Hold Guard

"You have committed crimes against Skyrim and her people, what say you in your defense?"

- Hold Guard Every Hold in Skyrim has its own Guard. These Guards protect the capital cities of each Hold and any other villages or settlements within.

All hold guards wear very similar armor sets, differences are normally just the color of the sash and material of the undershirt used, either scaled or quilted. They also wear the same model of helmet, however the colors vary depending on the Hold.

Hold guards can be permanently replaced by either Imperial or Stormcloak soldiers during the Civil War, depending on which faction the player joins. They will perform the same duties and have the same dialogue (although they may also have additional faction-based dialogue) as regular guards. Holds that are loyal to the victorious faction will keep their guards, however those that are not loyal will be replaced.

Hold guards also carry a shield which varies in color, and typically displays the symbol of the hold across the front.

Only Stormcloak-controlled Holds have female guards.

Level
Hold's Guards level with the Dragonborn until around level 50. This means that at level 50+, the Hold's Guards can become rather powerful, and have no problem fighting even a Dragon.

Noteably, Hold Guards continue to level up to match the Dragonborn's level, while regular named NPCs (including Followers) are locked at the level in which they are first spawned.

Guards
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Falkreath Hold Guard
These guards patrol Falkreath and Falkreath Hold.

They wear the dark blue version of the guard armor. This armor is a leather scaled vest with a chainmail shirt underneath. In addition, they also wear Fur Boots.

The guards also carry a blue, wooden, round shield with a painted motif of a deer's head on it.

During the course of the civil war, the Stormcloaks may occupy Falkreath and replace these guards. ! style="border-bottom:1px solid #4E4E4E;vertical-align: top;padding: 10px 0 20px 0;" |

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Hjaalmarch Hold Guard
These guards patrol Hjaalmarch and Morthal

They wear a pale green version of the guard armor. The armor is a quilted vest with a chainmail shirt underneath. In addition, they also wear Fur Boots.

The guards also carry a green and gray wooden, round shield with a painted spiral motif.

During the course of the civil war, the Stormcloaks may occupy Morthal and replace these guards. ! style="border-bottom:1px solid #4E4E4E;vertical-align: top;padding: 10px 0 20px 0;" |

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The Reach Guard
These guards patrol The Reach and Markarth.

They wear the green cloth version of the guard armor. The armor is a quilted vest with a bronze chainmail shirt underneath. In addition, they also wear Fur Gauntlets and Fur Boots.

The guards also carry a green, wooden, round shield with a painted motif of a stylized ram's head

During the course of the civil war, the Stormcloaks may occupy Markarth and replace these guards. ! style="border-bottom:1px solid #4E4E4E;vertical-align: top;padding: 10px 0 20px 0;" |

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The Pale Guard
These guards patrol The Pale and Dawnstar.

They wear a pale, cream cloth version of the guard armor. The armor is a scaled vest with a bronze chainmail shirt underneath. In addition, they also wear Fur Gauntlets and Fur Boots.

The guards also carry a gray, wooden, round shield with a painted motif of a 4 point star.

During the course of the civil war, the Imperial Legion or Stormcloaks may occupy Dawnstar and replace these guards. ! style="border-bottom:1px solid #4E4E4E;vertical-align: top;padding: 10px 0 20px 0;" |

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The Rift Guard
These guards patrol The Rift and Riften.

They wear a purple cloth version of the guard armor. The armor is a quilted vest with a bronze chainmail shirt underneath. In addition, they also wear Fur Boots.

The guards also carry a lavender, wooden, round shield with a painted motif of 2 crossed swords.

Ivarstead is a part of The Rift, but their guards are slightly different and are named "Ivarstead Guard" and the same thing goes with Shor's stone.

During the course of the civil war, the Imperial Legion may occupy Riften and replace these guards.

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Haafingar Hold Guard
These guards patrol Haafingar Hold and Solitude.

They wear a red cloth version of the guard armor. The armor is a scaled vest with a chainmail shirt underneath. In addition, as Solitude is the Capital of Skyrim and under Imperial Legion control, the guard also wear Imperial Bracers and Imperial Boots.

The guards also carry a red, wooden, round shield with a painted motif of a wolf.

The guards around Castle Dour are Imperial soldiers and will wear full Imperial Armor, though they are still named Solitude Guard.

During the course of the civil war, the Stormcloaks may occupy Solitude and replace these guards. ! style="border-bottom:1px solid #4E4E4E;vertical-align: top;padding: 10px 0 20px 0;" |

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Whiterun Hold Guard
These guards patrol Whiterun Hold and Whiterun. Commander Caius serves as commander of the Whiterun Guard.

They wear a yellow cloth version of the guard armor. The armor is a scaled vest with a chainmail shirt underneath. In addition, they also wear Fur Boots, but most guards wear no gauntlets.

The guards also carry a yellow, wooden, round shield with a painted motif of a horse's head.

During the course of the civil war, the Stormcloaks may occupy Whiterun and replace these guards. Commander Caius will also be removed from his post and replaced with Sinmir. The detachment of guards that was sent to Riverwood during Dragon Rising will remain. ! style="border-bottom:1px solid #4E4E4E;vertical-align: top;padding: 10px 0 20px 0;" |

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Eastmarch Hold Guard
These guards patrol Eastmarch and Windhelm. They are Stormcloak soldiers and share their speech options.

They wear a blue cloth Stormcloak uniform. The armor is a quilted vest with a chainmail shirt underneath. In addition, they also wear Fur Gauntlets and Fur Boots.

The guards also carry a blue, wooden, round shield with a painted motif of a bear's head

During the course of the civil war, the Imperial Legion may occupy Windhelm and replace these guards.

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Winterhold Guard
Only two guards patrol the city of Winterhold at any one time, while a third is in the Jarl's Longhouse. Only one additional Winterhold Hold guard can be found elsewhere in the hold at the Whistling Mine, located to the south-east of Winterhold proper. This guard is the holder of the only known Winterhold guard shield.

They wear a light blue cloth version of the guard armor. The armor is a quilted vest with a chainmail shirt underneath. In addition, they also wear Fur Boots.

During the course of the civil war, the Imperial Legion may occupy Winterhold and replace these guards. ! style="padding: 10px 0 20px 0;vertical-align: top;" |
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Bounties
Bounties in each hold are treated separately. For example, the player can obtain a bounty in Whiterun, and Riften will not recognize it.

Normally all guards can be bribed if the player is a member of the Thieves Guild with the exception of the guards of Markarth after the completion of The Forsworn Conspiracy and No One Escapes Chidna Mine. These guards will not accept bribes and the player will have no choice but to fight. There is the option to go to jail, and after selecting that option the guard will have dialogue. Cancel out the conversation and the guard will ignore the player.

It is possible to kill guards without gaining a bounty, as long as one is sneaking. Slain guards will respawn three days after their death. They can also be killed if they are hit by an unrelenting force shout and pushed off a cliff, or sometimes even down the stairs. The player does not get a bounty unless he has shouted at quite a few guards beforehand.

Trivia

 * Guards saying "Let me guess, someone stole your sweetroll " is a reference. It is a staple in many Bethesda games where it is treated as an ongoing joke.
 * Another Easter Egg is the "Arrow in the knee" comment, which is a reference to the lack of Greaves in Skyrim.
 * Guards are not fooled by the invisiblity spell when attempting an arrest.
 * Guards are not fooled by non-guards wearing guard armor, regardless of reputation, skills, or armor faction.
 * During The Forsworn Conspiracy, a Reach Hold Guard may warn the Dragonborn to stop asking questions to the residents.

Bugs

 * If all Solitude Guards are slain at once there is a possible bug where guards will not respawn.
 * There is a bug when the guards arrest the player, and the player says that he/she is the Thane of the Hold, the bounty will get cleared but the guards will still attack the player, without any choice but to fight, getting the player another bounty which makes the Thane dialogue useless.
 * There is a possible bug when getting caught and having to pay bounty in Solitude, the game might glitch and put you under the city. This can be avoided simply by walking to the exit doors. (On Xbox 360 and PS3)