| Insects | |
|---|---|
 Insect Swarm, from Ultima IV manual | |
| First appearance: | Ultima IV |
| Last appearance: | Serpent Isle |
One insect might be only a nuisance, but a swarm of thousands of them can be quite dangerous to the adventurer. Insect swarms can, while not doing much physical damage, infect their victims with a disease or poison them.
Insect Swarms can be found anywhere, but mostly near swamps and light during the night. Curiously, when gazers die, a cloud of insects appears in its place. The spell Insect Swarm can conjure them as well.
Lore[]
If thou dost stay clear of these non-evil vermin, they will not bother thee. Marsh and dungeons are their favorite locales. Insects can fly, so they can chase thee over water.
- from The History of Britannia (Ultima IV)
Pesky insects have little muscle or brain, but their tiny size lets them move quickly, dodging and feinting. They bite more often than they miss, but their sting does little damage. Once hit, all insects are easily squashed. Rare is the insect that delivers a fatal bite, but a swarm of thousands can mean death.
- from Book of Lore (Ultima V)
These pesky, flying nuisances can be quite bothersome if stirred up by the careless explorer. A single buzzing swamp fly can be annoying; a biting swarm can leave the traveler depleted and exhausted.
- from Compendium (Ultima VI)
This is an insect swarm capable of causing an intolerable number of bites and stings, as well as severely spooking horses and destroying crops.
- from The Book of Fellowship (Ultima VII)
This term refers to a great variety of tiny, six-legged creatures. Some fly, some bite, some travel in swarms, but all are a nuisance.