Been playing Overlord again, just wanted to note an amusing thing that I may have noted before.
The game is almost equal opportunity about letting you kill peasants (I say "almost" because you get an extra "Red Karma" bonus for killing 10 women... though this game is set in an age where sexism was rampant so... whatever) but there's a couple hilarious things done with women in this game.
First is that it lampshades the chauvinism of the men (as well as the fact that it comes more from being afraid of women than it does from gender superiority complex) by having a special hell level (added in by the expansion pack) that is entirely run by the women of a town whose husbands cheated on them, and are now suffering the penalty. And if you want to get anywhere close to them, you have to perform a series of tasks that effectively constitute as...
1. Mowing the lawn with the tortured spirit of a Fallen Paladin
2. Scrubbing the floor with the tortured spirit of a Fallen Paladin (apparently, fallen paladins have soap-like qualities)
I forget if there was a third task, but basically, this hell level makes you do chores. And you have very strict time limits. And they are hard.
Gnarl, your evil advisor, then gets terrified at what the women are planning, and then more or less demands that you escort them back to the mortal world. The sentiment isn't exactly expressed, but you're effectively putting women back in the kitchen. Is that sexist and chauvinist? Absolutely.
I might remind you that you are an evil Overlord set in the fantasy Middle Ages. And a guy at that. Evil is chauvinist. 'Nuff said.
The second thing is that if you're following the Red Karma route, you will eventually be able to kidnap 10 servant girls. They don't actually do much, just stand around the throne room, complain about your minions, and look vaguely pretty in their skimpy clothing.
For the record, you can attack any NPC in your tower. Your minions will get knocked over, including the annoying jester that follows you around taunting you with names (which double as your achievements for this game). If you attack one of the servant girls? (or, the dark gods forbid, your mistress?)
The servant girl doesn't even flinch. She just turns towards you, rears back her hand, and slaps you so hard that you fall on your heavy metal ass. The game will tolerate you killing girls, but if you attempt domestic abuse? Bam. Flat on your ass.
Bearing in mind, the Overlord is wearing evil unobtainium, likely covered in spikes, and wields a weapon that can slay gods, and your servants or your mistress can knock you flat on your back with one slap.
I think the Overlord and Gnarl are right to be afraid of strong women, Hmm?
...Of course, this is all helped that this was written by Terry Pratchett's daughter, who has inherited some of her father's wit (though her humor is brilliant even without the association with her father) so it's pretty damn excellent.
For the record, as for how the genders are portrayed in-game, personality wise...
The men are pretty much all depicted as either dumb-as-bricks, can't-keep-it-in-their-pants (there was a zombie apocalypse started in one city. Said virus was a demonic STD. There were a lot of zombies. Make of that what you will) or both. Women are depicted as flirtatious, intelligent, and "Cassandra Truth Speakers".
The women running the hell level? The humor didn't come from their statements (they were basically feminists who still enjoyed things that are traditionally attributed to females), the humor came from the over-the-top reactions that Gnarl, your evil adviser, had towards some of the things they said.
And that's not even getting into the named characters. There's two strong female characters that you can choose between for your Mistress. The Blue Karma choice is Rose, an excellent strategist who is True Neutral to a fault (she seeks a balance between good and evil) who offers her services freely to the Overlord, has a fascination with her namesake flower (including the thorns) and is a skilled enchanter. Her sister is Velvet, a seductress with a penchant for torture and mayhem who, in the course of the game, shows herself to be just as intelligent (if a LOT more spoiled and greedy) than her older sister.
Either of them will take a huge risk to save you from the REAL Mastermind and ensure that you remain the Evil Overlord of the land. Either of them is just as capable of helping the REAL Mastermind screw you over in the first place.
In general, the female characters are a lot better developed than the male characters, ironically.
ADDENDUM:
As far as the minions themselves go, they actually lack gender dimorphism - any one of them could be either a boy or a girl and you'd probably never know. It's not until Overlord 2 that they even get *names*, and even then, you have just as much chance of getting a female name for your minion (such as "Rosie" for a red minion) as you do for a male's name.
