This isn't about war with the Thalmor, who's right or wrong ect. I'm curious about the NPC's reaction to the war being won by the stormcloaks over the empire. Can someone fill me in?

For example, after you achieve victory for the Empire, you can talk to various NPC's in the Gray Quarter and the Argonian Assemblage, and they'll express joy and relief that Ulfric is dead, while others in Windhelm will be upset with you and even make vague threats like the blacksmith.

Some people are happy some are displeased.

It's about the same sort of reactions just with different people.

Well who are displeased mostly? What do the dunmer and argonians think, and what of the people in solitude?

I think it's fair to say that the completely opposite thing happens.

I don't recall the dunmer or argonians having any changed dialogue, but I don't remember.

Elisif is upset with you and then praises you in the next sentence as the saviour of Solitude because you defeated Potema. Some people mention business is better, some mention that it is worse(Or could've been worse). I think the gray-manes are happy about things while the battleborns aren't. I can't remember a whole lot of different lines though.

if you go into the basment of the Blue Palace in Solitude all the exiled Imperial Jarls and their stewards are pretty unhappy with you, it's like your fan club headquarters

Just going to amend this post for how the people of Whiterun react, or at least what I can remember of their reactions since I haven't played Stormcloak since my first character. ><

• Adrianne Avennici, the blacksmith, says that the Stormcloaks refuse to buy from her because she's an Imperial. She says that if not for being married to Ulferth, she'd have gone out of business.
  
• Hulda, who runs the Bannered Mare, says that there's a fight almost every night amongst drunken Stormcloaks and that many of them don't pay for their drinks. I feel like Carlotta Venecia also complains of being harassed, but this might just be my memory combining her original favor with Hulda's complaints.
  
• Olfrid Battle-Born says that his family has been harassed and threatened since the Stormcloaks took over. They try to report it and they get threatened more.
  
• Heimskr's pretty jacked about the Stormcloaks winning at least. He's having a great time.
  
• Also, if you go to the basemant of the Blue Palace and speak to Jarl Balgruuf, he'll mention that none of his three children have been seen since the siege.

Hmmm, leads me to believe the Stormcloaks winning isn't so great.

Well, war is war, what're you gonna do? At the time, about 20 hours into the game, I was mortified and re-rolled. Now after about 1000 hours, I at least respect Ulfric as a tragic character and get where the Stormcloaks are coming from a bit more, so I'll prolly give the Stormcloaks a go on my next character. Hopefully it'll tug at my conscience a little less because that sinking feeling I felt the first-time through was gross. Still, taking over Windhelm as an Imperial leaves a lot of people sour, so it's all the same.

Why not roll another character and find out for yourself?

It's pretty much as stated- those who supported the empire are unhappy, the jarls you depose are livid, and otherwise things go on pretty much as they were.

To me, it seemed like more people were unhappy that the Stormcloaks winning the war. I tried the Imperial storyline and nobody was really all that affected by the war. Except all of Talos' priests (but Heimskr for some reason) mysteriously vanished.

The people of Markarth seem mostly happy

the meat vendor doesn't really care, the bard is joyful, and the general store owner is happy for stormcloaks and says Talos is with them.

Yeah and the Fan club is called "I hate the Dragonborn FC" with Balgruuf the Greater as president.

Damn, that sounds pretty [censored]. Well thanks for responses so far guys, I suppose at the end of the day I will just have to do the questline and see for myself.

It's more or less the same. The only thing that changes is who's unhappy.

I guess that's pretty much how it goes with civil war. Ether way about half the people are pissed.

Talos and Snow Throat become more powerful, and this hurts the Dominion goal of Unmantling Mundus.
An Imperial victory does not strengthen Talos, making the Dominion World Destroying plans much easier.
The victory in Skyrim of an anti-Imperial force also gives a little thing called Hope to other anti-Dominion forces, and an Ally who is willing to fight the Dominion.

I remember Vignar saying something like "Whiterun once again belongs to it's rightful heirs" when he becomes Jarl

They go to the Blue Palace? Wow, the deposed Jarls get crammed into Windhelm's little palace if the Imperials win. Nice digs.


What, you mean all those Talos Worshippers who will be messily and/or executed by Thalmor deathsquads suddenly 'disappeared'? Now theres a shocker. My money s on even distribution between quiet executons and desperate fleeing.


Yup. The game is designed so that there is no real 'right' answer, because it would be a pain in the behind for the Devs to sort of storywise later. They learned their lesson with Daggerfall. Either the Thalmor will be crushed in DLC or offscreen or we will fight them in the next game with only vague refrences to the events of Skyrim, of clever wording that leaves what happened unclear. Or the Thalmor win either way, but I don't see that happening.


Bingo was his name-o.

People put entirely too much trust in the Empire rebuilding and then kicking the Thalmor back to Summerset. It probobly stems from nostalga and the fact we effectively live in a global 'democratic' Empire in most of the West (and to many, it feels like it will and could never topple. History tells another story.). Its different in TES because it doesn't matter how much backing the Empire has if it doesn't have Talos, and more so that Snow Throat is weakened without him. Ysmir and his 500, and the armies of the faithful in general, are where the power is in TES. Also, whoever has the Hero?/Dovahkiin.

I'm still trying to fits Wulfs words in Morrowind into all this. 'Time for a change'. Perhaps the Thalmor are going to practically suceed, Talos feeling his time has passed, but it doesn't turn out how they expect. Or maybe the Mede Empire si the change he was talking about, but from Skyrim I don't see that as being the case, because if it was in any worse a state it would implode on itself - and just well might anyway after the events of the game.