Skyrim: "Don't Tread On Me"

Because drawing isn't working for me right now, and I have a lot of free time, I've been grinding in Skyrim. A meaningless goal I have is to reach level 100 before I tackle the end-game content of the main questline, and to pick up a few odd achievements here and there(I'm playing on the Xbox version, which unfortunately means longer load times and no mods).

Right now, my biggest conundrum is whether to side with the Imperials or the Stormcloaks. I'm playing a character who swore revenge on the empire for trying to execute him... but I'm hearing that picking the Stormcloaks is actually worse in the long-run for everyone but the native Nords.

I've already killed the Dark Brotherhood for sending assassins to kill me. I've established my character does not forgive nor forget attempts on his life, no matter the cost... So do I swallow my pride and side with the Imperials for the greater good, or do I ruin Skyrim for a lot of the races in Tamriel just for revenge?


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The Nords want to worship their God. The Imperials won't let them. They can't. They lost a war with the High Elf people things, and one of the consequences was outlawing Nord God. There's not really anyone in Skyrim I care about who would be affected either way. There are so many unkillable NPCs, what choice you make doesn't really seem to matter in the long-run. But I'm not in the mood to betray my established character, unless it gives me that dagger that can instantly kill people sometimes.

You can make a good case that a nation should be left to its' own devices, to do what it wants. But what about when they let a dictator in charge? What about when the U.S. invades a country under the apprehension that their government is destroying its' populace? What about when a country is ravaging its' people, and we stand by and do nothing?


When should we intervene, and when should we leave nations alone? I'm not asking that as a thought-experiment to sound all worldly and wise, I'm seriously having trouble figuring out what either answer will say about me. I honestly don't know what to do here.

I was not expecting a moral dilemma like this from a game that features the Thieves Guild quest line. Yikes.


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~A.H.