Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-24.139.116.236-20131222233804/@comment-32911304-20190508030617

174.255.202.5 wrote:

Hammerfell naturally as the first. They also defeated the Thalmor after the empire cut ties with them and Hammerfell beat them out of their lands. Neither province would not have any interest in a defence agreement with the other since both provinces are severely weak. If both members of a defence agreement are weak, then an opposing force has a better opportunity to attack whatever front is left weakest from the redistribution of military assets. If military forces from Hammerfell move to reinforce Skyrim, southern and eastern coastal Hammerfell becomes more viable for Aldmeri footholds. Vice versa if Skyrim reinforces Hammerfell. Both provinces are too weak to form a sustainable mutual defence after Hammerfell is left alone and still in a cold war recovering from the previous conflict and Skyrim is recovering from a civil war.

174.255.202.5 wrote:

Next is Morrowind though they are weakened from the eruption and Argonian invasion substantially. But the Empire has done nothing good for them since they abandoned Morrowind. Like you said, Morrowind is too militarily weak and to become involved in the war climate at the moment would be a detrimental interposition since the Dominion has made no direct acts of aggression against Morrowind. Additionally, the houses are desperately building a defence against the constant threat of a second Accession War. Any commitment of forces to another province would weaken their defence.

174.255.202.5 wrote:

Plus any Telvanni left are no joke and would prove a very real threat to Thalmor mages. When has House Telvanni ever been interested in the affairs or relations of other provinces? They are notoriously nationalistic and xenophobic and would never agree to commit forces to an offensive war even at the vote of the other great houses.

174.255.202.5 wrote:

The Dragonborn is ridiculously OP and that gives Skyrim a great deal more power. Even in the context of the game itself and not just lore, what is ridiculous is to assume that the Dragonborn would be powerful enough to completely nullify any handicap against Skyrim in the face of an all-out Dominion invasion. Of course, the Dragonborn would help significantly but its unrealistic to assert that the Dragonborn could almost single-handedly destroy a Dominion invasion against a weakened Skyrim.

174.255.202.5 wrote:

High Rock and Cyrodiil would be the only remnants of the Empire, but at this point they serve as no threat to Skyrim and it's allies. Again, no defence partners. Skyrim would be alone with a battered military and divided political environment. Given that Skyrim would be virtually defenceless against a Dominion invasion, it would allow the Dominion an extreme geostrategic advantage over the Empire if it had jumping-off points to its immediate north and south. It is then a distinct possibility that even if the Stormcloaks had won the Civil War, the Empire would launch a dedicated counter-offensive in Skyrim with a dedicated and veteran legion - rather than what Tullius had which was essentially conscripts and sign-ups with an officer backbone - to prevent the Dominion from gaining a significant advantage over the Empire in a possible future second conflict.

174.255.202.5 wrote:

(An independent Skyrim) could learn a great deal from enhanced studies in Blackreach. For the thousands of years the Dwemer have been missing, military forces have completely failed or neglected to implement Dwemer technology into their arsenals despite having access to extensive Dwemer ruins. It is, therefore, an unsafe assumption to say that an independent Skyrim would make any attempt to weaponize Dwemer technology, especially given the plethora of problems they would have to dedicate resources to and the cultural distain for magic present in Skyrim.

174.255.202.5 wrote:

Dragons. If the Dragonborn has defeated Alduin and Miraak then he could in some way command some of the dragons if not many dragons. I don't argue that the Dragonborn would serve as an important military asset but I find it fundamentally unlikely that the Dragonborn's limited control over some Dragons would be enough to compensate for the severe lack of military power from an independent Skyrim. The Dragonborn may potentially devastate an eastern foot-hold but a foot-hold on the other side of the province would have no trouble pushing towards Skyrim's assets in the Dragonborn's absence.

174.255.202.5 wrote:

If the Dragonborn has aided Solstheim and House Redoran to a high extent then they would be more than likely to ally themselves with Skyrim. Redoran may well be able to provide military support to Skyrim without needing to interact with the other great houses for approval but it wouldn't make political sense. If Redoran attacks the Dominion, the Dominion will likely interpret that as an attack from the rest of Morrowind. The great houses would despise such a unilateral action on the part of House Redoran. It's not realistic.

174.255.202.5 wrote:

If the Dragonborn is harbinger of the Companions and wields Wuuthrad that will also put fire into the hearts of the Nords unifying them even more. This just refers back to my previous point about the Dragonborn not being a significant enough asset to defeat an Aldmeri invasion.

174.255.202.5 wrote:

If the Dark Brotherhood was successful regardless of who assassinated the Emperor himself then the Empire would be even more weakened and unlikely to sustain a war with Skyrim. This has nothing to do with the ability for an independent Skyrim to defend or prevent an Aldmeri invasion but the point is moot regardless. From a historical perspective, assassinations that have not ended the dynasty itself have never made a significant impact. The Empire has been able to run to the heir-apparent for mostly symbolic leadership. It is fair to assume Mede II had an heir and the Empire is therefore militaristically stable for having lost its leader and able to continue any military operations it was conducting or planning.

174.255.202.5 wrote:

Tullius does not have the entire Imperial legion at his back, so with the Dragonborn in addition to a strong Skyrim the war for Skyrims[sic] independence could be over quickly. Remember Tullius only has a token force out of a weakened legion. As I said previously, the Empire is not using the elite of it's forces in the Civil War. This is why the war is not asymmetrical and the Stormcloaks can win. I also made the point previously that the Empire can decide to dedicate a strong military offensive against Skyrim to secure it against Aldmeri invasion using it's dedicated legions - those seen during the Great War that used better armour, weapons, were mostly mounted, and led by an extensive backbone of skilled officers. If this type of force were used against the Stormcloaks, there would be no contest. They are not used because it is essential for them to fortify the southern border of Cyrodiil and, to a lesser extent, the Hammerfell border. The Empire can decide to relocate one of these legions from Cyrodiil to retake Skyrim to prevent the Aldmeri from gaining a jumping-off point to the north and for all we know this may very well be their intention in any event of Stormcloak victory.