http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8K8KQlZJcv8&t=2m34s

I never have said anything that denies racism within the game. I've merely said the platform that Ulfric is a Nord Supremacist Racist is extremely exaggerated. He doesn't come across as hating other races/cultures, he's just more occupied with internal Nord matters to have time to spare other races problems. He says much to the effect when one of his advisers remarks about unrest in the Gray Quarter. He also makes the point of telling said adviser to keep him informed if anything more substantiated comes to light.

As for the Forsworn - I haven't quested much in that area, I admit that. But every Forsworn encampment I've been at, there's blood, there's hostiles, Hagravens, and general signs of some pretty depraved rituals and "religion". I'm sure not all Forsworn fit this stereotype, but this thread is titled "A Nord's View of the Civil War". I'm viewing this through the lens of what my character has experienced. Right now in the game, my opinion of the Forsworn is rather low.

thats cause he's not a dragonborn. he doesnt have the ability to slay a dragon. as ulfric himself has said, just cause one can use shouts doesnt mean they're amazing at it. anyone can go up the the greybeards and learn the way of the voice. he used it during the fight. can u blame him? it was a challenge and he won. simple as that.

but dont get it twisted, ulfric HAS helped the land. he's trying to end the civil war quickly and decisively. what the elves REALLY want is a long, bloody war between the 2 sides. they dont want the empire to win quickly just asm uch as they dont want ulfric to win quickly. they want both sides severely weakened. ulfric saw that and decided to end it as quickly as possible.

a strong skyrim united under a high king determined to take on all foes is just what they need. they do not need a passive empire.

The Dunmer in the Gray Quarter are his citizens. Not just Skyrim citizens, Windhelm citizens. That he considers their problems to be outside of his direct interests isn't really a point in favor of him not being racist. You don't have to want every member of another race to die to be racist. You don't have to, in fact, treat every member of another race poorly, or even THINK of every single member of that race poorly, to be racist (see: the high elf merchant who now doesn't have racial issues, but who did before the local Nords got to know her). If you treat someone differently solely because of their race, you've got some racism going on. IE, if Bob the Nord likes this high elf merchant because he's been around her and interacted with her enough for her to be a 'good elf' to him, an exception, you might say, but he still goes down with his buddies to harass the dark elves in the Gray Quarter because they're dark elves, Bob the Nord is still a racist dike. Plenty of extremely racist people have had 'exceptions' to their racist views. This goes hand in hand with Ulfric and his advisors being willing to accept the player into the Stormcloaks regardless of what race they are. It's not proof that they don't have racist leanings or tendencies, it's proof they can make exceptions, especially when those exceptions are beneficial (after all, Ulfric recognizes you from Helgen, knows the Empire tried to kill you, knows you're at least strong enough to survive a dragon attack, and by that point you may well be known as any one of any number of ranks in other organizations, including the Dragonborn. It'd be very very silly to turn your genuine offer of aid down because you weren't a Nord, especially when he's losing.)

And oh yeah, the Forsworn are jerks. They are. Their camps are creepy and they're really fond of hagravens. They murder people in the streets and seem pretty dedicated to the idea of murderfacing anyone who isn't one of them in the Reach these days. ...But again, you can do really horrific things to bad people, and they'll still be pretty horrific. And if your actions have led these people to get heaps of new recruits, as Ulfric's have with the Forsworn, well...

Edited to add: Your character's IC view makes perfect sense to me. I've just seen these arguments made in an OOC fashion in a large number of similar threads, and its making me side-eye 'em.

they dont treat them solely based of race. they treat them based on their work ethic. niranye came in and WORKED HARD to gain respect. the dark elves started complaining right away and did nothing to earn their respect. they assumed they'd get it for no reason. im sorry but thats not how it works. if ur not going to work hard to get respect, u dont deserve it, no matter what race they are.

the dark elves feel liek they're entitled the same respect for less effort and i have absolutely no problem with them being in poverty and harassed. dont like it? DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. niranye was harassed just as much as any other elf. what did she do? she worked hard.

lazy dark elves...


not all hagravens are bad. look at the melka quest. she helps u in the cave...

ur just racist against hagravens...

But seeing how thngs started to look up for the Dark elves and the Argonians when the new Jarl came in after I killed Ulfric, that sealed the deal for me. I saw the Jarl Ulfric should have been. I was so impressed when I talked to the new Jarl and he told me how he'd met with the Dunmer and started planning renovations to the Gray quarter, almost a day or two after taking office. He told me how he was going to work to raise the disposition of his people towards the Argonians so he could let the Argonians into the city with no fear of of the public harming them. I saw a man who didn't get his vision clouded by visions of grandeur, but a man who was able to see both the future of Skyrim and Windhelm and not just the future of Skyrim and himself. Mind you, this all takes time because Ulfric spent all the money in the coffers on the war, but that's more so Bethesda doesn't have to program the "New Windhelm".

If Anyone Read The "Great war" You would know that Titus Mede II Showed MASSIVe Personally Courage During the Battle of the imperial city, Also When you Meet him InGAME He Literally SHOWS NO FEAR.

Well, no... but we're the Dragonborn, charged by the gods to save the world, yadda yadda...

Ulfric is just a Nord who happens to know how to use the Thu'um.

Except this is entirely bunk, because you have hardworking Argonians stuck on the docks that get paid a fraction of what the Nord dockworkers are paid, solely because those dockworkers are Nords and the Argonians are not.

And every Dunmer refugee is lazy? Really? There are Dunmer running their own businesses in Windhelm. The 'Dunmer are lazy and aren't doing anything' bit is straight from a biased book and comments by, gosh, Windhelm Nords. Even the elves doing well that are looking down on the other elves acknowledge they had to face racism in order to get to where they are. There's kind've a big difference between 'wanting everything for free' and 'because you're an elf/argonian/insert race here, you're considered a lesser, unworthy, lazy being until we, the people in power, determine that you aren't'. They're not poor because they're lazy, they're poor because they're refugees that lost everything, were forced to flee for their lives, and are now living in a city that demonstrably pays non-Nords much less than Nords for the same work, are relegated to a slum where crime is rampant and the guards barely patrol, and are subject to bandit raids and harassment that their own Jarl considers to be 'not his problem'. Are some of them lazy? Sure, though I haven't really come across any I could point to. Have some of them turned to crime? Yep. Are they rather unwilling to work for the benefit of Windhelm? Definitely, but Windhelm's made it pretty clear it has no desire to work for their benefit either.

And then there's the complaints they won't join in with the civil war, and that makes me laugh. They live in Windhelm. Stormcloak HQ. Obviously joining the Legion isn't much of an option. As for joining the Stormcloaks, the Stormcloaks are the same dikes who keep coming into the Gray Quarter to shout at them, pick fights, and in at least one case, threaten [censored]. Why on Nirn would they want to join a group that makes their daily lives miserable? Especially when joining said group carries with it the very real threat that, should the Stormcloaks lose, they would be executed as traitors, and should the Stormcloaks win, well...Skyrim for the Nords.

As for the hagravens, a quest near Riften makes it pretty clear Hagravens are made via human sacrifice, sooo...

I have Completed them both from a Nords Point of view for the Imperials and a Dunmer for the Stormcloaks. through all the evidence it seems most likly that Ulfric is using his for the People and for Talos just to rally some more people to help him become king.

PS. you said something about necromancy and Daedra. Well that probibly woudnt end well with either a legion of zombies or An Emperor in the Pocket of Mehrunes Dagon or Clavicus Vile.

EDIT: at Krog. Blasting a Bandit off a cliff and killing the High King in a Test of Combat are different.