Originally Posted by
thurgond
I stand by my original statement. I have done a lot of scavenging with an eye on nearby totems. It's impossible to tell the exact distance, but 75 m from a tribal boundary (or 100 m from a one person totem) sounds right for finding patterns/blueprints. If you can find a low level leather craft pattern in a spot, you can also find a master tool pattern or artisan's cart blueprint there. Really rare results like bones and fur also seem to be found away from tribal lands, but they occur so infrequently that it is harder to be sure of the pattern.
Scavenging over junk gives about (likely exactly) four times the chance of a result as elsewhere. I've found blueprints on granite, asphalt roads, etc. in areas far from what passes for pre- or post- apocalyptic civilization. But, as far as I can tell never on or adjacent to claimed land.
Ravelli