My opinion

"Skyrim needs the Empire"

Translation-> We the Empire need the Nord armies to help bail us out each time our own incompetent legions from Cyrodill loses a city to those pesky Thalmor

Hammerfell having suffered the same devastation as Cyrodill during the Great War and having lost it's southern territories fought on alone for 5 years by themselves and drove the Aldmeri Dominion from it's land. I believe an independent Skyrim could also fend off a home invasion from the Dominion if the time comes.

What do you think?

Well I don't know much about how Hammerfell did it, but isn't that the homeland of the Redguards? If so, could be that they are said to be good fighters.

Which brings me to an independent Skyrim. Could they defend against an invasion? I think so. As long as they were all united against the invasion, Skyrim would be a tough place to invade.

Edit: It obviously would depend on many factors, such as the state of this independent Skyrim, and the state of the Dominion.

[censored] that.I want to destroy those [censored]ers myself in a DLC.

An independent Skyrim would have just come out of a civil war, which means they wouldn't have a lot of able-bodied soldiers at all. You're looking at a handful of Stormcloaks trying to defend against an Aldmeri invasion...it would not end well at all unless the Dragonborn decided to get a bunch of dragons to fight for the Nords.

Of course, Skyrim seems like a tough place to invade in the first place, as a Dominion fleet would have to sail around Hammerfell/High Rock and into the Sea of Ghosts, which is probably very perilous. I imagine they would have to lay siege to Solitude first unless they could bypass it and reach Dawnstar. Getting in would be hard, but if a Dominion army ever did manage to land, Skyrim would definitely be screwed.

If I know my tropes correctly, all fops lose in the end.

Because going 'Oh, I do decleh! I'm SOO much bettah thanyoo' is just the writer's way of setting up a hilarious defeat >:3

While it's true that the Redguards are unmatched in swordsmanship and speed, I think its the fact that the loss of half their homeland is what truly drove them over the edge and fight the Thalmor with such ferocity.

Look at it this way, while Talos ban is bad enough, imagine having to lose your home, your family, your relative, your business, your friends and your livelihood because the Southern portion of your country was given to a Facist Nation planning on destroying humanity. You would fight to the death and not give up if it means taking it all back.

I believe had the Thalmor also asked for half of Skyrim to be given to them, that would have waken the "BEAR" in even the most loyal Imperial-supporting Nords and they will perhaps demonstrate what the Redguards also did.

So you believe the Thalmor will be defeated then

I think you're on the right track. Skyrim has several lines of defense.


*Mountains and cold terrain. The Nords know the land and are adapted to it - the islander Elves don't and aren't.

*In every successful invasion in the real world, wherein a nation has to cross water to invade, a safe port has been absolutely required. They won't find one - Nords have been renowned for being excellent sailors since the days of Atmora.

*The Falmer were at the same peak of magical and civilized society as the Altmer are today, and 502 nords put them down.

*The Thalmor either have to sail past Hammerfell (good luck), those one Elves who don't like anyone from TESO, or go through Cyrodiil to attack.

*The Thalmor put the vast majority of their forces into the last great war and they reproduce more slowly than humans. Top this with that it takes a vast many years to train a high wizard and they have nothing.

*And last, but not least, the Nords were called the Strong Arm of the Empire and the Empire only started to repel the Thalmor once the Nords showed up.

Who knows; I'm not the writing team. Something a little less cartoony-expectable would be nice.

I mean how many times has their been a villain with that personality and OF COURSE they lose. If TES fans are anything like Mass Effect fans, we'll probably end up seeing the Fopmor fall and the Dragonborn have a party with all his buddies.

If I was in charge, I'd make it a little more dramatic, though. Like you do win, but so much is lost as a result. Like DAMN was that even worth it?

Hammerfell wasn't even prepared to fight by themselves and suffered massive devastation, it was the Empire which bailed out on them.

At least with Skyrim, preparations will be made to fight the war alone and unlike Hammerfell Skyrim has all of its territories intact which means they could make full use of all resources.

A united Skyrim perhaps, but as of right now...it's pretty divided. Skyrim needs the Empire, it's in everyone's best interest if the Thalmor are to be defeated.

I would not be surprised if many of those Stormcloak soldiers were once a part of, or relatives of the Nord legions under General Jonna who helped bail out the Imperial city only to see that all they fought for was for nothing.

Obviously a united Skyrim, even the Red guards couldn't have done it without unification.

I'm not sure if you're implying this or not, but a general idea floating around the forums is that Redguards are better warriors than Nords, but Redguards weren't called the Strong Arm of the Empire.