Guards

Guards are normally your ally, as they protect the peace in the cities. However, some Guards are corrupt, and will attack you, forcing you to defend yourself. Also, if you are caught stealing or attacking people, the Guards will come after you, too! However, if a guard is corrupt, bribing him usually works as well.

Guards are usually found patrolling castles and cities, or something else of importance.

The Guards of Ultima I, II and III were hard to beat, but the only source of Lockpicks. In Ultima III, Guards could be bribed to leave you alone. In Ultima IV, Guards were weak, but attacking them wasn't a very good idea to further the game. In Ultima V and VI, guards were also armed with crossbows, and hard to beat. The Guards of Ultima VII were again easy, as are the ones in Ultima Underworld II.

The Guards of Pagan were a different breed. They were much tougher and did much more damage. Also they called Beren, which usually means death.

The Guards of Ultima IX were, per programming, unbeatable.

Lore
''Chosen for their brawn, guards are mindlessly loyal to their governments. They're extremely strong but generally harmless unless you break the rules.''

- from "The Second Age of Darkness", Ultima II

''They resemble big bouncers at tough bars - all brawn and no brains. If a crime is detected within a town, or Lord British's castle, each Guard will pursue thee to the boundaries of the place. Most Guards are very difficult to overcome, but rumors have been circulating that some Guards are not completely honest.''

- from "The Book of Play", Ultima III

Notable Examples

 * Johnson and Gilberto from Ultima VII are two of the very few guards that are named. Also worth a mention is the guard guarding Weston, who had a lot a funny dialogue when the Avatar talked with the prisoner.