Companions of the Avatar

The Companions of the Avatar are the eight potential party members to accompany the Stranger on the quest to attain Avatarhood in Ultima IV. Each is a member of one of the eight professions, and exemplifies one of the Eight Virtues. Depending on his or her own profession (character class) as determined during Character Creation, the Stranger will personally take the place of one of these potential party members in the party of eight: the companion representing the same class as the Stranger will not join the party, but will act normally otherwise.

Although recognized for their role in Ultima IV, the companions can be found (and often accompany the Avatar) in other Ultima titles.

Companions

 * Mariah the mage (Honesty)
 * Iolo the bard (Compassion)
 * Geoffrey the fighter (Valor)
 * Jaana the druidess (Justice)
 * Julia the tinker (Sacrifice)
 * Dupre the paladin (Honor)
 * Shamino the ranger (Spirituality)
 * Katrina the shepherdess (Humility)

Ultima Saga
In Lynn Abbey's Ultima Saga, it is noted that the names of the companions were invariably not given to Virtue Peers' children because the companions lived unchanging from one generation of Peers to another.

Along with the standard eight, the novels included the Avatar and Blackthorn among the companions.

Character Class Triangle
The following diagram shows the playable characters in Ultima IV according to their main attributes.

Pictures are taken from the NES version. Note that there is a typographical error in the video game: the abbreviations INT and DEX are swapped.



Trivia

 * The Companions of the Avatar are the in-game counterparts of Ultima creator Richard Garriott and various of his friends and acquaintances.