Skyrim

[Valmy]

Meh I have spent this whole series saving the Empire.  I saw no reason to stop just because the High Elves went all evil on me.

[Josephus]

I joined the empire too. I happen to like Solitude, it's a cool city.

I'm playing it on a PS3 fwiw...never played it on a PC, so not sure what I'm missing other than mods.  I love the way Skyrim looks on a 42' screen. Sometimes as I'm walking along I just stop and admire the scenery. It is beautiful.  As far as quests go, I sort of go between the main quest and the civil war, occasionally doing a few town quests. I just participated in the defence of Whiterun and now rejoining the main quest going up the mountain for the final stage of the first act.

[garbon]

Can also look much nicer on PC.

[Phillip V]

Can also look much nicer on PC.

How much nicer.

[grumbler]

As you say, the empire fought a war against the Aldmeri Dominion, and then surrendered becoming a convenient fiction that is de facto under Thalmor control.

Stormcloak is no hero, but I have yet to see anything to suggest he is working with the Thalmor. What I have seen is the temple of Talos in Windhelm operating openly, which makes it very unlikely the Thalmor are as free to operate there as they are in the imperial-controlled areas.

As for what the Thalmor say... surely they wouldn't lie.

No, the Thalmor certainly wouldn't lie to one another.  Why would a Thalmor intelligence officer report to his headquarters about their agent, Ulric Sotrmcloak, if he wasn't, in fact, an agent?  If you haven't run across that evidence yet, then you are speaking out of your ass.  This isn't a matter of interpretation, it is directly stated (and repeated in every web site covering the game).  It is true that the Empire is partially, unwillingly, subject to Thalmor control, but at least it is hostile to the Dominion.  It is also true that the Stormcloak side of the civil war is a direct stooge of the Dominion, though some members may not realize their stoogehood.

There is no question here as to which side is the good guys in the civil war. The Thalmor, and all of their puppets and stooges, are the bad guys.

[Razgovory]

I've seen Stormcloaks and Thalmor fighting in random encounters.  That said, Stormcloaks seem deeply unpleasant.  Nativist and secessionist.  Bleh.

[katmai]

Mew?!

[Razgovory]

Mew?!

Exactly.  I swear I saw Ulfric Stormcloak wear cat ears once.

[Maximus]

Even Stormcloak's dossier in the Thalmor embassy doesn`t support the idea that he is a Thalmor agent or cooperative with them. In fact it explicitly states that he has been uncooperative since the Markarth incident, well before the rebellion, and that he should not be directly aided or contacted.

At worst he could have been considered cooperative prior to the Markarth incident but that has little bearing on the current situation.

Imperial soldiers don`t attack the justiciars. Stormcloaks do. That says about all that needs to be said on the matter.

[DontSayBanana]

As you say, the empire fought a war against the Aldmeri Dominion, and then surrendered becoming a convenient fiction that is de facto under Thalmor control.

Stormcloak is no hero, but I have yet to see anything to suggest he is working with the Thalmor. What I have seen is the temple of Talos in Windhelm operating openly, which makes it very unlikely the Thalmor are as free to operate there as they are in the imperial-controlled areas.

As for what the Thalmor say... surely they wouldn't lie.

I took away that Ulfric double-crossed the Thalmor.  That said, he's not coming across as a tactical genius.  He's double-crossed a superpower capable of keeping the Empire at least partially under its thumb; his punk-ass militia is barely standing up to the Empire's 4th Legion, so it doesn't stand a snowball's chance in hell of surviving if the Aldmeri Dominion decides to make Skyrim a primary military target.

So, he's let his arrogant ass weaken both Cyrodiil and Skyrim's positions against the Thalmor.  Way to go, Ulfric.

[Solmyr]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E2XDMLLK7E

Septimus Signus prank call.

[grumbler]

Even Stormcloak's dossier in the Thalmor embassy doesn`t support the idea that he is a Thalmor agent or cooperative with them. In fact it explicitly states that he has been uncooperative since the Markarth incident, well before the rebellion, and that he should not be directly aided or contacted.

At worst he could have been considered cooperative prior to the Markarth incident but that has little bearing on the current situation.

Imperial soldiers don`t attack the justiciars. Stormcloaks do. That says about all that needs to be said on the matter.

The Stormcloak dossier in the Thalmor Embassy explicitly calls him "an asset."  It notes that he is "generally uncooperative to direct contact" (my bold) but that he still serves the interests of the Dominion by pursuing the stalemated civil war - the war the Dominion wants.

The Justicars kill Talos worshipers in Imperial-controlled territories and ignore them in Stormcloak-controlled territories.  That tells you right there that the Stormcloaks are Thalmor stooges, else the Thalmor would eradicate them (as they represent what the Thalmor pretend is their worst grievance).

[grumbler]

So, he's let his arrogant ass weaken both Cyrodiil and Skyrim's positions against the Thalmor.  Way to go, Ulfric.  

That's his role, as a Thalmor agent.

[Crazy_Ivan80]

not that it matters much since Bethesda stopped development of Skyrim. So many possibilities unexplored

[Caliga]

I was playing last night and people and animals kept falling out of the sky while I was walking around.