Consequences of the Civil War

[Lachdonin]

In talking with a friend today, i have descovered a major problem with Skyrim which could prove to be the downfall of TES in in the future. The Civil War has you taking sides in a rather pivotal, world changing event which ends in two very different ways. This is completely different than the main plots of the games which really only have one way of concluding.

 

The problem is this. Come TES 6, or even the expansions for Skyrim, Bethesda has to make a choice about which side the Dragonborn chose. Whatever it does, it will invalidate the play experiences of players on the opposing side. If they decide that the Dragonborn sided with the Empire, everyone who sided with the Stormcloaks will feel slighted, and vise-versa.

 

This also isn't a minor change in the overall story of the Dragonborn, like choosing a Great House in Morrowind. The outcome of the civil war has dramatic consequences for the Empire and the world, and is based solely on the decisions of the player.

 

Bethesda also can't do the Mass Effect thing and include both possibilities in TES 6 without releasing two titles with dramatically different political spectra.

 

Is it just me being parinoid, or does it seem like Bethesda has really shot themselves in the foot by trying to add this degree of choice and political schism to the game?

[Kalkus]

the thalmor could take over making your choices not matter. the other glaring issue is with the DB being on its last sanctuary... the ability to kill them off vrs doing the quest chain that has a massive effect to history kinda really forces the empire to fall for the story to continue.(with no mention of the civil war or of the emperor)

[AndrewWaltfeld]

Really it does not matter, as it will be the same story regardless, the only difference being whether you have imperials or storm-cloaks siding with you. That will probably be the only difference with a few minor changes in locations etc. Otherwise, everything can be kept the same.

[justwannaddl]

History will likely focus on Alduin rather than the war. The stormcloaks will likely become a footnote that disappeared after the empire collapsed. The civil war would destabilize any future government and the stormcloaks will lose power anyway.

 

 

The thalmor are a wildcard. They could either take over, get botttled in or be wiped out though after all the build up the last option is unlikely to happen anytime soon. They simply do not have the support to control the whole of tamriel as is. If they had an additional ally, maybe. Still, they are not the type to keep such alliences. My guess is that they will seek out a greater power to compensate for their numbers. Ancient artifact of doom hunting will probably come back into vogue. Selling their souls to some daedra prince is another.

[ElEjcovero]

Or maybe they go with the Dragonborn not siding with either faction, you know you can remain neutral throughout the whole main quest, and get both sides to come to some sort of truce and ceasefire, so it could be Bethesda would goes with this possibility?

[Vagrant0]

My guess is that ultimately your choice doesn't matter. If you side with the Stormcloaks, none of the Jarls ever get killed off, not even the one in Solitude. If you side with the Imperials, it doesn't matter what happens with Ulfric since he'll likely never be mentioned again. As far as the long history is concerned, There was a civil war, the Dragonborn helped bring it to a close and saved the world.

 

What happens after that is that after some time people gather around the Dragonborn, acknowledge them as the second coming of Talos, and rally behind that person against the Thalmor who still dispute the claims of divinity even when it is standing before them. I hate to say it, but this is probably building up to a WoW style TES MMO with the new Empire against the Thalmor taking place many years later after the child of the Dragonborn claims the throne.

[Seviche]

What happens after that is that after some time people gather around the Dragonborn, acknowledge them as the second coming of Talos, and rally behind that person against the Thalmor who still dispute the claims of divinity even when it is standing before them. I hate to say it, but this is probably building up to a WoW style TES MMO with the new Empire against the Thalmor taking place many years later after the child of the Dragonborn claims the throne.

That's some serious unfounded MMO speculation there. Care to provide more than your fears?

 

I think it all depends on which way Bethesda wants TES 6 to go; either the Empire falls or the Dominion does. The Stormcloaks winning the civil war would seriously weaken the Empire (which was the point of the whole banning of Talos thing) and allow a far easier conquest of Cyrodiil (minus the Skyrim warriors) when the Dominion starts the war again. The Stormcloaks losing would enable the Empire to use the Skyrim warriors to bolster their armies when the war began anew. It really depends on how Bethesda wants it to play out.

 

I can easily see your "Rally around the Dragonborn" scenario happening. That would be a hell of a thing to see for TES 6. Hard to pull of though, as I think "The Dragonborn (or dragonborn dragonspawn) is in prison, again" would be a bit silly. Unless you don't get to be The Dragonborn, then it's highly doable.

Edited December 5, 2011 by Seviche

[Vagrant0]

That's some serious unfounded MMO speculation there. Care to provide more than your fears?

 

Well, it does create a very good environment for an MMO since it has established sides, a world with rich history, and a point in time centered around conflict rather than any one person. So, either they skip over the whole period of history with another time jump, or they play it out as the player being someone of moderate insignificance while the course of time plays out.

 

Then there is the fact that Bethsoft has shown an interest in MMOs and online games over the last few years, namely Brink, so it's not like they're against the idea. Combined with all the resources from both Skyrim and Oblivion, there's a half-continent worth of locations, peoples, meshes, textures, places... Most of them about on par with the level of detail shown in most MMOs. Character systems, leveling mechanics, crafting system, all of them easily adapted to a MMO environment. The combat system may need a little re-working, but can still work reasonably well with modern MMO systems.

 

It's not fears. I might even play such a game. I hate to say it because I can see it coming as a strong possibility and know that there are many who would hate that sort of thing. There may still be a TES VI on the horizon afterward, but think we will probably see an MMO before then.

[Stratomunchkin]

In talking with a friend today, i have descovered a major problem with Skyrim which could prove to be the downfall of TES in in the future. The Civil War has you taking sides in a rather pivotal, world changing event which ends in two very different ways. This is completely different than the main plots of the games which really only have one way of concluding.

 

The problem is this. Come TES 6, or even the expansions for Skyrim, Bethesda has to make a choice about which side the Dragonborn chose. Whatever it does, it will invalidate the play experiences of players on the opposing side. If they decide that the Dragonborn sided with the Empire, everyone who sided with the Stormcloaks will feel slighted, and vise-versa.

 

This also isn't a minor change in the overall story of the Dragonborn, like choosing a Great House in Morrowind. The outcome of the civil war has dramatic consequences for the Empire and the world, and is based solely on the decisions of the player.

 

Bethesda also can't do the Mass Effect thing and include both possibilities in TES 6 without releasing two titles with dramatically different political spectra.

 

Is it just me being parinoid, or does it seem like Bethesda has really shot themselves in the foot by trying to add this degree of choice and political schism to the game?

You're seriously overstating the issue. CD Project with the first Witcher game offered 3 very different endings, and none ultimately had grievous impact on the following game. The same counts for a likely TES 6. I mean, seriously, just consider the time skips involved. It's been 200 years between Oblivion and Skyrim! With enough time in between you can explain anything away. Hell, you don't even need much time! Take this: Ulfric and the Stormcloaks win, but soon people realize what an egotistical and racist ass he really is. Three years after ascending to the throne, he's murdered in his sleep. Variations of that theme for imperials and Nord alike. You may be Dragonborn, but you can't stop human treachery and desires everywhere.

[Eversjm7]

Or they could make the dwermer come back and take over whoever is in control of skyrim