He was also right about Balgruuf.

I suspect that Ulfric already knew this to be the case and that he only held off in the off chance Balgruuf would come around.

Galmar's gloating about being right on that instance isn't exactly endearing, to be honest.

Possibly. The point is that Galmar seem to be far from incompetent, though he isn't always nice.

No one said he was incompetent. Just less competent than Ulfric. Take it as a compliment.

Like Dean said, nobody has said he is incompetent in any way. He just isn't leader material. He is the lieutenant, the second man. I honestly don't see him managing the uprising successfully and all of Skyrim after that.

Are we excluding the possibility of the Dragonborn taking the lead?

Well... It depends so much on what kind of Dragonborn we play. Of the characters I've played that sided with Ulfric, my Nord could and would have stepped in without hesitation (but with lots of grief, since Ulfric was the love of her life). My Dunmer witch would firmly have told everyone to forget it, even though a Dunmer leader might have opened up for an interesting alliance.
My Breton would only reluctantly agree, but might very well ending up doing even better than Ulfric himself.

Oh please, you thought ulfric was going to die that early in the game?

Even if he did die, either galmar or ralof would kill the high king.

What are you talking about? The OP (if you read it) says what if Ulfric died in Helgen.

The High king is already dead !

I'd take up the mantle. I'd also shout Elisif to dust - literally.

and I'd also do it to anyone else who whined about it.

Oh ya forgot, i get stuff out of order, but still, i bet ralof would sacrafice himself for ulfric

Killing Ulfric at that stage would just create a martyr. His rebellion still had the strength and support to carry on without him and carry on the civil war. I can't see Galmar taking the reigns though, hes just the support, the second so who would replace Ulfric is unknown.

Also @Treng If Ulfric was killed it would meant the executions went on uninterrupted meaning bye bye Dragonborn.

Sorry but your wrong wherever there's an opportunity there's always someone ready to step in and take a hold of that opportunity.

The logical discourse, in my opinion, is that we exclude the Dragonborn. Not everyone joins the Stormcloaks, nor does every Dragonborn even really cast his lot with either side (other than to get to the peace treaty - stupid intertwined quest lines) and as you've demonstrated not every Dragonborn who sided with the Stormcloaks would carry on the fight.

My current Nordic Stormcloak would betray Ulfric in a heartbeat because he doesn't respect him. The only reason he sided with him is down to it being the easier route for his own ambitions. The Empire isn't going to be too pleased if their new High King carries out a fiery purge of the Alessian Pantheon, after all.

Not necessarily. It could just be that Ulfric was executed first, instead of the nameless Stormcloak soldier.

Ehh i suppose. Either way the Rebellion would fall into trouble. For some Ulfrics death would just add fuel to the fire and for others it would break their spirits. Galmar would have his hand tied trying to get what he can of the rebellion together. I'm not sure there is anyone in Skyrim with Ulfrics charisma or ability to deliver powerful hard hitting speeches.

Exactly what's wrong with Elisif?

Ulfric's claim to the throne is the lynchpin of the Stormcloak cause, so yeah, the topic title is accurate.

After his death, there'd be some time before the fires of war truly die down, but his demise would spell the beginning of the end.

Galmar? He is a wardog, plain and simple. He is not Jarl material.

And the other Stormcloak jarls are not really King material either. We have an old manchild gloryhound, a vindicative elf-hater, a blind puppet, a going-senile old man, an actually senile old man, a member of a member of a mafia family, and a woman whose greatest achievement before being appointed a Jarl is running a mine.

Apart from her incompetence not much else. Treng is just a heavy a Stormcloak supporter to the point where you could be a Daedric Lord and he'll still challenge you if you deny the Stromcloaks.

He hates her because she isn't Ulfric Stormcloak.

Talos himself could proclaim the cause wrong and Treng would still defend it.

Beyond her incompetence - both legal and moral - the main reason I'd do it is because she's the Empire's puppet, and the best chance the Empire has of ruling Skyrim.

Well, that and she completely denied Nordic law and tried to have Ulfric killed for a legal proceeding.

This. Elisif's main role is to be a puppet by both sides. Why else is she still in power if the Stormcloaks win? I highly doubt the Empire would have intervened after the duel if Ulfric was just another Imperial lapdog.

And DeanG hates Stormcloaks because they aren't the Empire.

Having Ulfric die at the beginning would have been a nightmare to both the Thalmor and Alduin. The rebellion would have been quelled in record time, and Alduin wiuld not have as much snacks to munch on.

She has no idea shes a Empire puppet. I mean Tulluis told her to basically shut up at the peace talks and she just took it. I'm an Empire man but i don't think Elisif is High Queen material at all but to be fair i don't think Ulfric is ether. Balgruuf and Free-Winter are muuuch better choices. At the same time having an Imperial controlled High Queen wouldn't be so bad for the time being. The Empire would have direct control over Skyrim over the next 40 or so years until everything and everyone has fully recovered from the Rebellion and 2nd Great War. Then a true moot can take place.