Maybe you could do a part 2 with some of the points being raised, such as Ulfric’s status as a tongue or a possible alliance with Hammerfell?

It’s all about perspective on a subject as complex and unpredictable as war and human behavior (and we’re talking about fantasy here so anything goes). How can there be one right answer? Love your videos and we’ll wait for the next ones as soon as you feel ready to 🙂💙

Just want to say: the redguards are fighting their own rebellion, thus it must s unlikely that hammerfell would have troops sent to aid solitude.

Another thing is that the vast majority of the imperial soldiers are civilian volunteers. Tulis comment on this and adds that he believes that if he had been sent with a single legion then the war would have ended in the first few months. Most of those volunteers are non nord farmers, dark elf refugees (that sitz happed a literal hundred years ago and you still identify as a refugee?), and the rare legionaries sent from cyrodil (mostly marking up leadership, or more specialized positions). We also see this as there are no orcs in the legion, something we know is very common as orcs use the legion to prove their skills in a fight and behind a forge. You also have to remember that the empire’s economy is in shambles, a whole half of the east empire trade companies holding in Skyrim are failing, and Victoria vicci the owner of the solitude branch is likely to be murdered by dark brotherhood assassins. Many solitude merchants are also supplying the stormcloaks, as well as many in solitude agreeing with the cause. On the other hand yes solitude is very defensible, having two keeps and multiple gatehouses, as well as the best equipped garrison in the entire nation. There are many mages and priests that can assist with both artillery and medical needs. Solitudes only entrances are either the main gate which is on a steep incline OR the windmill that can only fit owner or two men abreast and is easily defended. (If in defended the windmill could allow a sisible amount of stormcloak soldiers to provide a distraction from the main gate)

Nah, the Stormcloaks were always doomed. Even if they managed to gain a victory it would be costly, and they would immediately have to suppress an uprising from every non-Nord race in Skyrim.

Strategists talk weather. No one ever really remembers that Tamerial has seasons. its the 17th of Last Seed for example when Skyrim starts lets review the current weather at that time The Ghost sea is starting to freeze over near the Harbors and the only Mountain pass into Cyrodil is Frozen over. LAST SEED IS LATE SUMMER. General Tullius has to survive 10 months with no backup from anywhere. since the pass freezes in late summer i really doubt it thaws in the spring either. the ghost sea with freeze and stop all boat travel and Tullius and his band of Volunteer Legionares are gonna have to stale mate Ulfric for 10 months on lets say whatever supplies the Empire can ship in the next month and whatever aid the other Jarls uprepared for feeding a army can give. Meanwhile Ulfric is sitting in WInterhold doing light Skirmishes because he knows Tullius will run out of Strength Eventually

@@madmanwithaplan1826 Salt water does not freeze, there are some icebergs in the Sea of Ghosts, that is all. Pale Pass is not frozen over, it suffered an avalanche. Your claims are baseless.

There are a lot of mammoth and horkers...

​@@dutchpatriot17um, that's blatantly wrong. Salt water DOES freeze, it simply takes lower temperatures than freshwater or treated water.

Good point!

@@ShoddyCast oh my god dad noticed me-

There’s a reason the Nords didn’t need Seige engines or Cavalry, it’s because they had the Thu’um

And shouts are even more powerful in lore than in game. They don't have a cool down, imagine Ulfric spamming Fus ro da, or disarm, he'd be near unstoppable.

@@goatslayer3160 exactly, the gates of Whiterun and Solitude would be useless against Ulfric, whilst The Empire would have to use siege engines for Windhelm

If the Empire had the ability, or will, to crush the rebellion they would have sent a real legion with Tulius. They clearly lack the resources, or political will within the elder council. The Empire is a hollowed out husk.

IIRC, in that same note you're referencing, you learn that the Empire has committed only 1 Legion, the 18th, to Skyrim. The other minimum of 17 are stationed along the border with the Dominion in anticipation of a Second Great War with the Thalmor. The Empire sadly can't afford to commit too many legions to Skyrim in case the Dominion decides to invade, but 1 or 2 more should do the trick.

They likely sent a legion to retake Hammerfell after it rebelled, and it's still independent. Also if the imperials in Skyrim were recruited locally, that means the ones waiting outside weren't, and wouldn't be used to the cold climate, putting them at a disadvantage. Realistically Ulfric could just lure them into the passage and shout at the mountain and take out the whole legion.

@@goatslayer3160 Hammerfell never rebelled, but was let go by the Empire to stop the war with the Thalmor. Hammerfell didn't want to cede any territory to them and wanted to fight on against the elves. Therefore, to have peace, the Empire parted with the territory.

@@bendo9162the Redguards beat the thalmors butts anyways, which is prob why they entered a truce with them in the end, to stop the beating they were taking

Maybe if Doc Mitchell decided to kill Ulfric first instead of some thief and all of his troops first. Wouldnt be surprised if the thalmar wouldnt have pulled some shit right before the axe hits his neck.

except the thalmor don't want that. You find out in a note in the thalmor embassy that Ulfric MIGHT (the thalmor, for obvious reasons, can't really get close enough to him to confirm it) be an unknowing sleeper agent for the Thalmor. They want this war to go on for as long as humanly possible, either side winning is BAD for them, as seen with the imperial ending where General Tullius all but says he'll look the other way if you track down and viciously murder every thalmor you find. Most likely the Thalmor would have intervened when Ulfric's turn came, and that's why they were at helgen in the first place.

That's because it's not to scale. Skyrims population would be 75% bandits and outlaws, and have about the entire makeup of a small walled town not the supposed 5 walled cities if you read it strictly as the ingame numbers. And not to mention the possible range of soilders and guards ranges from 200 to 1,000,000,000 depending on if you're willing to kill 1,000,000,000 guards as the respawn. . . Also there's more dragons than burial sites.

@@johndavidtibbetts7320 he’s definitely being used to destabilize Skyrim unknowingly by the Thalmer. As for what they could realistically do to stop his execution without starting a war that they’re not ready for? Well honestly that would have been difficult for them to pull off. The dossiers also make it fairly obvious that they weren’t sure how to delay the execution themselves and that the involvement of the dragons was a welcome surprise.

Hoe do you know it wouldn't of just been a martyr if they did? Especially with the Thalmor having a part in it.

It was more time constraint related, to be honest. Also, it was Stormcloaks that were suppose to have giants, not Imperials.

They should have made the CW the main story, tacked on the wyverns later with Big Gay Al showing up near the end of the war triggered by all the bloodshed. That wouldn't work for the instant-gratification crowd who needs a big spectacle in the first 10 minutes, but actual RPG elements could be reintroduced if they stopped catering to those dweebs. Seriously, do it so you have Imperial, coward, elf, or a Yes-Man option for the CW with the big lizards held off until later or trickling into things little by little (An early quest triggers the revival of some, with them getting more and more of a problem until Big Gay Al shows up to munch the souls of the fallen).

Would have been cool if they brought out a DLC well after release that unlocked the full plans of the war.. More than enough time for everyone to experience the main story first Due to the toned down nature of it, despite having many different playthroughs over hundreds of hours I never once made it all the way through the civil war story

@@MotoCat91 DLC? Why not just a free update that completes the game rather than forcing people to buy an incomplete game then fining them for wanting to have the full thing? Seriously, so utterly sick of people asking to be worked over by FISTO by these companies.

@@demomanchaos DLC wasn't always paid content.. there was a time that DLC generally meant free updates and 'Expansions' were the paid ones. So yeah I agree, that should be free as it was part of the original vision promoted for the game. I don't mind the idea of it coming later to the original release though as it would have given more time to flesh it out and without taking too much focus and fanfare from the main story.

The English had their longbowmen, the Mongols had the shortbow calvary, and the Nords have the heavy armour stealth archer.

@@skylern.spenillo9710if you want to train a heavy armour stealth archer, start with their grandfather.

If the storm cloaks weren't racist it would be easier to decide

"Also the religious guys are super fuckin racist, and the war state will probably end up locking you away in an underground cell for looking sideways at a chicken." "...well fuck."

And most people just said "Fuck you both. I'm only gonna bother with either of you if I wanna 100% the achievements. "

I'd either not care or attack both. :b

​@@ashcalkins9647the storm cloaks are no more racist then any other place in tamriel

Ulfric was captured at Darkwater Crossing, not at Helgen.

​@dutchpatriot17 to add, that is well within Stormcloak territory, which means that the Stormcloaks really don't have that great control over their own front line, despite how defensive it is.

@@NikkyElso Eh not really, i don't believe the game explains what Ulfric was doing so far south. It's likely just to be with the player, and in a scenario where plot doesn't make Ulfric travel to the border without an army, he wouldn't be cpatured.

Ulfric is one of the strongest mortal humans period. People underestimate him but when you remove demigods, gods, reincarnations of gods and dragon borns, he's right at the peak of strength

I'd love to make more, but there's not a ton of games where I can feasibly do it that people would care enough to watch.

@@ShoddyCastI had a feeling that would be the case especially since F:NV is kind of the high bar for games that have thought this stuff through that isn’t a strategy game. However if you would like to make another one of these I would suggest the Galactic Cold War and Galactic War from BioWare’s The Old Republic mmo. I know Star Wars is a movie franchise which turned into the greatest multimedia empire in history but it is still technically a video game and is probably one of the best thought out conflicts in the entire Star Wars franchise to boot.

@@ShoddyCastmy man. Shit it doesn’t need to just be games. Alternate history would be a tad weird, but would work. Or just making up your own shit.

​@@ShoddyCasthalf-life would be interesting one to listen about, but I don't know if there's much info there.

@@ShoddyCast Actually, if you post it, I'm pretty sure most of your followers (if not all) would watch it, no matter what. For example, I don't like FO4. From my point of view is NOT a FO game, it's just a crappy FPS with skins that try to be FO, and spoon feeds you a story for you to just "move forward". It sucks. And yet, I've seen ALL your videos about it, several times in fact, because I really enjoy your "GOD DAMN TERRYFING"s and "MAKES NO DAMN SENSE"s. :D So yeah, go make more videos about anything and everything, I'm sure you'll get the views and the likes. :D

If I'm not mistaken, in lore, a battlemage is equal to anybwakrrior of equivalent skill. Magic in the elder scrolls, at least the magic that is widely available to mages, isn't the all powerful superweapon it is in a lot of other fictional universes. The thuum seems to be a specific exception

@@Farenhyte- Well, you arent entirely wrong. The average battlemage is roughly as dangerous as the average warrior. But the important part isnt their combat potential so much as their utility to an army. That's why I put focus on the restoration school.

​not to mention that while the healing arts are coveted in Cyrodill, they aren't ubiquitous, and many forms of summoning such as Daedra and Necromancy are frowned upon if not outright banned.

​@@drewhammond5203Summoning Daedra is perfectly legal, as is necromancy. Though necromancy does have rules attached to it.

but no one mentions that the pass into cyrodil is frozen over in late summer. General Tullius isnt getting those battle mages for 10 months since i doubt they thaw in spring if they freeze in winter. the portion of the ghost sea is already starting to freeze over as well making any chance of receiving aid by boat a limited time thing only.

True. And the fact that this was a quickly slapped together local force. There's throwaway dialogue that mentions this, and that there's an ACTUAL veteran legion coming when the passes clear up. Skyrim takes place in fall. So any seige would be taking place during a time where even the most common of folk would've had enough food stored to last until spring. Where a veteran legion descends upon the starving army like swarm of angry bees!

Oops!

Also, I think you missed this, but it does not matter much. There is a path through the Jerall mountains to cyrodiil, but there is a note in fort neugard saying it is blocked by an avalanche.

The Redguard don’t like the Thalmor, it’s a truce and that’s it, the Redguard could probably wipe them out, shown by how they pushed them back militarily, which probably forced the thalmor to enter a truce with the redguards

I just typed up a whole comment on this, second guessed myself, so then came looking for comments to see if I misremembered that part lol

Don't forget that skyrim as a province is an absolute fucking fortress. Every single entrance into it is a narrow as fuck passage with incredibly treacherous terrain (for "safe" roads). Seriously, one shout, one spell or carefully aimed artillery shout could close any of them up and potentially kill thousands trying to invade. The only real option is a naval invasion and uh... there is a reason why naval assaults are practically unheard off in history. How many naval assaults do you know off where the beach hear was contested? And then the empire can feasibly only come from one direction navally, unless they wish to try and sail past the Colage of Winterhold, aka the home of skyrims mages, that just sounds like suicide to me. Not to mention they would have to somehow convince house Telvali to let them through their waters. So yeah, reasonably speaking, ulfric would know for near certainty where the empire would be coming from. And with this they also weaken there navy when there preparing to fight an ISLAND NATION of elves. Trying to take back skyrim honestly seems like the dumbest thing thru could do when theu could instead enter diplomacy and seek an alliance and aid against future elven wars.

@@GarwenK Vvarndenfell was wiped out by the simultaneous eruption of Red Mountain and meteor impact on Vivec, what's left of Morrowind is on the mainland. As for Winterhold, you've been there, the city basically doesn't exist (that goes double for its port) and even a troupe of mages would do little more than force naval routes farther out to sea. As to the Telvani, Morrowind is also reeling from the independence of Elsewyr and Blackmarsh, on top of the aforementioned disasters, meaning they have a smaller pool of manpower. ES in general doesn't cover... anything to do water at all very well, but even compared to a clearly waning Empire, the Telvani will compare favorably to the Germans from our own timeline, complete with being spent in one battle. But a diplomatic outcome to the rebellion is actually best for all parties, as Skyrim was never signatory to the White-Gold concordat, and as a non-successor state wouldn't be bound by it. And would then have all of the advantages you listed and more against the proposition of a Dominion invasion.

@leandersearle5094 Yes, I know Vvardenfell was wiped out by those, and I'm not arguing that house telvani could militarily resist the empire. But house Telvani is comprised of some of the most powerful mages in tamriel, in magical might alone some might even surpass some of the psijic order, (though that is pure speculation From what I have read, they are at least second if not comparable. Es doesn't like definitive statements regarding these very much) And I do not believe Vvardenfell was where they vere located in there majority, though normal soldiers/civilians maybe, but the mushroom towers of there's would likely be spread all over morrowind and its islands, and even some of those on Vvardenfell likely could have protected themselves from the fallout. They don't need an army to be a hindrance. From what I've seen, just three mages of house Telvani might be enough to force a detour due to bad weather. Basically, what I'm saying is they are weekend, but still strong enough to turn the oceans stormy and wreck a fleet of they feel like it. They can even claim it just a freak accident and mother nature being fickle. It would not be worth sailing through their waters without first engaging in diplomatic talks, which I would guess would take ages and ages since Telvani is rather known for there... disunity. At the least, they would have to get agreements with the island mages of the house. Whether they would or not is not really the question, its whether they are testy/egotistical enough to try, and I believe them so. And yes no one is arguing that Winterhold could militarily fight against an empire naval force, but the collage was basically untouched by the disaster (besides a bit of decorative damage) so there magical might should still be comparable to before the Volcano eruption and destruction of vivec city. And while skyrim generally doesn't trust Mages, it still sees sense enough to have a collage and a court mage in every hold. I would not argue their strength comparable to the empires, nor would I disagree if you wanted to say skyrim was the weakest of the holds regarding overall power of and number of mages. But I would argue that there are enough in the collage alone to make a naval approach from the west unfeasible. And considering thetr location, a blockade/invasion of windhelm would be... rather unfeasible. It would only take rather simple weather magic (as simple as such magic can get) to be an absolute nightmare for an invading fleet, so yes I do believe they would have to detour around there if they were going to invade from the west. Also, considering the climate we see in skyrims North and that we know the nords original homeland is getting more and more frozen. I do believe there is a limit to how far north an invading fleet can go if only do to glaciers and ice. especially for one unfamiliar with the area. But yes, the collage in this way would effectively be denying the empire a stretch of coastline, limiting how much coast ulfric needs to defend. And, honestly, what I would argue is the biggest reason why they wouldn't invade from the west. Logistics, that supply like would be an absolute fucking NIGHTMARE to defend from pirates alone. Much better to invade from the east and get supplies from high rock, the province right next to skyrim. ... (shit, I just now realised I confused my easter and west's. I do apologise for any confusion this may have causes, I just woke up and am still half asleep. But you know where morrowind and high rock are on the map, morrowind East high rock west.) So yes, all of the above might not dissuade a determined empire, but the civil war is already unpopular enough. I do not see why they would jump through all those hoops, take all those risks and detours, just to invade the sane stretch of coast with a much longer and less secure supply line. All this together is why I say I find a naval invasion from the east suicidal. Whoever would suggest and execute it would have there career ended and so many lives would be lost unecesarily. No, the west is the smarter choice. Though I will admit to not having chosen the proper words to get my point across previously. But at least we agree on the diplomatic part.

Even if the imperials send aid there is the big X factor that the Redguard and House Redoran could send aide to the Stormcloaks, given both people have flipped the Imperials the bird, each feeling abandoned by the empire in their own right, and form a new Ebonheart Pact would help them each oppose imperial and thalmer authority.

@@GarwenKSkyrim is difficult to invade, but I think people far overestimate it. the Alessians invaded, occupying the Reach / approximately a fifth of their land for centuries. The Akaviri invaded in 1E 2703, in which they landed in Northern Skyrim, quickly cutting through the Nords relatively “unchallenged” until forces from Cyrodil and Morrowind aided them to stop the Akaviri’s attempted conquest of Tamriel. The forces from Cyrodil being Reman, with the supposed help of Vivec The Akaviri then invaded again in 2E 572, landing ships near Windhelm then taking the city within 5 days of siege, the Akaviri forces then marched towards Morrowind, taking out Nord forces at Fort Virak on their way. The Nords only beat them by coordinating with the Dunmer on a 2 sided attack, even that wasn’t able to defeat the Akaviri though, as they held back both forces while waiting for their fleet to arrive. They would have arrived and let the Akaviri forces escape as well, if not for 2 legions of Argonians arriving to stop them The Remans should have invaded at least once in which half of their province was conquered. Tiber and Cuhlecain invaded Skyrim and either conquered them, or had them surrender and follow their rule, and there could have been even a few more. I am finding it difficult to even remember a time in which Skyrim was able to keep enemies from making it into their territory in a war. Or to even take it further a single time they were able to stop an attacking force from not only getting into their land, but also capturing significant areas and maintaining a foothold there. The only thing protecting them in Skyrim is that Hammerfell and High rock can protect them from naval invasions given the Nords pathetic naval might, and the Empire being in the way of land invasions Also you mentioned “one spell” but Nords don’t use magic, and have disdain for it, which is honestly one of their bigger flaws in regards to warfare But if we’re just looking at the Empire, then yes they could take Skyrim, is just wouldn’t be worth it since they need to keep their Legions closer to the Dominion border in preparation for another great war

also before watching the video, yeah it seems obvious

Just saw that Austin liked this, holy fuck- Great vid, love it. Keep it up.

Elven supremacy is the only truth.✌

My strategy were I Ulfric would be this, but a little better. A small team of Stormcloak Soldiers dressed as legionaries would be all you need to get an assassination team into Castle Dour. As soon as Tullius is dead, the war falls apart. Elisif is repeatedly shown to be rather incompetent, so killing her only major general would make the war much easier. As the empire, I never understood why they bothered with taking every hold. All they need to do is secure Whiterun's chokepoint, to prevent Stormcloaks getting through. Then, eliminate Stormcloak camps quickly and efficiently behind their lines. After that, all you have to do is take Winterhold and maybe Dawnstar using the massive trading fleet to carry troops. After that, agents getting the support of the Argonians/Dunmer in the city, plus a force besieging, and they'll be throwing the gates open for your troops. Riften is completely irrelevent.

It's been ages since I played Skyrim but iirc didn't the Thalmor have Ulfric prisoner after the great war and let him go deliberately because they knew he'd stoke rebellion in Skyrim?

I imagine that during the spring and summer it is much easier, but we open into the game in fall. And most of the territories have decent access to waterways, leaving pescotarion lifestyles open. Would a fish-based diet save them? Probably not, as it seems that the sea and rivers would ice over significantly. Would certainly buy more time though.

@@Warden409 ice over, and you can only get so much fish

Although they could survive solely on fish, it would ultimately lead to nutritional deficiencies within a few weeks, putting them at a significant disadvantage. Consequently, they would have to focus on defense as they would lack the necessary energy for effective offensive warfare. While there is still the option to smuggle resources, it is likely that the prices will be exorbitant. It is important to prioritize the acquisition of significant amounts of gold and silver if they go that route.

Don't forget that Riften is right on the border with Cyrodil. It wouldn't be hard for the Empire to forcibly pacify the province if they had to.

The Empire just needs to take control of the warmer regions, Rifton, Whiterun, Falkreath, where agriculture can be done. Ulfric on the other hand is on borrowed time and would need to push for Solitute before his supplies run out. Which means a direct move is needed.

There's also a road from High Rock, but that'd take more time. But would be way less of an issue for the Empire, as High Rock is still part of the Empire (unlike Morrowind and Hammerfell).

@@Practitioner_of_Diogenes That is assuming they don't make any free passage deals with Morrowind or Hammerfell. Given the... let's call "less than warm attitudes" of Ulfric's Stormtroopers regarding anyone who is not a Nord, while their relations with the empire are stable enough, it might be a less hard bargain than one might think. Status quo which they know they can hold their own and there is no ongoing armed conflict vs new problem neighbours who might as well decide to turn into a fight. Gotta be really bad bargaining to fuck that up

@@louisvictor3473 Morrowind would honestly be harder to get an agreement with. Not because of the Dunmer, but because of the Argonians. The Argonians of Blackmarch are, at this point in time, full on Xenophobic and would assault any Imperial soldiers that enter the southern parts of Morrowind. Hammerfell last I checked was in a kind of cold civil war between two major families (but that might've been resolved because of fighting the Thalmor involved both houses), so even if they get a deal with one, they might not get a warm welcome from another part of Hammerfell they need to go through.

@@Practitioner_of_Diogenes Why would the Empire have to deal with Blackmarsh argonians? There is a good length of border between Morrowwind and Cyrodil, no need to go via blackmarsh first, or anywhere argonians wouldn't be picking a fight with both Morrowwind and Cyrodill if they marshed troops on. As for hammerfell, that is why you make the deal, or deals, first. I am not sure how things really are during Skyrim's time (the civil war proper was before the empire took over, which is obviously before their independence), but assuming that is a risk, we'd need a bit more info. They'd only need a relatively short passage in the east/northweast of Hammerfell into skyrim, so chances are they'd just need to deal with one side.

Daggerfall Wins baby

not to mention that around half of skyrim supports the Empire (or atleast prefer them).

if ES6 take place in a far future from skyrim timeline (like how skyrim events is like years away from oblivion) the whole civil war might be just a footnote

The Dunmer are independent as well and hold a strong disdain for the Empire since they left them to die during the Oblivion Crisis. There's loads of dialogue about this on Solstheim. If Ulfric were smart he would treat the Grey Quarter better and forge an alliance or at least trade deals with the East

I can almost guarantee bethesda will cop out with a dragon break again, especially with the death of Alduin

​@@AntondencooleI prefer the theory of the war not mattering in the grand scheme of things as the Dominion overtakes then all

Argonians don't care, so long as they stay out out of blackmarsh. Dumner as a rule are cold towards Alltmer. The Bosmeri have their populations purged because they are too acclimated to Nirn, they're seen as degenerates by the Altmer. The only groups that will wholeheartedly eat up that propaganda are Khajiit, most Altmer, an indeterminate, and ever shrinking amount of Bosmer.

Elves?? 😨🤢🤮 the Redguard will obliterate them, don’t worry

People forget the point of the rebellion, to allow Skyrim to worship all NINE divines. That's it, they don't want to kill Imperials or kick them out. Most Stormcloaks served with Imperials in the legion against the Dominion.

im so happy you managed to beat your mental illness brother

@@dotsinki1096 it felt like that😂😂😂

"Imperial dogs!" "For Ulfric and Skyrim!"😄

Good analysis!

There better be levitation in TES6 I stg

With what mages? Then you must contend with the nord anti-magic stance, and then you will have to contend with the outcry of the soldiers who believe they lost their chance for Sovngarde for dishonorable tactics. Result is the same I think.

that's a great idea, if only the nords embrace magic and the college

Sadly, we don’t see any stormcloak mages 😂 they’re doomed

@@ShoddyCast Especially coming out of Starfield where they're giving everyone a jetpack not wanting to deal with levitation is not an acceptable excuse anymore 😂

Do yourself a favor: play. I didn't see what the big deal was, until I found a cheap copy. Many many years of replay value!

And probably get plenty of mods as well

The secret countermeasure is pure cope. The Stormcloak rebellion didn't happen because the Nords were bored, the Empire banned the worship of Talos which is a huge deal. In the Elder Scrolls universe Gods are real beings, and religion is a serious matter. Gods are weakened if there is no one worshipping them and they cannot watch over their people if they are weak. On top of that, the Thalmor were allowed to carry out kidnappings and murders when the Nords chose to worship anyways.

​@@somedogsarecops2354This is false. Gods do not gain power based on worship and the Justiciars were only allowed in after Ulfric's collaboration with them. Prior to that point everyone still had their own shrines to Talos.

Why exactly can't the Empire continue developing it's countermeasure while allowing Skyrim to have it's independence? The rebellion is absolutely justified imo due to the rampant sanctioned kidnapping of Skyrim citizens who are tortured and forced to "confess" regardless of whether they are actually worshipping Talos or not. How could anyone be expected to live under such cruelty? Sure, Ulfric could've been a bit more subtle and sought a more peaceful or clever initial approach but after all he'd been through already, what happened was inevitable. The Thalmor would've likely cracked down on Skyrim eventually anyway, the game makes it pretty clear that they absolutely HATE Nords.

I believe that truce is temporary, just while the dragon situation is dealth with. I am not even sure if they wait all the way to your return with news of alduin's defeat, rather than restarting somewhere after you fly off on the back of the very dragon that you needed to use whiterun to trap.

@@louisvictor3473 I totally agree that is supposed to be temporary. But I think that the Aldmari Dominion will strike as soon as the dragons are deal with

@@lidular I don't agree they would (imo if they're sitll not ready by the time of Skyrim, they won't be ready for a few decades right after, at least), but completely fair :)

@@louisvictor3473 i don't think they are waiting for the Aldmari Dominion to be ready but the empire to be the least ready. At the end of Skyrim the empire has suffered from the rebellion, the dragons and have lost the emperor. It seems like a golden opportunity to strike before the Nords recover. But we probably won't know until Tes 6 comes out

There is zero reason to believe they'd suffer anywhere near that many casualties.

@@dutchpatriot17 They absolutely would, the Empire would most likely be taking the offensive especially with a warhawk General like Tullius. If they decide to go all in that means a siege of Windhelm which would be costly. Remember, most Stormcloaks are ex Imperial Legion veterans. So Legion deaths cost the Empire and so do Stormcloak deaths. The real war is with the Dominion.

@@somedogsarecops2354 The Stormcloaks are already getting massacred by what is largely Imperial militia - they are not of the same quality.

No, he fights because he realizes that Skyrim needs to rid itself of Thalmor influence to be able to save itself and humanity from enslavement by the elves, and that means breaking free from the Empire that has sadly fallen under the Thalmor's control. Once free, Skyrim will be able to regain its former glory without the Dominion's interference and ally with Hammerfell along with any other human kingdoms that are willing to help fight the Dominion.

@@galacticknight55544 except the thalmor are only there BECAUSE of him and his actions. He fights for no one but himself, he was captured by the Dominion during the war and holds a chip on his shoulder, he feels like he needs to prove himself but instead of thinking he acts like a hammer. Instead of talking to his king and have a united sjyrim leave the Empire he kills him, Ulfric is a useful tool that should be used by those with intelligence because he is lacking as a a leader.

@@everettjohnson9374 Torygg was a weak king and couldn't lead a free Skyrim. He couldn't even protect himself. The Thalmor were in Skyrim before Ulfric started his rebellion, and if you think it's bad in Skyrim, I assure you they have an even bigger presence and influence in Cyrodiil because that's the Imperial capitol. That's why the Imperial government is no longer capable of fighting the Thalmor.

​@@galacticknight55544It's pretty clear from the dossiers in the embassies that the only ones profiting from the civil war are the Thalmor. The war weakened the Empire, but the Thalmor also lost access to the deadric support they used in the war, so a unified empire could possibly take on the Thalmor.

@@DatAlien The dossiers also say that the Stormcloaks shouldn't be allowed to win the war. The exact words are "a Stormcloak victory is to be avoided." I think it's because they realize than an independent Skyrim would pose a threat to them.

Implying the Empire would stay idle during that expedition. An invasion of Skyrim would be an idiotic move, as it would give the Empire a window to attack. And no way would the Empire let them pass though Cyrodiil to get to Skyrim. Thats pretty much saying to the world "Im this countries bitch."

Literally all the Stormcloaks want is the ability to worship Talos without being kidnapped or murdered, this whole thing is the Empire's fault for giving into ridiculous Thalmor demands instead of standing by their literal brothers. Supporting the Empire is actual boot licking.

You played more into the Thalmor than either side did. The Thalmor want the rebellion to last as long as possible, so not ending it is playing into their plans.

@@Practitioner_of_Diogenes and therefore, empire good, cause elves bad 💯

@@Practitioner_of_Diogenes *proceeds building house*

It's confirmed in the game that the Empire has a full legion waiting in Bruma for a rockslide to be cleared from the mountain pass leading into Skyrim. The Empire doesn't need to win with its current forces, they just need to hold out for a few months. A stalemate is just as good as a victory for them.

His thum doesn’t mean he’ll defeat legion and legion, which he won’t, he can’t win in any circumstance, tries to fight? Loses to attrition, tries guerrilla tactics? Loads to attrition, etc

Don't forget battlemages. Nord's may disdain magic but the empire has no problem employing walking demigods. Increase morale, heal wounds, summon disposable soldiers, easily maneuverable artillery, etc.

Yeah he casually glossed over the chaos the Empire would go through with a succession crisis as well as losing one of their best generals.

You have to remember that this particular emperor was consider incredibly weak and not well liked. Honestly it may have solidified the Legions resolve as it would have been incredibly easy to blame it on the Stormcloaks. I am also sure that many of the "honorable" nords would have to decide if that is gonna have an effect on their chances for Sovngarde.

Without the Dragonborn to take up the mantle of Listener, the Dark Brotherhood is cut off from its true leadership and is under Astrid's questionable direction. It's only thanks to the Night Mother you even get the mission to assassinate the Emperor.

There would huge ramification if the emperor was assassinated in Skyrim but most if not all outcomes would just spell doom for the rebellion even if the stormcloak were not involved in said plot. It would cause the empire to put more than the minimum into the war effort allowing for a huge increase in imperial forces that would easily dwarf the stormcloak forces. That is also under the impression that the Dark brotherhood would succeed. They could but we have no way of knowing if it would happen because the dragonborn was involved in the revitalization of the Dark brotherhood. Any way you take it, it just not a good thing for the emperor to die while in Skyrim. Killing him outside of Skyrim though would be way better cause then it could cause more of a split within the Imperium allowing the stormcloaks to have more of a shot at winning but it essentially will still be the same as before with them on the losing end.

Considering that the Elves cant rebuild their numbers like Humans, and the Thalmors weakening grip on Elsweyr and Valenwood,its not hard to believe that they have meddled into the imperial government just for the purpose of destabilizing the Empire in case of the emperors death. Remember that they wiped out all the Blades agents before the Great war, practically makong the empire blind to their plans.

If you wanna get pedantic about it, it was technically just one snotty bitch that put you to the block and you can kill her on your way out. Leaves you and the legion square so far as death is concerned, but maybe that's just my stance.

They do apologize for it tbf And it always seemed more like it was just the one person who ordered it being a dick and not caring about who was or wasn't part of the rebellion in the group than it was the Empire itself wanting you dead

Petty 😂

@@LordGingivitus66 Actually that's not true, they were killing the player and the horse thief even though they knew they were innocent so there would be no witnesses.

@@somedogsarecops2354 Nah man, the horse thief was, well, a thief and he ran away from the authorities while a high value prisoner was on the premises. They weren't going to risk assets to just to chase him down for a trial. Plus they kinda want everyone in Skyrim to know that they killed Ulfric, he's the only thing keeping the insurrection going so with him gone the war's over.

He ambushed Ulfric and almost ended the war at the start of the game after only being there for a short while 😂

I doubt he’d ever support him, they had a rivalry since they were kids, that plus Balgruuf deciding Ulric wasn’t honorable (he wasn’t, having killed the high king in a duel with a shout, aka cheating) sealed the deal, plus Balgruuf seeing the dragons

Care to prove those lies Tullius said?

@@Reklawt sure. My rate starts at 0.25 a word, I accept money through PayPal 😜

He'd likely knock down the bridge doing so

@@TheT7770ify Pretty sure he also knows the disarm shout, he could disarm the defenders and have his men charge through.

If Ulfric were to step onto the front lines and start using his thu'um he would draw the attention of every Imperial archer in the area. There would be a concerted effort to kill him specifically as soon as he made his presence known, and as was mentioned in the video, if he dies, there is no more rebellion. Even with his voice, he's still more important as a leader and figure head than as a warrior

Shouts are more powerful and could definitely help on the Dragon Bridge, but they're a lot more difficult for a relative novice like Ulfric, who doesn't have the power of an actual dragonborn. Remember, we start the game with him bound and gagged, only escaping execution because of Alduin. He can be taken down by a relatively small force, and if he takes a stray arrow it's game over. Plus the army they're barely surviving against now? Dialogue mentions these aren't actual imperial forces, it's a slapped-together army while they wait for an actual veteran legion to show up. It's fall, the mountain passes are blocked up. They just have to survive a seige. During winter, where even commoners already have enough food stored up to last until spring. The rebellion only lasted this long because of secret Thalmor assistance.

@@maromania7 And in that same intro the empire had his hands tied in front, meaning that the only thing stopping him from reaching up and removing the gag, was plot. The entire intro made very little sense, the DB was supposedly trying to cross the border but walked into the ambush which happened outside Darkwater crossing, but Darkwater crossing isn't near a border. And if Ulfric is so important, why not "remove him from the census" first? I get the first guy volunteered, but then the captain chose the player instead of Ulfric to go next. The intro was designed to introduce the player to key characters and plot points, not to make sense. Realistically speaking it'd be much harder to deafeat a man who could shout, and if I could shout, I'd at the very least try to teach my generals how, even if it took years. Regarding waiting for the "real" legion to show up, people love mentioning this point, but don't you think the empire would have sent a "real" legion to retake Hammerfell after they lost to them? And Hammerfell is still around and independent, meaning that second veteran legion failed. When that legion marches to Skyrim, they wouldn't be used to the climate, putting them at a disadvantage. And nothing would be stopping Ulfric from shouting at the mountain while they're travelling through the pass, causing an avalanche and defeating or at very least severely damaging that legion, and cutting them off from Cyrodil.

this is why you rule no land other than skyrim, and soon you will rule nothing

Remember when Ulfric's collaboration with the Thalmor caused the enforcement of the Talos ban? Remember when the civil war that Ulfric started because he lusts for the throne harms the enemies of the Dominion? Try again, the Thalmor state an Imperial victory harms them, not a Stormcloak one.

maybe you should stop fighting and start wining, but thats unlikely to happen

Skyrim is for my anus

Deutschland den Deutschen!

So true

​@@DaedaliusRE🎉❤😂0❤😂0😂person ❤😂9t😂❤

And nords belong to the imperials

Good for you 🏳️‍🌈

His shouts have been proven to not be as strong as the tall tales tell, he was captured twice so far and held captive without the shout being a factor. Also Ulfric isn't a dragonborn so he wouldn't know Dragon aspect, he was taught what he knows because he was supposed to be a Grey beard but choose to break his word to join the war...and then get captured till the end of said war...he's truly incompetent

@everettjohnson9374 okay first, unrelated, but those are two poorly used elipses. You end a paragraph with an elipses, you don't put it in the middle. See me after class. Second, it is canon that he blew down the doors of markarth. People saw that shit, you can ask them. Plus he "shouted the high king apart", to quote the game. That means he has all three phrases of unrelenting force, which means he doesn't just blast things away, he disintegrates them.

Yeah the geometry of Dragon bridge completely went over my head before and logistics also

1. The Stormcloaks have more supply issues, as there are fewer resources in their territory, especially food. 2. The Thieves Guild is in the pocket of Maven Black-Briar, who backs the Legion. 3. The College of Winterhold is neutral in the civil war, and disproven of by the Nords, in particular the Jarl of Winterhold - Korir.

@@dutchpatriot17 They border mainland Morrowind though, and most of the farms were on the mainland, where Red Mountain erupting is more annoyance than the devastation, wrought on Vvardenfell. So selling to the Stormcloaks gives them easy money to rebuild things, and the Dunmer are also on the stick it to the Imperials and Thalmer side.

@@anvos658 Mainland Morrowind was also brought to ruins by the eruption.

@@dutchpatriot17 Given we get to see the state of Solstiem, the amount of devastation, isn't going to be anything that terrible for the dunmer on the mainland, especially given they already have plants and animals that can survive in ash, and the waters between Vvandenfell and the main land can't be deep enough to cause that much flooding.

@@anvos658 Solstheim is further away from Vvardenfell than mainland Morrowind is. The inner sea is pretty thin. The quackes caused by the eruption reached as far south as Tear - on the border of Black Marsh.