Is there a way to get the jarl of whiterun to side with the stormcloaks?

Nope.

I thought it gave me the option to spare him when I did the quest? I mean I just went and murdered him but I think it was optional...

You can't kill any Jarl...

My memory escapes me. it was so long ago...

So, who's that guy who looks like Ulfric at the of the civil war quest? You know, the one I just killed.

Spoilers! (Even though it's pretty obvious how the war will end, but... spoilers!)

He's the guy who becomes unessential when the successful ending of the questline you chose to follow requires his death.

Nope, sorry. The only thing you can do with the stormcloaks is take it over by force.

And then feel really, really bad about it. *cringe*


Just keep reminding yourself that Maven Black-Briar will never be Jarl of Riften. It helps. A little.

Hang on - I went thru the Imperial side of the civil war. In the end, Ulfric asked me to kill him. At that point, I regretted the side I took, and found the whole civil war to be a very sad and tragic event - Tullius secretly shared the same worries about the thalmor as Ulfric, and Tullius' second in command very clearly sympathized as well. I originally chose the imperial side when I found out some things about Ulfric's past, as well as being put off by his murder of the previous high king (it was hardly a fair fight) and his arrogant, conniving demeanor. If I do a replay, I'll side with the stormcloaks next time, just to see what happens. I suspect the outcome will be equally sad and a waste of lives, but I'll do it regardless just to see.

Legion or Stormcloak, it doesn't make a difference with Whiterun and Balgruuf. Except for whether you end up attacking it with the Stormcloaks, or defending it against them.

I did the Stormcloak side once, then the Legion once. I'm doing the Stormcloak side again now. I don't know if I'll play the CW through again in a future game, but if I do I won't be joining the Legion again. Ulfric isn't perfect but I find most of the usual complaints and accusations made against him are either completely baseless or else the things they're based on are matters of interpretation, opinion, and existing bias rather than factual evidence (i.e., what you see as arrogant and conniving, someone else sees as bold and... well actually I don't know what you're basing the "conniving" on, so I can't really address that).

And from the perspective of fun, interesting gameplay - at least he and Galmar aren't boring. More than can be said for Tullius and Rikke IMO.

i thought she becomes jarl if the imperials win

I dont like the imperials but you gotta respect balgruuf for standing his ground for his beliefs

alright THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS THREAD. if someone reads my post first, maybe I can save some virginity

Oops, sorry. Maybe the thread should be moved? I will edit my posts if someone can tell me how to add a spoiler tag.