Why Are Warrior Women Never Ugly?

[Conaill]

Here's a female warrior (well, a druid) that looks like she could actually kill someone. I like this kind of art the best.

Much better. The armor spikes are still somewhat impractical (not to mention those horns on her... back?), but definitely better.

 

[Ranger REG]

@Ghostwind:
As a female gamer, while I prefer the fact that the two upper images show female characters fully clothed, I don't really prefer them over the weird half-naked "red nun". None of them do much to inspire me. They just look like they're there to look pretty. I'd rather see an image of a character I could imagine playing, or meeting as a NPC. I have to agree with JoeGKushner that the slickness takes away from the images somehow.

What do you think of Eowyn (portrayed by Miranda Otto) dressed for the Battle of Pelennor Fields in the third and final LOTR film? Granted, it's a man's armor, but she look decent in them.

 

[^Graff]

Let me guess... the one with the katana is a sorceror?

That would explain all the buckles. And the fact that she doesn't seem to know how to hold a sword...

And the guy doesn't know how to hold a bow. He's holding the bowstring on the left side of his left arm. How does he expect to be able to shoot?

And his leather/chainmail armor must be paper-thin to be that form-fitting, and therefore, offers no protection whatsoever. Both of those elves must get a ton of scratches on their legs when running through underbrush. And the female's biceps really don't look like they'd have any power behind them when whe swings that sword. Not very good for combat.

Regarding Eldritch Sorcery, the shading is off. The left side of her face is in shadow, while the left side of her torso is lit up. And the spell effect around her head isn't necessarily recognizable as flames. It's too blurry.

 

[Storyteller01]

I believe that explanation was used fairly recently by the team working on a Red Sonja comic. They pointed out that some Celtic and Pict warriors would spike their hair, paint themselves blue, and run into battle screaming because of the psychological advantage. So Sonja's classic chainmail bikini served a similar purpose --- it confuses, distracts, and even intimidates her opponents. This art crew also drew some sort of leather undergarment or lining, to make it clear that this wasn't chainmail against skin.

There are also stories of the same fighters (men were listed, but women weren't excluded) running into battle wearing only the paint and a torc around the neck. Haven't been able to confirm it though.

 

[DM_Matt]

And the guy doesn't know how to hold a bow. He's holding the bowstring on the left side of his left arm. How does he expect to be able to shoot?

Gangsta-style, apparently.

 

[sniffles]

What do you think of Eowyn (portrayed by Miranda Otto) dressed for the Battle of Pelennor Fields in the third and final LOTR film? Granted, it's a man's armor, but she look decent in them.

I thought that looked great. But then I am a huge LOTR fangirl geek, if you couldn't tell by my avatar.

I think the problem with the CG images Ghostwind posted is that the armor just looks like it's painted on. It doesn't have any three-dimensionality beyond the surface of the figure. And the faces of the figures look like your typical vapid magazine model, people who seem to have no more personality than a mannequin. (Not that real models don't have personalities; but in photo shoots they look like they don't.)

One of my favorite illustrations of an attractive but very evocative fantasy character is in the Player's Guide to Faerun. There's an illustration of the various planetouched races, and in the foreground is a female air genasi. She has a very attractive face, but she's wearing rugged leather armor and an expression that speaks volumes about her personality, at least to me. She looks like she's led a hard life and knows how to handle the sword at her belt. That illustration makes me want to play her as a character. That's the kind of artwork I like to see.

 

[Storyteller01]

In truth the huge bodybuilder types aren't even that strong and have next to zero stamina, for real strength look to powerlifters (who often have a big gut as well as the muscles), track and field athletes (especially decathletes or javelin throwers) or penathletes (who actually do a sport which most closely matches what a RPG hero might do - fencing (so sword fighting with a rapier), shooting, running, swimming and horse riding).

I'd say it's not that the heroines always look like that, but if the artist wants to avoid beheading they'll paint them like that, remember the proverbial description of someone as being 'no oil painting'.

Yea. I remember a show that pitted three groups against each other. The goal: pull an empty railroad car a given distance from a dead stop. The teams included male power lifters, female powerlifters, and a college football team.

The results: football team beat the female powerlifters, who beat the male powerlifters.


They also did a study of sports/hobbies that taxed both mental and physical endurance. Boxing beat the others in both regards.


Blathering, but if you want realism, these would be good oplaces to start.

 

[Storyteller01]

I posit that, in a world where people are always petitioning heroes to save them, the peasant folks will pick those heroes who look best. So over thousands of years of adventuring, there has been a trend toward beautiful heroes. Magical healing could very well take care of scarring, and no doubt there are spells -- not quite so prevalent in the PHB, but logically they'd exist -- that would be magical plastic surgery. And let us not forget exotic armors, such as the Chainmail Bikini, which require specialized training to wear effectively.

Sure, adventuring is a matter of life and death, but if you can't look good while doing it, why bother?

It could also go the other way around. Those that are heroic tend to set the beauty trends. Those that have done good or sacrificed also tend to look better in the eyes of those who benefitted. Facial scars suddenly become sexy, the beer belly doesn't look so bad, etc.

It gets to the point that when describing the hero, they build up the good while down-playing or ignoring the bad. Those that here the description base their perceptions on said story.

For an example; folks who are in love talking to their friends. How many times have we been given expectations about the new love interest, only to meet them or see pictrure later?

 

[Storyteller01]

Got it in one. It's darwinian. <<snip>>

Until the bombshell ends up dead for 'hairdryer in tub' syndrome...

 

[mhacdebhandia]

Oh, right. Like I want to sit three hours listening to the Council of Elrond. My damn seat better have a toilet underneath. Pbbbt!

I think you missed my point. I would have enjoyed those films more if they were less faithful to the books.