History Main / CityGuards

* ''Literature/VillainsbyNecessity'': Sam and Arcie early on get hauled off to a dungeon by the Bistort city guards. During their escape, Sam takes on two with ease (neither is killed). Later, he kills another trying to rape a girl in a different town. It's mentioned most have grown lazy and incompetent as a result of most criminals now having gotten {{brainwashed}} so there's less for them to do.

* On the other side of the coin, some of the guards in earlier ''VideoGame/{{Ultima}}'' games were just way stronger than your characters, at least at first. In addition, many [[MassivelyMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGame MMOs]] use City Guards which are pretty well leveled, largely to keep [[TheGreatPlayerVersusPlayerDebate PVP]] from getting out of hand.

* ''VideoGame/Majesty'': The player’s Palaces and Guardhouses will automatically spawn City Guards and Palace Guards, respectively, who will fight against enemy forces and monsters who get too close. While they cost nothing to use, they are roughly as strong as a baseline-level 1 hero and cannot level up, making them the game’s RedshirtArmy. Even the Veteran Guards from the leveled-up Guardhouses are only marginally stronger.

* This trope is done deliberately in the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'', where Creator/TerryPratchett's Ankh-Morpork City Watch take every associated trope up to and past eleven. This is reflected in the computer games based on the Discworld, such as ''VideoGame/DiscworldNoir''. Note that they're the ''main characters'' in most of the books in which they appear, and the fact they regard "heroes" with suspicious is largely justified; Sir Terry "wanted to give them a day in the sun, but it turned out to be a full tropical holiday".

* This trope is done deliberately in the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'', where Creator/TerryPratchett's Ankh-Morpork City Watch take every associated trope up to and past eleven. This is reflected in the computer games based on the Discworld, such as ''VideoGame/DiscworldNoir''.

* These are rather ubiquitous in RealLife. In English-speaking regions, they tend to be known as "the police". In many historical cities, they actually had surprisingly few guards however (usually called "the watch" or something similar), with a very low ratio in comparison with other citizens. Sometimes guards or watchmen were [[LawEnforcementInc paid for privately]], to cover specific districts. Even some ancient cities such as Constantinople though had police forces similar to modern ones. However, these dissipated in the West after Rome fell, and didn't reemerge until much later in the 1600s. The invention of gas lamps also helped, as before it was very difficult to police the city at night (while punishments for crimes committed then were also much greater). Frequently other citizens were expected to help, either through something like conscription to serve as guards, raising the "hue and cry" after crimes has been committed in public and serving in posses when called on to pursue criminals. This remained the case in rural areas much longer as more cities gained professional police forces similar to those now existing. However, organized law enforcement is still OlderThanFeudalism, dating back to ancient civilizations like Mesopotamia, Egypt and China.

** For more specific examples see below but in general the role of the guards in this series can be summed up as one of the three: [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess incompetant]], [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker non-existent]], or [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast active hindrence]] to the player character.

** The city guards of Denerim in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' don't appear to do much; their leader, Sergeant Kylon, says that the guard is basically a dumping ground for "Lord Such-and-Such's illegitimate, untrained, moronic whelps," and cleaning up the crime-ridden city is basically left to the player character and any other mercenaries willing to take a job. The guard ''will'' come down on you if you're caught stealing, however.

The City Guards are the local authorities. They strut about between one tile square and another, looking busy, decked out in more armour than your [[InformedEquipment hero]] and generally acting superior. In stories, the training and equipment of city guards varies according to the wealth and power of the city or town. A wealthy MerchantCity's guard may be an elite unit equipped with gleaming armor, costly swords, and elegant uniforms; they have a high morale and will be a formidable adversary in a battle. A dingy small town's guards may be old, worn-out soldiers with battle-dented breastplates and rusty weapons; they are poorly trained and will likely make only a token resistance before yielding. Even within a given city guard, there is a range of ranks and skills, from raw recruits to skilled, swordsmen and and experienced officers who lead them.

The City Guards are the local authorities. They strut about between one tile square and another, looking busy, decked out in more armour than your [[InformedEquipment hero]] and generally acting superior. In stories, the training and equipment of city guards varies according to the wealth and power of the city or town. A wealthy MerchantCity's guard may be an elite unit equipped with gleaming armor, costly swords, and elegant uniforms; they have a high morale and will be a formidable adversary in a battle. A dingy small town's guards may be old, worn-out soldiers with battle-dented breastplates and rusty weapons; they are poorly trained and will likely make only a token resistance before yielding.

The City Guards are the local authorities. They strut about between one tile square and another, looking busy, decked out in more armour than your [[InformedEquipment hero]] and generally acting superior. In stories, the training and equipment of city guards varies according to the wealth and power of the city or town. A wealthy MerchantCity's guard may be an elite unit equipped with gleaming armor, costly swords, and elegant uniforms. A dingy small town's guards may be old, worn-out soldiers with rusted, battle-dented breastplates and beaten-up spears.