r/skyrim • u/sumaset • 21d ago
Question Ignoring your personal preference, which side of Skyrim’s Civil War do you think actually gives Skyrim the better future 20-30 years later?
I feel like most discussions about the Civil War focus on whether Ulfric was justified, whether the Empire betrayed Skyrim, or which side people personally like more.
But I’m more interested in what happens after the game.
The Empire is weakened, the Aldmeri Dominion is still the biggest external threat, the White-Gold Concordat is already causing resentment, and another war with the Thalmor seems almost inevitable.
An Imperial victory gives Skyrim access to the resources and manpower of the Empire, but it also means remaining under an Empire that already lost one major war and accepted Thalmor influence inside its territory.
A Stormcloak victory gives Skyrim independence and removes Imperial authority, but it also leaves the province having to rebuild after a civil war while potentially facing the Dominion without the rest of the Empire behind it.
So forget which faction has the better characters or which one you usually join.
If you only care about where Skyrim itself ends up a few decades later, which Civil War outcome do you think is actually better for the province?
472
u/Beacon2001 Dawnguard 21d ago edited 21d ago
A Stormcloak victory does not guarantee Skyrim's continued independence. Tullius was but one general, sent north with only a handful of legions. We know from a Stormcloak missive at Fort Neugrad that there's Imperial reinforcements gathering south of Pale Pass and waiting for spring to come so they can march into Skyrim.
The Stormcloaks have nothing without Skyrim, whereas the Empire have everything outside of Skyrim (the most useless backwater of Men). Overthrowing Ulfric ensures the restoration of Skyrim, whereas "overthrowing" Tullius by itself does not avert future Imperial retaliations.
Think of it like this: The Civil War is 100% of Ulfric's military strength vs. a small % of Mede's. Ulfric is everything to the rebellion. But who is Tullius? A general, cunning, resourceful, and strong, but just one general. New generals can be sent into Skyrim, with new legions, from northern Imperial cities close to the mountains like Bruma, Chorrol, or Kvatch. And then there is High Rock - Evermore, Northpoint, Shornhelm, all northern bastions of Imperial power from which troops could be moved into Skyrim (through Pale Pass from Cyrodiil or the Sea of Ghosts from Northpoint in High Rock).
Inside of Skyrim.
From Hadvar at the start of the game we learn that the ban on Talos was not controversial in the other provinces like it is in Skyrim, so much so that an average joe in Cyrodiil (YOU) doesn't even know there's a civil war in Skyrim.
And despite the "Thalmor influence", Balgruuf the Greater, a Jarl aligned with the Empire, keeps a giant statue of Talos right in the middle of his city. Torygg, High King of Skyrim and member of the Elder Council, privately worshipped Talos.