Tracking in B/X D&D

In AD&D--and most subsequent versions of the game--tracking a foe is exclusively the province of the ranger. If you don't have a ranger in the party, tough noogies on trying to follow the escaping goblins back to their lair. And in previous iterations of the rules? There's nothing specific about tracking an enemy at all.

Or is there?

Page X23 has a table to determine a party's chance of escaping a foe, based on the size of the party and the number of enemies.

	Party Size
	1 to 4	5 to 12	13 to 24	25 or more	Chance of Evasion
Number of Creatures Encountered	--	--	--	1 to 10	10%
	--	--	1 to 6	11 to 30	25%
	--	1 to 3	7 to 16	31 or more	35%
	1	4 to 8	17 or more	--	50%
	2 to 3	9 or more	--	--	70%
	4 or more	--	--	--	90%

This chart is fascinating for a couple of reasons. The first is the assumption that PC parties might routinely number 25 or more (including hirelings and henchmen). The second is that there is no reason to assume that the pursuing party is always the "bad guys." What if a party of PCs needs to track a band of goblins? Just flip the table: A party of 10 PCs (including NPC hirelings) tracking 25 or more goblins has a 90% chance of being able to track them. If the goblins are reduced to 20 in number, that chance drops to 65% (the goblins having a 35% chance of escaping). 

These chances assume that the PCs set out in pursuit immediately. For each day that the PCs delay in their pursuit, the chance of the enemy escaping increases by 10%, increased by an additional 10% for each day of rain or snow. (I'm using Swords & Wizardry's ranger tables here.)

The uniqueness in the ranger (for campaigns that choose to use the sub-class) is therefore not in his ability to track, but in the degree of that ability. Rangers always have a 90% chance to track their foes in the outdoors, regardless of the numbers being tracked or the number of their own party, modified by time and weather. A party with a ranger doesn't have to fan out looking for signs (as large groups in the above table are assumed to do)--the ranger can find the trail for them immediately. 

Nothing major, but just another example how careful use of the rules as-is can fill in apparent blanks.