This is a picture of my newest character, Jessie.
Jessie has found some items in an abandoned military compound which he could either use himself, or trade for the things that he does need. And they are not what you might think of as valuable at first glance. But this is the kind of thing which I imagine would be valuable in a post-apocalyptic world. Simple, little things that people would only think of once they needed them.
Got electrical equipment? What about batteries to power them? Even if you have spare batteries, what you have will eventually need replacing.
Need to draft some plans, keep records, keep a diary, etc? You need pens, pencils, rulers, paper, etc.
Fire extinguishers! Who would think to have a supply of fire extinguishers? And what if you only have a water extinguisher when what you need is a CO2 extinguisher?
Things like firearms, munitions, ammunition, salvageable vehicles, etc would have all ready been taken/stolen when the military compound was abandoned. And if anything like that was left behind, it was probably broken and not able to be repaired.
On a more realistic note, I simply could not resist having a hyena scavenging for stuff

Art © ashpond
Jessie © lavabat 2012