Originally they were just standard NPCs. They did not instakill. And while quite tough, they could be defeated. So a strong enough group could go in and clear o

Originally they were just standard NPCs. They did not instakill. And while quite tough, they could be defeated. So a strong enough group could go in and clear out the guards until they respawned. At which point the town became lawless. I think the shift towards effectively being deities smiting criminals was complete by the end of Beta test though.