Elves normally don't live 10 times longer than humans. Dark elves for example die after 130 years. (see an interview with a dark elf)

Sure they can.They are like the Japanese in WW2.The Japanese gambled on a huge attack that would debilite their enemy Same with the Thalmoor.In both cases it did not to do what was intended.

In other words the Thalmoor gambit failed.Their strength is the long game.Careful planning, manipulating people and events to their favor.Now they have to play the short game things will happen fast they will have to react to events instead of shape events.

They have lost their advantage and are playing to the strength of men now.

Thalmoor you had a good run now it is time to pay

The Dominion plays a different game, I'll give an example with the Great War. The Thalmor offered the Empire a choice, reject Talos, The Blades and give us Hammerfell, Titus refused and the Dominion went to war as planned. I don't think they calculated that they would lose the war but the setup remained the same, Titus went back to them and accepted the terms of the White Gold Concordat, basically the same terms that the Dominion offered before the war, Hammerfell succeeds because they were getting screwed. Not to mention when the Dominion accepted the terms of the Concordat they planed their next move, pinning Skyrim against the Empire. That's the thing with the Dominion they don't plan the next move and act on it immediately, they plan moves that are 5 turns ahead and act on them over time.

They aren't really that powerful, if you read both "The Infernal city" and "the Lord of souls" you will find out they beat the empire when they were weak from a previous war, and its pretty much stated during the civil war quest line in skyrim. I won't go into much detail because it would be considered a spoiler

The Empire was crumbling to pieces since The Oblivion Crisis and the fall of the Septims.
They are Altmer, which are the masters of magic and most skilled with magic out of the races.

In non spoiler terms, The Empire Dropped the ball.

Actually, only peasants would live to 130 years.
Nobles would live much longer than that
Wizards could live for thousands of years, e.g Divayth Fyr

Altmer would live even longer than Dunmer.

I ambush them on the roads all the time when I see 3 of them transporting a prisoner and they are tougher than average enemies I encounter but never really have too many problems taking them down. I play on Expert level.



The Empire was weakened so badly after the Oblivion crisis that it was the perfect time for the Aldmeri to strike. Morrowind is in ruins, Black Marsh rebelled and invaded Morrowind, Elsweyr and Valenwood seperated from the empire and joined the Aldmeri. The Empire was streched to thin and weakened from Oblivion but they still managed to hold them off.

I think the answer is pre-Oblivion the Empire would have had no problem with the Elves but if the Empire doesn't hold Skyrim and Hammerfall stays separated from them then the Empire will eventually lose but united Aldmeri wouldn't stand a chance like you said.

In the game a wide variety of character also state that if Skyrim and the Empire become seperated the Thalmore can start picking off all the little splintered kingdoms one by one without any coherent force around to oppose them. I think the notion that they are weak militarily is a false one.

Also the idea that the Oblivion crisis weakened everyone and that's why the Thalmore got a chance to strike is just silly. The ingame lore states pretty clearly that the Thalmore got into power precisely because the Oblivion crises wrecked the Summerset isle and the previous Altmer rulers were ultimately disposed because of their inability to deal with it.

fix'd

Guys, just because the Thalmor are weak in game does NOT mean they are weak in Lore.

And once again, we're forgetting the Dominion also consists of the Bosmer and has the Khaijit Kingdoms as allies. Though the only forces we see in Skyrim are Altmer, it's a pretty safe bet the Thalmor are going to use the Bosmer and Khaijit as best as they can. They may be overwhelmingly arrogant, but I doubt they are suicidal.

Diplomacy is the art of saying nice doggy until you can get a bigger stick. Nord proverb

The Thalmoor certainly had a backup plan in case the gambit failed.The problem for them is they no longer have the inititave.They also no longer have the luxury of time.
They are going to have to start putting out fires even they had no idea could happen.

Everything is weak in the game because it is designed to let you win. There simply wouldn't be a game if there was such a thing as an impossible fight.

The Redguards are united ... for the moment. They have been internally divided since shortly after they came to Hammerfell, Crowns vs Forebears. Having a big threat looming does wonders for cooperation, but I would not describe them as having their house in order. The empire "conquered" Hammerfell by siding with the weaker faction in their civil war. The Thalmor attacked both factions indiscriminately, presumably because they had no interest in allying with either faction, since that would require them to treat humans as collleages rather than servitors. Also, the Redguards may be mostly united against the Thalmor, but they have split from the empire.

If they weren't such elitist pricks, the Thalmor would be truly dangerous. Actually trying to rule all of Tamriel would ruin them in under a century.

I still want to know how the [heck] they managed the Moons, tho. That is truly scary. Hard to imagine even Nocturnal being able to pull that off. In fact, only the Heart should be capable of that. But of course that was lost ...

And not one person mentions Machiavelli........

Quite simple IMHO; time is on their side. Generations of men come and go whilst they laid in wait plotting.

Have you learned nothing from the tribunal in Morrowind.Just because they claim they did something does not mean they actually did.

Vivec claimed he was holding up the Ministry of truth.Pretty good for a dead guy.

Yea, the description of the thing with the moons states that nobody is entirely sure if the Thalmore were able to bring back the moons, or if they merely had foreknowledge that they would come back that they could exploit.

And when he disappeared it fell, causing Red Mountain to erupt. Not immediately, but eventually. And while I know damn well that the Thalmor lie, someone had to be responsible, and somehow the Thalmor knew ... or just guessed, does anyone know their exact words? Of course not.

Whoever mucked about with the Moons, tho, is very dangerous. I hope it's something completely separate, like the God of Worms trying to reanimate Lorkhans body and Akatosh slapping him silly, and the Thalmor making an edumacated guess that they'd come back. (Yes, I know GoW was kicked out of the heavens, and you cannot cast Ice Thrall on a Moon. It's a lighthearted illustration of the sort of thing that could conceivably have happened, but didn't.)

dont forget that the blades were supposedly formed to find the golem Numidium for the emperor, then was changed to protecting the emperor and now they are also famous dragon slayers.

Also the Thalmor, they wont last. They singled themselves out by selecting Man as their enemy. Why, because they are mainly High Elves and treat everyone like crap including other Mer. All that the empire has to do is rally the other races against the High Elves. Maybe spread some propaganda or better yet the truth. On how they seek pure high elf dominance with all others dead or enslaved. Basically consider the High Elves Nazi Germany and the Empire and its colonies Europe and America. The Thalmor united with the wood elves, thats Japan.

As to Vivec.I dont recall a loud boom when I Finished him off In Morrowind.

As to who is monkeying around with the moons I am going to guess Azura.Just doin her part to bring about the Dusk of this Kalpa and start the Dawn of the next

Well, to put it in perspective. It's kind of like the movie 300. The Thalmor are like the spartans. The elves have better magic, they are more intelligent, and have better tactics. Which would quickly make more numbers almost useless. Sure humans have better warriors, but that doesn't matter if they would never make it to the first line.

the dwemer are the secret brains behind aldmeri dominion, they faked their disappearance so no-one would realise, except a chosen few.