Stormcloaks are too mainstream.

[Ilikemilkshake]

Those are fair points and frankly the Stormcloaks forcing me to kill an Ice wraith (a very specific one I might add) before admitting me just because I was a Dunmer basically means I've got no sympathy for them. The only problem is, a) I've already signed up, and b) I hate the Thalmor even more, and the Legion wouldn't be happy with me killing any Thalmor.

Actually it seems they dont trust anyone, im a Nord and they wanted me to kill an Ice Wraith too.. Plus i was pretty shocked at what i saw when i arrived at Windhelm to sign up, so im gonna join the empire...and even though i slaughtered all the Thalmor that were holding that Gray-Mane guy captive they dont really care.

 

[Savryc]

Typical Thalmor puppet, trying to trick us with sly words and platitudes, the Altmer bleed like any other mer (and profusely, frail as they are) and if it bleeds you can kill it. I'll let my sword do the talking yes the Dunmer and the Nords are ancient enemies but I'll side with the Bear-Lovers over Imperial swine any day.

And BNP? Really? Way to skirt the edges of Godwin by calling out the British Nationalist Party instead of the certain historical figure they love.

 

[Shadowkire]

I joined the Stormcloaks only because, whether the game would actually let me or not, my character would challenge Ulfric for High King. Then I would use my position of power to strengthen the Thieves' Guild and the Dark Brotherhood(which I am a part of). Then I would begin the butt kicking:

Phase 1: Covert Warfare
Using the Thieves' Guild's network of contacts to locate and identify Thalmore agents and bases I would send in the Dark Brotherhood and groups of Stormcloak raiders (under orders that should they be captured they are to claim to be acting independently in defense of Talos).

Phase 2: Insurrection
After weakening Thalmore control in Skyrim I would send carefully selected agents to all of the provinces of the Empire and the Dominion except Cyrodil and the Summerset Isles. These agents will be well trained in covert and traditional combat, their mission is to locate, support, and organize anti-Thalmore factions in order to assault local Thalmore agents and bases.

Phase 3: "You and what army?"
My forces invade the Dominion, hopefully with support from the Empire. After the initial attacks I will send a message to the people of the Dominion stating the invasion is a response to the actions of the Thalmore against all non-Aldmer people, and the invasion will be halted if the leaders of the Thalmore surrender to sentencing by the people of Tamriel and the Thalmore disband.

Then I win.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

The thing I hate about siding with Stormcloaks is that I have to attack cities where I'm a Thane. I'm supposed to be a trusted ally to those cities. I felt like a traitor. I wish there was an option to stay neutral like in The Witcher 1.

 

[stutheninja]

And Skyrim isn't even the original Nord homeland they took it from the original inhabitants. They are originally from another continent north of Tamriel.

You can't get north of Tamriel, that's like going north of Earth. But I think I get what you mean.

Tamriel is just a continent, not a planet. Atmora is the continent that the Nords are from. The planet the game takes place on is Nirn.

 

[Edible Avatar]

Part 4. Yes they are racist but at least they just ignore other races or treat them with disgust, at least they're not going out of their way to murder them, unlike the Empire who will kill you if you worship your God.

Racism is still racism. Even if they tolerate the other races, they are still racist, and it is still a problem. As for Talos worship, the only reason why the Empire kill those that worship him is that the Dominion force them to, and they have no choice. Maybe if the Stormcloaks ended their war with the Empire, the Empire would have more forces to spare and more resources to fight the corrupt Dominion, and wouldn't be forced to bow to their demands.

The empire is just as racist, unfortunatly. Outside of Solitude is a rundown Khajiit trading camp, and their caravans are'nt allowed inside the city.
And the Empire is just a puppet of the Dominion now, no semblance to the Empire in TES4. They killed off the Blades, persecuted Talos worshippers, and put their own cronnies in the places of power. Any faction is better than them, as far as i'm concerned.

 

[DirgeNovak]

Both sides are dicks for different reasons, but I still prefer the Stormcloaks to the Empire. Ulfric, for one, has a fucking spine, as opposed to the Imperials, who are puppets of the Thalmor.
And if Skyrim's culture is so different than the rest of the empire, why the fuck shouldn't they govern themselves? It's true that Ulfric may not be the best man to lead Skyrim, but that can be settled afterwards. Imperialists and invaders have no right to meddle in their politics.

Go Stormcloaks.

 

[TheTim]

The stormcloaks were clowns and i hated Ulfric, so i joined the badass imperials.

 

[ServebotFrank]

Has anyone here beat the Imperial side of the war?

Spoiler

The General hints at the Empire gathering forces for another Thalmor war.

 

[Jaime_Wolf]

The damning thing for me was (SPOILERS): the Almeri document that shows that Ulfric is just an agent for the Thalmor. You're supporting a regicidal xenophobic man-child who is being manipulated into fracturing the Empire so the Aldmeri have an easier time fighting it later.

At least the Imperials are being explicitly manipulated by the Thalmor. And they seem largely unhappy with the situation, suggesting it's just one of necessity.

Also, I cannot say no to Saul Tigh. That alone was enough.

One thing I'm curious about though: if the next TES game is another leap in the future, how are they going to get around the fact that the fight could have gone either way depending on the player? I'm sure they thought about this, so I wonder if it's going to be a larger time leap (whether Ulfric became king or not is lost knowledge) or they're going to find some other way to make it unknown or inconsequential.

 

[Nami nom noms]

Is that an argument at me or a justification for your own lack of subject knowledge? If it's the former, I also should point out I live in Lindum Colonia, the Roman fort of Lincoln. If it's the latter, then I will cease all hostilities, because you cannot be blamed for the inaccuracy of the source you were given.[/quote]

Cool I live in Lincoln too
OT: although I haven't joined either faction yet, I'm veering Imperial. The head cutting off attempt I got over pretty much the instant I killed the 2 guards responsible.
Ulfric doesn't look like much of a ruler judging from his city and I doubt his military acumen if he has already fallen into an ambush... It would be better if he helped the empire in secret to overthrow the Thalmor.

 

[Joel Dawson]

All your points are true, but they didn't try to execute me without any charges.

 

[Outcast107]

Is that an argument at me or a justification for your own lack of subject knowledge? If it's the former, I also should point out I live in Lindum Colonia, the Roman fort of Lincoln. If it's the latter, then I will cease all hostilities, because you cannot be blamed for the inaccuracy of the source you were given.

Cool I live in Lincoln too
OT: although I haven't joined either faction yet, I'm veering Imperial. The head cutting off attempt I got over pretty much the instant I killed the 2 guards responsible.
Ulfric doesn't look like much of a ruler judging from his city and I doubt his military acumen if he has already fallen into an ambush... It would be better if he helped the empire in secret to overthrow the Thalmor.[/quote]

Well to be honest the reason why his city is like that is due to a few reasons (At least in my opinion)

1) No empire support. So money isn't coming in like the others who support the Empire.
2) They are putting all their effort into the war and arn't very worry about how their city looks like at the moment.
3) Its the oldest city in Skyrim, being around 600 years old so I don't expect it to be very good looking.

and for Ulfric getting capture could have happen for a number of different reasons. We never know why so I won't say he a bad leader. Just one more thing before I shut up. He does care about Skyrim A LOT. He tries to not even attack Whiterun. Offering a treaty between the two but Whiterun refuse and Ulfric needed that middle point.

Though I can see why you join Empire, but I think joining their side is just going to be meh in the long-term.

 

[Nieroshai]

And Skyrim isn't even the original Nord homeland they took it from the original inhabitants. They are originally from another continent north of Tamriel.

You can't get north of Tamriel, that's like going north of Earth. But I think I get what you mean.

Yes you can just like you can go north of America or Africa. Tamriel is just the continent the name of the planet is Nirn.

"Even your realm is Daedric! Tamriel ae daedroth!"
I somewhat paraphrased, but I think other races also have a different name for earth than the Nords.

There are four know continents on Nirn:
Tamriel is the one we play on
Akavir to the east of Tamriel where the Akaviri live
Atmora to the north of Tamriel. The ancestral homeland of the Nords is there.
Yokuda to the west. This is where the Redguards used to live but it sank in the sea.

Thanks. Looked it up. A lot of Oblivion's in-game dialogue was a bit misleading.

 

[ZombieMonkey7]

The reason that people tend to lean towards the storm cloaks is because they are the rebels...and that's it. Although the reason why people pick rebels is because of the idea of rebellion, fighting with little resources, taking down the government, it's pretty epic and grand. While if you were to choose the Empire your just kinda protecting the status quo, you feel like an authority figure, and it might not feel as daring since the enemy is just a bunch of ragtag soldiers. Although why anybody would want to join them when they are nothing but a bunch of ignorant racists is beyond my comprehension

 

[Nieroshai]

OT: I joined the Stormcloaks for two reasons: one, I was roleplaying a Nord veteran. Two, as much as there is to dislike the Stormcloaks, the Imperials gave the elves the key to the Empire and outlawed worship of Talos. Real-world parallel would be the Roman outlawing and persecution of Christians, especially since Talos is an ascended mortal.

While not relevant to the discussion, I do want to point out Rome DID outlaw Christianity. One of Nero's favorite activities happened to be feeding those "annoying Christians" to lions. There's a reason Nero is not written favorably in the history books. The history books happen to have been written by people he killed.

At that point in history though, Christianity was this weird new religion. It wasn't a major religion and was this weird offshoot of Judaism. It may not have even been called Christianity yet.

I think the parallels end with "ascended mortal", but I haven't gotten very far into Skyrim and I haven't played previous Elder Scrolls games.

The Imperials are very intentionally Roman, the Nords Norsemen, the Bretons French and English, etc. I digress though. The case in point is the killing and imprisonment and converting at the tip of a sword all of a religion's followers that even seem to step out of line. The way I see it, in Skyrim both sides intentionally are written with good and bad points. The Stormcloaks are xenophobic and brutal to their perceived enemies, but willing to break their own backs for anyone willing to fight for a united and free Skyrim. The Empire is to some extent tyrannical and believes it knows best for all sentient life, but at the cost of freedom comes a stable wall of Imperial steel to preserve what you do have left.

 

[TheLoneBeet]

I'm siding with the Stormcloaks on my first playthrough. I'm doing this mostly because I'm playing a Nord and for role-playing reasons my character is a sucker for all the propaganda aimed at the Nords.

On my second playthrough I plan to play as a Dunmer (which as has been pointed out multiple times in this thread, the Stormcloaks and most Nords treat like shit) That character will definitely be siding with the Empire.

 

[Trig0n]

I'd really just prefer to march off and murder the Dominion, but as that doesn't seem to be entirely impossible I'd probably side with the empire. They seem to have more of a chance at winning than the Stormcloaks. Besides every Stormcloak has been pretty freaking racist towards me (Except their shopkeepers, who just seem content to charge me about twice as much as anyone else.)

Imperials on the other hand have actually been pretty swell, sans my near decapitation at the start of the game, but really I blame the captain for that. The other guy didn't seem to want to see me beheaded.

 

[The_Echo]

I always thought that Beth posed an incredibly difficult question with this faction choice. Seeing the seven pages on this thread so far, it seems I was right. Adds some nice depth to the game's world.

Anyway, I'm not sure who I want to ally with. I'm leaning towards the Empire, though. Stormcloaks seem kind of... shit, badass name withheld.