I am into the game now where I have to make a moral decision. Do I side with the Imperials or with the Stormcloaks? Having grown up amid the Foothills of Southwestern Vermont; along with an ancestral past of French Canadian decent; I possess and inborn sense of freedom and unity and I am certainly staunch in those (and other) beliefs. It seems that Skyrim is a melting pot of refugees as it is. And, besides, the Thalmar are not to unlike the terrorist of today. My dilemma derives from the fact that while my character is a female Nord she wants to be loyal to the crown and because she isn’t a racist.

Ulfric Stormcloak as charismatic as he may be is a racist; and, while being charismatic is an amiable trait; his belief that the Imperials are in bed with the Thalmor is rather slightly askew, in my opinion. Plus, he sort of reminds me of Scar Face from the roaring twenties. The truth of the matter is, if it were possible to marry the Queen my character would be happier than a pig-in-a-poke. But that’s just me.

I realize, of course, that Skyrim is in and of itself a fantasy/action RPG game and one can choose his or her own destiny, based in part by the actions he or she takes performing radiant quests. Here again, in reality I am not a thief, so joining the Thieves Guild is probably not going to happen. And, while my character is killing the living and the dead to survive within the confines of Skyrim and its conflicts I am not an assassin either. My character is fighting for her and her countries survival against the threat of the Dragons. At least that how I see it. Just saying.

I'm not far enough into the main quest plots to either give spoilers (this IS the spoiler-free forum!) or to comment on the consequences of your actions. From what I have seen so far, though, neither side is "the good guys." Each side has some honorable people and some ruthless people on it. The question isn't "which side is in the right," but "which side will have a better shot against the Thalmor," who are much more unambiguously evil.

Of course, I have a strong feeling that whichever side I pick will be the side that wins in the end. But still.

To put it bluntly.....

That the thing isn't it? The Thalmor! The entire conflict is a win for the Thalmor, no matter which side wins the civil war. Therefore, it really doesn't matter which side the character chooses. The Thalmor win either way.

I'm getting close to where I have to make that choice too. As far as I can tell they both have their faults...I can't see a "lesser of two evils" either...they are both of equal evil in their own ways. I think this was done on purpose so that no matter which side the player chooses the outcome will be the same...just the dialog can be changed slightly and you get the same feeling at the end.

So, talk to the Imperor and Ulfric...get their story. Ignore all the antics of the rest of the mobs...some are total racists and fanatics. Ulfric basically came back to Skyrim and found that Elves and other immigrants had taken all the jobs...he was forced into poverty through no fault of his own...and he wasn't alone. His beef with the Impire was that they didn't do anything about it i.e. job creation, work programs, loans, etc. so when he took matters into his own hands the Impire came down on him hard...now he has enough men backing him up that he wants to take the resources that the Impire has and distribute to everyone...well perhaps not the immigrants. Yes, many of his Stormcloaks are racists, but it can be argued that his ideals and goals are honorable.

The Impire also has their story...holding the Impire together...avoiding conflict with the other racists...keeping the peace. Though, if that annoying brat is next in line to become the Imperor then I'm leaning toward joining the Stormcloaks. Also, keep in mind that the Impire was going to make a basket-case of your head. They only decided not to when they realized that you were Dragonborn and they could use you to stop the dragons.

In what way is Ulfric Stormcloak a racist? I cant comment because I joined and completed the Imperial Questline. I thought he was a Freedom Fighter like Spartacus or something who only wanted Skyrim to be free and for the Nord people to be able to worship Talos.

Ulfric wants skyrim for the nords. He doesn't really care for 'outsiders'. (everyone else....) What's amusing is, even if you play a nord, you are referred to as 'outsider'.

Problem...

I cannot read spolier tags cos my PS3 browser wont let me open them. Can you pm it to me? Thanks.

This remark sounds a little current politically!?! Getting back to my original post, the moral dilemma is mine, based upon my own belief system as to which side to choose--good, bad or indifferent. Then again, because of our own current events throughout the world today this could also be a factor in making that decision. As a native Vermonter transplanted to Oregon, my inherent beliefs are soundly planted in Freedom and Unity.

The Thalmor dont win if the Empire wins.

Id advise that you ignore advice from people that have delved into lore/gossip/rumors/propaganda to the Nth degree and just use the information that your character has at hand at that point in the game.

I am sure the choise won't matter in the end. But, it's still a question of roleplaying. What does my character feel like doing.

I don't know about your dilemma but I consider both Freedom and Unity to be paradoxes so I seldom consider them in gaming terms.

Why is that, if I may ask?

Some people here should learn to use spoiler tags. There are info here I really didn't want to know...

What spoiler? This is merely a discussion about which side to chose and why!?! Besides, if you didn't want to know perhaps you should not have selected this topic to view. There's an old proverb which goes like this: "You can please some of the people some of the time, but you can't please them all, all of the time." My apologies if my thread interfered with your game-play.

Ulfrich is not a racist
he's an extreme nationalist at worst

there's a difference

Ask him.

what do you call his treatment of Dark elves in his City?
and its not like only non-Nords are the ones who can see it look at Brunwulf Free-Winter in
Windhelm he gives you a quest because Ulfrics men wont do it because the bandits arent threatening Nord lands.

The Stormcloaks use the ban of Talos to fearmonger, and to incite hatred towards the Empire. Truth is, many Imperials still worship Talos. Elisif the Fair, Rikke and I think Tullius as well. The Nords' problem is their own honor and their inability to svck it up. They would rather see Skyrim destroyed because they refuse to bow to the THalmor, rather than submit, rebuild and attack again. It is clear the Empire would have lost. They did the right thing banning Talos for the meanwhile. For the longest time, nobody cared until Ulfric made a stink about it. If Ulfric's rebellion never happened, people probably wouldn't be getting dragged in the middle of the night, and the Imperials could be worrying about how to kill an elf, rather than their brothers and sisters.

No one is allowed to buy property unless they contribute. Thats how it is in all the cities of Skyrim. Even dragonborn cant buy a house until he gains the faction. The dark elves refuse to help because its not their fight, so they are lucky he even allows them anywhere to live.

this, among other things (like the mission that was mentioned, it has nothing to do with his nation so he doesn't care)
his motivation for disliking other races is based on politics more than anything and not just a notion of racial superiority

Okay!