I don't really RP a whole lot, but something I HAVE to do is make up a reason my character was crossing the border and why they were arrested. Also I want to make a legion guy but can't justify why I would after they tried killing me. Have you run into these issues? And if you have can you give me some Ideas of why a warrior that isn't a Nord or an Assassin that isn't a Nord were going to Skyrim in the first place. Also how have you justified joining the Legion?

"everyone deserves a second chance"

Why do people immigrate to America? Why do people leave their original homeland to begin with? Surely you can be a little creative...That's what RPing is.

My character just decided to go to Skyrim to learn more from the native creatures there, she stumbled on a fight between Imperials and Stormcloaks, decided to watch from behind a tree but was caught by some Imperial who thought she was just a cowardly Stormcloak and knocked her out.

My Nord came back to his homeland to free it from the Empire, got arrested for being a Nord and sneaking into the country.

My Imperial was coming to join up with the Legion, fame and glory and all that. There is the whole mix up with the paperwork, so no hard feelings about the whole wealmostcutoffyourhead thing.

My Orc is a smith looking for work and he figured with the war going on it'd be easy enough.

I'll make up some excuse for my other characters as I make them. I find it so much easier to make up a reason for being a prisoner in Skyrim/Morrowind compared to Oblivion, 'cause in Oblivion you're in the middle of the country, not at the edge.

My character wanted to start a new life after his old one was destroyed by the Thalmor. Considering he lived much of his life in the colder areas of Cyrodiil, Skyrim was the closest place he could've gone to. Had all the proper forms approved by the local government office and crossed the border. Got unlucky and accidentally crossed with Stormcloaks, not knowing that they were rebels.

Manius was forgiving of the Imperial Legion though. After all, they were once his home army.

My Altmer is in Skyrim because he was tailing a merchant from the south in a caravan loaded with rare spell tomes. my Altmer ambushed the trader it turned out the trader was a master wizard. They fought a long brutal battle my Altmer bested the wizard. A group og guards heard the noise and came running. My Altmer was found guilty of murder and attempted robbery of the tomes being brought to the College of Winterhold. He was sentenced to death. That is where my story begins in the land of Skyrim.

What the person said at the beginning (Fleeing some political intrigue in Daggerfall, eh?) actually sounds about right for my character So I just went along with that.

I personally have a dislike for the Aldmeri Dominion.

And of course there's always the "Screw the lore this is what really happened in my character's canon" way of doing it.

Here's an idea. How about the reason the rebels got arrested in the first place is because your character is an undercover legionary, and he set them up?

You led them into the ambush, and the local legionaries arrested you along with the bad guys. The reason you're not on the death list is because you're an undercover agent, but that bit of information never made it to the front lines so as the game begins you're about to get killed by your own guys.

Then the whole dragon thing kicks off and you decide to stay on mission rather than report back to the Imperial City.

In my game, and this is really cool if you find the portion I am going to mention, after learning a bit more about the situation in Skyrim, I made up that I came back to my ancestral home of Skyrim to try and help in the civil war. But after being captured and almost killed by the Imperials just for crossing the border, and then seeing the Stormcloak's true machinations, I decided it would be best to simply help the people and thwart both sides of the war effort any way I could.

It actually came into play at some point, because someone asked me what my business in Skyrim was and whether I had family or someone I cared for; to which I answered "My reasons are personal" and that "Yes, I have someone; but they are far from Skyrim."

I justify joining the Legion easily: If I stop myself from joining the right cause, for all of Skyrim, because of my own personal problems, what kind of hero am I?

Neither side is good or bad, they are both just filled with people doing the best they can and lead by righteous fools that think they know what is best for Skyrim. You where caught in the wrong place, at the wrong time, don't take it personally.

If you need a reason to join, and you don't have to, do it because the best way to change the system is from within it. The Stormcloaks are fighting it head on and Skyrim is suffering for it.

Khajiit has wears, if you have coin.

In reality I wouldn't agree but for a RP idea fro an Imperial Legion guy this is an awesome idea, thanks!

My charactor, Rivaen was native to Black Marsh and is the cousin of Madesi of riften,who he was going to visit, and while he was crossing the border when a bear began chasing him. He ran for four miles before running out of energy and then collapsed in the middle of the road. He was just about to be dragged of and eaten by the bear when some stormcloaks showed and killed the bear for it's hide before taking Rivaen prisoner, but before they could get to the stormcloak camp the Imperials ambushed the group, killing five of Rivaens' captors. And, assuming he was working for them, took Rivaen prisoner as well as fourteen others.

T'vash
He was travelling from Elsweyr where he spent the majority of his life until this point as a Mercenary/Assassin for the Khajiit forces within the region. Unhappy with the way things were going within his homeland, he decided to leave his old life behind and headed for Cyrodiil. During his time there, he was harassed by a few Imperial Legion Soldiers who harbored somewhat of a distaste for his people. Escaping with only his pride having been wounded, he ventured onward, but his hatred for the Empire would only continue to grow. Disgruntled, he made for Skyrim. Hoping to find somewhere he could settle for a while, although by this point he had become aware to how inhospitable that the people of Tamriel could be. Nearing the border of Skyrim, whispers began to reach his ears. Talk of Civil War between the native Nords and the Imperial Forces, a situation that he thought could be exploited. During his border crossing however, he was once more beset by Imperial Legion Soldiers. This time however he murdered one, while seriously wounding two others. He was spared an immediate execution by an Imperial Legate who decided it would be a fitting gift to present General Tullius with a Khajiit prisoner. An exotic oddity within Skyrim. Disgruntled, he was sent for Helgen as little more than an animal than a man.

Ulfgar Iron-Brand
As a boy, he grew up in Skyrim within Windhelm, yet during his tenth year, his father was called away on Legion business and so both he and his wife were forced to relocate to Cyrodiil. Ulfgar traveled freely with them, although the remaining members of his family would be left behind. Eventually each of them would perish as bloodline grew thin, and they married into new families, thus allowing the Iron-Brand name to fade into history. The Iron-Brand house was famed for their ability in the craft of smithing, held almost on equal terms with that of the Grey-Mane family. The art had been passed down from generation-to-generation through the years. And until this point, it had been all they had worked for in life. Ulfgar's father would work as a blacksmith for the Legion for many years to come, having his son Ulfgar as an apprentice. Twenty years passed, and both Ulfgar's mother and father passed away through illness, leaving him alone in the world. Yet the life of a blacksmith for the Legion was not a life he wanted to lead. Since he was a boy, he had held his head in the clouds, dreaming of slaying trolls, rescuing beautiful women, hunting werewolves, and any kind heroic deed that might be found in the common tome filled with myth and legend, or from the stories that his father would tell of their homeland. Four years passed, and he traveled from each corner of Cyrodiil to the next before finally deciding to head for Skyrim to return home. Yet as he made his way across the border, he stumbled upon the skirmish between the Stormcloaks and the Imperials. Taking him as one of the 'rebels', he was apprehended and carted off for Helgen.

I just wanted to see what was on the other side of the fence.

Haven't joined the legion mainly because my thief tends to shy away from law abiding organizations. Wasn't happy with the near beheading either.

My character is a peaceable explorer, streetwise but mostly ignorant (at first) of the art of combat, who winds up heading for Riverwood with the intention of netting herself a few honest septims to help fund her expeditions. On the way she happens to accidentally land in an Imperial ambush, her attempts to explain herself falling on deaf ears, and can only hope as she's carted away that the folks at the place she's being taken to will be more receptive to her justifications. No such luck. She ends up tagging along with the Stormcloak simply because she's not keen on trusting a member of the people that nearly whacked off her head without provocation. Although the Stormcloak urges her to join his side, she opts to stay out of the conflict as much as possible and keep a low profile. Again, no such luck. One dragon attack and a shout later, everyone seems to know who she is and she's finding it harder to remain politically neutral with every passing day.

the legion are spineless cowards to betray the land and gods they hold dear, and the future of Skyrim! Someone has to make stand against oppression and autocracy. Sure theres a false sense of safety in absolutism but for the Nords they can take back the land and rule it for themselves. For this we will drive back the Empire and they will fall to Talos much the same as Rome. For this we must drive back the Empire and destroy Skyrims invaders. But what do I care of Nords and pagan rituals, I am a Dunmer who has come to this land in search of honor and favor for my people and a safe and free place to reside without prejudice and Thalmor.

My characters' back stories:

Tiberius: He is a 45 year old Breton from the Imperial city.
In his early 20s he joined the Mages Guild, he excelled where other had failed, he soon gained the favour of arch-mage, he was sent on dangerous quests and asignments. As his fame was growing amongst the guild his quests got even more dangerous, on his final quest he was sent to retrieve an ancient and powerful Alyeid artifact, he eventually reached the artifact but what happened next was unimaginable. The artifact drained him of his power and most of his memories, Battle Mages found him two weeks later and they helped him to regain his strengh, he eventualy left them to travel to the College of Winterhold and this is where his adventure starts!

Josh Storm-Blade: He is a 28 year old Nord from Bruma.
He has lived in Bruma since he was born, he lived with his parents and two brothers, he was a natural warrior and so were his younger siblings, he joined the town guard when he was 19 and he served happily. When he was off duty he returned home to his family butchered by Thalmor agents, he then swore an oath of revenge, he then fled to Skyrim to join the Rebelion.

Brutus II of Battlehorn: He is a 37 year old Imperial from Battlehorn.
He is a decendent of Brutus I, the man that stopped the Oblivion crysis and help save Tamriel from Mehrunes Dagon. He joined the Imperial legion but was stripped of his rank after he was accused of murder and conspiracy to commit murder, before they could execute him he fled to Skyrim to earn back his honor and clear his name.

My character is an assassin. He was trying to cross the border to get OUT of Skyrim after killing the High King. I have not actually done virtually any of the main quest or civil war quest lines yet so I'm not sure if the game provides a real solid explanation for how the high king was killed. All I know is what it says on loading screens about Ulfric Stormcloak killing the high king with his voice. I choose to say that that is Stormcloak propaganda and that the Stormcloaks actually hired my assassin character from abroad to kill the High King. After the high king was killed, Ulfric and other Stormcloaks were rounded up and gave up the plan of how I was going to escape Skyrim, leading to my arrest. This explains why my character decides to side with the Imperials despite them trying to execute him; he wants to exact revenge on the Stormcloaks for giving him up.

I justify how Ulfric doesn't know who I am by saying that Ulfric never had face to face contact with me when hiring me for the job; this seems a believable mode of operation for a hired assassin. When we are being executed together, I just say Ulfric and everyone else (including the Imperials) in the opening scene assume I am just a petty criminal. This is believable because I assume the knowledge of who and what I am is matter of strict secrecy for the Imperials. The orders to find me came from the very top of the overall Imperial leadership and they did not share why I was being picked up with the lower level people who were to find and execute me.

The main inconsistency here is how General Tullius wouldnt know who I am and would let me in the Imperial Legion. I justify this by saying that either the knowledge of who I am was kept even above General Tullius' knowledge (ie. the order to get me came from the VERY VERY top of Imperial leadership in Tamriel and even Tullius thought I was a normal criminal) or General Tullius recognizes that I am powerful, only killed the high king due to a contract not ideology, and want revenge on the Stormcloaks and decides I can be of use to him and will be loyal due to my desire for revenge.

I think this story makes my character seem epic and important in the world from the beginning and gives him a reason to side with the imperials despite them trying to kill him. He doesn't blame them for wanting to execute him; after all, he DID kill the high king. He blames the Stormcloaks for hiring him and then giving him up.

My Legion guy is trying to infiltrate the Stormcloaks. Best way to do that is to arrange an escape with their lieutenants. The guards didn't know that I was a spy and the General didn't want to give it away. Just before a 'Bandit Attack' helped us escape the dragon showed up and upset the whole applecart.

yeah...I do this a lot lol