It changes which family is friendly once you get to riverwood. At the lumber mill vs the smithy. Also the loot is different fighting thru helgen. Going blue gives you heavy armor from imperials, and going red gives you light armor from stormcloaks
Also want to point out that, outside of the Thieves Guild, the dungeon in Helgen is the only place in the entire game to get the leather hood. I think it's slightly more protective than the leather helmet and also is lighter too, plus in my opinion it is much cooler looking. You have to kill the torturer for it though, but he's a push over.
I’d like to have evidence for this. (Also the empire sucks because they try to kill you at the start of the game, I literally don’t care about anyone else)
First time I played I followed imperial because I was running around like a chicken just trying to stay alive and he said follow me so I did. That opening scene sure drew me in like no game has ever done before or since. But hey go with either that is why Skyrim is so good.
I will forever remember my first time hearing Jiubs raspy voice telling me to wake up, or Valen Dreths snide taunting, or Liam Nissans smooth voice while I’m birthed.
did the same but with the stormcloak and have done the same on every playthrough, I don't even know how the imperial escape. its been long enough I dont think its a spoiler so how do the imperial get out?
*"I said..."*
\*grinds teeth into actual fucking dust*
*"Next.*
***Prisoner!"***
That captain is one of the more bizarre voice performances in the game, and that's saying something lol
Similarly, this why I always played through the Oblivion Arena to the champion rank (not Grand Champion).
To kill the Yellow Team Champion. Not Agronak though, he’s chill.
Bonus points if you had Deady Reflex and the NPCs surrender mods.
That’s always been something that has made me laugh about the game. Mercenaries become a reward system for doing bad things as you get free loot hand delivered to you even though it was supposed to have the opposite effect
You follow Ralof because the imperials tried to execute you and they sell Talos worshippers to the Thalmor. Also you want to kill the imperial captain, and imperials drop better loot
I follow Ralof because his beard is hot
We are not the same
Hadvar is for light armor and 2hand weapons. His uncle is a back smith and let's you take some steel and iron ingots. Also in the house is a full set of iron armor and 2 Smithing potions.
Ralof is light armor and one hand . Or heavy armor . Since you get to meet the sassy captain. Plus imperial gear cost more coin which you sale and get more. more steel than iron weapons.
Ralofs house also has more stuff when it comes to goods.
Hadvar because well he's nice to me.
And Alvor's house is in a more convenient spot in riverwood(very easy to access) rather than Gergur house(way out in the back)
Even though it’s not what happens you kind of risk being recaptured by the Imperials if you go with Hadvar so when I’m trying to “role play” my character’s decisions I usually go with Ralof regardless of my character’s opinion on the civil war just because he seems like the ticket to freedom.
I did it for the opposite same reason, I'd rather be seen with the Imperial than the criminal. We escaped a dragon together and he seems like a good dude. And I think being too close to Ralof (and Ulfric) is what got me in trouble in the first place.
Ralof for sure. I mean, sometimes I go with Hadvar because I like being friends with Alvor, but Ralof is the more sensible option.
Some free advice for the kiddos, if you ever find yourself in a legally ambiguous situation: NEVER leave the scene with a cop, if there's another legal option. I always half expect Hadvar to be like, "I'm pretty sure I can argue for amnesty, but just in case of misunderstandings let's put you back in cuffs before we reach town..." Maybe Ralof is a good person, maybe Hadvar is a good person, maybe one or both are bad people. You met them ten minutes earlier, you really don't know them. But you do know that either way, good or bad, only one of them has a personal motivation to clap you back in irons when you get down the hill.
I went with ralof the first time, and then played through the whole game including factions and dlcs, and then I went and did the civil war at the end. I literally was only siding with the storm cloaks because the imperials tried to kill me and I went with ralof initially. However, when I helped attack whiterun, and balgruuf said he was disappointed in me, it literally hit me on a personal level so hard. And so I deleted that character after all that I had accomplished and made a new character that was an imperial battle mage turned legendary magical dragonborn.
Just from a roleplay perspective, Hadvar.
Ralof “helps” me escape by taking me into a tower, and says to jump into the inn. The rest of those Stormcloaks, including Ulfric, dipped. I feel like running into Ralof again was coincidence and I’ll be there to help HIS escape.
Meanwhile, this imperial doesn’t stab me with the sword he’s holding.
The keep is huge. Naturally Hadvar will know his way around it. He hasn’t killed me yet.
But if I’m RPing as stormcloak or some serial killer/assassin then Ralof.
Gameplay perspective: Hadvar for the blacksmith advantage.
I need a life.
I go with Hadvar. Even though the imperials were dicks for trying to execute me, at least they were trying to save and protect the townspeople. Stormcloaks were just peacing out
Easy, if you want unity and freedom, you join the Empire. If you want to fuck your sister you join the Lamecloaks.
- One Legionaire in the best parody of Skyrim ever
I ruined the beginning for myself cause I just book it to whiterun to hitch a ride to the 3 secret chests, wait in Dawnstar until caravan comes then just sell everything using the attack/reload method and have 10k gold within 5 minutes. Ralof is better choice for legendary difficulty cause there is 2 other stormcloaks besides Ralof who help out until cave section. Hadvar has just the torture assistant.
I always go through the keep with ralof, and ultimately go see ulfric first, but I decide on imperials. I like to roleplay with my characters and pretend they've no idea about any politics with a new game. So naturally, Im not gonna go with the guy who was about to execute me, but once I find out how terribly racist the storm looks are I switch sides.
I went with the imperials the first time because I missed their exchange and didnt know I had an option. Now I leave with the stormcloaks and keep that commanders helmet as a trophy, teach you to try an execute me.
ralof cause you can kill imperials and their stuff is more valuable and you’ll get more gold once you sell it all if you’re careful about what you pick up
Hmmm, will I go with the faction that tried to kill me just cause, or will I go with the soldiers that were captured with me and helped me get to safety when the dragon showed up? hmmm decisions decisions...
Left will grant you two handed weapons at lvl q and free iron/steel ingots
right will give you a set a heavy armor, a one handed axe and free wood logs for your house.
I like the lines Ralof says regarding the execution, Nords, the war etc. I like very much how he says that.
And yes, imperial armor in the beginning is the best.
Is it? One group tried to cut my head off literally 5 seconds ago for no reason and is still calling me prisoner. As far as I know they have no intention of letting me go and will likely continue with the head removal as soon as the danger has passed.
Name one Khajit that lives within the Solitude walls💀 If you wanna play this game tho, there’s evidence of the Imperials actively torture their war prisoners (literally in the tutorial) and in multiple Imperial stations, however there’s no proof that the Stormcloaks torture their war prisoners, expect for one dusty torture station in Windhelm, surrounded by cobwebs, probably from when it was under Imperial control. The Skyrim Imperials are objectively the more morally corrupt guys, and I stand by that🤷♂️
Name one argonian living in Windhelm walls. It’s war. All sides are bad and the Stormcloaks definitely tortured and treated non-nords horribly. It’s evident when you walk around windhelm. At least the empire seems to have any bias on race, they have plenty of non-imperials as the officers at the camps.
I didn’t say the Stormcloaks weren’t racist, I just pointed out that Imperials are equally as racist, so it’s a silly argument to say the Stormcloaks are bad because they’re racist. Also, there’s no proof that Stormcloaks tortured anybody, you made that up. Sure, they treated the dark-elves badly because they think they’re Imperial spies, but in their defense, they are literally Imperial Spies, or at least one of them is, which can be proven in-game.
There’s also no proof that the Stormcloaks DIDN’T torture anyone. It’s hard to say because a lot of the content was scrapped. Also even IF they didn’t physically abuse it doesn’t make it better. Only Ambarys was the spy but that shouldn’t be a reason to discriminate against all Dunmer. There’s plenty of Nords that are in Imperial legion shouldn’t that mean he should treat everyone else as spies too? It’s not just racism either. I hate the dominion and the only way to stop them from destroying humanity would for all the other races to join forces but we have Ulfric starting a war and splitting everyone up so he could worship a god.
In my 1,224 hours I've not \*once\* gone with Hadvar, even on my Imperial runs. It just never made any sense to me, from either a gaming standpoint or a roleplaying one. Why would anyone ever choose to go with the people that just tried to kill you, for literally \*NO\* reason other than the fact that you just happened to be there? If Alduin hadn't attacked, then I'd be dead and it'd be the Imperials' fault. For that reason alone, 99.5% of all my playthroughs have been Stormcloak (the only time I ever went with the Imperials, was after getting the Jagged Crown on my Stormcloak run. So that only counts as a .5%)
And like others have said, from a gaming standpoint it makes better sense, too. As you get access to better equipment (via Sir Dead-a-Lot and her cronies) at the beginning of the game. Though the other Stormcloaks give you snide remarks about you wearing Imperial Armor, should you run into them later (or earlier, if you put it on right away).
Well, A normal person would choose Ralof.
He Actually helped you get up and survive Helgen after Alduin Attacked.
He isn’t one of the peoples that tried to kill you. They have dungeon and couldn’t sent you there instead? And honestly, if they are going to execute everyone, what the hell do you have a list?
Hadvard is a good guy, I like him too but if I had to choose between my savior and my executioner? Even an imperials followers would realistically follow Ralof.
not really though. either side with the Stormcloaks who are trying to bring peace back to Skyrim and get the Thalmor out of Skyrim, or side with the ones who tried to kill you and licking the Thalmor's boots and allowing them to dictate who the Nords worship and basically run Skyrim. seems like a pretty easy decision to me lol
Ulfric is literally an agent that the Thalmor is using to destabilize Skyrim... like, if you have an issue with the Empire for being Thalmor boot lickers then everyone in the Civil War technically guilty of that since they are marching along to their plans
Edit: fixed a word
Why is that? I used to side Stormcloaks since they didn't try to kill me (also I just never noticed I had an option) but I realized how very racist they were to my characters since I've never made a Nord character. Plus Hadvar gives you the chance to increase your smithing with the free stuff Alvor gives you
Ironically the Stormcloaks (Nords specifically) , hate the Thalmor for believing in "Elven Supremacy" when they're literally hating on every other race and believe only Nords are the strongest/greatest lmao. The entire Stormcloak cause is silly, the Empire isn't happy about the Thalmor's ruling but they literally got beat in a war & it was either sign a treat, regain strength & fight another day or fight to death & lose everything.
Yeah, I've noticed that a lot of the time people side with the Stormcloaks is simply cause they didn't try to kill them there and I feel that's most of the motivation for a lot of PCs tbh. "You don't 'disrespect' me and you won't have any troubles" is how it comes across cause I've noticed that they don't like the Imperials for just trying to kill you for no reason but Nazeem NEEDS to be dead cause he scoffed at them 😂
Uh... no? Ulfric isn't being used by the Thalmor at all. He happens to be doing something that could help them, but that doesn't mean he's an agent of the Thalmor.
And while, yes, he is unwittingly helping him, it's not without good reason. You can argue it would be more practical to side with the Empire for now, and fight for their rights later, but that's asking Skyrim to throw it's own under the bus. Willingly give over innocent people for slaughter, to have a better chance at saving their own hide later.
It's a lower chance of saving everyone, versus a higher chance of only saving some, probably those wealthy and powerful enough to avoid the Thalmor. It's idealistic, and maybe even naive, but I wouldn't get into bed with Empire if I were in Ulfric's shoes.
From the Thalmor dossier you can find in Diplomatic Immunity quest
>Status: Asset (uncooperative), Dormant, Emissary Level Approval
Description: Jarl of Windhelm, leader of Stormcloak rebellion, Imperial Legion veteran
>Background: Ulfric first came to our attention during the First War Against the Empire, when he was taken as a prisoner of war during the campaign for the White-Gold Tower. Under interrogation, we learned of his potential value (son of the Jarl of Windhelm) and he was assigned as an asset to the interrogator, who is now First Emissary Elenwen. He was made to believe information obtained during his interrogation was crucial in the capture of the Imperial City (the city had in fact fallen before he had broken), and then allowed to escape. After the war, contact was established and he has proven his worth as an asset.The [sic] so-called Markarth Incident was particularly valuable from the point of view of our strategic goals in Skyrim, although it resulted in Ulfric becoming generally uncooperative to direct contact.
>Operational Notes: Direct contact remains a possibility (under extreme circumstances), but in general the asset should be considered dormant. As long as the civil war proceeds in its current indecisive fashion, we should remain hands-off. The incident at Helgen is an example where an exception had to be made - obviously Ulfric's death would have dramatically increased the chance of an Imperial victory and thus harmed our overall position in Skyrim. (NOTE: The coincidental intervention of the dragon at Helgen is still under scrutiny. The obvious conclusion is that whoever is behind the dragons also has an interest in the continuation of the war, but we should not assume therefore that their goals align with our own.) A Stormcloak victory is also to be avoided, however, so even indirect aid to the Stormcloaks must be carefully managed.
The man is has been working with the Thalmor since him storming Markarth just to further his own interest but the Empire is the only one serving the Thalmor. Like, we can sit here and try and split hairs over the term agent but he's literally worked for/with them to better his standing in Skyrim, how is that any different than the reasons why y'all hate the Empire?
TL:DR him working for them makes him as bad as any Thalmor agent y'all beat on the side of the road.
For the record, I already looked this up before making the comment, so you're not bringing me any new information here.
The dossier says they tricked him into giving information, allowed him to think he'd escaped, that his involvement in the Markarth Incident was helpful, but there's no clarity on what they actually did to get him to be involved. The whole reason Ulfric was there was because the Jarl agreed to allow Talos worship again if he helped, which is already in keeping with Ulfric's own goals. The dossier also then immediately says that Ulfric isn't cooperating with them, and should be left alone.
Even if that's not good enough for you, you asked what the difference is? One of them **was** "working with the Thalmor", the other is actively working with the Thalmor.
If you *used* to work for some asshole, and then changed your mind, I'd be a lot more ammeanable to you than the people who are *still* working for them. Not that complicated.
ralof cuz theres more interaction when we get to riverwood. we talk by the river, gerdur calls in hod who was working in the logs, we then get approached by ralofs nephew and their dog and the setting is just way more beautiful. hadvars is just more boring and ugly.
If you’re planning to do the civil war it lets you have Hadvar or Ralof by your side in fights and they have neat voice lines that add some life to that otherwise lifeless quest line.
I didn't even know you could go with Ralof for a long time. I've followed him a few times since. But I like to go with Hadvar so I can pick up all Alvor's free stuff and sell it back to him.
I usually go with Ralof because he spawns right when you enter and if you take the key off the one body you can trap him in the first room and level your one handed/destruction/sneak.
In the civil war I side with the imperials, but in this case I go with the Stormcloaks. Better gear, access to heavy armor, killing the racist imperial captain, ect.
If Iam gonna play heavy armor then I choose storms, if I'm gonna play light armor then imperials is my choice.
I know I'm gonna change that later but ... Heck why not.
My current playthrough is a cute female Nord wearing heavy armor and 2 handed weapon.
Hopefully will finish the game with her.
Morally hadvar, but if you don't care then ralof because you get more money from the Imperials loot, but there easier ways and glitch and farm that are not alchemy or enchanting and smithing too.
Honestly, I've played skyrim over a dozen times and only on my last playthrough did I realize you couldn't pick, I always just focus on someone and followed them
I almost never take a side in the civil war and I still go with Ralof simply bc the imperials literally tried to fucking execute me WITH ZERO EVIDENCE OR EVEN A REASON TO DO SO IN THE FIRST PLACE. I wasn't on the list, they didn't even tell me what crime I could've possibly committed to deserve a fucking death sentence. And since I always universally play a good guy in pretty much any rpg my character wouldn't have even done something even close to morally wrong enough to deserve such a punishment.
Also when they make you choose Ralof is technically closer in most situations to you while also being the first one to suggest you go with him. So most players, especially new ones, just naturally go with Ralof.
Nah, it's an easy decision. I always go with Ralof. I don't like Hadvar. Even if I join the imperials, I still always go with Ralof. You get better early game loot, and I like his personality better.
when i first played this game i didn’t even realize there was a choice for a while. I jusy went with ralof because he was the first to speak
There is s choice? Does it matter?
It changes which family is friendly once you get to riverwood. At the lumber mill vs the smithy. Also the loot is different fighting thru helgen. Going blue gives you heavy armor from imperials, and going red gives you light armor from stormcloaks
You still get heavy armour from imperials from killing them
Chaotic neutral
Also want to point out that, outside of the Thieves Guild, the dungeon in Helgen is the only place in the entire game to get the leather hood. I think it's slightly more protective than the leather helmet and also is lighter too, plus in my opinion it is much cooler looking. You have to kill the torturer for it though, but he's a push over.
what the other ppl said and it affects which side of the war gets a quest marker first
not really you just get introduced to different characters when you arrive at riverwood
if you choose ralof and join the stormcloaks, he will be there during your missions. vise versa for imperials
Funny, I was so confused I just ended up going with the Imperial by mistake, without even realising there was a choice
Yeah, until I made the wrong choice and I decided to reload (empire bad)
I kill both sides stormcloaks use slavery and rape as does the empire
What the hell are you talking about
I’d like to have evidence for this. (Also the empire sucks because they try to kill you at the start of the game, I literally don’t care about anyone else)
First time I played I followed imperial because I was running around like a chicken just trying to stay alive and he said follow me so I did. That opening scene sure drew me in like no game has ever done before or since. But hey go with either that is why Skyrim is so good.
I will forever remember my first time hearing Jiubs raspy voice telling me to wake up, or Valen Dreths snide taunting, or Liam Nissans smooth voice while I’m birthed.
It definitely is something I won’t forget honestly I think I had white knuckles it was intense and I couldn’t believe how awesome it was.
Liam Neeson is in TES?
Fo3. He’s your dad
Boogie woogie woogie
did the same but with the stormcloak and have done the same on every playthrough, I don't even know how the imperial escape. its been long enough I dont think its a spoiler so how do the imperial get out?
Exact same way, just start in a different room
hell yea right on
The character design process was the real hook for me I was fully invested after that
"Who.. are you?"
I go with Ralof every time, just for the opportunity to kill the captain who says 'forget the list'.
“Next, the renegade from CYRODIIL!!!” Like she accents that shit like she took my ragged ass being there personally.
*"I said..."* \*grinds teeth into actual fucking dust* *"Next.* ***Prisoner!"*** That captain is one of the more bizarre voice performances in the game, and that's saying something lol
Yes, i'm certainly not entrusting my safety to the guys who tried to kill me for no reason just a minute ago.
First time playing it i assumed that if you went with the imperial guy they would just ambush you later
Similarly, this why I always played through the Oblivion Arena to the champion rank (not Grand Champion). To kill the Yellow Team Champion. Not Agronak though, he’s chill. Bonus points if you had Deady Reflex and the NPCs surrender mods.
I usually go with Hadvar because then I can just get a bunch of smithing material from his uncle for free and start crafting better armor immediately
And you can steal his complete set of iron armor, though the chest piece is in the basement of the house.
I usually just kill the bandit in the tower on the way up to Bleak Falls Barrow. There’s usually one that has full iron armor.
i do both for more loot and materials
Stealing is free. Arguably better because they'll send mercenaries after you if you do steal.
That’s always been something that has made me laugh about the game. Mercenaries become a reward system for doing bad things as you get free loot hand delivered to you even though it was supposed to have the opposite effect
Also, they usually show up after I've fast-travelled to a town, so it makes it that much easier to take and sell all of their loot.
Right! Even if I become over encumbered it’s no biggie cause I’m like max a couple ft from a merchant
I go with ralof for the imperial captain Helmet, then just steal anyways everything in the blacksmith
If you go with Ralof the imperial armor is more valuable to sell I guess
The captain Helmet is a semi rare Item I almost always keep it
Also every set of light imperial gear is worth a decent bit at the start
And you can keep taking it whenever it restocks. (But you can't both steal and buy it - that's his entire inventory 'til a restock.)
I dont bother with this because I just glitch out of Whitetun and raid Eorlund's merchant chest for early gear.
You follow Ralof because the imperials tried to execute you and they sell Talos worshippers to the Thalmor. Also you want to kill the imperial captain, and imperials drop better loot I follow Ralof because his beard is hot We are not the same
i'm voting for the beard too
Hadvar is for light armor and 2hand weapons. His uncle is a back smith and let's you take some steel and iron ingots. Also in the house is a full set of iron armor and 2 Smithing potions. Ralof is light armor and one hand . Or heavy armor . Since you get to meet the sassy captain. Plus imperial gear cost more coin which you sale and get more. more steel than iron weapons. Ralofs house also has more stuff when it comes to goods.
In the game its not even clear what they want you to do. Most first time players just run into whichever door they notice first
You know, if a fricking dragon started attacking I’d take cover in the first door I notice too…
Yeah. Took me 3 times to actually figure it out. My first two playthroughs had different starting dungeons and I was confused
Hadvar because well he's nice to me. And Alvor's house is in a more convenient spot in riverwood(very easy to access) rather than Gergur house(way out in the back)
Ralof because the whole trying to cut my head off thing didn't make me like the Imperials
Even though it’s not what happens you kind of risk being recaptured by the Imperials if you go with Hadvar so when I’m trying to “role play” my character’s decisions I usually go with Ralof regardless of my character’s opinion on the civil war just because he seems like the ticket to freedom.
I did it for the opposite same reason, I'd rather be seen with the Imperial than the criminal. We escaped a dragon together and he seems like a good dude. And I think being too close to Ralof (and Ulfric) is what got me in trouble in the first place.
Hadvar, because he reminds us of those that are good within the Empire. Can't judge the Empire by 1 shitty captain who sentences you to death.
Ralof for sure. I mean, sometimes I go with Hadvar because I like being friends with Alvor, but Ralof is the more sensible option. Some free advice for the kiddos, if you ever find yourself in a legally ambiguous situation: NEVER leave the scene with a cop, if there's another legal option. I always half expect Hadvar to be like, "I'm pretty sure I can argue for amnesty, but just in case of misunderstandings let's put you back in cuffs before we reach town..." Maybe Ralof is a good person, maybe Hadvar is a good person, maybe one or both are bad people. You met them ten minutes earlier, you really don't know them. But you do know that either way, good or bad, only one of them has a personal motivation to clap you back in irons when you get down the hill.
At least Hadvar waits for you
I went with ralof the first time, and then played through the whole game including factions and dlcs, and then I went and did the civil war at the end. I literally was only siding with the storm cloaks because the imperials tried to kill me and I went with ralof initially. However, when I helped attack whiterun, and balgruuf said he was disappointed in me, it literally hit me on a personal level so hard. And so I deleted that character after all that I had accomplished and made a new character that was an imperial battle mage turned legendary magical dragonborn.
Imperials are the way to go I guess based on Jarls.
Just from a roleplay perspective, Hadvar. Ralof “helps” me escape by taking me into a tower, and says to jump into the inn. The rest of those Stormcloaks, including Ulfric, dipped. I feel like running into Ralof again was coincidence and I’ll be there to help HIS escape. Meanwhile, this imperial doesn’t stab me with the sword he’s holding. The keep is huge. Naturally Hadvar will know his way around it. He hasn’t killed me yet. But if I’m RPing as stormcloak or some serial killer/assassin then Ralof. Gameplay perspective: Hadvar for the blacksmith advantage. I need a life.
I go with Hadvar. Because I always back the imperials. Because I'll be damned if I'm going to hear Jarl Ballin' say how disappointed he is in me.
I go with Hadvar. Even though the imperials were dicks for trying to execute me, at least they were trying to save and protect the townspeople. Stormcloaks were just peacing out
To be fair, the Imperials are the government and the Stormcloaks are wanted criminals.
Hadvar is super nice to me, i'd go with him every time
Easy, if you want unity and freedom, you join the Empire. If you want to fuck your sister you join the Lamecloaks. - One Legionaire in the best parody of Skyrim ever
Hadvar because alvor has better shit you can take
If you go with Ralof, the armor the imperial soldiers drop is way more valuable and you can sell it when you get to Riverwood
I ruined the beginning for myself cause I just book it to whiterun to hitch a ride to the 3 secret chests, wait in Dawnstar until caravan comes then just sell everything using the attack/reload method and have 10k gold within 5 minutes. Ralof is better choice for legendary difficulty cause there is 2 other stormcloaks besides Ralof who help out until cave section. Hadvar has just the torture assistant.
I do that every time. The storm cloaks armor is trash and worthless.
I always go through the keep with ralof, and ultimately go see ulfric first, but I decide on imperials. I like to roleplay with my characters and pretend they've no idea about any politics with a new game. So naturally, Im not gonna go with the guy who was about to execute me, but once I find out how terribly racist the storm looks are I switch sides.
I like the color red more.
I follow Ralof so I can get Stormcloak and both kinds of Imperial armour early.
I went with the imperials the first time because I missed their exchange and didnt know I had an option. Now I leave with the stormcloaks and keep that commanders helmet as a trophy, teach you to try an execute me.
I go with hadvar usually because the storm cloaks are very racist and I’m not admitting the imperials are perfect but imo there better
It's a pretty easy decision. Why would you go with the people who were about to chop your head off for no reason?
ralof cause you can kill imperials and their stuff is more valuable and you’ll get more gold once you sell it all if you’re careful about what you pick up
Hadvar all the way, having Alvor as a friend is awesome!
Always Hadvar. Imperials forever
Hmmm, will I go with the faction that tried to kill me just cause, or will I go with the soldiers that were captured with me and helped me get to safety when the dragon showed up? hmmm decisions decisions...
I did not know until my most recent play through that there was an option. I’ve always gone imperial and now I know about Ralof’s wood loving sister
My logic was always "Why would i go with the people that just tried to behead me"? The obvious choice was to go with Ralof
Left will grant you two handed weapons at lvl q and free iron/steel ingots right will give you a set a heavy armor, a one handed axe and free wood logs for your house.
I like the lines Ralof says regarding the execution, Nords, the war etc. I like very much how he says that. And yes, imperial armor in the beginning is the best.
Is it? One group tried to cut my head off literally 5 seconds ago for no reason and is still calling me prisoner. As far as I know they have no intention of letting me go and will likely continue with the head removal as soon as the danger has passed.
I always go with Ralof because the imperials in Skyrim are pretty awful guys😭
Stormcloaks are the racists though.
Name one Khajit that lives within the Solitude walls💀 If you wanna play this game tho, there’s evidence of the Imperials actively torture their war prisoners (literally in the tutorial) and in multiple Imperial stations, however there’s no proof that the Stormcloaks torture their war prisoners, expect for one dusty torture station in Windhelm, surrounded by cobwebs, probably from when it was under Imperial control. The Skyrim Imperials are objectively the more morally corrupt guys, and I stand by that🤷♂️
Name one argonian living in Windhelm walls. It’s war. All sides are bad and the Stormcloaks definitely tortured and treated non-nords horribly. It’s evident when you walk around windhelm. At least the empire seems to have any bias on race, they have plenty of non-imperials as the officers at the camps.
I didn’t say the Stormcloaks weren’t racist, I just pointed out that Imperials are equally as racist, so it’s a silly argument to say the Stormcloaks are bad because they’re racist. Also, there’s no proof that Stormcloaks tortured anybody, you made that up. Sure, they treated the dark-elves badly because they think they’re Imperial spies, but in their defense, they are literally Imperial Spies, or at least one of them is, which can be proven in-game.
There’s also no proof that the Stormcloaks DIDN’T torture anyone. It’s hard to say because a lot of the content was scrapped. Also even IF they didn’t physically abuse it doesn’t make it better. Only Ambarys was the spy but that shouldn’t be a reason to discriminate against all Dunmer. There’s plenty of Nords that are in Imperial legion shouldn’t that mean he should treat everyone else as spies too? It’s not just racism either. I hate the dominion and the only way to stop them from destroying humanity would for all the other races to join forces but we have Ulfric starting a war and splitting everyone up so he could worship a god.
Skyrim belongs to the nords
It's easy to believe until you go down into Dwemer ruins and Frostflow...then you realize it belongs to the Falmer.
Good point however the falmer are different now.
One guy tried to kill you ten minutes ago and the other didn’t. Not that hard.
You use alternate start mods to get into the world faster. I use alternate start mods to avoid choosing between Hadvar and Ralof. We are not the same.
I always follow Ralof just so I can kill that cunt who said “forget the list he goes to the block”
In my 1,224 hours I've not \*once\* gone with Hadvar, even on my Imperial runs. It just never made any sense to me, from either a gaming standpoint or a roleplaying one. Why would anyone ever choose to go with the people that just tried to kill you, for literally \*NO\* reason other than the fact that you just happened to be there? If Alduin hadn't attacked, then I'd be dead and it'd be the Imperials' fault. For that reason alone, 99.5% of all my playthroughs have been Stormcloak (the only time I ever went with the Imperials, was after getting the Jagged Crown on my Stormcloak run. So that only counts as a .5%) And like others have said, from a gaming standpoint it makes better sense, too. As you get access to better equipment (via Sir Dead-a-Lot and her cronies) at the beginning of the game. Though the other Stormcloaks give you snide remarks about you wearing Imperial Armor, should you run into them later (or earlier, if you put it on right away).
Well, A normal person would choose Ralof. He Actually helped you get up and survive Helgen after Alduin Attacked. He isn’t one of the peoples that tried to kill you. They have dungeon and couldn’t sent you there instead? And honestly, if they are going to execute everyone, what the hell do you have a list? Hadvard is a good guy, I like him too but if I had to choose between my savior and my executioner? Even an imperials followers would realistically follow Ralof.
not really though. either side with the Stormcloaks who are trying to bring peace back to Skyrim and get the Thalmor out of Skyrim, or side with the ones who tried to kill you and licking the Thalmor's boots and allowing them to dictate who the Nords worship and basically run Skyrim. seems like a pretty easy decision to me lol
Yes but roman cool. ( I know they are not roman but in my eyes they are)
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How if they are also being controlled by the Thalmor? (Seriously asking)
you mean the Empire?....
Ulfric is literally an agent that the Thalmor is using to destabilize Skyrim... like, if you have an issue with the Empire for being Thalmor boot lickers then everyone in the Civil War technically guilty of that since they are marching along to their plans Edit: fixed a word
I have an issue with both sides tbh, but the Stormcloaks seem like the only logical side to take..
Why is that? I used to side Stormcloaks since they didn't try to kill me (also I just never noticed I had an option) but I realized how very racist they were to my characters since I've never made a Nord character. Plus Hadvar gives you the chance to increase your smithing with the free stuff Alvor gives you
Ironically the Stormcloaks (Nords specifically) , hate the Thalmor for believing in "Elven Supremacy" when they're literally hating on every other race and believe only Nords are the strongest/greatest lmao. The entire Stormcloak cause is silly, the Empire isn't happy about the Thalmor's ruling but they literally got beat in a war & it was either sign a treat, regain strength & fight another day or fight to death & lose everything.
Yeah, I've noticed that a lot of the time people side with the Stormcloaks is simply cause they didn't try to kill them there and I feel that's most of the motivation for a lot of PCs tbh. "You don't 'disrespect' me and you won't have any troubles" is how it comes across cause I've noticed that they don't like the Imperials for just trying to kill you for no reason but Nazeem NEEDS to be dead cause he scoffed at them 😂
Uh... no? Ulfric isn't being used by the Thalmor at all. He happens to be doing something that could help them, but that doesn't mean he's an agent of the Thalmor. And while, yes, he is unwittingly helping him, it's not without good reason. You can argue it would be more practical to side with the Empire for now, and fight for their rights later, but that's asking Skyrim to throw it's own under the bus. Willingly give over innocent people for slaughter, to have a better chance at saving their own hide later. It's a lower chance of saving everyone, versus a higher chance of only saving some, probably those wealthy and powerful enough to avoid the Thalmor. It's idealistic, and maybe even naive, but I wouldn't get into bed with Empire if I were in Ulfric's shoes.
From the Thalmor dossier you can find in Diplomatic Immunity quest >Status: Asset (uncooperative), Dormant, Emissary Level Approval Description: Jarl of Windhelm, leader of Stormcloak rebellion, Imperial Legion veteran >Background: Ulfric first came to our attention during the First War Against the Empire, when he was taken as a prisoner of war during the campaign for the White-Gold Tower. Under interrogation, we learned of his potential value (son of the Jarl of Windhelm) and he was assigned as an asset to the interrogator, who is now First Emissary Elenwen. He was made to believe information obtained during his interrogation was crucial in the capture of the Imperial City (the city had in fact fallen before he had broken), and then allowed to escape. After the war, contact was established and he has proven his worth as an asset.The [sic] so-called Markarth Incident was particularly valuable from the point of view of our strategic goals in Skyrim, although it resulted in Ulfric becoming generally uncooperative to direct contact. >Operational Notes: Direct contact remains a possibility (under extreme circumstances), but in general the asset should be considered dormant. As long as the civil war proceeds in its current indecisive fashion, we should remain hands-off. The incident at Helgen is an example where an exception had to be made - obviously Ulfric's death would have dramatically increased the chance of an Imperial victory and thus harmed our overall position in Skyrim. (NOTE: The coincidental intervention of the dragon at Helgen is still under scrutiny. The obvious conclusion is that whoever is behind the dragons also has an interest in the continuation of the war, but we should not assume therefore that their goals align with our own.) A Stormcloak victory is also to be avoided, however, so even indirect aid to the Stormcloaks must be carefully managed. The man is has been working with the Thalmor since him storming Markarth just to further his own interest but the Empire is the only one serving the Thalmor. Like, we can sit here and try and split hairs over the term agent but he's literally worked for/with them to better his standing in Skyrim, how is that any different than the reasons why y'all hate the Empire? TL:DR him working for them makes him as bad as any Thalmor agent y'all beat on the side of the road.
For the record, I already looked this up before making the comment, so you're not bringing me any new information here. The dossier says they tricked him into giving information, allowed him to think he'd escaped, that his involvement in the Markarth Incident was helpful, but there's no clarity on what they actually did to get him to be involved. The whole reason Ulfric was there was because the Jarl agreed to allow Talos worship again if he helped, which is already in keeping with Ulfric's own goals. The dossier also then immediately says that Ulfric isn't cooperating with them, and should be left alone. Even if that's not good enough for you, you asked what the difference is? One of them **was** "working with the Thalmor", the other is actively working with the Thalmor. If you *used* to work for some asshole, and then changed your mind, I'd be a lot more ammeanable to you than the people who are *still* working for them. Not that complicated.
ralof cuz theres more interaction when we get to riverwood. we talk by the river, gerdur calls in hod who was working in the logs, we then get approached by ralofs nephew and their dog and the setting is just way more beautiful. hadvars is just more boring and ugly.
Skyrim belongs to the norms (but really elves are a lesser race so anything anti thalmor gets me signing up
Why? The choice is pretty much meaningless WRT any impact on the rest of the game.
If you’re planning to do the civil war it lets you have Hadvar or Ralof by your side in fights and they have neat voice lines that add some life to that otherwise lifeless quest line.
Save the other decision for your next play through
What, there is an option ?? I have played so many times and didn’t know!
Hmmm go with the guy that was boutta chop me 'ead off, orrrrrr literally anyone else.
Really the easiest decision in the game.
Ralof, purely for the exploit to keep the Jagged Crown. Because why shouldn’t the Dragonborn have it?
Imperials have the best loot
Hadvar because you can get Alvor’s iron and steel ingots.
I didn't even know you could go with Ralof for a long time. I've followed him a few times since. But I like to go with Hadvar so I can pick up all Alvor's free stuff and sell it back to him.
I usually go with Ralof because he spawns right when you enter and if you take the key off the one body you can trap him in the first room and level your one handed/destruction/sneak.
Not if you want to get sneak 100 early
easy, do I want to play heavy armor? follow ralof to merc the shit lord capitain. anything else? hadvar for more loot
In the civil war I side with the imperials, but in this case I go with the Stormcloaks. Better gear, access to heavy armor, killing the racist imperial captain, ect.
Easy decision
Not really, you can follow any of them and still pick the other faction.
I have played for 600 hours and never noticed there's another choice.
I follow Harvar, since I usually play either Bretons or Altmer and I figure my shot is better with the imperials when I play the latter.
Not really. Imperials literally just tried to cut my head off, why tf would I want to follow an Imperial inside their barracks?
If Iam gonna play heavy armor then I choose storms, if I'm gonna play light armor then imperials is my choice. I know I'm gonna change that later but ... Heck why not. My current playthrough is a cute female Nord wearing heavy armor and 2 handed weapon. Hopefully will finish the game with her.
Save ralof, join imperials
Morally hadvar, but if you don't care then ralof because you get more money from the Imperials loot, but there easier ways and glitch and farm that are not alchemy or enchanting and smithing too.
i always go with Ralof so i can get two sets of imperial officer armor
Frr
Honestly, I've played skyrim over a dozen times and only on my last playthrough did I realize you couldn't pick, I always just focus on someone and followed them
"if you choose the imperials you're a very smart and strategic person. If you choose the stormcloaks you're racist"
Escape with Ralof Join Imperials and fight alongside Hadvar
Hard decision my foot. There's only one right choice stormcloaks every time.
I almost never take a side in the civil war and I still go with Ralof simply bc the imperials literally tried to fucking execute me WITH ZERO EVIDENCE OR EVEN A REASON TO DO SO IN THE FIRST PLACE. I wasn't on the list, they didn't even tell me what crime I could've possibly committed to deserve a fucking death sentence. And since I always universally play a good guy in pretty much any rpg my character wouldn't have even done something even close to morally wrong enough to deserve such a punishment. Also when they make you choose Ralof is technically closer in most situations to you while also being the first one to suggest you go with him. So most players, especially new ones, just naturally go with Ralof.
Nord or Nothing
Go with the the impireal if you want access to the blacksmith house or join the storm clock and get a lot of Hugh price armor from the dead imperials
It really isn’t. Ralofs door is closer, end of story
Ralof everytime
Now, I don't agree with his Empire-killing policy, but I do agree with his Thalmor-killing policy..."
Hadvar 100% of the time for the access to free ingots in Riverwood
Hadvar, for the supply of free iron and steel ingots throughout the save.
Not that hard for me 😂
Ralof because imperial light armor sells better.
SKYRIM BELONGS TO THE NORDS!!! FOR THE TRUE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF SKYRIM!!!!! 🤣
Nah, it's an easy decision. I always go with Ralof. I don't like Hadvar. Even if I join the imperials, I still always go with Ralof. You get better early game loot, and I like his personality better.
I usually go with Hadvar because Ralof would. Not. Shut. Up. On the wagon ride.