I have a bit of a puzzling situation. I haven't taken sides yet in the civil war, and all I've done in relation to it is broker the peace for the dragon-snaring episode, trading Markarth and Riften to the Stormcloaks and Dawnstar and Winterhold to the Empire. Apart from that, nothing had changed until recently.

Now if I approach a Stormcloak camp, or come across a Stormcloak patrol in the wild, I get told to back off or else. If I don't, they'll attack. I walked away from one such patrol west of Whiterun, only to have them get into a fight with the Whiterun guards. I don't get this from Imperial camps, and I usually get a warning from a patrol that is escorting a prisoner, but not otherwise. Yesterday I ran into that orc and his two accomplices in Imperial gear (and three naked Imperial soldiers nearby). In the dialog option, the first item was, "I'm in the Imperial Legion and you aren't" or something like that. Weird.

Both miscellaneous quests, "Join the Stormcloak rebellion" and "Join the Imperial Legion" are in my journal. Imperial soldiers advise me to go to Solitude to enlist. I spoke to an Imperial captain and he was more specific: talk to Legate Rikke. I definitely have not spoken to her or Tullius.

The only thing that might have a bearing on this is that I visited Korvanjund that's used in the Jagged Crown quest. I could enter the Temple, but the way inside is blocked by rubble until I get the quest, which I won't have until I talk to Rikke or Galmar Stone-Fist. Even so, I can't see how this would have any connection to the Stormcloaks being hostile.

Unless they are getting impatient for the war to continue, lol.

As an aside, I just noticed that two Imperial Camps are completely gone. Hjaalmarch and the Pale. Perhaps they've relocated to garrison Dawnstar and Winterhold? I'll have to look for the respective commanders later.

This just goes to show that Stormcloaks are no good!

On a more serious note, I'm note sure why they react differently towards you.

Crap, I didn't notice this one...sorry...and started a similar http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1355857-stormcloak-patrols-attacking-me-unprovoked-wtf/.

I'm wondering if this is a post-1.4 thing.

I just read yours, lol. I've never had this happen before. Well, I was trying to avoid them, even helped spring a Stormcloak from the clutches of the evil Thalmor (the last of the three Thalmor took a couple of arrows from a passing Imperial patrol, lol). I spoke to Farkas about work, and he said that there was trouble in Falkreath with the Falmer. So he sent me to a cave west of Solitude. Yeah, he isn't the bright one. After leaving there, I decided to stop in at Solitude for the night.

As I walked down the road, I met the visiting noble on his high horse and attendant Imperial guard on their way to Solitude. A little ways on was an Imperial patrol with a Stormcloak prisoner. They were lolly-gagging, so I thought I'd enliven the group with a little mischief. I slipped a frenzy potion to one of the guards. The other guards beat on him and even the prisoner was punching him. But then the potion wore off and they stood around again. I decided to check out the nearby Stormcloak camp. As usual, they went nuts, but I had a plan.

I drew them up to the road where the nobleman and his escort were now passing. Even the patrol snapped out of their reverie long enough to join in the fray. Me? I did nothing at all. Eventually there were only two Stormcloak soldiers and the erstwhile prisoner. I drew them down to the carriage house of Solitude, and that guard finished them off. I went back to the camp, and only the injured soldiers and the commander were still there. On the way back I stopped to pick up the junk off the road when I heard a horse snort. At first I couldn't see anything. Then I looked up a well-concealed draw on the north side of the road, and there was the nobleman on his steed, as well hidden as could be. If he's waiting for his escort he's in for a long wait.

At that point I decided to join the Legion. I get more respect from bandits than I do from the Stormclods.

Something similar happened to me as well, about 2 months ago. I had traded Winterhold for Markath then, so the result of Season Unending was quite in favour for the Stormcloaks. Some camps disappeared from the map, and I wasn't welcome in camps of either side anymore. I am not sure anymore though if the Stormcloaks or the Imperials (or both?) suddenly were considering me as trespassing.

Sometimes you get flagged as trespasser in civil war camps if you have not joined one or the other. This happens in imperial camps, too.

I may have accidentally joined the Empire. A while back I talked to Rikke at one point and it started the Imperial side, but I reloaded to before that point and continued. So either the game bugged or I reloaded the wrong save, but I'm pretty sure I checked and saw both join options in my journal.

I wonder if we do a lot of side quests and advance the MQ a bit we gain enough notoriety in Skyrim that we are considered suspicious if we don't join a side. Kinda' like, "You've been here quite a while stirring things up. Since you haven't joined a side what are you up to?".

The Empire is where it is at!!! Down With The Stormcloaks!!!!! No joining of the Empire is by accident...

I'm sorry, Charlie Murphy. It was a accident - I was havin' too much fun.

Rebel scum!

Well, I went into Imperial and Stormcloak camps with no reaction from either...quest must've bugged out.