Blue tassles

Blue tassles are an important item in Ultima II, and are necessary to obtain passage on ships within the game.

Description
The exact significance of the "tassles" to the sailors of Minax's temporally shifted Earth is not known, although several barkeeps could impart that the tassle was part of a "saylor's" uniform. During this era, it was impossible for the Stranger to travel by sea without having at least one tassle with which to show their mettle to a ship's crew.

The tassles could only be obtained from frisking the remains of human enemies, and could be easily stolen by marauding thieves, making it often a sage choice for the Stranger to carry multiple tassles. If the hero should ever return to a ship once boarded after having lost their tassles, the crew of the ship would reject the adventurer, forcing them to seek another tassle before they could take to the waters once more.

Trivia

 * In the FM-Towns Port of Ultima II, a blue tassle disappears from the Stranger's inventory every time a boat is boarded, making strategic use of the  time doors a more prominent part of gameplay.


 * In Ultima IX a blue tassle is on display at the museum in Britain.