Dungeon

Dungeons are deep and dark places found in the Ultima games, which are infested with monsters, and filled with treasure. In some games, dungeons also contain items needed to complete the game's main objective.

Ancient dungeons
Dungeons have existed for years, and the origins of most of Sosaria's dungeons is not known. But when Mondain attacked the lands, the dungeons strated filling with all the monstrosities he created, and the trasure this creatures stole. During the First Age of Darkness, each of the four lands of Sosaria (The Lands of Lord British, The Lands of Danger and Despair, The Lands of the Feudal Lords and The Lands of the Dark Unknown) had nine dungeons each, all of them named. Most of these dungeons were never seen again after Mondain's defeat. Some the dungeons of the Lands of Danger and Despair where later turned into other purposes by the Ophidians of Serpent Isle, most notably Skullcrusher and Spinebreaker.

During Ultima II, several unnamed dungeons existed, both on Earth and on different planets of the Terran Solar System. During this time, towers also appeared, which served the same function as dungeons, but going up instead of going down.

During Ultima III, six dungeons existed in Sosaria (Snake Dungeon, Dungeon of Time, Dungeon of Fire, Mines of Morinia, Perinian Depths and Mt. Doom). Several of them contained items or creatures of importance to defeat Exodus, such as the Marks and the Time Lord. However, after Exodus' defeat, they were not seen again.

The eight dungeons of Britannia
Starting with Ultima IV, the eight main dungeons of Britannia appeared: Despise, Destard, Deceit, Wrong, Shame, Covetous, Hythloth and the Stygian Abyss. Most of these dungeons would perdure throughout the rest of the series, up to Ultima IX. Several of these dungeons stood for an anti-virtue of the Eight Virtues of Britannia. Of these eight dungeons, only the Abyss disappeared from time to time. After the end of the Quest of the Avatar, the Abyss was sealed with the Shrine of the Codex, and only reappeared briefly in Ultima Underworld and Ultima IX.

In Ultima IV, the eight dungeons were vital to complete the Quest of the Avatar, as they contained most of the Virtue Stones and the Key of Three Parts. The Abyss was the final test for the Avatar. After Ultima IV, the seven remaining dungeons were sealed by the Great Council. However, during Ultima V, the Avatar had to reopen them with the Words of Power, as they served as ways to access the newly formed Underworld. Another dungeon, Doom, appeared in the Underworld at this time, but it was lost when the Underworld was destroyed.

In Ultima IX, each dungeon contained one of the Runes, which had been corrupted into Glyphs. At each of these Glyphs, a Column was built, which rose up to the surface, contaminating the minds of the Britannians with the corresponding anti-virtue.