Guards

Guards are normally allies, as they protect the peace in the cities. However, some guards are corrupt, and will attack the unwary. Also, if one is caught stealing or attacking citizens, the local guards will immediately come looking for the perpetrators. However, a sufficient bribe will sometimes get a guard to look the other way.

Guards are usually found patrolling castles and cities, or something else of importance. They usually have little to say, but some are hidden storehouses of information.

The guards of Ultima I, II and III were hard to beat (and, in Ultima II, were the only source of lockpicks), and rarely cared who started a fight, so long as the offending parties were dealt with. The often-corrupt Ultima III-era guards could be bribed to leave, even after becoming hostile. In Ultima IV, guards were weaker, but travelled in large parties; 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 easy opponents, as were 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 meant death.

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

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.