History Main / FantasticRecruitmentDrive

* In V. Zykov's ''Way Home'', people are born RandomlyGifted with magic. In the countries of Nold and Tlantos, both [[TheMagocracy magocracies]] to some extent, children are routinely checked for magic potential.

A classic Fantasy and Science Fiction trope. A group with extraordinary powers of some sort goes recruiting among the [[{{Muggles}} general population]], searching for [[TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne others like themselves]]. They may be from TheOrder, or a school for [[WizardingSchool wizards, witches]] or [[SuperheroSchool gifted youngsters]].

Key to this trope is the fact that ''they'' come looking for ''you''. Those extra-normal folk leave their ivory tower or basement lab and go out among the rest of us. The scene may subtly juxtapose the mundane with the fantastic (e.g. [[ComicBook/XMen Prof X]] sitting in your living room, drinking Mom's tea like a college recruiter), or it may be as grandiose and dazzling as a WWII recruitment drive.

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* ''ComicBook/XMen''. Professor X used the Cerebro computer to locate mutants so he could recruit them into his school.
* ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'': Cadets are taken not only from clone stock, but also from orphans, volunteers or children who show promise. Since the events of ''Day Of Chaos'', in order to replace the large number of lost judges foreign judges are now allowed to apply to transfer to Mega City One as retrainees.
* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan2099:'' In the ''Civil War II'' tie-in, Miguel winds up in an alternate 2099 where most superheroes are outlaws, but the X-Men work for the government. After questioning this, it's pointed out by Daredevil 2099 that the government offered them protection and a steady paycheck rather than, say, trying to exterminate them all. So most of them took the offer.

[[folder: Fan Works ]]

* After surviving The Monolith in ''Fanfic/AWEArcadiaBayRogueDemon'', Jesse and Emily get the idea of remaking the Prime Candidate Program into a less "invasive" version of the original program, finding and recruiting [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividuals parautilitarians]] voluntarily.

[[folder: Films -- Live-Action ]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* ''Literature/TheSharingKnife'': It's known that Lakewalkers are descended from the sorcerer-lords of ancient times. Dag theorizes that they became a separate caste through selective breeding--singling out those who had groundsense, and adding them to the gene pool.
* In the ''Literature/DarkVisions'' trilogy by LJ Smith, the Zetes Institute runs tests across the nation to find people with psychic powers.

* The Creator/AlfredBester novel ''Literature/TheDemolishedMan'' contains a great scene where the Espers (telepathic people) are trying to find undiscovered Espers. There is a line of people moving through an area, and an Esper is broadcasting something along the lines of, "If you can hear this, please go through the door on your left."
* In ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'', Luke does a lot of this, trying to find hidden Jedi, their descendents, and those with raw talent.
* In ''Literature/HarryPotter'', the boarding school Hogwarts selects students at birth. A magic quill takes down the names of magical children the moment they are born. Muggleborn kids don't learn about this until they are eleven, though.

* In ''Literature/{{Hero}}'', the League (a group of superheroes) holds tryouts for those who would like to join them.
* In Iar Elterrus' ''Gray Sword'' novels people are born RandomlyGifted with magic. The boons both in money and in reputation, granted by magic schools for new pupils, make it worth combing slave markets for potential mages and even buying whole families wholesale, as the mage in question would like to keep the slavers in the dark about his motivations.
* In I. Dravin's ''Literature/{{Xenos}}'' series, noble-born children are commonly scanned for magic potential during early childhood. The interest in finding mages is mutual for the magic schools and families in this case.
* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novels:
** Some witches in Lancre will periodically line up the local girls and choose one with talent to be an apprentice. (Or so we're told; of the main character witches, Granny doesn't have the patience, Nanny doesn't have the interest, and Magrat doesn't have the confidence.) It's also mentioned that Granny was never officially recruited, she just ''decided'' she was going to be a witch as a young girl and camped outside the local witches' cottage until she agreed to teach her. In the Tiffany Aching subseries, Miss Tick has the job of doing this by stealth in areas where BurnTheWitch is in effect.
** The wizards in Unseen University are also on the look-out for boys with innate magical talent, so they can be provided with training in their abilities (or in the words of the UU founder Alberto Malich "We'd better keep the bright buggers where we can see 'em"). Simon in ''Literature/EqualRites'' has just been discovered by such a recruiter when we first meet him.
* In ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' the Seanchan have both a MutantDraftBoard and a Fantastic Recruitment Drive at the same time. Girls who can instinctively channel are forcibly collared and become [[MadeASlave Damane]] while those who can learn to channel are recruited as Sul'dam (a highly respected position).
* In V. Zykov's ''Way Home'' the people are born RandomlyGifted with magic. In the countries of Nold and Tlantos, both magocracies to some extent, children are routinely checked for magic potential.
* The [[TimePolice Aeon Legion]] in ''Literature/AeonLegionLabyrinth'' usually recruit [=MIAs=] from various wars in history since it will not mess up time. Those who take them up on their offer have to endure a [[TrainingFromHell harsh training program]] at the Aveum Academy, but if they make it through they get a device that gives them [[TimeMaster time powers]] and [[TheAgeless immortality]].
* ''Literature/CircleOfMagic'': Academic mages give magic tests to children, after they reach a certain age.
* ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'' Whateley Academy sometimes engages in this when a newly-emerged mutant makes the headlines and they can get people there quickly enough, while others get pointed at the school by former alumni or simply people who have heard of it. It's strongly implied that at least some "mutant schools" in other parts of the world are more straightforward examples of the MutantDraftBoard trope instead, but attendance at Whateley is technically entirely voluntary -- simply usually presented as a very good idea considering the likely alternatives.
** At the school itself, some organizations such as intelligence and law enforcement agencies, various national militaries (via the school's UN-sponsored JROTC program), corporations (primarily technology companies looking for talented {{Gadgeteer Genius}}es), TheSyndicate, and even superhero teams do their best to recruit graduating students. While ''active'' recruiting on campus outside of organized school events is frowned upon, this doesn't stop recruiters from the CIA and other agencies sneaking onto school grounds looking to accost prospective recruits with their pitch, with some frequent fliers being well-known to Campus Security. Keep in mind that this is a ''high school''.

* In ''Literature/TheWitcher'', this happened during the backstory. Because witchers are sterile and can't just breed more, the only way to create more witchers was to recruit young boys, many of whom were orphans, abandoned, or given as payment under the Law Of Surprise, and then subject them to TrainingFromHell and mutations.

[[folder: Live Action Television ]]

[[folder: Tabletop RPG ]]

* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}''. People with the ability to use magic are extremely rare. Schools, corporations and magical groups regularly test citizens (particularly children) for magical talent.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Traveller}}''. The Zhodani Consulate extensively uses psionic abilities in its government and military. They test children for psionic aptitude and train those with a significant level of power.

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Webcomics]]
* AG-I, the superhuman agency in ''Webcomic/SkinHorse'' do this. Apparently it goes better with kids with laser vision than with teen precogs who always see the "right" course of action, and who tell you in no uncertain terms they ''really'' aren't interested.

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* The protagonists of ''WesternAnimation/LegendOfKorra'' are in the middle of one as of season 3. After the Harmonic Convergence, random people around the world have been developing Airbending, and so Team Avatar is going around to find them and take them to the Northern Air Temple to rebuild the Air Nomad culture. Deconstructed since the people they're going after all have lives and homes of their own and don't want to join - it took [[spoiler:arranging a jailbreak for conscripted airbenders and pissing off the Earth Queen]] to increase their numbers beyond a Republic City civilian called Daw, Bumi (who was already half Air Nomad anyway) and Kai, who joined to escape arrest.