Judge Dryden

Judge Dryden is a judge and head inquisitor in Yew in Ultima V.

One of the leaders of the Oppression, Judge Dryden served to dish out Blackthorn's cruel justice. When the Avatar met the Judge, Dryden offered to allow the hero to plead for the life of any of the prisoners in Yew, but would offer no pity. He also questioned the Avatar if the hero was guilty of heresy towards the new regime, and if so, would cruelly call the guards on the Avatar to have him imprisoned.

The Avatar, after getting a hint from weapon maker Tactus in Minoc, met Judge Dryden to learn more about the Oppression. Mentioning his meeting with Tactus, Dryden was pleased, and sent the Avatar to Flain in Skara Brae, to join the Oppression.

Ultima V: Lazarus
In Ultima V: Lazarus, Dryden had been a clerk and friend of Blackthorn's father during the time he was the high judge. Dryden remained friends and supported Blackthorn after his father's death, and eventually helped him create the Oppression, rising to the position of mayor of Yew and chief judge of Britannia. Dryden was the one who wrote the Ethics of Blackthorn from the guidelines Blackthorn defined, for he felt like Blackthorn that the Virtues were useless without definition. He also told the hero about the system of inquisitors they had in place throughout the land designed to root out information valuable to their cause.

At Blackthorn's request, Dryden offered the Avatar a deal: if the hero helped the Oppression, they would allow him and his companions to travel freely through Britannia. If the Avatar agreed, Dryden sent the hero to Lady Guinere, who would give the Avatar different quests to help the Oppression. The Avatar could also pay Dryden the required fines to free Greymarch, Jerone, Mario, and Aleyn.

Should the Avatar speak to Tactus about the Oppression, Judge Dryden would mention that the young smith was one of their finest members, and would send the hero to Flain of Skara Brae for further information about the Oppression, and request the Avatar to discover what the rangers of Skara Brae were currently plotting. If the hero learned that the rangers were intent on storming Flain's dark tower, Judge Dryden would ask the hero to plant false information with Heron that would lead to the destruction of the rogue rangers.