hey guys im having some trouble choosing between the stormcloaks and imperials. in all my playthroughs i chose stormcloaks but i was always a nord. now iv been playing a redguard and am realizing the stormcloaks really are some racist [censored]s. thing i dont like about imperials is every time i run into one of them, they seem like a Illuminati organization where if your one of them your good but if not your ganna get treated like dirt. so basically im looking for someone to persuade me to go imperial. or if you believe the stormcloaks really arent skyrim natzi's, let me know why. thanks guys.

When thinking about it on the grander level, I always thought the answer was obvious. A second war with the Dominion will happen. No doubt about that. The Dominion consists of three provinces: Summerset Isles, Valenwood and Elswyr. All three of them operate together under a united command structure.

So when it comes to opposing them in that war, anyone who things Skyrim will do better without the Empire is delusional. The combined forces of Cyrodill, High Rock, Skyrim and Morrowind (what's left of it) will stand a far better chance of victory than Skyrim. Some people like to speculate that Skyrim could ally with Hammerfell. Great, that's two provinces now against three. Such an alliance also comes with two different command and supply structures, which will have to be coordinated. So it will never be as efficient.

So yeah, Skryim will fair much better if it remains part of the Empire. And at the same time, the Empire will fair better with Skyrim as part of it.

A thousand times this. I choose Imperial every time, unless my character has different opinions.

This is probably one of the most logical arguments I have ever heard so I third this.

I understand where the OP is coming from on this. I am not that big of a stormcloak fan, but I could never get beyond the fact that the Imperials tried to cut my head off. People can make up all the excuses they want for that, but I just don't forgive that kind of stuff. Unfortunately because of that, I cannot offer any good argument for siding with the Imperials. I do want to do the Imperial questline someday, so I will creat an Imperial for that express purpose. The rest of my characters will be siding with stormcloaks or just not doing the civil war questline.

Ha, I try to think on a grander level in real life, but in fantasy games, I tend to throw all that out the window and act on base emotion, as you can see from my above post.

This is exactly why people don't like the stormcloacks. Selfishness(no offense). You can't put aside your own differences to stand for something that is more important than yourself, defeating the Altmeri Dominion. The only way to do this is to keep everyone united, and the only way that will happen is if the Imperials put down this rebellion. We'll need Skyrims help to defeat the AD, and Skyrim can't do it alone.

Personally the empire trying to execute annoyed me but the run away from Alduin opening just made me like the imperials more.

I would choose Imperials, but I like a lot of the more specific characters who just-so happen to be Storm-cloak supporters. In the end though my Nord hero will probably ally with the Imperials, just for the fact that the Empire united will stand a better chance against the Dominion than Skyrim alone.

There's more to the problem with the alliance between Hammerfell and Skyrim.

When the war comes, I'd be willing to put money down that the Dominion will be the aggressors. That means that the war will be fought first in either Hammerfell or Skyrim. Given the geography, it'll probably Hammerfell. Unless the Dominion manages to capture Cyrodill first. So I'll stick to Hammerfell for this.

When the Dominion invades Hammerfell and they call upon their allies in Skyrim to help them, the result will be two foreign armies fighting on Hammerfell soil. This puts Hammerfell in a very precarious position. If the Dominion wins, they're screwed. If the combined might of Hammerfell and Skyrim beat the Dominion back, that's no guarantee of Hammerfell's safety or freedom.

After a victorious war, Hammerfell still has to worry about the second foreign army on it's soil. What happens if that army decides it doesn't want to go home? If their own army is too weak after the war, there won't be much they could do about it and Skyrim could end up seizing control of the country.

This possibility won't be lost on Hammerfell's leaders. It would undoubtedly result in strained relationships that would further impact their effectiveness. They would be trying their hardest to mitigate their own losses so that they could be ready for any trouble afterwards. A battle in which one side sustains substantially more casualties than the other would be cause for uncertainty and suspicion. Did the other side do it on purpose? For what reason?

All of those problems are avoided by a united Empire. You might end up with people from another province fighting in your province, but they're all apart of the same army, so there is no real concern.

Doesn't really matter to be honest. It's not like what we decide is made canon unless Bethesda says so.

When it comes to roleplaying, it totally matters.

I am not offended, and I hope you are not offended either, but it is responses like this that make me want to take my characters and go out and start indiscriminately slaying Imperials. They put my head on a block and you just want me to forgive and forget. It is not about selfishness. It is about revenge. Honestly, I sometimes I prefer the Aldmeri to the Imperials.

Again, in real life, I like to approach things with more of a Zen perspective, but in a roleplaying game, I like to roleplay. And I think if someone put my head on a block, I would not easily forgive that.

whos to say they arent keeping a tally on who joined who, the majority vote wins lol

thanks for the responses guys. definitely ganna make a "ranger" type redguard who will eventually join the imperials. cant wait to see how they story is.

Sure. Anything can have significance when you pretend it does. I'm just saying, that there is no real great debate here, because either way....by the next game the choice is made irrelevant or left intentionally vague. Or, Bethesda's golden choice happens anyways regardless of which side you decimated.

No, I'm glad you're roleplaying it, that is what makes it fun

However, it is being selfish. You're putting your revenge above the entire world. We need a combined force to take out the AD, its the only way. Skyrim may claim to have the strongest warriors in all of tamriel, but that will be no use if there are no mages to back them, or no archers. In other words, we need more than Skyrim to win. I understand you don't like the Imperials, but wait until this war is done to be selfish and have your lust for revenge.

@re We don't know what Bethesda will do just yet. So you're just making an assumption. If you think about it in terms that you're opinion does mean something, then its a lot funner than looking at the behind the scenes and what Bethesda is going to do next. Honestly, who cares at this point. Just have fun with it.

I reckon one of the Yellow-skins is going do something stupid with magic and possibly an Elder Scroll lol

I chose the Empire because a thalmor dossier says that ulfric is being discreetly manipulated, and the thalmor position in skyrim would be stronger if the stormcloaks won.

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Thalmor_Dossier:_Ulfric_Stormcloak

But see you are talking rational here and I think that living through an experience like the opening scene in Helgen would scar most people for life and make it difficult for them to behave in a rational fashion. I don't think it is "selfishness" at least not in the traditional sense of people who make a conscious choice to put their own needs above others. If you have an emotional (i.e. irrational) need for revenge, that is different than just being selfish.

I do have one Imperial character though who will be running through the Imperial side of the civil war questline. So he will be my "rational" character.

When I first played skyrim I thought Id find myself with the stormcloaks from all I heard.....but Im completely repulsed by them, not to the extent as with the Thalmor though.

A difference with my character, though, is that she's able to empathize with the Tulius's position and understand why he was going to do what he was going to do. And she doesn't hold that against the entire Empire.



I was actually the same way. I thought I'd be for Skyrim's independence, but as I learned more about the overall situation, the Stormcloaks and Ulfric himself, I can't stand them.

yea i wasnt able to put that behind me either, im ganna roleplay and say i actually deserved to be captured, maybe i was part of that redguard assassins guild and i got caught, something like that.

Just gonna mention a little spoiler here but

You kidding? The Thalmor themselves state very explicitly that there will be another war.