A simple word for one who seeks adventure and tries to help, but hurts more than they help?

Question

I'm writing a novel following a naive young man who thinks that he can make his fortune going around helping people. When he visits a space station on the fringe of the galaxy, hoping to help people who have suffered from the war that rages across it every few years (it's a particularly violent sector, that one) his guide tells him that it's useless, because: > Ain't no one there but mercs, spies, and... *adventurers.* ^{(That last bit was said with a glance at the kid and a scowl)} Now, this sounds a little odd, (I think) because the monosyllabic/simple sentence suddenly has a big, fancy word right at the end. It's also said by a character who almost never uses big words, though that context is hard to replicate here, since I'm tryin'a sound fancy 'n' all. Is there a single, simple word, that means "someone going to help, and probably failing/not doing much"? If so, what is it? Ideally, answers shouldn't be slang, but if there's something that fits well, please feel free to suggest it. *** ^{I'm new here. As such, I haven't got the foggiest what the tags are. Any help there is greatly appreciated. Also, I read the On Topic article, but I'm not totally confident that I understood it, so if this is off-topic, please let me know and I'll try to fix it.}

Answer 1

When I read the word *adventurers,* I thought you could write "pirates" instead. Sound strange? It's just a term that could be seen as more creative.

As far as the man trying to help, but failing: "hopeless philanderer," might work.

Hope that helps.

:)

Grace C.