Scavengers, aka "the crazed ones", have been recorded to currently be the smallest, weakest, and most numerous strain of the mutation.

The beast forms they inherit tend to be that of smaller prey animals or carrion feeders, such as weasels, hyenas, wildcats, raccoons, goats, domesticated dogs, or even mice, and this specific choice of, well, Scavenging-focused gene-pool, factors quite a bit into the Scavenger strain as a whole.

To elaborate, most mutants recorded often sport considerable bulk, and while Scavengers are still much larger and more muscular than the average Midlander, in comparison to their peers, the creatures tend to appear rather gangly, emaciated, and perhaps even malnourished. Similarly, whilst the weaponry of the modern day is just as effective against the monstrosities as ever, Scavengers in particular have been confirmed to be rather brittle and easily outwitted, as their former intellect is often cited to be severely degraded by their mutations.

This mental degradation in particular however, appears to be slightly different from the typical aggressive bloodlust. Granted, the murderous rage upon the mere idea of humanity is certainly still present, and yet in outside circumstances, Scavengers often display a bizarre habitual behaviour, one so excessive that it is the exact reason for the Scavenger title.

For the most famous quirk of this strain is an odd, corvid-like obsession with...collecting. Where most mutant raiders would be slaughtering and devouring, unconcerned or even unaware of their surroundings, Scavengers seem to overcompensate for the "raiding" part of the species' name, as Scavenger mutants would constantly prowl around raiding sites and nests, their gaze not on flesh or violence, but trinkets. Items. Completely random garbage. Be it dropped weapons, spent ammunition, unprotected shopstock, clothing scraps, pieces of furniture, plants, bones, cosmetic products, medicine, jewellery, kitchen ingredients, and/or even loose change, the exact preference for what catches a Scavenger's eye and sends them into a kleptomaniac frenzy, often depends on the individual mutant. But the idea is clear: Scavengers are loot-crazed, searching fervently and obsessively not just for victims and meat, but random junk too. Some band together and form piles of rubbish, others stuff whatever's left of their pockets full until they look like walking waste dumps, and many will gladly lunge right into open gunfire, flames, or the murderous jaws of their fellows, if they believed they had a chance to get their grubby hands on a piece of broken glass that had a cool pattern on it.
All other priorities matter little to a Scavenger, in comparison to the constant greed and obsession with collections that permeates within their strain, escalated only by them becoming fiercely protective of their treasures once they're acquired, even if it means directly opposing their horde, or making suicidal gambits and mistakes.

As such, due to their physical fragility and this utterly nonsensical behaviour, many scholars that have studied this strain of the mutation are often driven to seriously question and propose: "....what? Why the fuck? Why?"

Because where some mutant strains have clearly pieced together roles and positions within their respective hordes, the exact purpose of a Scavenger's contribution is still something of a debated topic.
The fanatical of our public have taken to assume that the strain is reserved for humans that are "unworthy", the cowards and hiders that do not possess the will to fight or resist, that value their own lives above all else, and therefore are punished by becoming expendable meat shields, chaff, cannon fodder, existing only to die and suffer in the place of the more useful. The greed is just whatever's left of their minds trying to hopelessly cling to their material or sentimental desires.
The tactical however believe the Scavengers to be something of a "worker" strain, more focused on utility and support rather than open combat, as their affinity for snatching trinkets, food, weapons, ammo, and even uninfected hostages, leads us to believe that they are something similar to military crewmen and sappers, supply runners that avoid combat in favour of grabbing longer-term assets and resources, or at least whatever constitutes as such to the hordes. The piles they make may just be storage areas for new nests, doing the looting part of the raids, whilst their peers do the killing.
And a select few within this latter half of our academics, believe that Scavengers are the dedicated "Infectors" of their hordes, their purpose being to spread the mutation by slipping into hiding spots and safe-zones, and targeting stragglers and non-combatants to drag into the unholy ranks. Though, this latter point is an even more debated topic, as many believe Harpies to more accurately embody the "Recruitment" urges of the curse, due to their flight and similar bodily constitution allowing for a much more effective job. This paper will not take any sides in this debate, as biased opinions compromise the academic value of this encyclopaedia, however we will note that flight is indeed a far superior method of travel to on-foot sprints, and we will not be accepting feedback on this statement.

Regardless, even though the motivation is sporadic, the results are the more pressing matter. For though Scavengers are frail and easily distracted, that does not mean they are far from a threat.

This kleptomaniac personality shift for instance, has indirectly granted the beasts a vastly heightened sense of hand-eye co-ordination. Their strain has taken the human understanding of value and utility, and rewired the entirety of their brains to support it, causing them to be simple-minded and animalistic in all other fields, but shockingly effective at item appraisal. It is estimated that some Scavenger mutants -but most certainly not all of them- can completely ascertain the worth of anything they come across with but a single look, and there have even been recorded reports and previous sightings of Scavengers actively forcing other mutants to switch out their broken weaponry for more lethal and effective alternatives, as if their brains also retain knowledge of what their finds can do and improve. And thanks to this improved eye for detail, some Scavengers have even been reported as being very effective marksmen, such as an older specimen known as "Scragglerack", a former Bat House arbalist of a long forgotten name, whose skill as a sniper was so well-preserved by his mutations, that he had famously held down territory in an old world castle against dozens of huntsmen for several days, all by himself.

However, Scragglerack being a singular unit was a rare case for mutants, Scavengers especially, for individual Scavengers are almost never seen by their lonesome, but instead always try gang up with other infected if opportunity allows, most often with fellows of their strain.
The smaller sub-hordes they form, while often not mutually respectful, are shockingly cohesive and co-ordinated squadrons, with mixed strain groups having the Scavengers be either backline marksmen, or hasty distractions, whilst Scavenger-only groups stick closely together, and almost always attack simultaneously. It's clear that the mutation seems to innately understand the concept of "strength in numbers", and thus Scavengers operate at their very best within the presence of others.
There is a clear quantity over quality nature to their strain, as their bodies are just as easily broken as any normal human's, the numbers are to compensate. As such, to dispose of them individually is rather simple: Their threat comes from misfortune and their backup, and so isolating them from support will be the best course of action. They are, indeed, very cowardly creatures, and as such they rely on underhanded tactics and tricks, attacking those either weak, confused, or pre-occupied with bigger threats. Their primary effects within mutant raids are distraction and disruption, striking exclusively at the vulnerable and overwhelmed, and therefore are only truly effective against those who would be caught off guard.

Thus, experience, environmental exploitation, and probably backup of your own, will be the best choice of advantage to bring. Scavengers are often, deep down, far more terrified of humanity, than humanity are of them, so keeping one eye open at all times for any potential ambush or backstab, will be the key to facing a Scavenger. You must always show them how weak they truly are, and their animalistic instincts will crumble in response to anything slightly more assertive them a scream of help.

Or, y'know, you could toss a cool gemstone nearby, and shoot them in the back of the head once their back's turned, that can also work.

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