Stalkers

Exploring abandoned buildings, construction sites, and factories is a popular hobby for many people. It's a harmless way to explore places that most people wouldn't visit. The dangers you might face are minimal, such as encountering stray animals, security guards, or accidental injury.

Fantasy stalking, on the other hand, is much more dangerous. Exploring abandoned places after man-made or magical disasters can lead to encounters with mutants, magical anomalies, and traps. Other stalkers may also be present, who are willing to steal your equipment and trophies.

In science fiction, stalkers explore dangerous places to find valuable trophies that are highly prized in the "civilized" world. The deeper you go and the greater the dangers you face, the more valuable the loot. However, it's not enough to simply find the prey. You must also bring the trophies back and sell them to purchase the necessary equipment for future outings. Competitors, including other stalkers, may rob or even kill you at any stage.

Stalkers often form villages or cities near the places they travel to serve them. These places provide buyers for trophies, stores for equipment, and taverns for relaxation between outings.

Stalkers typically have a certain mentality. A person with a stable life and future wouldn't want to risk their life for a chance to get valuable trophies. Therefore, the hero of the story is usually surrounded by adventurers, people who are willing to take risks and who have nothing to lose. There's no guarantee of a kind attitude from other people. They may throw you or even try to kill you. The decision to become part of a squad of stalkers or venture alone is entirely up to the individual.

In classic fantasy, stalkers often appear in places of ancient magical cataclysms, where magical artifacts and resources from past wars can act as trophies. Another common place for stalkers is in places of breakthroughs into the real world of chaos, demons or necropolises.

In classic science fiction, stalkers usually explore the sites of man-made disasters, such as the Chernobyl zone. Here, the exclusion zone is filled with anomalies, animals have degenerated into real mutants, and trophies provide opportunities inexplicable by classical science.

The hero in books about stalkers is usually a novice, without experience or friends. They may also have memory loss, which prevents them from remembering recent events or even their entire past. However, they may have unique abilities or skills, luck, or secrets that allow them to have better results than other stalkers.

The hero is not always a positive character. In the world of stalkers, everyone is for themselves, and there is little room for sympathy or helping others. However, compared to other characters, the hero may appear to be good, especially in situations where it doesn't harm their interests.

The world of stalkers is a popular theme for many authors, and there are entire series of books based on this world. If you've never read such books before, it's worth getting acquainted with this genre.