The number of certified and licensed bounty hunters is utterly eclipsed by the number of those who seek to become certified and licensed. Of the scores who seek to gain membership in an established bounty hunter guild, a handful who show promise are accepted into the ranks of the guild's apprentices. The greatest value of these fledgeling, would-be hunters is that they are utterly expendable and are used by the guild as support for established hunters, diversions, or even simply cannon fodder against well-entrenched or well-armed foes. As an alternative to joining a guild, some aspirants instead apprentice themselves to an established independent hunter in hopes of proving worthy of the profession.