Simple question: Who did you side with in the civil war in Skyrim?

As for the second poll question, imagine if your favorite race on Tamriel was rebelling against an Empire under as similar circumstances as possible. With their own Ulfric Stormcloak-esque character and all. If the people is not current part of the Empire, imagine they are. Like Cyrodiil being a vassal of Skyrim and Akatosh is outlawed, if your favorite is Imperial.

the empire



I have no respect for people like Ulfric, regardless of their race.. he committed regicide and cited outdated "traditions" as an excuse to justify his crime high treason (it would be like me shooting a politician in the face and then going "hey, pistols at dawn are an old tradition in our culture" to defend myself in court)..


if he really wanted independence for the betterment of the province as he so claims, there are actual peaceful and productive methods to try and obtain it that would still allow decent relations with the rest of the empire as opposed to making himself their enemy and would not result in the entire province killing each other off due to split allegiances (fyi, just as much of the province supports the empire as supports Ulfric), but he chose to attempt a coup because he realized such methods would not result with him on the throne..


if Ulfric was as just as people claim he is, he would have taken a road to independence that didn't result in his countrymen killing each other off in his name.. now if he had tried say, getting together with Skyrims Nobility and petitioning the Elder Council for independence of the province (which can work fyi, real life human history has seen several nations gain their independence via such methods), I may consider supporting him.. but as things stand, hes using propaganda and feeding off peoples fears to rally people under his flag to support his hidden agenda..

My favourite races are Dunmer, then Altmer, and then Nords. In all three cases, I wouldn't join the Empire. At least, not the Mede dynasty's Empire.

If the Empire was still ruled by the Septim dynasty, I would support it. But an institution without Divine authority is worthless - just a profane political hegemony with no special meaning. The only legitimacy the Empire ever possessed was thanks to Akatosh and Talos. The Dragonborn Emperors are a thing of the past, so Akatosh no longer has any ties to the Empire. On top of that, the Empire has forsaken Talos, so what remains to legitimise the Empire? Nothing but worldly power, which can be broken. The Aldmeri Dominion is ascending, and the Fourth Age will be an Anuic one, with the elves returning to a position of strength.

Without Divine patronage, the Empire is worthless. The Stormcloaks understand this, which is why Skyrim will be stronger under Ulfric in the long run. I suspect an apocalyptic war between Men and Elves will come, and if the Stormcloaks lose the civil war, Talos worship will eventually be stamped out, which will result in Talos losing his divinity, which ultimately means that Men will be very weak in the final struggle.

My logic dictates that I choose the Empire.

Yet I would like to believe that if I didn't know the significance of Talos, or understood the need for the Empire's continued existence so they can stand against the Aldmeri Dominion, then most likely I would've chosen the Stormcloaks. However I do know these things, as do many Elder Scroll players, so my heart wasn't really involved in my choice.