Is it possible to create tessellated decals?

I want to create footprint decals that look is if they were indented into the earth. I tried to do it with normal maps and it helps a bit, but having tessellation would be better. I quickly skimmed through the 4-part tutorial on footprints on youtube, but it seems to use something other than decals and only spawns a set, finite amount of tessellated footprints, while I would like to use a large , varied amounts of footprints. Is there any way to go about this? Maybe using something other than decals? Thank you