Related
Location
Cities and Castles
HP
500
Damage
2–91
Notes
Will attack if you damage anyone or are caught stealing
Guards hit very hard and have a ridiculous 500 HP. You may conclude that you're not actually supposed to fight them, but think again. At the very least, you'll have to elude angry Guards at least once while saving a Princess. They'll also come after you if you attack anyone in a city or castle or are caught Stealing. They can be killed, though sadly you can't use the Kill Spell against them, but it's usually more prudent to run if you can.
Appears on
This creature does not appear randomly
Notes
Drops 2 keys
In simplest terms, Guards shouldn't be particularly nasty enemies. However, almost all of them have a full 255 HP and they only appear in towns, meaning they all do ridiculous damage. Everything in towns deals nearly as much damage, but Guards are the most likely to actually attack you, since they'll come after you if you're caught stealing from or attacking anyone in town.
Adding insult to injury, every town has exactly one invincible Creature, and that Creature is almost always a Guard. If you're going to try to fight Guards, make sure you know which one is invincible. It's easy to tell since you can't hit them, but it's best not to waste the actions figuring that out.
Guards are the only source of Keys in the game, so as unethical as it may seem, you will have to kill a few at some point. Once you have a Key, getting more is a lot easier—just use that Key to steal a Frigate, then turn the cannons on the Guards. You'll still take damage, but not nearly as much, and you can collect a nice collection of Keys quickly.
Adding insult to injury, every town has exactly one invincible Creature, and that Creature is almost always a Guard. If you're going to try to fight Guards, make sure you know which one is invincible. It's easy to tell since you can't hit them, but it's best not to waste the actions figuring that out.
Guards are the only source of Keys in the game, so as unethical as it may seem, you will have to kill a few at some point. Once you have a Key, getting more is a lot easier—just use that Key to steal a Frigate, then turn the cannons on the Guards. You'll still take damage, but not nearly as much, and you can collect a nice collection of Keys quickly.
Experience
15
Guards are implacable foes, but you can get rid of them easily with the Bribe Command. This will cost 100 Gold a pop, but since the Guards not only leave you alone but disappear entirely, it can open many otherwise blocked paths, and do so without causing any fights. You can even Bribe Guards that are aggressive if you manage to do so right before they Attack.