Guards

Guards have long served as a policing force within human settlements, enforcing the law of the land and maintaining peace during incidents of assault or theft. Often consumed with the scope of their duties, the average guard seldom had much to say by way of polite conversation, and many guards are hesitant to even give their names to inquiring citizens.

Of, course, not all guards are pillars of virtue, and may occasionally be convinced to overlook a transgression in exchange for sufficient  gold.

Guards on Earth
During the time in which Minax's interventions had significantly altered human history, guards were a common sight in all time door-accessible zones, exhorting the citizenry to offer up taxes. As these enforcers were the only source of much-needed keys, the Stranger was forced to murder several of them out of utilitarian necessity, having not yet undergone the Quest of the Avatar which would preclude the hero from such mercenary behavior.

Guards on Serpent Isle
On the enigmatic Serpent Isle, each of the three major city states had its own order of guards.

In the city of Monitor, where military tradition permeated the entirety of the culture, all citizens were considered pikemen, and could thus be called for guard duty at the behest of their respective commands. These Monitorian warriors took further responsibility for the defenses of the roads, leading all the way up to Fawn, a seaside settlement immersed in the cultic worship of beauty, whose own guards had little discernible history or organization. Pikemen could be found stationed in a series of towers up and down the Serpent's Highway, ready to protect the various mainland settlements from  goblin incursions.

The city of Moonshade, being far from Monitorian protection on the Isle of the Beyond, also had its own order of guards, the Rangers. These enforcers in the land of adepts seldom did much by the way of penalizing the corrupt magicians of the city, seeming to ignore numerous violations that the magical ruling class indulged in, so long as no public disturbance resulted. In addition to keeping peace in the city of illusions, the Rangers were also renowned as excellent wine-makers, and possessed a magical press for creating these artisan beverages.

Guards on Pagan
On the dark world of Pagan, the guards of Tenebrae would summon the city's sorcerer, Beren, a man capable of rending apart the bodies of law-breakers with violent magics.

Lore




Notable Examples
For more information on the frequently unnamed generic guards of Ultima, see Guard (NPC)
 * Wilmoore: The chief guard of Paws; appeared in  Ultima IV
 *  Yewian Guards: nameless sentries with a predilection for quoting Bertrand Russell; appear in Ultima IV
 * Johnson and Gilberto: Two Trinsician guards who give the Avatar crucial clues regarding the murder of Christopher; they appear in  Ultima VII
 *  Weston's Jailer: an unnamed guard in Castle Britannia who has an ongoing political dialogue with his imprisoned charge; appeared in Ultima VII
 * Fuqua: chief guard of Paws in the SNES Port of Ultima VII; notably critical of the Fellowship
 * Tarna: a female guard on Pagan; appeared in Ultima VIII

Trivia

 * In  Ultima III, all guards will accept bribes to leave the party in peace.
 * In  Ultima IX guards are programmed such as that they are unkillable, making outlaw behavior a somewhat difficult undertaking.