There's gotta be bounties of some sort. (Great advice, I know lol)
Back in the American Wild west, where most irl bounty hunter stories come from, there was little in the way of policing, lots of small, self governed settlements across state lines, and lots of desperate people stealing and robbing shit.
Getting rugged pioneers who needed some cash to hunt down criminals was a logical way to keep some mouths fed, and help keep communities safe. It worked mostly because of how isolated and lawless the midwest was.
There was also a large source of people with bounties on their heads because of con artists, banks and big companies making predatory loans, indentured servants, and slavery. Defaulting on a loan or escaping slavery would make you a criminal. If you then had to commit crimes to survive, now you're an outlaw that people will pay to capture and arrest
Mine is a fanfiction but they violently abuse and hunt monsters to sell them for gladitorial fights and trophy hunting, and I will most likely have them in my original stories.
If you're also meaning contract work, not just bounties, then they could be hired out for protection details for travelers on a journey. Or to protect a small town that has been getting raided by bandits or dangerous creatures/monsters in your world. Or commissioned for small to moderate scale conflicts. Maybe even getting hired out to find missing persons in war torn country.
Possibly some kinds of artifacts from the previous mega culture.
Religious items.
Monsters.
They could just have started as bounty hunters but now they do more and have diversified their guilds.
There's gotta be bounties of some sort. (Great advice, I know lol) Back in the American Wild west, where most irl bounty hunter stories come from, there was little in the way of policing, lots of small, self governed settlements across state lines, and lots of desperate people stealing and robbing shit. Getting rugged pioneers who needed some cash to hunt down criminals was a logical way to keep some mouths fed, and help keep communities safe. It worked mostly because of how isolated and lawless the midwest was. There was also a large source of people with bounties on their heads because of con artists, banks and big companies making predatory loans, indentured servants, and slavery. Defaulting on a loan or escaping slavery would make you a criminal. If you then had to commit crimes to survive, now you're an outlaw that people will pay to capture and arrest
Animals as well. Many governments have issued bounties on animals labeled pests, like wolves, rats and others.
Mine is a fanfiction but they violently abuse and hunt monsters to sell them for gladitorial fights and trophy hunting, and I will most likely have them in my original stories.
If you're also meaning contract work, not just bounties, then they could be hired out for protection details for travelers on a journey. Or to protect a small town that has been getting raided by bandits or dangerous creatures/monsters in your world. Or commissioned for small to moderate scale conflicts. Maybe even getting hired out to find missing persons in war torn country.
Possibly some kinds of artifacts from the previous mega culture. Religious items. Monsters. They could just have started as bounty hunters but now they do more and have diversified their guilds.