MidbossVyers

Saying that the Stormcloaks cannot defeat the Dominion is like saying Vietnam cannot defeat the US or that the colonies that would eventually become the US cannot defeat the British Empire.

But that's just it. One who seeks to rule the land must first rule the hearts of the people. A Nord certainly understands Nord hearts more than any Imperial could, and before you mention the vassal kings of the Empire, those don't matter because the Emperor would still have final say in their decisions.

Have the Divines not already erected such a wall in the form of mountains?

Attributing "Skyrim belongs to the Nords" to the Stormcloaks is pretty shallow, given that all Nords have this line in battle, whether Stormcloak, Legionnaire, or random bandit.

You didn't have to do anything in Skyrim, other than escape Helgen. The Greymane rescue mission wasn't part of the Civil War quest, granted, but it does show that there was a very real Thalmor threat in Skyrim, and that it wasn't just a facade. Was this an attempt by the Thalmor to incite civil strife? Likely it was. But the Thalmor were present in Skyrim prior to the civil war and they were actively rooting out those who opposed them....to imply, as some have (though not you) that the Thalmor embassies, patrols, decrees, ect. were simply for-show more than anything else doesn't add up to me. There were very real military and intelligence objectives behind these Thalmor activities, and the Nords had reason enough to want them out of their lands. I agree. As I have said numerous times, there is a lot in Skyrim, and TES series in general, that is purposely left vague and open to interpretation. My main point on that issue was that the ransacking and pillaging that normally followed medieval/ancient sieges, including some in TES, was fairly normal to some degree. The only time that things were considered truly bad was when everyone was killed, including the people of high ransom value and importance. Disagree with the comparison to Nazi Germany. IMO, the Developers definitely used the real life Norse (Scandanavians, Danes, Norwegians, most of whom were originally tribes of German ethnicity) as their source of inspiration for TES' Nords. The nationalism and ethnic pride was prevalent in a lot of different societies and cultures (and still is). To say that they are indicative of Nazi-like culture is a bit of stretch. Just about any real life rebellion you find in the history books is going to have some ethnic pride and nationalism involved. The Dunmer aren't forced to live in the slums of Windhelm...most of them do simply due to their economic situation. If I remember correctly, there is a Dunmer farmer somewhere in the hold of Windhelm who is perfectly happy and content with where he is and says something to the effect of: any race can live a good life in Skyrim, but they have to earn their keep. Similarly the Khajit caravans are forced to peddle their goods outside of all the major cities (even the Imperial-controlled ones), but I suspect that has more to do with economic competition with the city's shop keepers and the fact that many of the Khajit NPC's are either theives or fences for thieves. There certainly are indications of some distrust of foreigners among many of the Nords, not just the Stormcloaks, which given that remoteness of the province is to be expected. However, the Nords overall seem willing to accept foreign races into their cities and ranks so long as they prove themselves worthy. Jarl Balgruuf of Whiterun, arguably the quintessential Nordic city, has a Dunmer as his Housecarl and chief adviser. The Companions, the most Nordic of all the NPC groups found in Skyrim, has all manner of races in their ranks. The Orcish camps are allowed to live in the remote reaches of many holds without bother from the Jarls' guards or the stormcloaks. There aren't many, if any, foreigners in the Stormcloak ranks, but the Stormcloaks are fighting for Nordic independence. Short of being hired as mercenaries or support staff, no foreigners really have any incentive to join their ranks or even play a part in the civil war at all...it's likely to their advantage to wait it out see who wins. Compared to Morrowind which has enslaved Argonians, and the Summerset Isle which is home to a supremacist authoritarian regime, Skyrim isn't as prejudiced or unforgiving as some make it out to be. I have more than a couple non-Nord Stormcloaks. Heck, the Redguards actually have more experience successfully rebelling against the Empire than the Nords do. Same thing with the orcs. Yes, one can say that the Empire gave the orcs racial equality, but that was only after those same orcs got their hands on a giant, time-bending robot (which the Empire and literally everyone else got, as well, somehow). There is literally no more reason for Khajiit to join the Legion than to join the Stormcloaks. Both sides literally treat Khajiit in the exact same fashion (heck, a Khajiit assassin actually managed to get into the Stormcloak hold of Riften somehow), and NPC Khajiit think of both sides in the same way, as well. My Khajiit joined the Stormcloaks only because of this fan art: http://www.deviantart.com/art/Khajiit-Stormcloak-rebel-287271300 There are individual Imperials trying to apply for the Stormcloaks, and apparently, saying that Laelette the Breton joined the Stormcloaks was a reasonable excuse for her disappearance. There is an Argonian housecarl in Stormcloak Morthal and an Imperial steward in Stormcloak Markarth.

Being raised on ancient Chinese history, I've always thought that different dynasty = different country. In other words, having loyalty to the Septims does not, in any regard, force you to have loyalty to the Medes. If anything, given that the Stormcloaks basically have Talos, the founder of the Septim Empire, as their banner, Imperial loyalty of the past might push one to Stormcloak loyalty of the present. Heimskr even told "the children of the Empire" to "rise up". Nazi concentration of the Jews and US concentration of the Japanese has literally nothing to do with ethnic slums, like the Gray Quarter. Dunmer are free to move around as they please for work, etc.

When I play Skyrim, I see that certain religious organization in-game have a level of stubbornness that certain religious organizations have IRL. Whether that stubbornness is benign or inquisitor-level depends on the organization in question.

A common reason why a Council member/minister might want the Emperor dead is not to usurp the Emperor but rather place a legitimate figurehead on the throne, so that they may manipulate this heir without taking any negative rep for usurpation.

As for necromancy being a crime... Has anyone seen the Johnny Depp version of Sleepy Hollow? The main reason that Johnny Depp's portrayal of Ichabod got sent to the new world was because many of his methods for solving crimes, etc. were considered "heresy". The main example was that officials were uncomfortable with Ichabod's suggestion for autopsies of the deceased because those officials, many of them religious, considered autopsy to be "defilement of the dead". See how moronic someone nowadays would appear if they said that autopsy was heretical? That's how I view people who consider necromancy a crime. While I don't consider necromancy a crime, many actions associated with necromancy are, such as murder and grave robbing, but just like in RL, if the cadavers are obtained legally, I don't see a problem with it.

Joining the Brotherhood automatically nulls any contracts on your head, but then you end up being hunted by the Morag Tong, if you're on Solstheim.

About "crimes against nature", ES lore actually shows that oftentimes "crimes against nature", or more accurately, "crimes against the natural status quo" end up being beneficial or at the very least progressive to the universe itself. For example, Sithis committed a "crime" against Anu and ended up creating the template for creation, Lorkhan committed a "crime" against the other gods and ended up creating humans and the physical world, and Molag Bal committed a "crime" against Arkay... Actually, never mind about that last one, as that sparks another debate entirely. Still, 2/3 "crimes" were beneficial for universal progress, and 1/3 is... At the very least, debatable. I haven't play Skyrim in a while, so I apologize if any terminology is screwed up.

Gear-wise, it seems the same to me. In-game stats show that both sides use at most steel level weapons. In terms of amount, the Legion clearly has some issues with getting new weapons, if only constrained by time, as mentioned by Adrianne and Idolaf: http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Adrianne_Avenicci As for guerilla warfare... Save for special units, like the Dragonborn, who can wear whatever they want, most Stormcloaks wear light armor (or "medium armor", which is basically just light armor with a heavy shield), not too great for tanking. Still, nothing wrong with speedy tactics.

Talos may or may not be a mortal incarnation of Shor/Shezarr, though: http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Shezarrine In fact, whenever a major rebellion or subterfuge occurs in Nirn, it usually ends up being something good (at least, in certain points of view), such as Sithis shattering the stasis of Anu or the creation of the physical world resulting from Lorkhan's machinations. When Lorkhan was forced to incarnate as a mortal, that mortal always became a hero or sovereign of his time.

Understand that this is coming from a universe where human ambition literally has a patron deity (Lorkhan, whom the Nords revere as Shor), though.

http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:High_Hrothgar Dragons Speak only for True Needs. The stone tablets at High Hrothgar refer to a time before the Way of the Voice, but True Needs were still a thing back then.

My point is showing that dragons always Speak for True Needs is that True Needs have nothing to do with morals. No, Ulfric did not need to use the Voice to kill Torygg. Literally, everyone whom you ask knew that a seasoned war veteran would kick the ass of a privileged appointed king. Ulfric did not use the Voice to kill Torygg. Ulfric just Shouted Torygg down to show Torygg's lack of dedication and ambition.

No, Ulfric didn't use the Voice to win the duel. He could have done so without it. The use of the Voice was a message to the other Jarls. Also, Ulfric didn't expect Torygg to "resist" the Voice. Ulfric said that any Nord with dedication and ambition can master the Voice. For example, in a fight, you wouldn't complain if you lost because the enemy's fist was stronger, right? Then what about his vocal chords? Also, define "True Needs". The stone tablets at the Throat of the World said that dragons only Speak for True Needs. Only. In other words, when a dragon is incinerating or freezing a village, he is doing so for True Needs because dragons only Speak for True Needs, or are you saying that dragons have better justification for killing innocent civilians than Ulfric has for killing political enemies? Not to mention the fact that a dragon's Shout is usually lethal, while Ulfric only knows Unrelenting Force, which is usually nonlethal. Also, nationalism and rebellion are bad things? The Restless League would disagree:

Game and story segregation. For example, in the Vile Lair add-on in Oblivion, you could get your own Dark Minion whom you could theoretically send out to kill people. However, the Minion just "kills" people off-screen. In other words, the Minion will not actually kill any named NPCs and thus make certain Dark Brotherhood quests easier (ones that are difficult to accomplish without accruing a bounty, such as killing law enforcement).

Morality is relative. If you rescue a child from a tribe that practices child sacrifice, you must think yourself a hero. However, everyone, including the child whom you rescued, will consider you their version of the Anti-Christ. Only certain Chuunis actually "want" to be the Big Bad. People tend to do things that bring them joy, which are good. People tend to avoid doing things that make them lament, which are evil. Indeed, the current main antagonist in Fate/grand order is King Solomon, who is classified as lawful good, and many chaotic evil heroes whom you recruit end up being not as bad as the stories say, once you get to know them.

General Decianus on this video. He also insists that mental torture is not a thing... OK, fine, when I checked to confirm, I found that the official term is "psychological torture", but if that's what he is correcting me about, then that would be very anal of him.

I love how, no matter which side of the debate you are on, most people here are sane and rational. Someone on YouTube cited the fact that the high elves in Windhelm are generally better off than the dark elves as "proof" that Ulfric is a Thalmor agent. Yes, I checked to confirm that "agent" was not a typo for "asset". This is so ridiculous that I literally have no way to respond but stare in disbelief.

Thing is, emperors throughout history have spun their circumstances to make it seem like it was their plan all along, regardless of whether or not it actually is. For example, I keep mentioning this, but the "final showdown" with Mede at the end of the Dark Brotherhood almost mirrors the "final showdown" between Nameless and the King of Qin at the end of the movie, Hero. Both Mede and Qin say that they will die with dignity without fighting back. In Hero, Nameless decided to show Qin mercy and walk away. Qin ordered Nameless to be perforated with arrows from the back. Being genre-savvy after watching this movie, I killed Emperor Mede without remorse.

Then why did Mede request that you kill Motierre?

I believe that it is the uncensored version, so it's basically like the basic nude mods you'll find here, only you don't have to mod it.

Daggerfall is freeware now, isn't it?