Jarl bulgruuf

[Quirkyblonde]

I believe it all goes back to the White-Gold Concordat, which (among other things) outlawed Talos worship. If you talk to the Thalmor, you'll see they're just as cracked as Ulfric. They're bound and determined to root out all Talos worshipers and punish them for their heresy, and the Empire is just going along with it in order to avoid being destroyed by the military superiority of the Thalmor. I expect that there will be a DLC or even TESVI revolving around a plan by the Thalmor to reinstate slavery and make things the way they were during the Ayleid days.

 

But that's neither here nor there.

 

Ulfric's whole racist thing aside, he's all about restoring Talos worship as well, which makes it a little bit more of a grey area. Freedom of religion and racist leaders or racial acceptance and a state religion.

[LobselVith66]

Having played both sides I personally side with the Empire.

 

Jarl Balgruuf is most concerned with the wellbeing of his people. The Empire has provided stability, commerce, and military protection to Skyrim for hundreds of years. He sees absolutely no reason to shake the foundation just because "they're not Nords." Moreover, the Empire hasn't done anything wrong.

 

What I like about Skyrim is that both factions have their flaws, and there's clearly no "good guy" or "bad guy." Elisif the Fair wants to be High Queen and cared about her husband, General Tullius is concerned about the Thalmor threat and views Ulfric as a danger but has no real understanding of the Nords, and Ulfric wants to be High King and plans to make Skyrim independent of the Empire that gave him to Thalmor demands for Hammerfell, handing over the Blades, and rooting out worshippers of Talos. There are valid reasons to side with either faction, and problems with both sides.

 

Balgruuf the Greater doesn't like the Empire, according to his son, and has issues with the Aldmeri Dominion having so much control over the Imperial Empire. His problem seems to be with Ulfric specifically (who is criticized even by people who agree with the liberation of Skyrim). The central reasons behind the rebellion seem to be the banning of the worship of Talos and the Thalmor influence over the Empire. Ralof, for instance, sees it as a fight for Skyrim's independence, and he encourages the Dragonborn to help out even if he (or she) isn't a Nord.

 

 

Ulfric Stormcloak, on the other hand, is starting a revolution based on racial prejudice and a Manifest Destiny-esque vision of Skyrim that offers no real game plan. His philosophy literally ends at 'and then we make sure Nords are the master race of Skyrim.' His main concern is his hatred for elves and the fact that the Imperium consorts with them. I find his motivations highly suspect and his followers even more so. When my character was standing there during his right hand man's motivation speech before the battle for Whiterun I thought to myself, 'Wow. These guys are seriously cracked. This is nonsense.' The Stormcloak Rebellion strikes me as an utterly pointless revolution. The only thing it's going to do is wreck homes and get people killed and for what? Because he's butthurt that someone else has a stake in his nation's continued survival?

 

I don't think Ralof would offer the (non-Nord) Dragonborn an invitation into the Stormcloaks if Ulfric's philosphy was focused on Nords as a master race; there clearly are members of the Stormcloaks who have issues with anyone who isn't a Nord, but Ulfric seems to be placing himself as a leader who will restore the worship of Talos and an antagonist of the Thalmor. He's clearly out to be High King, and his motives are evidently self-centered, but I don't think people like Ralof would be following him if his message was focused on driving out anyone who isn't a Nord from Skyrim. If that were the case, wouldn't having the non-Nord (especially an elven Dragonborn) hurt such a platform? There are Stormcloaks who acknowledge 'Stormblade' with honor.

 

 

He's a friggin' Jarl. All of the other Jarls? They're Jarls too. They're in direct command and control of their Holds. The Empire has not installed authoritarian dictators to rule Skyrim on its behalf. They're not levying unfair taxes on Skyrim's trade or really doing anything bad. Ulfric is starting a revolution because it makes him feel good.

 

Ulfric wants power, that much is clear, but he managed to do so following the traditions of his people by challenging the previous High King, High King Torygg, to a duel. He challenged the High King and killed him in a duel (admittedly, through the Thu'um), following Nord tradition, and the Empire clearly wants to put a puppet leader in place to manage Skyrim. Is he racist, or does he simply care about the people he believes will help him become High King (i.e. Nords)? He doesn't expel the elves from the Gray Quarter, and he doesn't have an issue with making an elf protagonist the Thane of Windhelm, so I imagine it's a power play for him.