Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-206.74.175.104-20151018163917/@comment-9062114-20160223020943

Shigeru Thalmor Slayer wrote: Dapoculos13 wrote: As for if the Stormcloak Rebellion could invade Summerset Isles? It would depend on a few particular points that could certainly decide the difference between defeat and success. First and foremost, the Aldmeri Dominion is... 1) If the Dominion is currently in a weakened state due to suffering casualties in the Great War, there wouldn’t be a second Great War coming soon, or there wouldn’t even be a cold war going on right now between the Empire and the Dominion. The elves are weakened somewhat yes, but they are still a force to be reckoned with and not to mention they have the Bosmers and the Khajiits to call on as well. This is not just Skyrim vs Summerset Isle.

2) The Thu'um can be used only to worship the gods. Jurgen Windcaller and his men tried to use the Thu'um in battle and they were defeated by the Chimers and Dwemers as a punishment for using the Thu'um to wage war. The Dragonborn is the only one who can use the Thu'um at will because he is nothing but a dragon in the body of a mortal.

3) The only reason that Hammerfell won against the Dominion was because the bulk/main forces of the Dominion were in Cyrodiil fighting, the Redguards put their civil war on hold and fought together and the Redguards knew the land better. It wasn't some grand victory that proved one small nation could easily defeat the Dominion, if it were that easy, Hammerfell could have just kept going and fought the elves all the way back to the Summerset Isle, instead of signing their own peace treaty with them. People blindly assume that just because Hammerfell won against the Dominion that somehow means the Dominion can be easily defeated. "Hammerfell did it, so can Skyrim!" isn’t a valid argument without seeing the bigger picture.

4) The Stormcloaks don't have a navy, the Dominion do. The Stormcloaks don't have mages, the Dominion do. The Stormcloaks don't have a variety of soldiers, the Dominion do. The Stormcloaks gear is blue guard armor and iron weapons and the Dominion gear is Elven and Glass weapons and armors as well as robes that enhances their spells.

1) Not true, the Dominion has the Empire as it's armies, and controls most of Tamriel. Hence why the Second Great War is not something that's being prepared for by the Aldmeri Dominion. Unless Black Marsh is going to team up with Hammerfell and try and destroy them, they pretty much have the entire continent by the balls so to speak. Despite the very common misconception, the Kahjiit are not footsoldiers in the Aldmeri Dominion, not even close. They're merely low servants to the Elven overlords who make up the bulk of the army. There's a reason they are only referred to as "Elves" when they account The Great War ;)

2) Jurgen Windcaller's philosophies are, as they are titled, just philosophies. No one can say for sure why the Nords were beaten by the Dwemer and Dunmer, perhaps the other side just had a very good strategy and field advantage and the Nords didn't, Thu'um but it cannot win a war, it takes years to learn at least.

3) Considering the Elves had already signed the peace treaty with the Empire BEFORE the war with Hammerfell continued, I'm going to go off on a limb here and say the amount they HAD (past tense) in Cyrodiil is pretty irrelevant. As for the reason they didn't go in and destroy the Aldmeri Dominion, what benefit would it serve them? They don't worship Talos, they have a Civil War in their land and probably other issues too. Who knows, perhaps they do want to go back to war with the Dominion, we know very little about the current political landscape in southern Tamriel at the moment.

4) Proof for any of this? The Stormcloaks do have Battle-Maidens who practice restoration magic, in addition to people such as Ulfric's Mage who can teach them Destruction magic if need be. You also need to keep in mind a very important rule of TES debate. Gameplay does not equal lore! The Stormcloaks in the game, as the Thalmor soldiers might be a complete misinterpretation of what they actually are like in the history books, game mechanics can be, are usually are, altered to enhance the experience. As opposed to showing a realistic and unbiased view of the situation.

The Stormcloaks are a much lower level than the Dominion Soldiers, and appear much earlier in the game for that reason. Hence the difference between the two in that regard, it isn't valid as a debate tactic though