By GARRETT BABB
Staff Writer
The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim is a game that allows the player to take their own individual path, with its nonlinear gameplay set up it leaves the player with many choices for the way they interact with any given questline. The most major example of this is when the player is tasked with choosing a side in Skyrim’s bloody Civil War, they are asked to choose between two major groups: the Imperials or the Stormcloaks. For some context, the Imperial legion has been ruling over Skyrim for hundreds of years with no complaint from the general population, with the native people even making up a large percentage of their overall fighting force. But after losing a war against an enemy faction from the West known as the Aldmeri Dominion, they had to sign a treaty known as “The Whitegold Concordat” which basically assured that the Imperials had to surrender and set them up to fall under the Dominion’s rule within a relatively short amount of time. But the most major piece of legislation passed by the Whitegold Concordat was that the worship of Talos, one of the 9 divines and the most worshiped god in Skyrim was to be internationally outlawed in all of the Imperials territories. This is where mistrust was formed between the natives of Skyrim and the Imperials, many believed that the signing of that treaty was not only cowardly but also sacrilegious as it outlawed the worship of Talos, their most prized deity. Shortly after, a man by the name of Ulfric Stormcloak murdered Torygg, the High King of Skyrim in a one-on-one duel and began the storm cloak rebellion against the Imperial legion.
So with the context of the Civil war out of the way, which faction should you choose to aid during your playthrough? Well, each faction has its ups and downs, but there is a definitive right answer in my opinion. To start off we’ll list some of the issues with the Imperials. First off, the great blaring issue is the fact that under their rule you won’t be able to practice certain aspects of your own religion and by extension, you will basically be under the rule of the Aldmeri Dominion, which is a faction known for not only its religious intolerance but also its deep-seated racism and belief that they are the superior race to men in every aspect. However the imperials have done a good job at keeping the Aldmeri Dominion from controlling them even after the Whitegold Concordat given their circumstances, and they allow all races to live within their walls and is one of the more tolerant and welcoming factions in the entire world. Not only that but they supply their people with ample protection and military security from any outside invaders, although they tax their citizens to achieve their goals. Now the Stormcloaks on the other hand allow for the full worship of all nine divines under their leadership and can provide their people with protection as well. Their biggest problem however is their lack of stable government and the inherent bigotry and racism that runs deep in their faction. The Stormcloaks are known for their intolerance for many of the races that can be found in Skyrim, in particular the Dunmer and Argonians. Unlike their imperial counterparts, the Stormcloaks often won’t accept people from certain races into their ranks and will even antagonize them in urban settings quite often. Despite these massive shortcomings, the Stormcloaks are completely dedicated to fighting back against the Aldmeri Dominion and want the independence of their country that they feel they rightfully deserve.
So which is the best to help? Well in my opinion the answer is obvious – The Imperial Legion is the better choice and by an extremely wide margin. The Imperial legion does not have the Stormcloaks issues of bigotry and lack of organized government, and unlike the storm cloaks, they actually have the ability to fight back against the Aldmeri Dominion. Although for much of the playthrough it seems as though they had given up on fighting back against the Dominion and had grown complacent, it becomes clear to the player after joining them and following their questline that they do have a plan to strike back once they have the opportunity and are simply biding their time until they can. The Stormcloaks however have no chance of winning, and even if they are victorious in the civil war they would’ve been completely crushed shortly after by the Dominion and the country would only be under more stress and hardship than it already is. Because of this, I believe that the correct choice is the Imperial Legion. So if you plan on playing Skyrim any time soon, I’m hoping you decide to make the right choice.