The Soles of your Boots!

[IAmDeathComeForThee]

A question regarding the soles of boots. Today I was tracked by a ranger which is all fine and dandy. I had committed a minor evil deed this particular ranger and a couple of his friends wanted justice for, so off I went and hence they perused. Luckily for me I decided the safest place for me to change and abandon my old clothing was inside a building, thus him losing the trail. So anyway, I come out, pass them a ways away and of course they see my name above my head and get all suspicious and whatnot. So fine by me, I rp my way out of the situation having taken the proper precautions such as making sure it was apparent my voice was disguised pre-"escape," if you could call it that, and again changed on this next meeting, clothing changes etc etc.

Now then, he asks to check my boots, which I had no problems with as I had changed my clothing, which includes the boots. Later on after all said and done, it got me thinking. What do the souls of boots look like in this era anyway? Im sure there is no signature sole/tread stamped into each and every boot out there. I'm betting for the most part they are flat and smooth. There's no way they would each have their own individual tread like the rubber stamps they use on today's boots.

So really, as far as tracking goes to my understanding, the tracker really has nothing to gain from analyzing the footprint other than deciding the race, size, and well that's it of the individual. Maybe if there was a nick in the boot that left a particular mark for each step, but other than that, can they use the sole of your boot to match it to the footprint made with any realistic accuracy?

just curious...

thanks!

[DM Sword]

I think I have to agree with you here that analyzing a footprint for tread patterns is a bit much, this isn't CSI here lol. However, checking how deep the footprint is (to determine weight), how wide it is (to determine race), how long the gait is between footprints (to determine height) is straightforward enough. They even might be able to check the boots for foliage or mud from other areas perhaps. If you want to allow them to be able to check the sole of your boot for distinguishing marks I think that is up to you, sometimes it's nice to throw a bone to those persuing you for RP.