Poll: Empire or Stormcloak?

[xXBanisherXx]

Imperials:

Pros: Orderly, strong in both number and armor (compared to Stormcloaks), and ended the war against the Dominion (although banning the worship of Talos in the process).

Cons: Let the Thalmar walk all over them, banned the Worship of Talos (debatable, but who's decedent saved your sorry ass in the Oblivion Crisis), try to kill you because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time (which technically was only the Captain's call, not the Imperial as a whole), let random adventurers walk right up to General Tullius without as much as a second glance, and takes out anyone who has even the smallest ties to the Stormcloak rebellion.

Stormcloaks:

Pros: Very close knit family of warriors (metaphorically speaking), wishes to reinstate the worship of Talos (debatable), and lots of mead.

Cons: More racist than a KKK member in an NAACP meeting, blood-lusting (debatable), very good at causing trouble, and very 'Dark Ages' feel (plainly put, stupid and barbaric).

My opinion: Ignore the damn war and just be a Dragonborn. But if I had to pick one, and I was playing as anything but a Nord, Imperial.

 

[LarenzoAOG]

Or a book about me!

WROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG!!!!

Check this out: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:The_Oblivion_Crisis

Edit: I joined the Stormcloaks because the Imperials and their allies are all a bunch of dicks.

But the Stormcloaks are racist, at least there leader and most of their top brass are.

 

[Frozen Donkey Wheel2]

Empire, but not deliberately. I didn't even know you could join either side until I saw my brother end up with the Stromcloaks.

 

[ShindoL Shill]

in the words of Jarl Balgruuf, I'm on the side of Whiterun.
they have the Companions and imma Thane. and they have a priddy decent forge...
but i do go to college in Stormcloak territory.

 

[Jimmy T. Malice]

Stormcloak, despite the fact that they're fighting against Skyrim's only protection against the Dominion. I have to admit my feelings towards the Empire were somewhat changed when they tried to execute me for crossing the border while near Ulfric Stormloack.

 

[Sean Steele]

The ones that did not try to chop my friggen head off!

 

[Denamic]

Ulfric is a jackass but the Empire is a collective of jackasses that bend over for the Thalmer.
Besides, "By the eight!" just sounds off.

 

[Vegosiux]

Stormcloaks might have had a point...

...if the entire thing wasn't purely about Ulfric's ego. He doesn't care about Skyrim. He doesn't even get that the Empire is the only thing holding the Thalmor at bay. So no, I've no sympathy for him. But yeah maybe we should just pull out of Skyrim and let Stormcloaks deal with the Dominion on their own. See how long it takes before they come crying for help.

 

[blaqknoise]

Stormcloaks because they didn't try to kill me.

 

[Siegfried Raybrandt]

I joined the Legion. Why? I remember being told that if I ever stopped being an adventurer back in Oblivion, that it would be a good idea to join the Anvil Guard. Yes there's a difference but having the opportunity to join an army of sorts was interesting to me. Joining the rebels felt like a too played out thing. I've played a lot of games where you're a rebel and it just lost its allure for me. So I joined the Legion, and now I wear Ulfric's clothes everywhere after having peeled them off his corpse which I shouted into his throne.

I love this game.

 

[Swyftstar]

That witch of an imperial captain that said forget the list, let's kill this completely innocent person we just happen to run into pretty much sealed the Empire's fate for them.

 

[Brainsaw]

Supporting the Stormcloaks and Ulfric for now, until we get the DLC that let's us kill Ulfric the moment he goes to get crowned and place the dude who was in the cart with us in the beginning as High King.

The Imperials aren't the last shield against the Dominion, they're the High Elve's damn doormat. As long as they hold power, they weaken Skyrim. They made a puppet out of Torygg and his wife and when the puppet is challenged and defeated, the Empire doesn't honor the outcome, they instead try to kill Ulfric (That's my job!) and then proceed to behead the man working the gate because he let Ulfric out.

At this point I'd rather appoint Alduin as High King of Skyrim than either of those morons. He saved my life, albeit accidentally.

 

[Evil Top Hat]

The Imperials aren't the last shield against the Dominion, they're the High Elve's damn doormat. As long as they hold power, they weaken Skyrim.

What are some group of rebels going to do when the Thalmore come knocking? Have you seen, Windhelm? The place is a sorry excuse for a pit in the ground, there's no way Ulfric could command the whole of freaking Skyrim if he can't even feed his own people properly.

This is the only thing that keeps me from joining the Stormcloak's. They are basically an elder scrolls equivalent of the BNP (I suppose it should be NNP now, for "nord national party") but they are still preferable to the imperials, until we get to the business of what happens when the war is over, and the next one begins.

 

[Combustion Kevin]

I think the Stormcloak's racism is fairly excaggerated, when you ask your commander about it (not ulfric, the guy in the bear coat) he refers to skyrim as "man's" country, as opposed to mer's (elves, orcs etc).
they're not saying that only NORDS, should set foot in Skyrim, they just want all pointy-eared basterds to bugger off.

I also enjoy their mead, and I bet they'll stop making that after the empire suffocates their culture.

 

[michiehoward]

I really should have paid more attention.

Yes. Yes you should have. recognition of Talos has been banned throughout the empire. They also are ruling the Empire perched on the backs of their own people

I was busy running from Dragon death.

I caught abit of the back story, what you have stated and such. I wanted to hear from people nearly complete or complete the main story to see what happens when you fall in with either faction and its implications to Skyrim and the rest of the empire at large.

 

[Programmed_For_Damage]

I'm currently forging my own path of allegiance agnosticism, however the Imperials started off bad in my book for wanting to arbitrarily execute me and there seems to be some shady dealings going on with them.
Although the Stormcloaks don't see pure as the driven snow either. And as a proud Orc, their blatant racism annoys me no end. I swear one day that random racist civilian #10 is going to taste the business end of my war axe.

 

[FFHAuthor]

I'm taking the long view and siding with the Empire.

It strikes me that the Altemeri are a greater threat in future and if Skyrim leaves the Empire it's all going to collapse, making the Great War seem tame in comparison to what's going to happen. With the loss of Morrowind and the Aldemeri's control of the Bosmers and the loss of Black Marsh the Empire is in a peerless state. Losing Skyrim would in all likely hood doom the Empire to total collapse, and then as they say...we can all hang together, or we'll certainly hang seperately. Skyrim's already facing the machinations of the Altimeri, without any counterbalance that's just going to get worse.

...

...

Yes...I do read almost ALL the books I can find in the game...

 

[DracoSuave]

It was around the time where he mentioned attacking Whiterun for no other reason than because the Jarl was more concerned with the impending dragon invasion rather than the Civil War that I began questioning everything.

Actually, Ulfric Stormcloak doesn't 'attack Whiterun for no reason.'

Whiterun is in the middle of Skyrim, and a buffer between the East (which has solidly pro-Imperial Jarls) and the West (which has solidly pro-Stormcloak Jarls.) The other holds aren't 'stepping stones to Solitude', they're Jarls who support the widow for the office of High King. With the land so evenly divided, the Moot to determine High King would be at a standstill, meaning actual war is inevitable. And Skyrim NEEDS a High King at a time when OH GOD DRAGONS EVERYWHERE.

So, Ulfric approached the one Jarl who was the swing vote with the offering of his axe, essentially forcing the one fence-sitter to choose: Keep the Axe, meaning he's willing to fight for Ulfric, or return the axe, meaning they are not allied.

Whiterun doesn't get attacked for no reason; it gets attacked because doing so leads to the end of civil war.

Remember, Ulfric challenged the High King according to Nordic law, and the king accepted the challenge, and his reasons are just; Skyrim needs strong leadership, and the High King was not strong leadership.

 

[TheGreekGeekPrick]

I've stayed out of the conflict so far, but I have yet to see something to paint the Stormcloaks under any half-way positive light, besides a couple of sob stories. I don't know; maybe the game waits to surprise me with Ulfric's love for puppies in the third act.

 

[Javarock]

Storm Cloak, The only reason for it however is I believe in the freedom to worship Talos. I do not like the people or the actions I do.

That and fuck every other race, besides myself of course ( High-Elf ) and Nords.