Scavenging

This is an action that you can take alone or with Followers in any map area, and it is also a Job that you can assign followers to do on their own. It involves searching for useful, unattended items in wilderness or derelict city areas.

Scavenging sessions with the MC

If scavenging yourself, with or without Followers, each Scavenge attempt will take an hour (take the Investigate Area -> Scavenge Area action), and will succeed or fail depending on your Survival skill. You will have a reduced chance to find something in Safe areas, whereas in Wild areas there is a chance you'll attract an attack from a rival scavenger gang (one reason it's worth having Followers accompany you). If your scavenge attempt is successful, you will find mostly Merchandise and scrap metal, or wood if in a natural area, with smaller chances for things like fasteners and cloth, plus a smaller-still chance of finding something unusual, e.g. a shotgun (maybe "finding" things like this is why you get attacked sometimes?)

• Each Follower with Survival 40+ adds +5 to the MC's Survival roll.
• Each Follower with the Scavenger trait adds +10 to the MC's Survival roll. This stacks with the Follower's Survival skill.
• The "enemies ambush!" event is more dangerous if you have 3+ Followers and "played days" are 100+. Those encounters provide more loot, however, as well as possible female combatants.

Scavenging as a job for NPCs

If assigning personnel to the Scavenger job, they will do this 9am-5pm. It is somewhat risky, so they should go armed and armored (the better equipped they are, they less damage they risk taking; risks and health point loss are greater if Ikaanos' Control is low). Their daily haul will on average be considerably greater than a 1-hour Scavenge session with the MC. They will bring back less if their Survival skill is 20 or lower, and more if it's 60+. They will also bring back extra if they are smart (Intelligence 60+), like you (Affection 60+), Ikaanos is thriving (Prosperity 75+), or if they have the Scavenger trait. However they will bring back only Merchandise - unless they have the Scavenger trait, in which case there's a chance for Durasteel, tendstims and energy cells. Furthermore, scavengers with the Techie trait and Survival 60+ have a 4 in 15 chance of finding either a Tendstim or an Energy Cell. And a scavenger with the Nerd trait and Survival 60+ has a 4 in 15 chance of finding an Artifact (50% Common, 25% Uncommon, 25% Rare IF Academic 80+).