Avatar

The Avatar is the name used to refer to the protagonist (the player) of the Ultima games after Ultima IV.

In Ultima IV, The Stranger completes a series of quests and becomes The Avatar, the embodiment of The Eight Virtues and a true hero of Britannia. The concept of the Avatar was to go against the darkness in one's nature and eternally strive for Virtue, highlighted by the phrase "The Quest of the Avatar is Forever." The Avatar was meant to be an example to everyone on Britannia of what could be accomplished if one but tried. S/he was never perfect, was never infallible, was only ever human, capable of both good and evil acts.

From Ultima I to Ultima VII/2, the Stranger/Avatar could be male or female, under any name the player wished. Portraits were available from Ultima VI to Ultima VII/2.

In Ultima VIII and Ultima IX these options were removed, and the Avatar, while he could still be named, was always a blond white male.

In Ultima IX the concept of the Avatar is destroyed when we are told the Guardian is the Avatar's 'evil side' that was supposedly ripped away at the end of Ultima IV, when the Stranger becomes the Avatar. This is one of the reasons the game is held in such low regard by Ultima fans. Ultima IX would have us believe that the Avatar is a perfect being incapable of evil, but is confounded by Ultima IX itself: the Avatar is still capable of performing evil acts!