The player and Ralof could have overpowered the guard operating the carriage. For example: Ralof could have dropped his arms around the guard and quickly lifted him into the carriage. Then the player and Ralof would have beat him to death. While they are doing that Ulfric could pull down the cloth and shouted the guard behind them to death. Then do the same to the 2 other guards in front of their carriage.

The simple fact that he could have removed his gag at any time doesn't make any sense.

Because that probably wouldn't lead into a good linear tutorial section.

shout cooldown? lol i don't know, i think he thought he was going to the imperial city for a trial, and the helgen execution was a detail that tuilius decided on. I'm pretty sure i read that somewhere or something

He was really tuckered out after being captured, OP, give the guy a break. We can't all be ubermensch.

I thought all the prisioners were binded? The player was at least. Anyways, that would have led to a very pro-Stormcloak tutorial.

I know. Let's say Alduin didn't attack Helgen. Would he have actually died fighting or died like a common prisoner? Also what I love is that their hands are not tied behind their back. There are so many options they could have done during that timespan to escape. You would think the Imperials would realize that.

He was probably planning on a stylish exit, just as he was about to get his head removed, he would removed the cloth and shout his way out of his bounds, free his stormcloak brothers, and shout his way to victory, however Alduin seened to have set these plans off track....

Then accidently trips over Dovahkiin's head.

Because he's no Dovakiin. Why doesnt he do any of the stormcloaks fighting ? Lore has tons of stories where those with the power of the Thuum destroyed their opponents ? He seems lazy to me.

Well, seeing as how the legion actually overthrew him and captured him in the
first place alludes to the fact, that Ulfric may not be as strong in the way of the
voice as he'd like us to believe. He only spent 10 years at Sky Haven Temple,
and that isn't very long for most to learn the dragon language.

Remember, it takes years of meditation and training to even learn a single word of
a shout for a normal person.

He probably only knows Fus Ro Dah and that's it. He probably wouldn't be able to
use it as often as the Dovahkiin either - so to shout a couple of Legionaires away
wouldn't have been very effective, since he would probably get killed directly after.

He was just luring them into a false sense of security, but the dragon interrupted his real plans.

If you follow Ralof out of Helgen and ask him about the ambush he'll tell you that they were so badly outnumbered that Ulfric ordered them to stand down, having apparently decided that capture was inevitable. Altho it's not made clear by what you can see from the carriage, I doubt that the escort to Helgen was limited to the guy driving the carriage and the legionnaire(s) riding immediately behind. As was proven later in the case of the horse thief, all it takes is an archer with good aim to bring a man down.

And Ulfric doesn't have unlimited Shouts any more than the player does, nor can he Shout at every enemy in every direction at once.

Ulfric also doesn't necessarily know that Tullius intends to execute all the prisoners. According to Ralof he surrendered in order to keep them all from dying in a pointless battle to defend him. If he was hoping to save their lives by surrendering it wouldn't make sense to risk getting them all killed again when he might be the only one going to the block (as far as he knows).

Surrounded by an army with only a handful of men, shout cooldown, overpowered, bound, and gagged, led in a train of similar carts, flanked, followed, and led by soldiers (on foot and mounted)... um, did you see what happened to Lokir?

That would've been enough. Also why doesn't he shout during the final battle of the CW questline? I never understood that.

He could not have just Shouted his way out of Helgen. For the vary same reason that one Dragon Shout does not win a battle. Besides, there is no Shout that says "Remove the ropes that have tied my hands". So, even if he did the shout, he would be standing there getting cut to pieces while catching his breath for the next one.

As well as the heads of all his Stormcloak brothers, since it seems like Ulfric was meant to be the last one to the block. The best time to free your men is usually when they're still alive to enjoy it.


Actually he spent no time at all at Skyhaven Temple, since it's been abandoned for who knows how long. Nobody could even get in there until you showed up with your fancy shmancy Dragonborn DNA.

He studied with the Greybeards at High Hrothgar.


Nope, he also knows Disarm and will use it to great effect in the battle of Solitude. At least he always does in my game.

Being on PC I've also taken advantage of modding to take him as a follower on a few adventures. He may know only two Shouts, but I can assure that his Thu'um is plenty strong enough.

He was gagged and outnumbered...?Not to mention his hands were bound.

If DB and Ralof take out the guy in front of them. They can use teamwork to handle his sword and cut Ulfric's ropes off and he'll do the same to theirs.

I'm now picturing the above as the end of the cinematic scene, then the screen fades to black and you hear on a distance a nord choire going TROLOLOL - game ends.

He does on the Stormcloak side, he uses FUS RO DAH, just as reguarly as the Dragonborn does during the seige of Solitude..

That all prisoners arms are tied in front seems like a rather stupid oversight. It just doesn't make sense.


As soon as he's engaging in a fight, he uses Unrelenting Force and Disarm, frequently. Including in the battle for Solitude, which is the only scripted battle he participates in, but even without mods you can see him fight some more if you follow him back to Windhelm afterwards (or back from High Hrotgar, if you do Season Unending).

And you know what? One of the times I went through Helgen (hi, my name is A*****, and I'm a character creation addict) I swear I heard the sound effect of a shout just as I entered Helgen Keep. And since the PC doesn't know how to shout at that point, and the sound effect of Alduin's roars is completely different, it really only leaves the alternative that Ulfric was somewhere out there, shouting his way to freedom.

And in the meantime the guys behind them shoot them full of arrows.

This plan only works if they are in an isolated area with a maximum of one or two guys to take out before they get away, and none of their enemies have any ranged weapons at all. This isn't the case.

But what about the Empire side? I remember that fight as being kind of anti-climatic.

I once noclipped through the Helgen walls and found Ulfric still there in the tower, doing nothing. I swear I don't want to hurt your feelings