![]() The polite veneer dropped from his face to reveal an expression of cold fury. After a long pause, he turned around and faced his companions. Then he kept it together as he strolled outside. But she sure sounds great! Have a nice day, Terri. The Avatar said, "No, no, I don't remember her. She just assumed her mother met the Avatar at the party. After all, Terri, the mint-worker, didn't know any better. The Avatar held it together during this conversation. Honestly, if you were in charge of a company making a game series in which your alter-ego appeared as a major NPC, wouldn't you try harder to make him more regal? More worthy of all the praise his toadying subjects heap upon him? The in-game character of Lord British couldn't be more damaging to the actual Lord British if he was programmed by people who hated him. I don't really have any idea what he does in VIII or IX since I haven't played them, but I assume he just sits around twiddling his thumbs while the Avatar-again-does all the work to bail him out of a situation he probably created. He basically hides in his room throughout Ultima Underworld II. By Ultima VII, he's essentially a doddering old fool, completely oblivious to what the Fellowship is doing, and-if I remember correctly-sleeping with one of his maids. In Ultima VI, he completely misunderstands the gargoyle threat and utterly spazzes at the end of the game (spoilers-sorry) when you do your job and solve the quest. In Ultima V, he appoints some nobody by the name of "Blackthorn" to be his regent, blunders into underworld with an inadequate party, gets his ass tossed into jail, and hinges his rescue on the Avatar following some obscure clues to his "sandalwood box." Here's a hint, Brittni: next time you head off to the underworld, why don't you take your Orb of Instantly Returning to the Surface with you? He has no faith in the people of the land he's come to rule and constantly sends back to his home world for anyone capable of fighting more than a gremlin. He sits there and does nothing while you kill Gwenno and slaughter his entire castle full of guards. In Ultima I and II, he makes you buy hit points from him despite sending you on a quest to literally save the world. Not only is Britannia a dictatorship, it's an eternal dictatorship, as Lord British is effectively immortal. Note that in creating his little utopia, he doesn't provide any mechanism for electing some other sovereign. Now let's look at the other side of the ledger. On the plus side, he initiated the Quest of the Avatar and according to the Ultima V manual, brought democracy to Britannia in the form of a "monarchic republic." Gotcha. ![]() Ever since I was a kid and I picked up Ultima IV, I saw him as a larger-than-life, honorable, almost Arthurian figure, ruling Britannia with a combination of strength and benevolence. Not Richard Garriott, but the in-game character. Over the years, I've been charitable to Lord British. Lord British is spending his evenings reading stories to a mouse. The Avatar was nearly sacrificed on an altar.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |