User blog comment:Jericho Henry135119/Which side do you prefer to be on during the Skyrim Civil War?/@comment-93.186.16.245-20150508192219

To be honest this is a debate I struggled with for a long time. (So much so I had finished just about every other quest line) but I generally settle on the empire, and here's why: the whole elisif vs ulfric thing is something you can argue untill your ears fall off. Power hungry xenophobe (who also studied at high hrothgar and has clearly abandoned the way of the voice, because the greybeards don't run about starting rebellions and shouting kings to death) vs the inexperience probably puppet of the empire, to distracted by her grief to respond logically to most affairs of court (burning of king olaf festival cancelled untill you go and make up a poem about olaf being a dragon) both figureheads are problematic, both have valid causes but character flaws that make supporting them difficult. So I widened my view. And took all of skyrim into account, the empire got its ass handed to it by the thalmor, skyrim would be flattened if the thalmor decided to march in force rather then just a few random justicars scooting around peeing on talos statues. So supporting the stormcloaks would probably result in skyrim launched into a war the entire empire could not win, and against a fresh and well rested opponent, while the stormcloaks have been slaughtering their own, exhausting their resources, and killing half the good soldiers in skyrim for the sake of starting that war. While the aldmeri dominion's actual army has been basking on beaches since the great war ended. So there's that. Then there's the people of skyrim. Of all the holds, the holds with the few sane and decent jarls are all empire allied holds, the stormcloak supporting jarls are mostly either incompetant or outrageous assholes, dawnstar's jarl is convinced the dragons are just the rage of talos, and is eagerly wasting his small towns meager resources to fight the empire. The jarl of winterhold is a sad little prick in charge of a crappy half-ruined town, (that was once a bustling city) and has made every effort to alienate the college of winterhold despite the fact that the college is literally the *only* thing left in town of any real power or significance, and if he actually was nice to the mages maybe they would see fit to assist the townsfolk more. But no. He spits at them whenever he can. Then there's Leila Law-giver of riften, so wildly incompetant that the head of the thieves guild can sit on her dinnertable in full uniform. Even the guards know what's up. But she is ignorant and cowardly. Placing her own welfare above that of her people. (Admittedly Maven black-briar who replaces her, is kinda a cow, and also selfish. But she is not ignorant of the power of the thieves' guild) then there is jarl Balgruuf, who is probably the one sane jarl in skyrim at the time of the dragonborn's arrival. (The jarl of morthal is awesome, and reasonable, but not essentially sane, she does see things after all) furthermore ulfric is kinda a racist and demonstrates a lack of caring for any people in his hold not a nord. Even perfectly legitimate and valuable citizens. So I feel that by supporting the empire, skyrim is improved for the commoners as much as the nobles. As Harbinger/archmage/thieve's guildmaster/leader of the dark brotherhood, I have to keep the interests of all my followers in mind. Also the fact that the thalmor consider ulfric an "asset" as his civil war is actually helping the thalmor.. Yeah I make a point of killing any thalmor I can, even that bastard in markarth's keep.. That said.. My loyalty to the empire does not exactly stop me from killing the emperor... Hmm.. Well. Anyway. Talos founded the empire for something. So I say, wear an amulet of talos, cut ulfric's head off, and stab thalmor for fun.