#like I don’t particularly think Tommy Swank or Benny were like notable boot riders before Bennys take over but they still weren’t just like

[dykedvonte]

What do you think the Bootriders were especially good at? Probably exploring considering their name, but it’s fun to think about what Swank and Tommy were good at pre-House :)

Scouting!!! Very similar to exploring but with slight differences.

The Boot-Riders to me weren’t really about getting a lay of the land and more so gathering things they needed for the rather large tribe. We know they are one of the bigger tribes and the idea that they’d be thoroughly searching and picking through ruins leads to a lot of issues with headcount and not having someone watching their backs.

I like to think the Boot-Riders were nomadic in the sense they followed caravans, gecko packs and watched out for scavenging grounds more than actively looked for a fight. They were great at combat but I’d say they were very defensive in their fighting style rather than offensive. I don’t really have a reason for this other than Tommy and Swank having lower endurance compared to Benny. Though I also believe they were very melee based in their fighting style seeing as Benny’s tagged skills are melee and unarmed implying it was a big aspect of their culture. He also mentions that they decided who led next through challenged knife fights so….

Tommy and Swank tagged skills are in guns energy weapons and only melee but that also makes sense if they stayed farther away from fighting in favor of watches. It’s insignificant really but I like to think that Boot-Riders would pair scouts out to go look for viable areas before they chose a direction and a strong Boot-Rider would accompany those patrols for just in case there was a bigger threat.

Tommy and Swank notably are higher in agility thank Benny, only by one really but I think it’s like the perfect example for my idea of the patrols. Benny is the “support” being stronger, more durable but less agile than Swank and Tommy who would have theoretically been searching and scouting a potential picking/hunting ground.

Interestingly Tommy is like really good with energy weapons more so than Swank and I like to think he was really good at clearing out areas for the Boot-Riders to pick over. Kinda like laser quick draw. I think on a more social level he knew a lot of Boot-Rider history and was kinda well, a historian. I don’t think Boot-Riders particularly valued music but he would def embellish their roots through campfire songs like the Singer from All Roads. Of course, once they became the Chairmen that stopped but he still remembers those old songs.

Swank is harder for me cause, well, House wasn’t wrong when he said Swank was “unimaginative”. He’s like the Boot-Rider equivalent to an accountant. I can imagine he’s so good at managing the casino floor because he was used to keeping track of supplies, missing Riders and other such organizational things for the Boot-Riders. It wasn’t just his job but he was probably pretty good at it amongst the members who had the responsibility. It’s being but Swank seems like a mundane dude outside of the rat pack, tribal wasteland stuff. Like he drinks a plain black coffee to me and likes it.