Stormcloaks are too mainstream.

[Vegosiux]

But that's my point. The Brotherhood lets you defend yourself. They are, basically, giving you a trial by combat. It becomes a test of prowess, if you are skilled enough to beat their assassin you live another day. The Imperials just decide to kill you, no questions asked.

Seriousoly, I'm not buying it. It's not a matter of letting you defend yourself or not letting you defend yourself. If their assassin got to you in a position to slit your throat in your sleep, he would have done that.

You only "let" something happen if you have a choice in the matter.

 

[Luke3184]

Has anybody tried going Stormcloack as a high elf yet? I'd love to see somebody post a story about that...

Yo, legion for life. My primary enemies are the Thalmor, and I refuse to allow some jaundiced cunts (Skyrim made me realize just how racist against elves I am...) to take everything via divide and conquer. Skyrim as a place may be easy to defend, but keep in mind that there was a civil war and some flying lizard things. Neither side would be able to stop the elves for very long, so it would make sense to join forces. Secondly, Ulfric runs a shitty town just north of a fucking swamp. How the hell will he get the resources needed to 1) feed, and 2) equip his armies, 3) maintain necessary infrastructures, and 4) defend numerous mountain passes and a whole coast against the pointy eared assholes from the south when he couldn't even properly run a bloody city?
Oh yes, they're racist dicks. I guess that's another reason for my dumner with an aversion to clothing to join up with them...

My first save I did, I'm not sure how suspicious they are of other non-Nords joining up but they were really, really dickish to me. They sent me off to kill an ice-wraith but I got distracted by the Dark Bortherhood. I'll update with any interesting occurrences when ever I get around to that save.

OT: FOR THE EMPRAH

But yeah, Stormcloaks are massive dicks, the Empire were far nice to my Bosmer assassin plus they have way better uniforms.

 

[pffh]

It seems from the many polls that have been taken on the subject, that most Skyrim players seem to be going with the Stormcloaks, and I can't figure out why. In the following post, I will make four points, after reading, feel free to respond and argue with my points.

4) Last, but not least, the Stormcloaks are racist nationalists, that think the fact that they are the "correct" race means that they should be allowed Skyrim, and that other races should not have authority or power, because they aren't the right race. Homeland or no homeland, these guys are basically the Skyrim equivalent of the BNP.

The Stormcloaks just racist? What? So wanting to rule your own home country instead of having a imperialistic group run it, is wrong? The way I see it, the Imperial Empire is like Britain, and the Stormcloaks are like the Irish, Indian or Chinese. They have a RIGHT to self-sovereignty (both the Stormcloaks and the Irish/Chinese/Indian).

What they have the right to rule the land that they stole after they slaughtered the original inhabitants? I'll repeat myself the Nord homeland is NOT Skyrim it's in Atmora not Tamriel.

 

[Simeon Ivanov]

Remember what the commander said? Something like "We are not the bad guys" to which Ulfric replied "You're certainly not the good guys"

While the Stormcloaks are kinda stupid and I don't like Ulfric, the Empire is worse. So I chose the lesser asshole here.

 

[Thunder2221]

My choice to side with the Empire was based on two things, really.

1. First time round, I rolled Stormcloak Nord. I followed Ulfric. I did all he asked. Until he attacked Whiterun. MY Whiterun. The Jarl, a very respectful fellow, had made me a Thane of his Hold, and this is how I repay him? I lead the attack into his City and leave it a burning ruin? Add to that the fact that the Steward took the seat when the Jarl was disposed. The Steward who doubted my status as Dovakiin from the start and questioned the validity of the ancient Nord rite of learning the voice from the Greybeards.

2. On my second playthrough, I actually talked to the Jarl in Solitude. She seemed like the kind of leader that Skyrim could use. She has yet to be accepted by the moot, but I believe that she would make a great High-Queen.
And it highlighted to me the dickness of Ulfric. The whole "The High-King would have declared independance if Ulfric had asked" showed me that below all his big talk of the rebellion being a fight for the people is just a front for him wanting to be high-king.

Oh, and to all those people saying that the fact that the Redguards defended themselves against the Aldmeri Dominion shows that the Nord could do the same, they're missing one fact. All these years playing Elder Scrolls, we've been told that Redguards are the most naturally gifted fighters in all of the Empire. Thus, it would make sense that they would be able to beat away the High Elves.

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

It seems from the many polls that have been taken on the subject, that most Skyrim players seem to be going with the Stormcloaks, and I can't figure out why. In the following post, I will make four points, after reading, feel free to respond and argue with my points.

4) Last, but not least, the Stormcloaks are racist nationalists, that think the fact that they are the "correct" race means that they should be allowed Skyrim, and that other races should not have authority or power, because they aren't the right race. Homeland or no homeland, these guys are basically the Skyrim equivalent of the BNP.

The Stormcloaks just racist? What? So wanting to rule your own home country instead of having a imperialistic group run it, is wrong? The way I see it, the Imperial Empire is like Britain, and the Stormcloaks are like the Irish, Indian or Chinese. They have a RIGHT to self-sovereignty (both the Stormcloaks and the Irish/Chinese/Indian).

What they have the right to rule the land that they stole after they slaughtered the original inhabitants? I'll repeat myself the Nord homeland is NOT Skyrim it's in Atmora not Tamriel.

Well if the original people exist, then I would support them over the Empire. However if the original people don't exist, then I would support the Nords over the Empire. My reason is because the Empire reminds me too much of the past European empires who acted like *ssholes to almost everybody.

 

[Slycne]

Concern yourself not with the petty squabbles of those who seek power through politics and strife. Stormcloak, Empire or Dominion, in the end it matters not. Their coin purses are all fat for the taking and someone will always require the services of the Dark Brotherhood regardless of who claims to own this or that land.

Slycne
Listener of the Dark Brotherhood, Nightingale Agent of Nocturne and Thieves' Guild Master.

 

[Xalarion]

Saw Windhelm.I would never let them rule Skyrim if they can't manage ruling a town.And the camps scattered in Skyrim seem very self-dependent.

 

[White-Death]

My Character bows to Nobody,I Kill every Storm cloak, Imperial, and Thalmor who disturb me, the Thalmor especially, They go act like the Gestapo, believing,and think they just they are the only ones who are right,and they can go & kill every Nord who worships his Go/Hero.
Honestly, i say gather all the people who arn't Idiotic Bigots(Storm-cloaks) and Complete dick-heads( Thalmor/Empire) show them into a remote Dwarven ruin with plenty of supplies, let Alduin kill the rest, pop back up, let me kill the dragons, and let life continue on normally.

But In game, Fuck them all, as I stated earlier,I kill any Thalmor.Imperial/Storm-cloak and Continue slaying dragons.

 

[Rtoip]

I haven't done any missions for either of them yet, but I will go with the Imperials.
Outside of getting revenge because of one jerkass officer who dies anyway I don't see any reason why I should join the nationalistic, racist rebels. Especially because I tend to play non-human races and Dunmer in particular.
Really, unless you play a Nord supremacist and/or specifically give your character some backstory about being persecuted by the empire (personally I tend not to think about it too much in cRPG especially like TES where there barely any opportunities to actually roleplay) or you're extremely vindictive there's no reason to join Stormcloaks.
At least that's what I think.

 

[Damon Youngker]

But you're making the very large assumption that the Empire WOULD break the treaty. They wouldn't. The Thalmar have already inserted themselves into the Empire, they have eliminated Imperial counter-agents(the blades) and therefore could pretty much off anyone they wanted to, without abandon. I mean, really, the Thalmar have the Empire in a vice grip, if the Emperor reneged on the treaty now, he would be dead within a week. The Dominion didn't just let the Empire chill while the treaty was going on, they enveloped it. They made sure that they had control. The Empire is already lost.

That said, Ulfric is a racist bastard. About the state of his cities though, more than likely, Windhelm has been besieged more than once, and as a guerrilla fighter, as a rebel, Ulfric wouldn't have much money at all.. in fact, it's a fantastic argument FOR him, that he's still around; because he is clearly outnumbered, outmaged, and outmaneuvered. Normally in that situation, the rebels retreat into the hills (e.g. forsworn) and fight a running fight. He has somehow managed to hold on to multiple cities and villages against overwhelming force for quite a bit of time now. That's impressive.

 

[Slycne]

Concern yourself not with the petty squabbles of those who seek power through politics and strife. Stormcloak, Empire or Dominion, in the end it matters not. Their coin purses are all fat for the taking and someone will always require the services of the Dark Brotherhood regardless of who claims to own this or that land.

Slycne
Listener of the Dark Brotherhood, Nightingale Agent of Nocturne and Thieves' Guild Master.

You do know that it was the Dominion who more or less dismantled both the thieves guild and the Dark Brotherhood, right?

They are welcome to try in Skyrim.

Spoiler

I'd certainly think twice about challenging a group that's capable of sending a single agent completely undetected onto a ship full of elite guards and assassinating their leader.

 

[Tyrant T100]

As most people can associate with having their culture stolen through the EU, removal of US Amendments, mass immigration, political correctness ect.

 

[Puzzlenaut]

I only just realised...

Nationalistic political entity that hates all races except for the Nordic race overthrowing a foreign, imposed government?

Rise of the Nazis anyone?



OT: Stormcloaks get more support because its cool to be a rebel.

 

[Solo-Wing]

I'm kinda annoyed about Whiterun though...

Good! I wasn't the only one. When We took over White run I actually felt like shit. The Juel there showed nothing but Friendship for me, then I go with the Stormcloaks and run in to take him off of power. I felt so bad about that. It wasn't my fault though! I asked him which side he was on in the beginning, and he said he didn't care about the war! How was I to know he was on the imperial side!

 

[LemonFury]

I went for the Stormcloaks just because the asshole Captain said "Who cares? We got him here, just kill him anyways." I mean come on who does that?!

 

[Asmundr]

A couple days ago me and a couple friends had a talk about this.
Out of the three of us, one joined the Stormcloaks mainly because he hated the Imperials for trying to cut his head off. While we stated that yeah, it was a pretty big dick move on their part for just lumping in the Player with the Stormcloaks. We also pointed out that the Stormcloaks are pretty short sighted.

Ulfric and the Stormcloaks are Nord supremacists. While their grievances are understandable:
- The removal of Talos from the Nine Divines.
- The Empires allowance of the Thalmor to run free everywhere.
- Their fear of Nord traditions and culture being replaced by the more Imperial ways.
- Etc. (Though thats pretty much it for them honestly.)
In the end though they are blind to the threat the Aldmeri Dominion poses to them. Ulfric is only looking to secure power in Skyrim and probably doesn't have any idea on how to combat the Thalmor. Overall it's a bit to cliché: An Empire and a rag-tag bunch of Rebels.

But in the long run the conflict in Skyrim benefits the Thalmor more than anyone else.

Now, granted I joined the Mages College in Winterhold, the Bards College in Solitude and my Nord character worships Zenithar (the removal of Talos doesn't bother me in a bit...though it's odd saying "the Eight Divines") picking sides isn't on my to do list yet. I do have something against the Aldmeri Dominion and do not want to see them get the upper hand on either the Empire or Skyrim.

How the hell do you think the Aldmeri are going to invade Skyrim? I don't know if you've tried, but I suggest you consider how hard it is to leave Skyrim without being able to fly over mountains. Skyrim is incredibly, mind-blowingly easy to defend because every single entrance is a narrow mountain pass and this is a world where it is not only feasible but fairly easy to bathe a small area in magical fire that will kill most normal people on a constant basis.

Both sides (the Empire and Stormcloaks) would be to exhausted to combat the Dominion fully. Besides the Thalmor's magic makes up for a lot of their other deficiencies. Numbers as well when you can compare the population of Skyrim vs the population of all the holdings the Aldmeri Dominion currently has. An opponents geographic advantage means nothing if you can out think them. The Dominion can just whittle away the Nords bit by bit. That, coupled with some insidious methods (like having more conflicts break out in the region to weaken them further) and the Thalmor gain the upper hand easily.

I went for the Stormcloaks just because the asshole Captain said "Who cares? We got him here, just kill him anyways." I mean come on who does that?!

Someone who just doesn't care and wants results. She was probably just an Imperial Officer who got their position by brown-nosing. Think about, your captured along with Stormcloak rebels. Everyone gets executed. She can brag about it and look good for carrying out such a large execution of traitors to the Empire. If she let you go it would call into question that maybe others might have been innocent, thus making her look bad and calling into question her ability to command.

I honestly feel sorry for Hadvar and other legionaries like him. Having to sit by and watch things like that happen cause if he spoke out it could be construed as sympathy for the Stormcloaks. If fact, I wouldn't put it past that damn Captain considering...

 

[Booze Zombie]

The only thing going against The Empire is they tried to kill me, once and failed just slightly... also religious oppresion, but who cares about that? Oh wait, Talos...

As most people can associate with having their culture stolen through the EU, removal of US Amendments, mass immigration, political correctness ect.

LOL, that's called change and it happens. Most cultures endure over time, people just like ot make themselves busy thinking they're being "attacked", so boring is civilisation.