Gliding boots

Gliding boots are a novelty magical item made in Cyre and Darguun that aid the wearer in moving speedily. [1]

They were just a fad in Cyre, part of the Cyran appreciation, for dancing. Gliding along the city streets, women, children street-gliding, even at the height of the war. Oh, you wouldn't understand.
— Forley, tearful revenger of Cyre [1]

Creation

To make a pair of gliding boots requires skill in leatherworking or shoemaking and the making of constructs , as well the spell longstrider and materials worth 700 gp in total. [1]

Description

Appearing cumbersome, these boots have a series of small geared wheels—anywhere from twenty to a hundred—mounted on the soles, as well as ball bearings. On the toe is a thick button of wood or rubber, which is used for a simple brake, so it's often scuffed with use. The boots themselves are typically made of soft calfskin that is dyed in vibrant colors like green, red, or yellow, but there are many variations. For greater stability at the ankle, the boots are laced up with sturdy hooks and buttons. [1]

Powers

The wheeled mechanisms on gliding boots enable the wearer to move faster and more smoothly, that is, glide, than by walking alone. They enhance the wearer's normal walking movement as opposed to forcing them to learn a new mode of movement, and they are easier to control than ice skates and the like. [1]

With gliding boots on, a wearer may roll along a surface 30% faster than by walking or running, provided the surface is level or sloping downward. With a strong wind or even a gust of wind spell, they may move twice as fast. The boots also aid in tumbling and leaping. More than just a novelty for dancing and gliding to and fro, a practiced wearer may even use gliding boots in battle and quick-step up to 10 feet (3 meters) away with ease. [1]

However, the surface must be hard, such as roads, boardwalks, packed dirt trails, stone-flagged dungeon corridors. They are impractical on marshy ground and undergrowth and especially on slippery, wet, icy, or oily surfaces. Moreover, they make moving uphill much harder and slower, as well as hindering other activities such as climbing and swimming. A wearer who cannot keep their balance risks falling on their rear. [1]

Finally, the gears must be kept properly oiled, or else they squeak and make it hard to move quietly. [1]

Reputation

Gliding boots were popular and fashionable in Cyre , and especially in Metrol and Making , in the decade before the Day of Mourning . They were favored by young Cyrans, from eligible debutantes at parties to bravos in duels to children, and they were the focus of Gliding Balls . However, thieves could use them for quick getaways. Shoemaker magewrights and artificers mass-produced gliding boots in dozens of styles and variants. They were considered a part of the 'Cyran appreciation' for the arts. [1]

For this same reason, folk in the other Five Nations never took an interest in gliding boots. They saw them as frivolous, even as a sign of softness and decadence. Now, they are almost entirely forgotten outside Cyran refugee communities. [1]

One place that gliding boots did catch on is Darguun , where the goblins love them and developed their own version with sturdier wheels so they can be used on tougher terrain, such as streambeds, hills, and in Marguul Pass . The Darguul goblins even claim they invented gliding boots before the Cyrans stole the concept, but most doubt this. [1]

History

The artificer adventurer Thondred once obtained a pair of Cyran gliding boots and offered them to Forley , a nostalgic revenger of Cyre . The hardened veteran was brought to tears and, though he dismissed the "stupid boots", he stubbornly took them and even immediately put them on. [1]

A Cyran noble living in New Cyre may have plans to host a new Gliding Ball to revive Cyran culture among the refugees, and would hire a team to follow up on a rumor than the Talenta Plains halflings have into possession of a shipment of a hundred gliding boots and could sell them. [1]

Appendix

References