It just seems... so underwhelming.

Him being tossed into a carriage, in leather bonds and a rag over his mouth, just doesn't paint him as the high badass he's supposed to be.

Discuss.

I think that's kind of what the Imperials were going for. They wanted to make his execution underwhelming, and have him executed alongside a few common criminals to prove a point.

Well if the empire had been thinking clearly, they would have chopped his head off the moment he'd been captured...why bother transporting him to a backwater like Helgen for the execution?

They had no way of knowing Alduin himself would show up and stop the execution.

Edit2: Nevermind.

spoiler tags please

Simple beheading is fine.

But the way he was bound was so simplified. Realistically, being as... if I remember right, the only guards watching us were one or two behind the carriage, a person could have reached over quickly and simply yanked the gag off his mouth and he could have Shouted the guards down.

He wasn't even in irons.


It's the first five minutes of gameplay...

You're kidding, right? We're talking about the loading screen basically. This is information anyone who's even started the game knows.

Yes, I'm joking.

Being bound is all that is needed to subdue any warrior. And a gag is all that is needed to rob one with the Voice of his power.

We really don't know how many men he had with him when he was captured. We don't know how many Imperial soldiers General Tullius had with him eiather. For all we know, it could have been a very bloody battle. The Imperials would have returned to the nearest fort, except for those needed to escort the prisoners to Helgen. The Stormcloaks that were in the other cart were likely the only survivers from that encounter. so we ride with Jarl Ulfric, his Lieutenant, the horsethief (whom I figure was actually a spy for the Empire).

And that spy got shot by imperial archers.... Why would they kill their own spy?

He was leader of a rebellion. He needed to be made an example of. To show the citizens that he had been captured and dealt with and send a message that the same fate would await anyone who attempts to fill his shoes. At least that is what Tullius would have thought. He does not understand Nord honor and tradition. And even though the Sons of Skyrim are divided in their loyalties, those who have no love for the Empire, especially after the Thalmor started pulling the strings, would have just gotten extremely angry and the rebellion would have become stronger.

Ralof mentions that Ulfric ordered his men to surrender, to avoid a bloodbath.

He was no further use to them...

...That or it was originally supposed to be a convincing act. Shoot him in a non-fatal spot. He goes down and stays down until the Imperials drag him off. They heal him, give him a bag of gold and he simply goes on his way. If that was the intended scenario, it was spoiled when the Dragon showed up and burned everything...

The main point was:

Leather bonds, not shackles of iron.

Basic gag over mouth.

And put into an open carriage with two other people who are equally not very restrained.

You would think that someone who "murdered" a Jarl would be put under much tighter, and solitary, security.

He was being carted to the Imperial City. It is likely a mix of Tullius getting a clue and Thalmor influence that stopped them in Helgen.

Also, how sure of Ulfric's Awesomeness are we?

This does come with some spoilers


He could have not been as bad as we were lead to believe by his supporters.

So he did. I forgot that detail.

Nevertheless, bonds and a gag were all that was needed to subdue Ulfric. He didn't want a bloodbath because he was not ready to move against the Empire in full force, I think. He first needed to establish his claim as High King of Skyrim, with the other Jarls uniting behind him or defeated by him. Only then could he hope to rally all of Skyrim behind him to drive out the Empire. I think he knew that if he was executed, more patriots would rise up. He had powerful allies back in Windhelm after all with plans that were no doubt prepared should he fall.

Y'know... you're right.

Especially about the first point.

What, you expected them to give Ulfric robes made out of the finest silk? And how is his capture supposed to paint him as a high badass? The fact that they needed to gag him, otherwise he would have FUS RO DAH'd their asses into Oblivion should prove how much of a badass he is.

Now, exactly who would yank the gag off? Because everyone was bound.

noone else was gaged, if the others actually put any thought to escapeing that little carrige ride whould have been a lot shorter

Devil's advocate, but looking at how they did the bindings, it wasn't exactly like you didn't have control of your fingers and arms.

Which obviously is what the Imperials were aiming for? To undo the badassness of Ulfric in the minds of his supporters and his potential supporters, to degenerate the image the general population has of him.

This was actually a very common thing for people on their way to their execution in the old days. Public heroes, former leaders, people with high stature, would often be degenerated, humiliated, dishonored, etc, before they got their heads chopped off. It's not enough to just kill such a person, you need to undo that person and undo his/her legacy, otherwise the execution will bite you in the tale later on.

Not sure how much I agree with you on the point of Game Mechanics... game mechanics should absolutely define the character, further scripted actions are seen in the game, these could be put in to define characters, and absolutely Should be used to define characters.

And also, Tullius was actually there fighting. If you listen after you fall out of the tower you were in, when you run into Ulfric, if you went with the Stormcloak guy, you can hear Tullius directing his troops while Alduin attacked.

You do have a bit of a point when it comes to getting orders from the seconds in the game, and not the main leader... But, we hear Ulfric arguing on multiple occasions with Galmar over how things should go. Often Galmar is the one who wins out. This makes me wonder who is wearing the pants in that bromance. Ulfric might have been the one who encouraged this whole mess, but I don't know how much input he's really got is what I'm saying. Tullius doesn't understand these weird north people, so him bowing to a local makes sense. Galmar and Ulfric... yeah, it's a bit more interesting.

Further, it's rare for rulers to lead their armies in person, yes: But, we're asking just how awesome Ulfric really is. He could be the political figure here, and thus he isn't as amazing as people say. Thats what my interpretation is... I found Ulfric to be kind of a [censored] for those reasons.