Vigilantes

"Sorry, am I in your way?!"

- Vigilante grabbing a guard



Vigilantes are groups of men that will grab at guards if you find yourself being chased through a city. When in open conflict, simply running past a Vigilante group will cue them to start grabbing at the passing guards. A grabbed guard cannot move nor defend himself, allowing you to easily kill or shake the pursuer. Vigilantes can hold guards for about 5 seconds before the guard struggles free, although the guard is still vulnerable to being grabbed again.

A single vigilante can only grapple a single guard, so they may not be able to grab at all your pursuers. Any guard regardless of health or type can be grappled by vigilantes: even assassination targets are vulnerable to them.

Assassin's Creed
Vigilante groups are unlocked by saving female citizens who are being harassed by the guards. Once you speak with the saved citizen, they promise to tell their husband,brothers and neighbours of your good deed: the result is a vigilante group permanently placed at that point on the map.

If you walk near a group of vigilantes they will direct a couple of lines at you, such as "Thank you for saving my daughter" or "If you need me, I am here".

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Vigilantes do not appear in Assassin's Creed 2 but do return in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. In addition to grabbing pursuers, Vigilante groups can be used as blend spots if the player is anonymous. After destroying a Borgia Tower, all the Vigilante groups in the sector are unlocked and available (rather than unlocking each Vigilante group individually).

If all of your pursuers are killed with the assistance of Vigilantes, the group will disperse and cannot be used again until the area is reloaded (such as by managing your Assassin Recruits).

Vigilantes no longer address the player if he walks past, but it is possible to overhear what the Vigilantes are speaking about (how horrible life under the Borgia is, how wonderful the Assassins are). If guards pass near a group of Vigilantes, the Vigilantes will start heckling and taunting the guards (who will ignore them).