User blog comment:Emperor Maximus/On the Civil War/@comment-26109923-20150411190045

"The Empire is, by this time, a crumbling relic. It is no longer the single powerhouse on the face of Tamriel, it is just one of them."

How so? The only threat to the Empire would be the Aldmeri Dominion; not the Stormcloaks, not Hammerfell, not Morrowind and certainly not Argonia. The Empire may not be at its strongest point, but neither is it a crumbling relic.

"In fact, there are many Nords who believe that the Empire is in the right, including Jarl Balgruuf, who many consider a true Nord (Ulfric included)."

Jarl Balgruuf is hesitant to help The Empire, and requires you to find a tablet in Black Falls Barrow before lets the Empire help him from an imminent attack from the Stormcloaks! The true nord, Jarl Balgruuf would rather let Ulfric claim his hold and, probably, execute him over accepting legion help.

"Many accuse the Legion of being Thalmor supporters, or Thalmor puppets, and other such names."

I agree with you on this point, seeing as the Empire is trying to build up to become an actual fighting force against the Aldmeri Domionion and Ulfric is ruining that completely - wasting resources, men and time which the Legion could use building up and forcing back the filthy elves to their soon to be smoking island!

"General Tullius leads the Empire's forces, and is, I'm sure most will agree, something of a bad general. He doesn't actually understand the Nords, as shown by how Legate Rikke constantly corrects him or reminds him of Nordic culture."

How in the world is Tullius a bad General? He captures the rebel leader, is about to execute him and is only stopped by Alduin - a Dragon that completely destroys Helgen. The only way Tullius is defeated is if the Dragonborn stands with the stormcloak, the same Dragonborn that goes on to defeat Alduin, Miraak and the most powerful Vampire clan in Skyrim. Now how in the world is he meant to prevent the Dragonborn, whom does most of the work if he joins the Imperials or the Stormcloaks, from being able to take out his men? He finds the entire nordic culture stupid, and in that I agree with him - The nords are just a bunch of barbarians at the end of the day.

"The only problem is that this war needs soldiers, not warriors."

Would you prefer to fight a soldier or a warrior? I'd vote neither, seeing as both could kill you in a few seconds. The difference between a soldier and a warrior is extremely mimal at best.

"Ulfric is a bit more of a complex character. He clearly believes that what he is doing is right, and that the Empire are evil, as shown by his (very good) speech when you quiz him on his reasons for fighting."

Many theories exist that state that Ulfric has PTSD. He watched his friends die in his arms, he was tortured, and then he was told its his fault the Imperial City fell. I don't blame Ulfric for his his idiocy and bad actions because of his trauma, but I don't think he should be a leader because of his trauma - his mental state makes him a terrible leader.

"Firstly, he was good friend with King Torygg, and if he had asked him it is likely that Torygg would have joined him to overthrow the Empire."

If Torygg was going to overthrow the Empire, why didn't he do it in the past? Why would he wait until Ulfric came to him and demanded that he does so? It just seems strange to me that he'd do that, even if their friends. I'm sure his leadership skills, and hopefully intelligence, would suggest otherwise.

"The Empire was almost destroyed by the Thalmor, but they still have a large force left. Now, the Thalmor really don't want to fight another war, because they know that they will be in a really bad state afterwards, even if they win."

I'm pretty sure the Thalmor can completely dominate the Empire at this point, seeing as the Empire has wasted, possibly, hundreds of men and countless resources on quelling this idiotic rebellion that the Stormcloaks had the bright idea of starting.

"The Redguards managed to beat back both the Empire and the Thalmor by themselves, and the Nords can barely hold their own against a small portion of the Legion."

Hahahahahahahahahahahaha. Oh wait... You're actually being serious? The Thalmor didn't send their full force to Hammerfell, and I doubt they would. They annhilated the southern part of Hammerfell, and caused a great bitterness between the Empire and Hammerfell - exactly what they would of wanted.

Rant over

On a sidenote, I prefer the Empire to the Stormcloaks to - they are just plain better in my eyes and have a greater history than the barbaric nords as a whole.