Comments stolen from a webcomic
Male fighters envelop their bodies in bulky, clanking plate mail. Female fighters favor stiff metal underwear.
A male rogue will wear dark leather armor with little metal studs all over it, because nothing says "stealth" like a bunch of glittering bits of metal all over the place. Ladies in the same profession lean towards the skin-tight catsuit look, because the first step in being stealthy is apparently to make sure every able-bodied man within a hundred paces is staring at you with his mouth slightly open.
Male wizards wrap themselves in thick shapeless woolen robes that would - let's face it - collect odors at an astounding rate. These robes would most likely be heavy, and itch like a fiberglass jockstrap. On the other hand, females who practice the arcane arts wear little strips of translucent gauze over their naughty bits.
It's nice to see that when it comes to apparel, roleplaying games have a lot of equality: Everybody dresses like an idiot.
and...
Adding a new PC to the party means inviting an unknown and dangerous-looking stranger to join your group of otherwise paranoid and greedy adventurers. There's pretty much no way to roleplay it so that it doesn't sound stupid.
Imagine if someone did this to you in real life: You're walking down the street and bump into a three random guys who invite you to to join in on assault and robbery; offering you a one-quarter stake in everything and a very real chance at severe bodily harm, without bothering to ask for your name or qualifications.
It's ridiculous. That sort of thing never happens unless you're in Detroit.
A male rogue will wear dark leather armor with little metal studs all over it, because nothing says "stealth" like a bunch of glittering bits of metal all over the place. Ladies in the same profession lean towards the skin-tight catsuit look, because the first step in being stealthy is apparently to make sure every able-bodied man within a hundred paces is staring at you with his mouth slightly open.
Male wizards wrap themselves in thick shapeless woolen robes that would - let's face it - collect odors at an astounding rate. These robes would most likely be heavy, and itch like a fiberglass jockstrap. On the other hand, females who practice the arcane arts wear little strips of translucent gauze over their naughty bits.
It's nice to see that when it comes to apparel, roleplaying games have a lot of equality: Everybody dresses like an idiot.
and...
Adding a new PC to the party means inviting an unknown and dangerous-looking stranger to join your group of otherwise paranoid and greedy adventurers. There's pretty much no way to roleplay it so that it doesn't sound stupid.
Imagine if someone did this to you in real life: You're walking down the street and bump into a three random guys who invite you to to join in on assault and robbery; offering you a one-quarter stake in everything and a very real chance at severe bodily harm, without bothering to ask for your name or qualifications.
It's ridiculous. That sort of thing never happens unless you're in Detroit.