The Companions of the Avatar

The Companions of the Avatar are various fictional characters that appear in the "Ultima" series of computer role-playing games. The Companions refer to the characters the Avatar has adventured with over the course of the series. This includes all of the NPCs that join the player's party at any point in any of the relevant games, however short that NPC's role is.

The Companions are traditionally divided to two groups: The traditional eight Companions, which (apart from one, depending on the character class the player ended up picking) joined the Stranger in his quest to attain the Avatarhood in "Ultima IV", and the other Companions, who joined Avatar in other subsequent parts of the series. In some cases, minor NPCs join the party only for a very short period of time. Sometimes though these non-"traditional" characters play a major role and are part of the party throughout the entire game.

The Eight Companions

Dupre

The character is based on Greg Dykes from "Custom Creation" (not to be confused with Greg Dyke from the BBC), a personal friend of "Ultima" creator Richard Garriott.

Dupre's first appearance is in "Ultima II", on a tavern on the planet Mars, where he has a duck for sale. In "Ultima III", his only message for the Stranger is "Drink up!" While the handbook suggests that characters can be added to the player's party, this is not the case in the game itself - therefore it is possible the developers originally intended for his character to join the Stranger in this game.

In "Ultima IV", Dupre was a paladin and the mayor of the town of Trinsic. He joined the Stranger on his quest to become the Avatar. He was a regular companion for the following games. He was knighted between "Ultima VI" and "VII" (though he was already referred to as Sir Dupre in "Ultima VI" for some reason).

Being quite fond of wine and women, he could usually be found in the Britannian taverns when not traveling with the Avatar. In the beginning of "Ultima VII", he was doing a study of all Britannian pubs and taverns for the "Brommer's Britannia" series of travel guides, and can be found in Jhelom. As a result he runs himself up a tab in various pubs, giving the player the option to bail him out.

In "Ultima VII" Part Two, Sir Dupre sacrificed himself to save Serpent Isle from imminent destruction, by giving his soul to resurrect the Chaos Serpent. Interestingly, he was the only companion of the Avatar's to be given an actual voice during the game (and only after his death), as voices were done only for cutscenes, as well as messages from the Serpents and the Guardian. Since he fused with the Chaos Serpent, his voice was mixed in with that of the Serpent. His accent suggests he is from Great Britain on Earth.

He was later resurrected in "Ultima IX" to help defeat the Avatar's arch enemy, the Guardian.

Iolo

Iolo FitzOwen (pronounced IPA|/ˈjoːloː/) is one of the most famed bards in Britannia, and a bowyer famous for his crossbows. He is married to Gwenno, a woman of very diverse skill (she has been a tinker, a bard, and a scholar). Iolo wrote the extremely popular Britannian song "Stones", for which Gwenno wrote lyrics. This song, about Stonehenge, is very popular in Britannia and is known to be Lord British's favorite song.

Like many of the Avatar's companions, the Iolo character has a real-life counterpart, also a bowyer by trade—David R. Watson of Texas. He wrote the "Stones" song; his late wife Kathleen Jones (who appeared in games as Gwenno) wrote the lyrics. The song is featured in "Ultima V" and every later game in the series. The lyrics only appear in the "Ultima V" documentation, however, and versions of the song after "Ultima VII" replace the last stanza with an additional repeat of the intro.

Iolo is originally from Earth. He can first be found as a ubiquitous town jester in Sosaria in "Ultima I", one of the few times he was not seen with Gwenno. By "Ultima II", the pair was apparently together and could be found in New San Antonio (circa 1990) on Earth.

When he first came to Britannia he resided in the town of Britain; however, after his great adventuring partner was deemed the Avatar, he moved into a house in the Deep Forest outside Yew, where he keeps his talking horse, Smith (Iolo constantly scolds the horse for his sarcastic comments to the Avatar).

He is also an excellent bowsman and a bowyer, and invented the triple crossbow, a weapon capable of firing up to three crossbow bolts at once. He had two Iolo's Bows shops in Britannia at the height of success, around the time the Fellowship tried to help the Guardian enter Britannia.

He is among the oldest of the Avatar's companions; by the time the Avatar made his final journey to Britannia, Iolo was an old man. He moved to a woodland estate east of Britain and fell under the Guardian's control in an expedition to Dungeon Despise. The Avatar freed Iolo, who eventually repaid the Avatar by teaching him an advanced bow skill, and placing the rune of compassion inside the tower at Despise—facilitating the destruction of the Guardian's evil chokehold on the land.

Geoffrey

A fighter, first met in Jhelom in "Ultima IV". His real-life counterpart is Jeff Hillhouse, one of the first Origin employees.

He is captain of the guard in "Ultima VI", defending against the gargoyles. He provides the Avatar with information but remains in Lord British's castle.

Can be found in Lord British's castle in "Ultima VII", though he says he is 'getting too old for adventuring' and declines an offer to join the party.

Jaana

Jaana is based on a real-life friend of creator Richard Garriott. Her real-life counterpart, who holds the same name, is from Finland, where the name is indeed common.

A native of Earth, and friend of Lord British, in Britannia Jaana was a druid, and made her home in the town of Yew. In "Ultima IV" she gladly joined the future Avatar in his quest for the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom.

In "Ultima V" she was declared an outlaw by Lord Blackthorn, and retreated to a secret location, where she worked with the resistance against the Dark Lord's rule. She was available as a companion in this game and the subsequent, "Ultima VI" and "Ultima VII".

In Ultima VII, she is found a bit older living in the city of Cove as the local healer and also as the local mayor's lover. When she decides to leave the city with the Avatar and other companions she promises the mayor that she would come back someday. In Ultima VII, Jaana is curiously not mentally affected or turned insane as other mages but her powers are really lower than normal, what makes her in this case a better fighter than a spellcaster most times.

In "Ultima IX" Jaana was seduced to service in the Wyrmguard, where she came under the control of the Guardian. The Avatar was able to free her, and she would later assist him in the final battle against his archnemesis.

Julia

A tinker first found in Minoc in "Ultima IV". Her real-life counterpart was someone Richard Garriott once dated while he lived in New Hampshire. She is considered a strong female with some sense of adventure and sacrifice.

Julia is also found in Empath Abbey in "Ultima V", in Minoc again in "Ultima VI" and "Ultima VII".

She is a redhaired woman, with a Scottish accent in Ultima VI.

Corrupted as a Wyrmguard in "Ultima IX" can be found in the blackrock crystal mine near Cove. Curiously, her mannerisms and behavior changed - she was blond, had a Gypsy accent, and confessed her love for the Avatar.

Katrina

Katrina appeared in five games: "Ultima IV", "Ultima V", "Ultima VI", "Ultima VII", and "Ultima IX".

A native of Earth, and friend of Lord British, in Britannia Katrina was a shepherd, and the only survivor of the daemon attack that destroyed old Magincia. In "Ultima IV" she was still living in the ruins of the destroyed city, but gladly joined the future Avatar in his quest for the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom.

Later, Magincia was resettled as New Magincia, and Katrina became one of its first citizens.

As a shepherd, Katrina typically wielded a crook as a weapon and wore a cloak. She had dark brown hair.

She was available as a companion for the Avatar in the subsequent "Ultima V", "Ultima VI" and "Ultima VII".

In "Ultima IX" she was, once again, the only living person on the newly deserted New Magincia, where she helped the Avatar defeat the Guardian. Notably, she was the only Companion active in Britannia who was not corrupted into a Wyrmguard servant by the Guardian, thanks to her virtue of Humility (the other uncorrupted Companions, Dupre and Shamino, were trapped in the Void during the events of the game). When the Avatar arrives at New Magincia, she assigns him to kill an alpha male wolf and burn a nest. After the completion of these missions and the cleansing of the shrine, Katrina apologizes to the Avatar. She explains that her demands were not good examples of the virtue of humility, and thanks the Avatar for restoring humility.

Mariah

A magician and a resident of Moonglow with a lot of adventure mood.

Found first in Moonglow in Ultima IV as a young magician willing to seek adventure, she was hit by Shadowlords just before the arrival of the Avatar in Ultima V, and decided to rest and hide herself in the sacred Lycaeum. In Ultima 6 she is found again in Lycaeum and help with the Gargoyle book translation. In "Ultima VII", she's found in the Lycaeum in Moonglow, again, deeply affected by the insanity that was plaguing the mages of the realm. After the Avatar fixed the problems with the Ether, she was back to her normal self again, and helped the Avatar by selling them spells and reagents.

Shamino

Shamino Sallé Dacil, generally referred to only by the first name Shamino, is a fictional character from the "Ultima" series of computer role-playing games. He is found in most of the cardinal "Ultima" games, and he is one of the companions of the Avatar in "Ultima IV" and onward.

Like most of the major Ultima characters, Shamino has a counterpart in reality - Richard Garriott himself. Garriott also appears in the games as Lord British (whom, in-game, Shamino sometimes resembles in physical appearance) and sometimes even smaller references. The Shamino character comes from Garriott's activities in the Society for Creative Anachronism, though the name was reportedly taken from the Shimano brand of gears in Garriott's bicycle.

In "Ultima I", Lord Shamino was a ruler of one of the eight kingdoms of ancient Sosaria, and along with the King of the White Dragon, one of the two rulers in The Lands of Danger and Despair.

Some time after meeting the Stranger and assisting him in his quest to defeat Mondain, he set out to meet his old friend, Lord British. When the Stranger finally defeated Mondain, the cataclysmic changes in the world of Sosaria stranded Lord Shamino on the Lands of Lord British, separated from his beautiful beloved Princess Beatrix and her father, the King of the White Dragon.

In "Ultima IV", he is found in city of Skara Brae. By now, he was a Ranger, seeking truths of Spirituality. He was more than happy to assist the Stranger to attain the Avatarhood. In both "Ultima V" and "Ultima VI", he's very familiar with the Avatar and joins his quest at the very beginning.

In the beginning of "Ultima V", Shamino is badly injured by one of the Shadowlords, but his wounds are treated by the bard "Iolo".

In "Ultima VII", Shamino was living in Britain and in a relationship with an actress named Amber.

In "", Shamino accompanied the Avatar to the Serpent Isle, which turned out to be the old Lands of Danger and Despair, and found out what had happened since he left. The Avatar visited Shamino's Castle as part of the game's storyline, where the ghost of Beatrix used traps to try to kill the Avatar's companions. Here, he was also possessed by one of the Banes of Chaos causing him to become "Shamino the Anarch" for a brief period of time.

In the original plot of the game, the Banes of Chaos possess all three of the companions and cause them to take control of the three respective cities, and the Avatar must free the cities from their control, kill the companions and have them resurrected. In the released version of the game, the possessed companions simply kill most of the population of the three cities, and reside in the King of the White Dragon's castle. Some fan-made patches available for download have restored the original plotline and dialogue using code found in some of the game's files.Fact|date=March 2007

After the Avatar visits Shamino's Castle in the game, if at any point Shamino is near death, Beatrix will intervene, forgive Shamino for leaving her before their wedding (since it was unintentional), and save his life. After doing so, she gives him a book of love sonnets she wrote for him and then departs for the void (the afterlife.) The book is Shamino's "personal item" that can be used to track him down when he is a Bane (alternatively Iolo's Lute or Dupre's Shield can be used.)

In "Ultima IX", Shamino was trapped in the Spirit Realm by the Guardian. A major portion of the game was spent trying to free him.

Over the course of the games, Shamino does not seem to age at all, unlike the characters from Earth, suggesting that Shamino could be from another world entirely.

Other Companions

"Ultima V" to "Ultima VI"

Gorn

When the Avatar was taken to the depths of Lord Blackthorn's castle, the prisoner who went only by the name Gorn aided the escape and joined the party. Gorn proved to be a very valuable companion and strong warrior. In Ultima VI, Gorn is lost in the caverns underneath Sutek's castle (formly Blackthorn's) and can join the Avatar to help him find the balloon plans. In Ultima VII: The Black Gate, he is found in the caverns near the Fellowship commune. Having joined the Fellowship, Gorn does not join the party. In this installment, he speaks with what appears to be a Scandinavian accent and is referred to by some of the companions as being rather dumb.Gorn also appears in both The Quest and Ring Quest adventure games as a companion for the main character in those games.

Gwenno

A woman of very diverse talent—an entertainer, scholar and an explorer—who appears frequently with her husband Iolo. Found as a jester (with Iolo) in Lord British Castle since Ultima III, she is found again as a jester in Ultima IV, in Britannia, although she was no recognized as Iolo wife or either as a companion. She decides to travel with the Avatar in Ultima V, so she can take care of her husband, and leave the store they have in Britain to an employee. She joins the Avatar another time in "Ultima VI" and plays a very major role as a side character in "Ultima VII Part Two" as an explorer lost into the Serpent Isle, the reason of Avatar's travels besides seeking Batlin himself. Gwenno has returned to Britannia in "Ultima IX"; she lives near Britain with Iolo.

Gwenno is based on Kathleen Jones, David R. Watson's wife.

Maxwell

[http://ultima.wikia.com/wiki/Maxwell Maxwell] is a fighter found in Serpent's Hold in Ultima V, who offers to join the Avatar on the quest against Blackthorn.

Seggallion

In Ultima V Seggallion can be found in [http://ultima.wikia.com/wiki/Farthing Farthing] . He is a fighter from the realm of Ashtalarea, a world from another game by Origin from that time, Knights of Legend. He tells the Avatar that he was fighting an evil mage in his homeworld, when he was suddenly teleported to Britannia. However, there is no way to send him back to Ashtalarea. He gives you the [http://ultima.wikia.com/wiki/Seggallion spyglass]

Seggallion can also be found in Ultima VI, inside Serpent's Hold. He can join the party, and is a strong fighter. He also makes an appearance in Savage Empire as a crazed "Great White Hunter" stereotype, with no memories of the previous games.

Sentri

Sentri is a fighter and occasional companion of the Avatar in the Ultima series. He first appears in "" as Sentri the Swashbuckler in the prison in New San Antonio, circa-1990. When he is encountered, Sentri sells the Stranger "Enilno the Quicksword," one of the more important items required to finish the game.

In , Sentri is the Baron and keeper of Serpent Hold, essentially the ruler of all the southern islands.

In "", Sentri appears in Bordermarch with Dupre, hiding from Shadowlords. He will join the Avatar's group over the course of the game.

In "", he is a trainer in Britain. He offers to join the Avatar's party when they first meet. As a member of the party, Sentri offers free training in dexterity to the party members. He also gives the player access to his shop inventory, which includes good starting equipment.

Sentri does not appear at all in "", apart of having a type of magic leggings named after him. The unofficial dialogue patch explains that Sentri died in a war while the Avatar was in Pagan.

Toshi

[http://ultima.wikia.com/wiki/Toshi Toshi] is a bard found in Empath Abbey [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britannia_(Ultima)#Castles] in Ultima V, who offers to join the Avatar on the quest against Blackthorn.

Saduj

Appears in Ultima V as one of the possible companions for the Avatar. If taken Saduj will betray the Avatar when he gets the chance. Interestingly, and possibly a clue to his betrayal, is that his name is a reverse spelling of 'Judas'.

Johne

(Captain) Johne appears in Ultima V as a mage, and is found shipwrecked in a cavern in the northwest of the underworld, beneath the dungeon of Despise. The player can also find him by sailing his/her own ship into a whirlpool.

Beh Lem

Beh Lem is a gargoyle. In gargish, his name means "Just One".

Blaine

A gypsy who assisted the Avatar in "Ultima VI".

Leonna

Leodon

A female pirate who may join the avatar on request, found in Buccaneer's Den in Ultima VI.

Sherry

A talking mouse who appears in "Ultima VI", ' and '. She also joins as a party member in "Ultima VI".

In "Ultima VI", she is recruited by the Avatar by giving her a wheel of cheese, and then is only used as an item to scout out small and out of reach places, which is very useful in gathering items that the player can not reach, such as the Rune of Valor. In "Ultima VII" she is seen as a helper in Lord British's Nursery, commonly found telling children nursery rhymes, such as Lord British's favorite "Hubert's Hair-Raising Adventure" by Bill Peet.

Sherry is also present but not recruitable in the Game Boy title Ultima: Runes of Virtue II.

Aiela

The princess of the Kurak tribe, she was kidnapped sometime before the game starts. She is later rescued and becomes somewhat of a love-interest to the Avatar.

Dokray

Dupre's alter-ego. A fierce warrior belonging to the Pindiro tribe. He had a rivalry with Ugyuk, and refused to join the party if Ugyuk was already a member.

Jimmy

An amateur reporter covering Professor Rafkin's experiments. Along with the Avatar and Rafkin, he was transported to Eodon at the start of the game.

Kyssta

A lizardman belonging to the Sakkhra tribe, descendants of the valley's original saurian rulers.

Rafkin

The Avatar's friend from earth. A scientist. He was transported to Eodon along with his laboratory in the game's introduction.

Spector

Dr. Johann Spector was another friend of the Avatar's from earth. He makes his first appearance in "The Savage Empire" where he has been corrupted by the power of the valley and declares himself leader of the most powerful tribal village, where he goes by the name Zipactriotl. He plans to unite an army of the insect like creatures, the Myrmidex, to launch an assault on Earth and conquer it. When the Avatar breaks the spell on him, Zipactriotl becomes Dr. Spector again and joins the Avatar's party. Dr. Spector later accompanies the Avatar to Mars in the game "Martian Dreams".

Spector was based on real-life Origin Systems Inc. employee Warren Spector.

Shamuru

Shamino's alter-ego. Prior to the events in the game, he was found by the Baraka tribe and made a member of the tribe.

Triolo

Iolo's alter-ego. A shaman of the Kurak tribe. As a member of the party, he was the primary spellcaster and healer.

Ugyuk

A neanderthal-esque member of the Haakur tribe.

Yunapotli

A golden automaton found in a particular part of the game.

Spark

In the beginning of "Ultima VII", the Avatar steps out of a red moongate in to the town of Trinsic. The first thing the Avatar sees is his/her former companion, Iolo, discussing a recent murder with one of the locals. The two victims were the local blacksmith, Christopher, and a wingless gargoyle, Inamo. Christopher was found in a barn, and was horribly mutilated, his limbs and head separated from his body, and pinned to the ground with lit candles. Inamo was found impaled against a wall with a pitchfork.

The Avatar soon encounters Spark, who is Christopher's young surviving son. After begging for the chance at revenge, and a display of his talents (much to Iolo's dismay), Spark is allowed to join the Avatar's party.

This eventually leads to some interesting scenes in the game (which pulls no punches when it comes to violence and sex), especially when the party enters The Baths (a bath house whose employees will bare all for the right price) in Buccaneer's Den.

In "Ultima IX", Spark is nowhere to be found. It is generally assumed that he was one of the many ghosts haunting Trinsic, although the game does not conclusively say anything regarding his whereabouts. However, the fan-made patch confirms that he is a ghost in Trinsic (being much older when he was killed).

Tseramed

Tseramed is a ranger who joins the Avatar's party near Yew. He has many stories to share, and offers some "Tseramed arrows" to the Avatar for free. These are special arrows that put whoever is hit with them to sleep. Tseramed makes them from the stingers of the giant bees.

Tseramed is on a quest of revenge against Abraham, who caused his love Lady M. to join the Fellowship. As part of Abraham's teachings, Lady M. chose not to use medicines when she was suffering from a deadly sickness, and died.

Tseramed loathes Abraham to the point where if the player has the male Avatar introduce himself as Abraham, Tseramed will physically attack him.

Tseramed's real-life counterpart is Ken Demarest III (the character name comes from his last name spelled backwards), the head programmer of "Ultima VII: The Black Gate". He has used Tseramed as his on-line pseudonym, for example when releasing the acclaimed "Foreboding in Sylvani" "Neverwinter Nights" adventure module.

Boydon

Boydon was a man who served Erstam, the mad mage on Serpent Isle, as an NPC in the computer role-playing game "". Boydon's head and other body parts were magically removed in one of Erstam's experiments. As a mission in the game, the Avatar must teleport to an island to obtain a phoenix egg, which is the catalyst of the experiment to rejoin body parts into a single Frankenstein-like being. Boydon was available as a potential party member for the protagonist of the series, the Avatar, after the player restores his body parts which are lying around in pieces in Erstam's lab on Mad Mage Isle. Along the way, several characters make comments about his smell (being essentially Dr. Frankenstein's monster, composed of corpse parts given life). However, he was also one of the only companions who could not be resurrected, since he would explode into several twitching body parts (and a talking head, which is the form he is first found in) when killed. Appropriately for his origin as a talking head, his name is an anagram of "no body."

Petra

Petra is a magical automaton, originally working as a waiter in the Blue Boar Inn in Moonshade.

After the Banes were unleashed and almost everyone in the town killed, she was crushed with sorrow. However, she found soon herself helpful in assisting the Avatar with getting water from a temple of Discipline: with the help of mind transfer machine, the Avatar used Petra's metal body to pass the deadly acid corridors.

Raven

A pirate from Buccaneer's Den whom the Avatar meets early on. She originally asks the Avatar to do things for her boss Samhayne. Later, she helps Avatar on her own.

While she doesn't adventure with the Avatar per se, she knows a lot about what is happening around the realms, and is able to transport the Avatar around in her ship.

References

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