Lord British

Sponsorship the way you would do it

Lord Cantabrigian British is the name of the ruler of Britannia, kingdom of the fictitious world of Sosaria, created by Richard Garriott for his computer game series Ultima. Lord British is also a nickname for Garriott himself.

In the Ultima series, Lord British continuously provides healing, resurrection and other miscellaneous help for the Avatar (the main character) and his adventuring party. Neither the Avatar nor Lord British were born in Sosaria, but came from Earth via the moongates. The origin of the name Cantabrigian British is his birthplace's name, Cambridge in the British Isles. The name was given to him by his friend Shamino, and later Cantabrigian British decided to leave his old name in favor of the new one.

When Lord British came to Sosaria, the evil wizard named Mondain was still young. It is not clear wether they had an epic battle where Lord British came victorious or not. There are only vague affirmations that Lord British drove Mondain away from the kingdom, thus receiving the title of Lord in that land. If that is the case, then in Ultima I, Mondain was seeking revenge. The stranger (who would become the Avatar) dealt with Mondain this time, but three-fourths of the world mysteriously disappeared for causes unknown.

Numerous plotlines and side-quests in the Ultima games revolve around one of Lord British's adventures or public works projects. He had a key role in founding the Museum, Conservatory and innumerate institutions of the Britannian society.

In the real world, Richard Garriott (raised in the United States) acquired the nickname "Lord British" as a teenager from older students in his school who claimed he spoke with a British accent. Garriott released early games, such as Akalabeth, under the name and ocassionally appeared in Ultima Online playing as Lord British. He is still known as Lord British even after his departure from Ultima maker Origin Systems. Garriott retained the trademark rights to the name Lord British with its associated symbols, and he has suggested that the character will appear in his new "Tabula Rasa" game.