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Ezio strides down the streets of Venice while Civilians and Guards look on.
Civilians were the members of a nation’s population, that could be found abundantly in cities throughout the existence of humanity. They were of no significance to either the Templar or Assassin Order.
Civilians were the general denizens of the cities (and the Kingdom) of the Holy Land. They possessed no threat to the Assassin Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, however, certain individuals reacted aggressively towards his presence and actions.
Civilians watched Altaïr closely when he engaged in fights, made comments as he free ran throughout the city, gasped when he killed city guards and collectively fled from a scene of bloodshed. Civilians also acted as both a shield and a hindrance for Altaïr whenever he ran. When he ran into a large group of them whilst sprinting, he would lose his balance and fall onto the ground, offending those around him. However, if Altaïr shoved his way through a crowd, he could maintain his running momentum.
If Altaïr killed a civilian, he would suffer a large penalty due to his disregard for the first tenet of the Creed, this would also cause his descendant Desmond Miles, in the Animus virtual machine, to face desynchronization.
Renaissance
Civilians during the Renaissance period behaved in a similar manner to those during the High Middle Ages. However, if the Assassin Ezio Auditore killed civilians, instead of losing synchronization, Desmond would be warned twice and finally be desynchronized if a third was killed. A double assassination with the hidden blade counted for two kills and thus, two strikes. Ezio was also able to blend within all groups of civilians, as opposed to scholars during the Third Crusade era. Ezio possessed the ability to throw 10 florins onto the ground, causing a mob of civilians to crowd around him and desperately pick up the coins.
Civilian types
There were multiple civilian types that differed from the mainstream population. Some assisted Altaïr and Ezio, however others presented themselves as obstacles to the Assassins, and/or an outright danger.
In the cities of Acre, Damascus, and Jerusalem, that Altaïr visited, desperate female beggars would approach and pester him for money, claiming that their families were seriously ill and destitute. When their attempts to obtain money failed, they would give up their efforts and walk away. When Altaïr attempted to climb a building to escape them, they would pelt rocks towards him. When Altaïr drew any of his weapons, they would run away screaming immediately. Furthermore, he could grab and throw them in another direction to frighten them. Another method was to simply punch them, which sent them fleeing. Doing this had the same effect as throwing them and did not usually cause nearby guards to intervene. Desmond would also receive minor decrease in synchronization, but frightening them caused them to avoid Altaïr.
15th century
Beggars appeared in the Italian cities of Romagna and Tuscany, but did not chase or harass Ezio for money, only leaning against a wall or standing up when Ezio approached them. When he threw money at them, they would pick it all up, thank him, and proceed to walk away. The function of beggars during the High Middle Ages reappeared as minstrels, who acted similarly. However, that they did not demand money and instead, ran in front of Ezio singing and playing chords on their instruments.
16th century
The city of Rome featured the calmer beggars of the previously visited Italian cities, as well as the return of the harassing beggars from the High Middle Ages. Ezio could prevent interference from these beggars by also throwing money at them. This time around, the harassing beggars were usually found in groups of three, all of which were women. These women disappeared after Rome was fully rebuilt.
Carriers
High Middle Ages
In the three cities visited by Altaïr after his failure at Solomon's Temple, certain civilians could be found walking around carrying something heavy. When Altaïr bumped into them, they would drop the item and cause a big commotion. To pass by carriers without causing a commotion, he was forced to gently push aside. The carriers came in two variations: jar carriers and box carriers. Jar carriers were women carrying around a large jar on their head and box carriers were men holding a box close to their chest. If Altaïr knocked these civilians over, nearby guards would exclaim a warning, and if he repeated his actions, they would attack.
15th and 16th century
Only box carriers appeared during the Renaissance. They were seen carrying boxes from shop to shop. If Ezio bumped into one, they would cause a great deal of commotion, and any guards that witnessed the action would often approach and push Ezio around.
Whenever a box-carrier to walked into the back of Ezio, this resulted in them dropping the box, but still blaming Ezio for the accident. Galloping on a horse near one would also cause him to drop his box.
Scholars were holy men who walked slowly and silently through the three cities. Having robes similar enough to a Scholar's, Altaïr could blend in with a group of them to escape guards.
During Altaïr's visit to Alep, Scholars did not come in groups and Altaïr could not blend with them.
During the Renaissance, there were Monks. Their importance was severely diminished since Ezio was able blend in with any group of civilians. Instead, their closest counterpart functionally would be Courtesans, who moved with Ezio when instructed.
Thugs or Courageous Citizens were burly denizens of the three cities. They were the only peasants that would fight Altaïr, but only in a fistfight; if he drew a weapon, it would cause them to flee, though they would atract guards who are not afraid of weapons. Altaïr could pickpocket thugs for five throwing knives, or defeat them in a fistfight for one. If Altaïr killed them during a fight, as Desmond would lose synchronization, and he would be unable to obtain any throwing knives. Thugs did not follow Altaïr up onto the roofs whenever he escaped from a fight.
Thugs also appeared in fortress city of Masyaf, but they had a much different appearance than those in the other three cities. In Masyaf they were far less burly, and took the appearance of Assassin Informants but with darker robes.
Whilst they did not appear in any other period, Renaissance civilians would fight Ezio if he was caught pickpocketing. Unlike in the High Middle Ages, however, fist-fighting civilians were extremely easy to defeat in combat. Ezio was more proficient in unarmed combat than Altaïr, fist fighting civilians backed down and fled after he dealt a first hit, and even if they manage to blocked it. During both Beat Up and Mail Delivery memories in the city of Forlì, gangs of civilians engaged Ezio in much the same way as the Thugs did in the High Middle Agesand unlike normal civilians, he found them more difficult to defeat.
Troublemakers
During the High Middle Ages, the three major cities Altaïr visited contained madmen and drunkards. They usually were found babbling and walking through back alleys. When approached, they would shove Altaïr violently and caused a great disturbance, which could have caused him to become exposed, fail a side memory, or break his cover as he attempted an assassination. Troublemakers in Acre were also able to push Altaïr into waters, instantly causing desynchronization for Desmond.
Similar to beggars, when Altaïr punched or shoved them when he saw them, they would flee, and this would not arouse suspicion with nearby guards. Desmond would receive a minor decrease in synchronization. However, if there were Thugs present, they would commence a fistfight with Altaïr.
During the Renaissance, numerous drunkards located in the cities resembled those in the High Middle Ages; however, they did not act aggressively.
Vigilantes were groups of brave, tough men that assisted Altaïr after he saved female citizens in distress. When Altaïr ran past a group of Vigilantes whilst being chased by guards, the Vigilantes would grab the guards, delayed them, aided Altaïr’s escape, and presented him the opportunity to assassinate the restrained guards. They were particularly helpful in memories for assassination targets who fled from Altaïr, the Templars Talal, Jubair al Hakim, and Sibrand.
In Rome during the 16th century, vigilantes appeared in areas where Ezio destroyed a Borgia tower, acting in the same manner to vigilantes in the High Middle Ages.
During the Renaissance, minstrels followed Ezio on the streets, playing on their lutes and singing songs concerning him. They were the beggars of the 15th and 16th century and were less irritable to Ezio than their Middle Aged counterparts. They were not as desperate as the beggars of that time, nor would they hurl rocks at Ezio if he attempted to evade their presence. There was a far easier and socially acceptable method for Ezio to appease them, by throwing florins towards them. Ezio could also punch or throw them and cause them to flee. However, drawing a weapon in their presence and punching them would cause a 25% increase in Notoriety.
Ezio was able to deal with them by knocking them over whilst in high profile, immediately preventing them from singing and blocking his way. Although he did this near guards, this would draw their attention, and caused a slight increase in Notoriety. When Ezio stole from a minstrel, it caused him to drop his instrument, and gave Ezio 3-5 florins.
Minstrels were also found in Rome and only wore different colored clothes. When Ezio stole from a minstrel, it caused him to drop his instrument, but yielded no coins for the Assassin.
Pickpockets in the Renaissance era were thieves that attempted to steal Ezio's florins. If the pickpocket was successful in stealing money, or if Ezio was in the pickpocket's sight, he would escape by use of free-running. When Ezio was pick-pocketed, he could regain the money by chasing, and tackling the pickpocket. In addition to the stolen money, an extra 500 florins could be gained by tackling. In Rome, pickpockets carried one trade item that Ezio could use for the completion of shop quests. Pickpockets were identifiable by a money pouch icon on the map, as well as a silver arrow above their heads, inside the Animus. Pickpockets were also subject to the same rules on rooftops as Ezio. If a pickpocket entered the rooftops, he would be shot at by an alerted archer, or arquebusier. If one was killed, the deceased body could still be looted and if Ezio killed a pickpocket without the presence of nearby guards or in a low profile action, it had no penalties for Desmond’s desynchronization.
Borgia Messengers were presumably, couriers of the House of Borgia during the Renaissance. They behaved in a similar manner to pickpockets and fled upon Ezio’s sight. They wouldn't attempt to steal from Ezio and did not have any icon on the radar; the only way to identify them was by a silver chevron that appeared above their heads. Ezio could steal a sum of 1503 to 1505 florins from them. Killing a Borgia Messenger resulted in a 50% notoriety increase during the 15th century, or a 100% increase in the 16th century. When a Borgia messenger was detected on rooftops by guards, he would be attacked. Their dead bodies could also be looted.
During the Renaissance, Courtesans were civilians adept at distracting guards. Ezio was able to hire a group of four courtesans for an amount of florins and blend in with them. Through courtesans, Ezio could enter guarded places and follow assassination targets without detection. Two courtesans would detach from the hired group if Ezio approached nearby guards and serve as distractions to them. During the 16th century, courtesans also could poison guards by blowing a poisonous powder into the guards’ faces. When Ezio entered a fight with guards whilst in the presence of hired courtesans, they would immediately flee.
Mercenaries were skilled and physically tough fighters in the Renaissance period. Ezio could hire a group of either four or six mercenaries for a payment of florins, to attack and kill guards as a form of distraction. However, they couldn't scale rooftops with Ezio unless there was a ladder present for them to climb. Mercenaries always carried heavy weapons and were unable to sprint. In Rome, they were also able to Minstrels aside from Ezio when they appeared in his presence.
Thieves lured away guards when hired by Ezio in the Renaissance era and could be found in groups of four individuals each. Whilst in Rome, Thieves would also pickpocket any civilians they passed for Ezio. Although Thieves could free run with Ezio, they were not effective at freerunning in a full group. When they were on a small platform or rooftop, they would likely fall, either from lack of space, from arrows and bullets shot at them by a nearby archer, crossbowman, or arquebusier, or from other thieves' gently pushing them, which caused them to fall or lose grip whilst holding onto the edge of a roof. Hired thieves would also assist Ezio if he engaged in combat with guards.
Altaïr would discover citizens that required his attention within the three cities. They were often being harassed by guards for crimes they did not commit. Altaïr killed the guards, and in doing so, unlocked a group of either Scholars or Vigilantes. Women that were saved provided an extra group of Vigilantes, and men that were saved provided an extra group of Scholars.
In Altaïr's visit to Alep, Citizens were similar to those in Acre, Damascus and Jerusalem, but rewarded Altaïr with coins instead of giving him a specific assistance group.
Renaissance
In Rome during the 16th century, Ezio could save citizens that were being harassed by Borgia guards. Once saved, they gave their lives to join Ezio's cause and became Assassin apprentices. They would only appear when Ezio had at least one free Assassin recruit slot.
Potential Assassin Apprentices were civilians located in areas previously under the influence of the Borgia, who were often bullied and beaten up by guards. When saved by Ezio in Rome, these civilians sought to eliminate the Borgia influence in the city and joined the Assassin Order as Ezio's personal team of Assassins.
Assassin's Creed contains files titled "SnakeCharmer", but no snake charmer exists in the game. This hints that developer Ubisoft may have originally intended the game to feature snake charmers.
When you have completed Assassin's Creed, Altaïr will no longer desynchronize for killing civilians.
As seen in early gameplay videos, Altaïr was originally able to push civilians out of his way whilst standing still in Assassin's Creed.
An achievement can be obtained for throwing the female beggars in Assassin's Creed twenty-five times.
The civilians of Damascus, Jerusalem, and Masyaf are similar in appearance.
When using eagle vision in Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed II and Brotherhood, civilians are the only ones that do not glow any color. They are simply grey, because they are not an ally or an enemy.
In Assassin's Creed II and Brotherhood, the player can distinguish between different civilian attributes and types. For instance, a rich civilian will wear more lively and colorful clothes, capes and shoes, all of a very fancy nature. A richer civilian can be pickpocketed for more florins.
In Assassin's Creed II if the player pickpockets a male civilian and who later realizes what has happened, the male civilian would attack the player with their fists; however, a female who realizes she has been pickpocketed will only shriek and run from Ezio. In ‘’Brotherhood’’, this was changed so that both men and women would attack the player after being pickpocketed indiscriminately.
In Assassin's Creed II and Brotherhood, women will often find anything Ezio does to be attractive, commenting how strong, fast, or brave he is throughout the game.File:Civilian fire breath.jpgA civilian fire-breather
Ezio can kill civilians without desynchronizing by using a gentle push or by punching them into water. However, throwing them in to water will cause desynchronization.
You can also 'kill' civilians without desynchronization by knocking them out first and then dragging their subdued body off a ledge higher than a single story. This will stop them from writhing about on the ground and turn them into a motionless corpse. In fact, this works with any subdued person. If the civilian is picked up and thrown a second time, he will resume his writhing.
There is also a rare glitch in Assassin's Creed II where a group of civilians listening to a town crier will not react to any violent act the player commits. These civilians can be killed in the form of an execution without penalizing the player. Although occasionally about a minute after the glitch the player may become spontaneously desynchronized if they had killed two civilians a minute or so prior to killing the glitched NPCs.
In Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, as Ezio rebuilds Rome, civilians will start carrying parasols, scepters and fans.
In Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, the male potential Assassin Recruits always have the same clothes as Duccio de Luca, Claudia Auditore's former love interest in Assassin's Creed II.
