ColonelKillaBee

Well, Ulfric did give Toryyg the chance to join his side or at least speak out to what he was saying. His followers say he would've joined his side if Ulfric asked, but Ulfric couldn't possibly know that. All he knew of Toryyg was that he was the Empire's posterboy, and that he was weakening his beloved country by suckling the Empire's teets and allowing Thalmor to do what they will. If you ask me, Toryyg got plenty of chances, and Ulfric was done waiting. I would've done the same thing. He's a man of action. He's not hasty though, as his patience with Whiterun and Balgruuf will show. You can tell from his dialogue with Galmar that he's a patient man, which really makes me think Toryyg really didn't show any interest to Ulfric's cause at all. I think the young king brought it on himself, personally. Yes, Toryyg had zero chance against Ulfric, thu'um or no thu'um, but that is irrelevant. You gotta look at it from a nord perspective. He followed the ancient law, and Toryyg accepted. Toryyg, as a king under the Empire could have said no. People said that would be a political suicide, but if you look at the people on his side, and the Empires, Toryyg would have had more if a moot was called, and Ulfric still would have lost, and Toryyg would remain King. Even if you think what Ulfric did was wrong, to me that doesn't matter. No country becomes free without breaking a few necessary eggs. You do what you must. War is not pretty,

Badass barbarian two handed weapon wielding hearty mead drinking vikings + most badass swordsmen in all of Tamriel=Thalmor on their knees begging for mercy!

Exactly. He's not very inspiring unless you're a nord, I'll admit. Luckily I almost always am. I find it easy to join him as a redguard though. Or a dunmer for the irony, and to show that Dunmer can be valuable members of an independent Skyrim. And to Nord law, what Ulfric did was not murder.

It's also unrealistic in my opinion to think that Skyrim will try to fight them on their own. They will most certainly look for allies, like Hammerfell, Morrowind (Unlikely, but its happened before) and the Empire. That alliance isn't as unlikely as you may think when you consider that Nords make up a very large portion of the Empire's soldiers. So basically, if I'm being honest, it doesn't really matter who you choose. Both sides will seek alliances and take it to the Thalmor. It's just a matter of which side will make this happen first, and whether you want an independent Skyrim or not. But both sides are equally viable in the long run. The Empire needs the nords more than people realize. They will work together. Ulfric says he'd be willing to if the Talos ban is dropped, which after Skyrim is independent it is. So if a thalmor invasion is on the way, or a human invasion to the Aldmeri is, they'd unite no doubt. Oh, and thanks! Glad to be a member.

Hello all. This is my first post in this forum. I'm a stormcloak soldier all the way. Why? I believe Ulfric's cause is right, that the claims of his corruption and greed are false, and that the Empire is dying, and has no chance of defeating the Thalmor the way it is now. I can tell from Ulfric's dialogue with Galmar that he truly believes in his cause and cares for his people. I believe that an independent Skyrim can still work with the Empire in the face of incoming danger, and Skyrim does not have to be under the Empire's boot to work with eachother. Other groups in TES have done this with much more blood and grudges much more deep between them and have worked together before, so there's no reason to believe the stormcloaks and imperials can't in the event of an independent Skyrim. I believe that those who would sacrifice freedoms for safety don't deserve to be free, and the Empire does not care about its provinces. History has shown this with Hammerfell, and Morrowind during the Oblivion Crisis. They did nothing to help Valenwood from the Thalmor, and they if they have to will sacrifice every province for their own selfish needs. I don't blame them for this, as this is the nature of Empires, but this is exactly why Skyrim must be free of it. It is no longer of any use to Skyrim besides the convenient shield it provides between Skyrim and the Aldmeri Dominion. The Empire just doesn't seem like it is up to fight. They seem broken, but the stormcloaks are not. For that reason, and the fact that the Empire allows the injustice of the Thalmor to happen out of fear, I side with the Stormcloaks. I gave the Imperials a chance before. I ended up deleting my first character because they left me with a bad taste in my mouth after I finished the quest and learned more about the situation. Never again.