
This armor is a leather scaled vest with a chainmail shirt underneath. They wear the indigo version of the guard armor. However, that makes it harder for them to be killed if one wants to loot them for their unique armor sets. This means that at level 50+, the Hold Guards are rather powerful, and have no problem fighting even a dragon. Hold Guards level with the Dragonborn until level 50.

Only Stormcloak-affiliated Holds have female guards. Additionally, they are the last line of defense of their city in the event of assault or invasion. Their duty is to uphold peace and order throughout the city and the hold, as well as ensuring justice is upheld in the event of a crime.

The guards are led by a captain and local Imperial Legate or Stormcloak Commander who reports to the local Jarl. However, those that are not loyal will be replaced. The victorious faction will keep their guards. They will perform the same duties and have the same dialogue (although they may also have additional faction-based dialogue) as regular guards. Hold guards can be permanently replaced by either Imperial or Stormcloak soldiers during the Civil War, depending on which side the Dragonborn joins. All hold guards use steel arrows with their bows. Hold guards in Stormcloak-controlled holds wield any one-handed or two-handed iron or steel weapons with hunting bows for their archery weapon, with either a Hide Shield or Steel Shield when engaging in combat instead of their Hold Guard Shields. However, some Reach hold guards, such as those that patrol the Dwemer Museum, are armed with Imperial swords like their counterparts in Haafingar, Hjaalmarch, Whiterun, and Falkreath, and the Whiterun hold guard that normally guards the front gate of Whiterun is seen wielding a one or two-handed iron or steel weapon instead of an Imperial sword himself. Reach hold guards vary in wielding one-handed iron or steel weapons, but still use Imperial bows like their counterparts in the other Imperial-controlled holds.

All Imperial-controlled holds, save for The Reach, have their guards armed with Imperial Swords and Imperial Bows. Weapons carried by the hold guards vary depending on which hold they belong to. Hold guards carry a round wooden shield, which varies in color and typically displays the symbol of the hold across the front. They also wear the same type of helmet, however the colors vary depending on the hold. These guards protect the capital cities of each hold, and any other settlements within.Īll hold guards wear similar armor sets the only differences being the color of the sash and material of the undershirt used, either scaled or quilted.
