I figured the easiest way would be to find the nearest beggar and give him one gold over and over but that does not appear to me working. Hawkind is giving me the same message when I ask him about Compassion.

What is the easiest or fastest way to raise this stat?

Give all your gold. So you have zero left. I think that does the trick.

...actually, that will raise your sacrifice. Compassion can be also be raised by letting non-evil creatures flee. I think.

Yeah, it looks like giving gold to a beggar raises your compassion 2 points, letting a non-evil creature flee a battle in the wild raises compassion 1 point, and letting non-evil creatures live in a dungeon room raises compassion 2 points.

There are, I believe, cooldowns on many events that increase virtue.

In order for an event to count as increasing virtue, you must go to the world map, take a certain (relatively small IIRC) number of steps, and only then can the virtue be increased again by that event.

At least in the NES version (don't know if this holds true for computer versions), this also applies to meditation at a shrine; if you're "weary of meditation" (or something like that ), you need to walk around a while before the game will let you meditate again.

Note that, while the general idea is the same, the exact rules are a bit different on the NES version (this, I believe, includes which events have cooldowns; I believe boosting virtue by buying reagents is one of them).

I know already that letting non-evil creatures flee works. The problem is, most encounters are not of this type.

I found an easy easy. Nate the Snake in Magincia is considered non-evil. Attack him and let him flee over and over. Bring plenty of cure poison spells with you if you plan on using this method.

As dtgreene mentioned, there is a cool down period, though only for giving money. 4 turns maybe.

You can always check your virtue levels with this keyboard command:

alt-z then ctrl-s

The numbers are virtues, ordered honesty, compassion, valor, justice, sacrifice, honor, spirituality, humility. I believe.

Just act like an Avatar of Virtue (it may take some serious role playing), and your Compassion will increase naturally.

I would have used dtgreene's method but I already did it another way before I came across his post so it was too late unfortunately. His way would have definitely been better.

OK, except that it seems you didnt read my forum title. (I go by she/her pronouns.)

Out of curiosity, what was the method you used?

if it helps, this site lists the actios that affect each virtue

note spoilers: it also shows mantras, how you learn them and where the runes are

http://wiki.ultimacodex.com/wiki/Virtues_in_Ultima_IV

I like this method best as well.

Some issues with this:
* You have to roleplay the developer's idea of what is virtuous and what is not. For example, while one might consider pacifism to be virtuous, that won't work in this game, as you can't reach partial avatarhood in Valor without doing so. (The only nonviolent way, to my knowledge, to boost Valor is to throw the skull into the abyss, and I believe that can only be done once per games, and that one time isn't enough.)
* In some cases, the method that works best is not the one that fits roleplaying; donating money is a good example. Donating 9999 gold is no better for compassion than donating only 1 at a time. Also, talking to the same person repeatedly to raise your virtue, while possible in some situations (and good for some virtues), seems rather silly from a roleplaying perspective. (Hast thou always been just? No. (Honestly increased.) *talks to the flame again* Hast thou always been just? No. (More Honesty increased.) *repeat until maxed*)
* It seems silly that you can redeem yourself so cheaply. Cheat the reagent seller to get a ton of reagents, then, for less than the cost of reagents, you can redeem yourself to get all your virtue back. (In computer versions, this will happen easily by buying the reagents normally; the NES version has a cooldown on virtue gains this way, but the cost of cheating the reagent seller isn't as big a deal; I think it's worth it to get 99 Mandrake Roots for 1 gold instead of 1980.) Ultima 5 also has an issue with this; steal from Lord British, then donate a tiny portion of it to get your Karma back. (Or, of course, in U5 you can get your Karma back to 75 at the cost of potentially all your XP by dropping your companions off in the bar and then deathwarping.)

As I said, Ultima 4 can't be played pacifist, even though that would seem to fit the idea of being virtuous. On the other hand, Ultima 6 can be; the speedrun is pretty close to a pacifist run (except, of course, for the part where the Avatar kills an innocent person and takes the rune they're carrying). Also, in Ultime 6, why is killing (and then looting the dead body) not as bad as stealing via spell (and leaving the person alive)?

Incidentally, one thing I am wondering about Ultima 4 virtue wise: If the guards are after you and they attack, is it bettre (for virtue) to fight or run away? (Of course, in U4, getting into a fight with the guards won't happen if you are playing virtuously; Ultima 5, on the other hand, is another matter.)

There are no issues with this. It entails being an 'Avatar of Virtue', as defined by the expectations of the game. Follows those virtues, as taught within the game, and you will become an Avatar. Eventually.

Meditate at the shrines, visit Seer Hawkind, and follow the wisdom imparted (give to beggars, don't kill non-evil creatures). That outlines the path to Avatarhood; to become an Avatar of Virtue. It will work out.

There's at least one situation where you have to go against a virtue to avoid losing some that I remember encountering:

There is one person who asks if you're the Avatar. If you say "Yes", I believe your Humility drops. Thing is, if you actually *are* the Avatar (that is, if you have already attained Avatarhood on this playthrough and haven't lost it), you have to lie here in order to avoid losing virtue.