Should the Player Join the Imperials or the Stormcloaks?

Long before the Imperials and Stormcloaks began fighting, there was the Great War. A bloody
conflict between the Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion. The Dominion, a clan of High Elves from the
Summerset Isle, began conquering and establishing settlements on the coast. The Empire, not
appreciating their imperialistic ways, halted them from progressing any further inward. Unfortunately for
the citizens of Tamriel, this began the biggest war in history. After decades of bloody conflict, a strained
Empire signed the White-Gold Concordat, a temporary halt of fighting. Within it were agreements, the
largest being; the Dominion would abandon their settlements if the worship of Talos were to be banned.
The Dominion, being Elves, only believed in 7 major devines and that no man can be worshiped.
However, many inhabitants of Tameriel believed in an 8th devine named Talos, a mortal man. In order to
enforce this ban, another clause allowed agents of the Dominion, the Thalmor, to search for and kidnap
those who worshipped Talos. Trying to stop the bloodshed, the Empire reluctantly agreed. Decades passed
as tensions only grew. The Empire, preparing for an inevitable second conflict, spread east into
neighboring regions, hoping to gain more power. The Empire conquered Skyrim, a snowy region of
Tameriel, home to the Nords. Since many Nords worship Talos, this led to thousands of kidnappings by
the Thalmor. Following these events, Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak of Windhelm founded the Stormcloak
rebellion, his main objective to drive the Imperials out of Skyrim. In order to set a precedent, Ulfric
challenged the ruler of the Empire, High King Torygg, to a duel. After killing him, Ulfric began the Civil
War. This brings us to the present day, where the player has the ability to join either side. Whichever side
they join ultimately wins the war (Bethesda Games Studios, 2011). While most in the Skyrim community
want the Stormcloaks to win due to their support of religious freedom and them being natives, the player
should fight for the Imperials because the Empire has a greater plan for the future, better leaders, and the
Stormcloaks are racist nationalists.
The White-Gold Concordat was signed only as a truce, meaning the Great War never officially
ended. This justifies why the Empire spread into other regions; to acquire resources in preparation for an
inevitable war. If the Stormcloaks take back Skyrim, then what? There is only a finite number of soldiers
and supplies. The Concordat is due to fail in the near future, and nothing will prevent the Aldmeri
Dominion from invading and conquering Skyrim once again. This time, they will not be limited to so few
agents, and will rule over Skyrim far harsher than the Empire ever did. Additionally, the worshipping of
Talos will continue to be banned indefinitely and any caught will surely pay with their lives. In an
alternate situation, the Empire winning would grant a better chance at a Dominion defeat, resulting in the
Empire withdrawing themselves from Skyrim, and eradicating the prejudice against Talos worshipers
(MrRhexx, 2015). Even some Nords consider these possible realities. Despite being a native to Skyrim,
the Imperial Army’s second in Command, Legate Rikke, states, “I've been a daughter of Skyrim all my
life. I love this land and her people. So do all the Nords that serve the Empire. Ulfric, too, once. He wasn't
always a self-serving ego-maniac. He fought in the Imperial army in the War against the Dominion. But
Ulfric and his "Stormcloaks" are deluding themselves. If there's any hope of a long term victory against
the Dominion, it's in the Empire. The rebels are only inflaming the tension and weakening the Empire by
distracting it from its ultimate aim.” (Bethesda Games Studios, 2011).
In addition, the Empire has vastly superior leaders compared to the Stormcloaks. Within Skyrim,
there are 9 major cities, each forming an alliance with one of the two sides. Every City has a Jarl
(governor) that creates and executes the local law. There is a sharp contrast between Jarls who sided with
the Empire and Jarls who sided with the Stormcloaks. For example, Jarl Lalia Law-Giver of Riften, a
Stormcloak supporter, is consumed by the corruption and crime that takes place within her hold. On the
contrary, Jarl Balgruff the Greater of Whiterun, an Imperial supporter, has strong relations with all inside
his city, donating his riches to the less fortunate. However, nothing is more damning to the Stormcloak
cause than their very leader, Ulfric Stormcloak. Ulfric presents himself as a reasonable man, wanting
nothing more than to help the people of Skyrim. Then again, he can sit back and watch as those living
within the poorest quarters of his own city starve to death. He cares nothing for that of racial minorities,
the poor, or rehabilitated criminals. Additionally, when Ulfric freed the city of Markarth from local
bandits, he killed those who surrendered, tortured innocent civilians for personal gain, and murdered
anyone who refused to fight for his cause. His direct counterpart, Tullius, the commanding general of the
Empire, respects the worshippers of Talos, despite the ban, treats all races equally, shows mercy to those
who surrender, and has a better plan for the future. Tullius is a true leader, capable of overseeing the
bloodshed that awaits (Pennington, 2019).
Finally, the player should join the Imperials rather than the Stormcloaks because the Stormcloaks
are aggressively racist. When fighting with/against a Stormcloak, there is random dialogue that can be
said. The most common phrase is, “Skyrim belongs to the Nords!” This shows how Stormcloaks feel
about other races, them believing Nords are superior and Skyrim solely belongs to them. In fact, the
player can see how other races are treated within Windhelm. The poorest section of the city, the
Gray-Quarters, is home to the dark elves, Ulfric implementing a law that confines them there. They get
little food, terrible living conditions, and lackluster opportunities. Even worse, Argonians, a reptilian
race, are banned from living within the safe walls, forced to sleep on the dock or in barrels. Additionally,
if the player’s race were to be anything besides nord, they will occasionally hear racist comments from
both Stormcloak soldiers, and their very leader, Ulfric. On the contrary, the Empire treats every race
equally, with the Imperial capital, Solitude, being the most racially diverse city in all of Tameriel. Even
their armies consist of every race, while Stormcloak armies are solely nord (Pennington, 2019).
It is remarkable how a videogame provides so much world building and lore for their players to
delve into. The detail, storylines, character development, and backstory are second to none. It is so
impressive that this paper only touches upon one quest line within the game. As mentioned before,
Skyrim provides the player hundreds of quests to play, each with their own lore and backstory that one
can discover. It really is the perfect game.
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Bethesda Game Studios, 2011.

MrRhexx. “Who Is Right? The Imperials? Or the Stormcloaks?” YouTube, 1 Sept. 2015,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISipLHMFh5k&t=40s.

Pennington, Tracey. “Which is better, Imperials or Stormcloaks?” Quora, 17 Aug. 2019,

https://www.quora.com/Which-is-better-Imperial-or-Stormcloaks