But seriously, who do you think really won the civil war?

[Ultimatepurge]

No matter how bad it becomes, whoever wins has to ally up with whatever they can find. Skyrim is pretty much screwed if they think they can act as a lone wolf against the aldmeri dominion. There's really no reason to be stingy who you're allying yourself up with when you're fighting an enemy who despises all non-mer people.

 

There's no winners in the skyrim civil war. In my game where the empire won, the most likely outcome is that the Empire military leaders take the command due to Titus Mede II being dead, so it's likely the Empire might end up being led by the military branch, which is good for the war, but might be less good for the people living in the empire. You know how tullius acts.

[sajuukkhar9000]

With Titus Mede II death the throne would go to his son/daughter, if he had none it would go to his cousin, if he has no other cousins it would go the the highest ranking Member of the Elder Council.

 

Morrowind isn't even a country anymore is it? The Khajiit are allied to the Thalmor and the Argonians would probably only fight if they were attacked first.

 

Hammerfell would fall eventually too.

Morrowind is still a province, the south most part of it is controlled by the Argonians, but everything from Mournhold up is held by the dunmer. It's still in rough shape, but they are rebuilding.

 

Also, the Redgaurds have the Hoonding, who is one of the most powerful beings to walk on Nirn, ever. the Redguard god of make-way, and perseverance over infidels. When the Hoonding shows up the Redguards are literally unstoppable.

Edited August 10, 2012 by sajuukkhar9000

[gsmanners]

I would never RP it, but I'm almost positive Bethesda will make Dragonborn side with the Stormcloaks. It's the kind of pathetic twist they seem to like.

[Relativelybest]

Bethesda is probably going to do the same thing they did with Daggerfall.... use a Dragonbreak to make BOTH endings happen at the same time.

 

The actions of Tullius, Ulfric, and the Dvoahiin are a mirror of the actions taken by Tiber Septim, Ysmir Wulfharth, and Zurin Arctus, that caused those three to merge into Talos who is Lorkhan reborn.

 

Such actions are normally heralded by an event of magnitude such as a Dragonbreak.

 

But... there wasn't any Dragonbreak during the Civil War questline. I think I would have noticed something like that.

 

Besides, how can Skyrim remain an Imperial province and be independant at the same time? I get that Dragonbreaks are pure weirdness but that still sounds like something that would be really hard to pull off in practice.

 

I don't think that Beth would even need to resort to a dragonbreak to make it come out any way they want. No matter which side you choose, there is no firm conclusion to the civil war during the time period covered by the game. If you pick Stormcloak, Ulfric is still not officially on the throne at the end of the storyline, Elisif and the deposed imperial jarls are still alive, and the Empire still has troops scattered around Skyrim and might still kill Ulfric before he can become High King. If you pick the Empire, the Stormcloaks still have not been entirely crushed, the deposed rebel jarls are still alive, and a new rebel leader might arise, leading to the death of Tullius in the near future.

 

So the next game could legitimately claim either side as the ultimate victor, with both Tullius and Ulfric being killed before the civil war was finally over for good. The history book covering the war doesn't have to say which one died first, so both player choices would fit either canon equally well without the need for a dragonbreak.

 

Who died when is one thing, but they will still have to decide wether or not Skyrim seceded, which is at least going to heavily imply a winner. If the Empire still controls Skyrim in the next game, it makes sense to assume the Legion won, unless they specifically state that Ulfric nearly drove the imperials out of Skyrim and was just about to be crowned High King before dying, which would be a confirmation that the Stormcloaks won.

 

Likewise, if Skyrim turns out to be independent, that pretty much confirms the Stormcloaks were victorious unless it's stated Ulfric's rebellion was crushed, and then shenanigans happened that made Skyrim leave the Empire anyway. I don't think Bethesda is going to be able to have their cake and eat it.

[InuyashaFE]

They'll either pick a side, or never reference it in my opinion.

[Pentigan]

Perhaps they'll make Elisif the High Queen anyway no matter which side won the war? It doesn't seem impossible that after a bit of investigation about Ulfric's actual intentions about leading the Stormcloaks (wanting to be High King) that they would vote for Elisif at the next Moot.

[Relativelybest]

Perhaps they'll make Elisif the High Queen anyway no matter which side won the war? It doesn't seem impossible that after a bit of investigation about Ulfric's actual intentions about leading the Stormcloaks (wanting to be High King) that they would vote for Elisif at the next Moot.

 

Again, that still sorta requires them to specifically aknowledge Ulfric and the Stormcloaks as the winner.

 

It's not a question about who ends up ruling Skyrim, it's about which outcome of the Civil War questline turns out to be the legitimate one.

[sajuukkhar9000]

But... there wasn't any Dragonbreak during the Civil War questline. I think I would have noticed something like that.

 

Besides, how can Skyrim remain an Imperial province and be independant at the same time? I get that Dragonbreaks are pure weirdness but that still sounds like something that would be really hard to pull off in practice.

The player character didn't notice the Dragon-break at the end of Daggerfall either.

 

Also Skyrim would be like Morrowind was during the Tribunal Era. A self-governing political state that is under the laws of The Empire, but is allowed to make laws, such as the slavery laws Morrowind had, that go against the laws of The Empire.

Edited August 11, 2012 by sajuukkhar9000

[Scorch621]

I think we'll have to wait for the next dlc to find out what happens, it's probably gonna be thalmor based, so perhaps it will be resolved there

[Stemin]

I dunno. Logically it seems to me that they (Bethesda) sided with the Imperials, but that doesn't mean I'm right.

 

Considering the Storm Cloak Jarl's...

 

Law-Giver is clueless as hell, relying on Mavin who is the most corrupt person in Skyrim, and a steward who feeds her a bunch of bs she swallows whole. Not to mention she's on the take, IIRC. (The steward, not the Jarl)

 

Skald, who treats his servant like an inferior and laughs when he says he wants to join the army, but then tries to put a bunch of lumberjacks in stormcloak uniforms, along with wanting to put all his citizens on the front line of the stormcloak battle while abandoning Dawnstar in the event of attack. ( And this is prior to his citizens being cleansed of their "nightmare" problem of which he is ready to do absolutely NOTHING about. )

 

That leaves the guy from Winterhold, who's the only Jarl you can see leave his longhouse to go spend time at the local tavern, and spends all his time complaining about the Mage's College (the biggest and nicest landmark in his city) instead of making an effort to rebuild his town.

 

Did I forget anyone? It doesn't exactly seem like Bethesda went out of their way to make the Stormcloak Jarl's look like geniuses.

 

Then consider the fact that in the Civil War quest line, Ulfric dies if you choose the Imperials, but if you choose the Stormcloaks, Elisif still lives (even though Tulius dies). So regardless, Elisif, an Imperial supporter in the Empire's capital is left alive.

 

Also, I thought it was a bit of humor on Bethesda's part that Ulfric carried the Steel Axe of Cowardice. When you read what it does, it might make him seem intimidating, but taking it at face value it's a pretty good joke.

Edited August 12, 2012 by Stemin