LE Lets make this war interesting.

[DesGeneral]

Alternate dimension: This war has escalated out of control. The land between the cities of Windhelm and Solitude is churned and blood soaked. Windhelm has sunken even deeper into poverty and Ulfric has begun to import soldiers from other nations that oppose the empire. Solitude, while well supplied is weighed down by refugees. The cities in between the two warring factions have been burned to the ground. The conflict continues as opposing patrols slaughter each other in droves. The reappearance of the dragons complicates things further, they roam freely and attack the most populated areas, Windhelm, Solitude, an Empire refugee camp inside the ruins of Markarth and a stormcloak refugee camp inside the ruins of Riften. The Dragonborn, like most citizens of Skyrim has seen enough bloodshed. This is where you take the helm, travel in between the cities and build a third contender. Choose the armor and weapons of your troopers, (note the will take gold), and when you are ready make yourself known by ending the stalemate at Whiterun and taking the city for yourself. From there fight to control the rest of Skyrim, and earn the allegiance of the games smaller groups and factions such as, the Thieves Guild, The Companions, The Black hand and The College of Winterhold.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ScottC12]

ApolloDown’s new Civil War Overhaul mod seems to head in this direction, but I like the idea of the character optionally building his own faction (maybe through quests, and spending lots of gold). The desolation and destruction you describe might make Skyrim more of an empty place, though. Maybe the war’s escalation could be something your player could optionally work to prevent - or not? You may be able to contact the author of that mod with your player’s 3rd party faction idea as a future enhancement.

 

 

I have not downloaded the Civil War Overhaul yet because it seems fairly large and extensive, and I am currently working through the excellent Helgen Reborn mod. Helgen Reborn lets your character help some new NPCs rebuild Helgen, and it gives you the option of having the town return to Imperial control, side with the Stormcloaks, or go independent (with it’s own guards, flags, and uniforms).

[DesGeneral]

Thanks for the input! I like your idea of trying to avoid, or even cause the situation I described, it would really make the player feel like the fate of Skyrim was in their hands. It might also add to the intensity and immersion of the game just to watch the extremely unstable situation slowly improve in a way that everything could fall apart if something was done wrong, or decline and collapse like a house of cards. It would add stress to each and every decision, something that I feel the game lacked.

[AfroGamerNinja]

Even though I like the idea, it still doesn't change the fact that the civil war is just not fun to do. And Apollodown's overhaul make that questline look suicidal.