Can women not work out somehow to reach a level of fitness such that they can carry 40-60 pounds of armor? I'm finding it incredibly hard to believe you. Especially being -barely able to move-. Might want to check those anatomical facts.
Edit: I thought I should note that I do know women do have trouble reaching the same levels of strength as other trained men, but as far as I know it's not so different such that combat isn't quite doable even in moderately heavy armor.
Hi YoungFreshNewbie,
I reckon you are mostly right and in the real world, women on average, peak slightly lower than men, in terms of strength. There is an additional issue - army equipment is designed with men in mind. Female veterans have voiced their annoyance that the shape of the armour doesn't actually sit quiet as well on their figures as it does on men (chafes, incorrectly balanced, tight in thighs etc. etc.)
These are however real-world issues.
I think that essentially a fantasy game has room to disbelieve this. Significantly because: "magic". Why can a waife-like girl lift 150 pounds of armour and gear? Because: Dragon-Blood (or whatever else - happy to think of Scarlett as Lilu from Fifth Element).
I wouldn't "protest", if "for lolz", there were a quest, where an elderly wizard has a guard comprised of buxom amazons with uber-magically enchanted nanokinis (think Princess Leia), because everything I've seen of Larian, is that this would be lighthearted and they wouldn't allow such a ripe opportunity for parody to slide.
I am also reminded that Annah from Planescape Torment was wearing exceptionally revealing armour, and did not struggle in her fights in the Hells.
http://static2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120814034446/torment/images/b/ba/Annah_Front_%26_Back.jpg
Should Annah have worn more? Absolutely not. Because artistically the design corresponded to her characterisation (tiefling rogue), fit the style of the setting. I can't think of Annah for example, covered in all black like a ninja, though it might seem practical to me as a person in the real world, from the perspective of my character experience in Sigil, the ninja would stand out as weird.
For specifically medieval fantasy, what I am delighted Larian have absolutely no track record of, is the sexualisation of women for the purpose of boosting sales to a particular demographic, e.g. Kingdom Under Fire 2 (South Korean MMORPG)
Male:
http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/article/856/856476/kingdom-under-fire-ii-20080303031840968_640w.jpgFemale:
http://me.ign.com/pictures/games/14231226/24085.jpgI hope that Larian above all, remains true to their artistic vision and style.
