings humanity closer to the heights it once enjoyed. Whether refurbished, reactivated, or built entirely new, nearly every machine and computer in the wastelands was rediscovered by a tech prospector. While not everyone trusts them or agrees with the practice, they all recognize the value of the artifacts found from the past.

Demographics

Not very many individuals can meet the demands imposed by this line of work. While just the threat of death is enough to deter most, meeting it ends the careers of many others who try. However, the equalizing nature of the work in many social settings makes it appealing to mutants. They make up a not insignificant portion of the prospector industry's population.

Alternative Names

Relic Hunters

Type

Financial / Trade

Demand

Staple Industry