How do you roleplay your character wearing skimpy armours?

[iceta]

I often struggle to find a reason why my character would constantly wear a bikini armour when she's not a total slut (yet), but i still want to use those armours withou my idiot brain complaining, how do you "justify" the use of armours that almost cover nothing?

[Alessia Wellington]

Simple: The less armour a woman wears, the higher her protection is.

 

Spoiler

[Gukahn]

Spoiler

 

[spoonsinger]

God damn Bethesda for putting all that slutty armor into Skyrim.  I would write them a stiff letter if I were you.

[Visio Diaboli]

Ease of movement

 

Still not a reason that holds up to scrutiny, but it's the closest I've gotten so far.

[Speed Metal]

There ain't nothing to justify. Let 'em wear what they want to.

Spoiler

 

[jfraser]

i understand what you mean. realistically, no one would wear that kind of armor in combat.

 

the head canon i came up with is that this is a highly misogynistic world and all the armor has been enchanted to turn strategic parts of it invisible if it detects it is being worn by a woman. the leather/metal/whatever is still there, it just can't be seen.

[karlpaws]

I had a link to a pic like Alessia's that instead showed the woman protected by the magic of her womb, but I seem to have lost it.

 

The other more logical lore based head canon I use is that Nords are hardy and don't need as much clothing with their frost resistance, and anyone else that might stay ends up absorbing some of the magic so any town woman can strut around in whatever she wants and be comfortable. Adventurers are a special group, normally employing tattoos (as the Dibellan Defender mod) with further protections. I lump the danger sense the compass represents by showing nearby enemies (though it doesn't tell you what they are, you can only sense their aggression) and a whole bunch of other game mechanics. 

 

One thing to consider is the lore that magic comes from Aetherius (or Oblivion for certain others) via the sun, which is really just a hole in the sky, and the sun's rays are that magic entering Tamriel. That magic infuses all of the plants and animals to some degree, which is why alchemy works.  Since everyone is eating magic infused food everyone would have some power, but only those with an actual talent they exercise will gain any skill. Adventurers naturally do this, and that empowers all sorts of other magical things, like quest givers knowing when you accomplish their quests and tell you that they knew, when no one else was there and you just got back.  This is also how the courier can always find you.

 

As to bikini wearing non-sluts... that is just the added mobility and lower carry weight.

[kaa62]

You could look up some Red Sonja to see how her writers try to justify it. There's been some variation, but in one run she suggests her outfit acts as a siren's call to lure deserving men to her sword.

 

In another story it was a boon granted to her by a death goddess, who was going to give her a full suit of armor, but Sonja says something like not wanting to hide behind steel so baneful men know it's a woman who splits them like a bloody gourd.

[SmedleyDButler]

?

 

[Harvald]

There is an easy practical reason while fighting against men. They first look at the tits and then they loose the second you need to hit them on the head. On the other side the fast one doesn't need any armor.  

[Crystallia]

Since my characters are usually mages it's easier to explain that they're using magical armor and spells for protection, other than that it's just aesthetics.

[shadowlord445]

I don't need to justify it.  I like it, and all the females characters wear it.  Though I have wondered why I do like it.  My uncle gave me a bunch of old Red Sonja and Conan comics, old issues of Heavy Metal, and some Frazzeta art books when I was a kid, that probably had something to do with it.

[RohZima]

Actually didn't Britons and Nords used to fight practically naked, in ancient times? Plus there was, this sort of machismo (awful replacement for the proper word) were they wanted to show they were invincible and fearless, which in itself intimidated the enemy. You had people on horses decked with gold, and wearing only gold jewelry into battle. You can't compare the psychology of Pagan warriors to modern - who were thinking more about the afterlife than this one.

 

So to answer your question, - in the mind frame of an ancient Pagan female warrior - she is showing off her fearlessness, in a sexy feminine way.

 

Or, she is a worshipper of Dibella or some feminine sexual cult; Sanguine, possibly. Demonism is often depicted with sexual connotations. So that could be another justification.

 

Of course if she is a mage, she could be an Illusion mage or sorceress in which case it would totally make sense to dress sexy since she is literally enchanting men to do her bidding.

[chaimhewast]

I like the logic that Sexlab Survival uses to justify it. You have to be licensed to wear armor, but there's a cheaper license available if you're willing to limit yourself to bikini armor. With certain settings you also don't get access to the full armor license right away.

 

It gives your character a reason to wear something she normally wouldn't - slutty armor is more protective than no armor, after all.

[slicksly]

Considering how the general sex-focused mod for Skyrim has most the male population act like remorseless psychopaths that enjoys endulging in various forms of rape with no fear  of reprecussions, I typically consider modded Skyrim as a segregated nation that courts these kinds of people, and is thusly populated by them. The lewd armors and endless ammounts of sex toys and devious devices are made by the local population, and find their ways into the shops and hideouts throughout the country.

 

Either the dragonborn is attracted to Skyrim because it fits their fantasies, or they're stuck using what's available - can't be picky if all that's available is bikini armor.

Edited July 2, 2022 by slicksly

[Wolfstorm321]

Skyrim is not a RPG. It is just a brawler. If you don't find pleasure in seeing a amazon fighting while you touch her, I would like to suggest a isometric game. 

[pinky6225]

Ya know i'd never greatly considered it but i suppose thinking about it now i'd go more for the logic of the armor being unencumbering and avoiding/taking less damage is more about not being hit/being hit somewhere unimportant than it is your armor soaking up the hits (i.e. dudes in spartacus blood and sands fought mostly in shorts to be fair)

 

There's lots of things you don't really want to pick at tbh, like regardless of how much pizza i've eatten it has never healed a cut (talking enough pizza to totally restore that health bar to 100%) yet chowing down in skyrim seems to be able to bring you up from near death if you have enough food

 

On 7/2/2022 at 10:09 AM, RohZima said:

Actually didn't Britons and Nords used to fight practically naked, in ancient times?

 

Think various barbarian cultures did in roman times but that was partly due to religious belief from what i've heard as they believed if it was your time (as decried by the god(s) ) then it was your time and wearing any sort of armor wouldn't matter, with the vikings i think it was similiar as they also believed strongly in fate

Edited July 6, 2022 by pinky6225

[SmedleyDButler]

Though Vikings did wear armour.

[karlpaws]

On 7/2/2022 at 4:09 AM, RohZima said:

Actually didn't Britons and Nords used to fight practically naked, in ancient times?

 

5 hours ago, pinky6225 said:

Ya know i'd never greatly considered it but i suppose thinking about it now i'd go more for the logic of the armor being unencumbering and avoiding/taking less damage is more about not being hit

-- cut --

Think various barbarian cultures did in roman times but that was partly due to religious belief from what i've heard as they believed if it was your time (as decried by the god(s) ) then it was your time and wearing any sort of armor wouldn't matter, with the vikings i think it was similiar as they also believed strongly in fate

 

Various peoples throughout history did fight unarmored for various reasons, ranging from local climate being hot to the "lack of encumbering armor lets you move faster" and other concerns about the availability of materials to make effective armor though they did for the most part use shields (which isn't as often depicted).

[unsocialbttrfly85]

You look hot, and it distracts your enemy, lol. 

[Vinamael]

It can look pretty badass....

 

Spoiler

 

[raven_7]

Skyrim is a tropical region, and people must wear skimpy clothes.

[Mez558]

1 hour ago, raven_7 said:

Skyrim is a tropical region, and people must wear skimpy clothes.

 

It was in my game. Thanks to some Rainforest mods.
Rather oddly, I had more of an issue with scantily clad characters being in such cold climate (before you say Nords have... I've not played one of them, ever) than I did an issue with the protection value.

I seem to recall, Chronotrigger77's original CBBE version of Remodeled, the skimpy versions (if you didn't chose replacer as the option) weighed less and offered less protection.
I don't think this is the case with the later versions... Although I could have been imagining it in the first place.

Edited July 16, 2022 by Mez558

[Sarathis]

As a big fan of Robert E. Howard's pulp fantasy stories as well as old art from people like Frazetta and Boris, I didn't feel there was any real need to justify it. Those characters didn't change their skimpy outfits when they went somewhere cold, they just wore furs over them.  *shrug*