I personally think their cause is just. I am by no means a lore-master, but this is how my trail of thought has always worked when it comes to The Forsworn: They cannot possibly be labelled as a terrorist group when their cause is noble. They only wish to take back the land which is rightfully theirs. Empire's have risen and fallen on the basis of making others obey by their laws, and acknowledge them as their rulers. The Forsworn only wish to re-take The Reach, which was probably taken by Nords brutally.

In conclusion, The Forsworn do terrible things, but for a noble cause. Whereas The Thalmor and The Empire have done terrible things for a despicable cause.

Feel free to add your own opinions! =D

How can they be the natives and true owners of the reach when evidence of the dragon cult is all around the place?

... and ALL of The Reach!

Every time I read your post, I imagine Hagrid's voice saying it

I picked horny headgear cause they aren't much in game...just bandits with less clothes.

How can the Dragon cult be the true owners with evidence of Falmer everywhere (the Reach has a [censored] load of Dwemer ruins k?

I think they are more than just bandits. Similar in that they attack the player on sight but the Forsworn have a cultural heritage bound to the region. They have a lore base that makes them posses a cause of more than personal wealth.

How about adding an option "none of the above" or "maniacs". They attack innocent dunmer that are just taking a walk.

Then vote for option 1? That's why it's there.

Because the dwemer came after the time of the dragon cult.

And the proto Nords were in Skyrim before they went to Atmora.

^This and also:

- Forsworn are a group of Reachmen and doesn't represent the all of them. Many Reachmen live in piece with Nords.

- Forsworn are trying to retrieve old rituals which means human sacrifices, Hagraven Matriarchs and most likely worship of Daedra.

- Forsworn aren't only fighting against the people they might consider to be their enemies but are hostile towards everyone. They rob and kill anyone and in that way aren't any better than bandits.

Actually the elves were there before the Dragon Cult, including the Dwemer.

While sure, they may have owned the Reach before, I think it's far to late to reclaim it.

The Native Americans may have 'owned' the US long ago, but is it really practical for them to try and reclaim it?

The Dwemer also inhabited modern-day http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Skyrim during the earlier centuries of the http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:First_Era, and had numerous clashes with the http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Nord who lived there.^{http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Dwemer#cite_note-TAW-13}

^Nay.

^{And the elves and Nords were all on Tamriel before they went elsewhere. That was their ancestors as ehlnofey. Remember they were breathed onto the Throat of the World, which is likely the bones of Kyne, her divine essence that died and went to Nirn. The rest of her is the planet Kyne, and the Nords, whose ancestors I think came literally from her when she was giving herself to Nirn. In any case, there's no reason to think elves were there first. Only Nords have a creation myth in Skyrim. Whereas the elves come from Aldmer who originated further south.}

Some goods points here.

I've always been intrigued by the relationship between the Reachmen and the Hagravens. The Briarhearts intrigue me the most. Whether The Forsworn are moral or amoral, I still believe that their cause is just.

While I don't want to get into real-life politics, land belongs to those who inhabitated it first. The British slaughtered the Natives to near-extinction.

I was about to say that terrorists and maniacs aren't exactly the same, but okay you've got one vote for them being terrorists.

All the races originally came from Tamriel, so all of them are indigenous. There's no such thing as a true claim, only a prior or contested claim. According to Children of the Sky, the Nords were breathed out by Kyne on the Throat of the World and only later went to Atmora. So who's to say some of that old Nord architecture in the Reach wasn't very early indeed?

Granted, the Nedes are the ones who stayed in Tamriel, so they've got good squatter's rights. But it's not clear that the group known as the Forsworn are the same ethnic group. The Forsworn are a mixture of Bretons, Nords and orcs, and some suggestion to their origins are that they're a tribe of the first Atmorans who came back to Tamriel.

They've been attacking both Breton and Nord settlements for a long time. In Daggerfall they're called "daedra loving heathens" and are said to have attacked the city. They grab innocent travelers off the roads for their sacrifices, and even some of the local Reachmen say their "old ways" are better left in the past.

http://i.minus.com/ib42j3nHG7Mi.jpg http://i.minus.com/ibmwl6pQyUhF8k.jpg http://i.minus.com/ibkSq1VbpUd2VA.jpg

It was their lands the nords came and settled upon. It was the nords that brought war to their lands. It was the nords who took away their rights to worship their gods.

http://i.minus.com/iqnoRmPcFhJze.jpg

Spoken like a true patriot.

The Forsworn have always reminded me of the Welsh.

Kinda random I know, but their are some similarities.

Horrible terrorist creatures. Cool female armor though!

None. The Reach belong to the almighty and merciful Hevnoraak.

Terrorists. A blight on Skyrim's citizens. The Reach belongs to Skyrim. Hevnoraak, for the glory of Alduin, praise be.

This mortal knows well. The wise shall heed these words.

And besides the stuff I mentioned about Kyne and the Nords creation myth I mentioned earlier, as well as the Dragon cult's buildings that predate Dwemeri presences in Skyrim as well as Reachmen...the land belongs to whoever can take it. Hammerfell was populated by multiple races before the Ra Gada settled and took it. And the Nords recently laid a claim to some of that land and took it from them. This is Tamriel. You want the land? Come take it.

Its called an arena for a reason.

The Reach is, shall, and always will belong to the dominion of the Kingdom of Skyrim.

Other. Horrible savages that need to be put do death.
Fun to roleplay as one though.

and they also know how to make good looking "armour"

It's really not an all or nothing. Granted, the normal, workaday Reachmen are also discriminated against, but that's in part because the Forsworn make a bad name for them. And what old gods aren't they allowed to worship? Daedra worship isn't forbidden in Skyrim. What's that you say, you're forbidden from grabbing people off the roads for human sacrifice? Oh yeah, such persecution.