Oh... Well then...

High Rock could not be in a situation, but it could. No one knows.

I like it, as well as agree. Rikke and Tullius are fine soldiers and good people, so long as you don't take Tullius for face value. The first time I played through the Imperial side, I gained a lot of respect for him, and so he became my favorite character to this day. I too was originally going to side with the Stormcloaks without a moment to spare, because of the opening. But I'm also very indecisive about things. I wanted to research as much as I could. So I did, and eventually took the Empire's side after defeating Alduin.

I found that Tullius is so much more than meets the eye. He at first appears cold and distant, and unappreciative of Nord culture (which he is,) but unlike Ulfric or Galmar, or even Rikke, he became a dynamic character in the end. He is one of the few characters in Skyrim to actually undergo a personal change, in that he isn't the same General he was at Helgen by the end of the war; Stormcloak or Imperial side. Tullius renewed my faith in the Empire, and I believe in him. He's a straight arrow, weathered military man who begins to develop a love for the land. He also has a very sarcastic sense of humor that I always get a kick out of.

I also agree with you, on the Mede Dynasty needing to end. Mede's final hour gained him my respect for him as a person, but as an Emperor, he just made too many bad calls, some that could have been avoided. But as Alvor said, "Nords have never been fairweather friends."

Of course, that's just my take on it. Don't try to tell me I'm wrong, and then go right ahead and tell me your converse opinion of him. This was just my honest perspective on him as the questline played out. I never would have thought I'd ever join up with the Imperials during my first few days in Skyrim, let alone even consider them being the "good guys," so it was a dramatic change in picture for me.

"I suspect Skyrim to be my home for many years. Can't say I'll ever get used to the damn cold, or understand these Nords...but, I've come to respect them. The harshness of Skyrim has a way of carving a man down to his true self."

Yup, Tulius is literally one of the few characters to actually undergo a obvious change in skyrim which is why I like him.

Problem with Tullius is that Tullius isn't the one in charge of the Empire, the Emperor and the Elder Council are the ones in charge. Tullius even says that he can't get more support due to aristocrats denying him support. Unless Tullius plans to rebel against the Empire, the Elder Council is pretty much in charge and thus unless they want to go to war, he is out of luck. Also, Tullius is just A general of one Legion, not THE general of the Legion. Tullius may be admirable to some but he is just one part of the Imperial machine so he alone isn't going to get much done without support.

Can you give me some source with the "aristocrats refuse to give Tulius support" claim

He's also voiced by Michael Hogan

That is also a plus.

How far is Tullius down the chain of command? He could be a potential "heir" to Mede if you will.

Does Mede II have any heirs himself? They kind of dodge answering this question to the best of my knowledge.

I want to answer the actual thread discussion though.

Personally, I see the Empire's fall as inevitable, but not before the Thalmor have been ousted from Summerset Isle. I'm confident enough that the Human nations, and perhaps the Dunmer and Argonians, will rally and stop the Thalmor from collapsing Mundus into Aetherius, assuming you believe that theory.

Afterwards though, I think there's too much bad blood to survive. You might see another Interregnum period like after the fall of the Remans and before the rise of Tiber Septim.

So I support the Empire, but it's very much an "Enemy of my Enemy" kind of deal, Executing Ulfric with the heaviest of hearts, believing his rebellion was a just and noble cause, but thinking his shortsightedness would cause, at best, a New Hegemony of human subjugation (See: Aylieds) and at worst, total destruction of Mundus.

Since skyrim svcked at talking about outside politics, people and/or events we don't really know, but I don't see why he wouldn't.

He can die, so I doubt that.

I don't think Tullius would even want the throne.

Titus Mede II has ruled for what, 40 years and he is well over 70 himself, so it would be very, very weird if he didn't have any heirs of his own.

That's what I figured.

I guess being vague stops them from writing themselves into a corner, but being without details isn't a good substitute.

I agree, but I almost want to say it's implied because, well, Amuand Motiere isn't really gaining anything if Mede has an Heir/Heiress.

He seems like a very troubled man.

http://cs.uesp.net/index.php?game=sr&formid=0x000d767b

Guess I should be the one asking you for proof considering you constantly ask Stormcloak supporters for proof.

I know that quote. Since he mentions the Emperor, it's most likely Mede's call to deploy/withdraw troops, and not the Elder Council's. Plus, I'm sure he'd get all of the troops he'd need postwar. Most of the Legions are at Cyrodiil's border anyway IIRC, so it'd take a while for them to even get to Skyrim.

Except if:

1) Mortierre is pushing the claim of Mede's heir, who wants his father out of the way as quickly as possible. Reasons can be simple greed or the heir's disagreement with his father's policies.

2) Mortierre is speaking the truth and he is genuinely acting in the interests of the Empire, and thus he is playing for his country rather than just himself.

That makes the DB questline even more important since we don't don't how much support Motierre has in the Elder Council or how much Thalmor influence is in the Elder Council.

Do you have any evidence for either? I'm not looking for anything absolute, just curious if I may have overlooked details.

On Rikke... she's decent-ish, but I find that she and many of the other Imperials seem almost willfully blind about the Stormcloak cause, somehow blaming the Stormcloaks themselves for reacting badly to the Talos ban more than the Thalmor for instituting it in the first place. If the Empire didn't see that major trouble was going to arise, they were truly fools, and trying to foist this much blame onto the Stormcloaks seems either willfully blind or simply vehemently dishonest. I mean, you're the muscle of the Thalmor justiciars currently vanishing people for worshiping Talos; what did you expect?

Like who?

The Imperials don't enforce the ban at all. It's the Thalmor themselves who are the actual muscle. In fact the only reason the Empire has cracked down on it is because of Ulfric's open rebellion.

If you even think that this won't turn off to be a civil war argument thread you are SSOOOOOO wrong. You even changed the story with ulfric and Tullius

Tullius, Rikke, and truth be told, most Imperials or Empire supporters who aren't just focused on Ulfric being allegedly selfish and power-hungry.

Have you seen the justiciar patrols backed up by Imperial Legionnaires? I have. in any case, it's the Empire that's preventing the Stormcloaks from kicking the Thalmor out.

Good job bethesda for making single player games so good that people argue like it was actual politics.

No, but I am pointing out that it's not written in the mountains that Mortierre won't be gaining anything if Mede has a heir.