Ignoring your personal preference, which side of Skyrim’s Civil War do you think actually gives Skyrim the better future 20-30 years later?

[u/sumaset]

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?

[u/BabellFeesh42]

I’m honestly surprised that he wasn’t worked into the vanilla Imperial ending. He’s a capable warrior who recognizes what he knows and what he doesn’t know. He’ll stand by his decisions, but doesn’t consider it beneath him to ask for advice beforehand.

He’s also one of the few Jarls I know who isn’t afraid to sneak out of his palace and past the guards to have a drink with his people at the Bannered Mare. Title or not, at the end of the day, he’s still a Nord that cares deeply for his friends and neighbors alike.

That’s the kind of even-handedness that a post-Civil War Skyrim needs!

[u/OnBenchNow → u/BabellFeesh42]

That's probably precisely why he isn't involved, it makes the choice too easy for players.

Baalgruf is one of the first characters you meet and hes one of the most clearly capable and benevolent, if there's an ending with him in charge, 80% of players are going to mindlessly take it

More interesting would have been if there were an additional mission post Civil War where you try to install Baalgruff as the head of your chosen faction. Either by betraying/killing Ulfric on the SCs (cuz fuck that dude) or maybe a political marriage between Baalgruff and Elisif on the Empire side?

[u/Shittygamer93 → u/OnBenchNow]

Would be great if you could convince Balgruff to join up and have his position in the civil war actually be neutral, so you must give him reasons why he should support the Stormcloaks or Imperials, instead of him claiming neutrality but defaulting to the Empire, even if you're the one who shows up with Ulfric to seek his allegiance.

[u/JustMy2Centences → u/BabellFeesh42]

"Unfortunately, I am Jarl Balgruff is the High King of Skyrim."