Prospector (term)

A prospector is a person who travels the wastes seeking valuable resources. Because the availability and value of different resources vary by time and place, the precise definition of "prospector" also depends on where and when you are.

Northern California
Circa 2241, the town of Redding was experiencing a gold rush. Although the bulk of the organized mining operations was concentrated in the town itself, groups of fortune-seekers — called "prospectors" — also sought to locate and exploit new veins of gold in the surrounding area — though this was not always without danger. Indeed, it was a testament to their success in locating gold nuggets that many prospectors took to carrying fearsome weapons such as the Pancor Jackhammer in order to fend off "claim jumpers," who sought to steal the prospectors' hard-earned fortune.

California and the Mojave Wasteland
In both the New California Republic and Mojave Wasteland, prior to 2241 and up to 2281, the term "prospector" is a polite way to refer to the humble scavenger. It describes someone who makes their living on scavenging from buildings for pre-War technology, chems, weapons, and other items. The term is also used to describe scavengers searching for unopened Vaults.

In Fallout: New Vegas, the Courier will encounter many prospectors, dead and alive, when exploring the Mojave. The first (retired) prospector the player character will most likely see is Easy Pete. This encounter makes it clear that the Courier is familiar with the older, mineral-based definition of "prospector," but that Mojave residents solely use the new definition. While prospectors are mostly scavengers for themselves, they can also venture into mercenary work such as Logan and his group working for the Crimson Caravan to scavenge Camp Searchlight.

Appearances
The term "prospector" appears in Fallout 2 to refer to gold prospectors and scavengers and in Fallout: New Vegas to just refer to scavengers.