My character is a Dark Elf, I'm avoiding the war for the moment because I still haven't really decided. But then I think is there any logic for my character to join a side that hates me?

Not really, especially given how futile the stormcloak rebellion is to begin with. They'd easily be toppled by the Thalmor without the help of what's left of the Empire.

Not at all, Ulfric ignores the pleas of the Dark Elves in the grey quarter of windhelm, most of his soldiers are blatantly anti-elf, while the Imperial Legion has soldiers of all races. And the imperial Legion is setting itself up to eventually beat the pulp out of those thalmor bastards who no one likes, the stormcloaks will never be able to take them on.

it's not logical for anyone but nords to join the stormcloaks

They're far too xenophobic for a Dark Elf to join.

It's your character. If your dude loves Talos or Skyrim free of the imperials then yes.

Ulfric is such a douche, but so are the Thalmor. I don't like either side, but I kinda feel for the Legion trying to keep the peace by doing something they don't want to do - but they know that it's the only way of keeping the Thalmor from wiping everyone out.

I've got a bigger question about the Civil War - how are they going to explain who lost and who won in the next game? Are they just going to set it two hundred years in the future and then ignore it?

To get down to the question: no, I don't really think it is. But it isn't my character.

Sure. Maybe your dude is confident that the Stormcloaks will win and he wants to make bank.

My character is a Dark Elf, I'm avoiding the war for the moment because I still haven't really decided. But then I think is there any logic for my character to join a side that hates me?

@Animasta said:

it's not logical for anyone but nords to join the stormcloaks

To be fair the entire game and it's plot makes little sense to non-nords.

Yes because the Dominion want the Stormcloaks to take over Skyrim.

@MikkaQ said:

@Animasta said:

it's not logical for anyone but nords to join the stormcloaks

To be fair the entire game and it's plot makes little sense to non-nords.

"Body of a mortal born with the soul of a dragon", says nothing about being a Nord. All races are present in Skyrim. The Thalmor issue will affect everyone eventually (which is the root of the Legion/Stormcloak debacle).

The game's plot makes sense as any race.

My dark elf remains independent of the war, and merely went to the mages college. That made the most sense to me.

Your character can have any motivation you want. There's the dark elf who joined with the companions because he had the heart of a Nord. I will say that it would be easier to roleplay a human joining the Stormcloaks, especially seeing how some of the people of Windhelm are openly racist. Not all of them, mind you, but enough that your character should have a strong reason to join despite the hostility. Maybe your character has a bad history with the Empire, and would rather join the lesser of two evils. You can come up with whatever you want. There was a great Let's Play of a High Elf joining the Stormcloaks because he didn't want Maven controlling Riften. (It was a long, and complicated Let's Play where he changed sides from the Empire half-way through. Wish I could find it again).

@Irvandus said:

Yes because the Dominion want the Stormcloaks to take over Skyrim.

No, they don't. They want the war to drag on so that both sides will lose their strength in a protracted war. It's specifically spelled out that a Stormcloak victory is something to be avoided.

I swear, every time the Stormcloak -vs- Empire debate comes up the level of comments is reduced to the YouTube level.

I'll be honest I didn't think it made much sense for anyone to join either side. The more you spend with each side the more you realize everyone is insane. Only reason I ever bothered to finish that side quest is for the related achievements, I felt dirty afterwards.

Nope. Joining the Stormcloaks as a Nord is the only lore-friendly thing to do.

Frankly, all of the major political factions in Skyrim are complete cunts, i just think the Stormcloacks are a wee bit less cunt-ish than the dominion or legion. Anyway no, seeing how shitty they treat the Dark Elves in Windhelm, it's not logical for a Dark Elf to join. The Dark Elves themselves in Morrowind were pretty big xenophobes, ironic ain't it?

My very pragmatic Dark Elf decided that she'd rather live with the Stormcloaks in charge than the Imperials. After all, despite their racism they still allowed her to join the Companions, become a Thane in Windhelm .... etc. So they can't be that racist, right?
 
The truth is, I felt the Empire vs. Stormcloak bit was the weakest part of the game. Not only did the final outcome matter not at all in the grand scheme of things, but neither side even tried to offer any compelling reason to join. Both sides were (as others have said) insane. It's not logical for a character to join either side other than blind racial loyalty. It was a missed opportunity: I think a third approach should have been allowed to let us destroy both sides, and a fourth approach to negotiate a peace. It could have been the best questline in the game, but instead ... meh.

@believer258 said:

I've got a bigger question about the Civil War - how are they going to explain who lost and who won in the next game? Are they just going to set it two hundred years in the future and then ignore it?

To get down to the question: no, I don't really think it is. But it isn't my character.

They're obviously going to make DLC for the Thalmor's defeat.

A little late to the party but here goes:

I'm playing a Khajiit and I joined the Stormcloaks. Not everyone in the rebellion is racist, and the fundamental position of the Stormcloaks (Skyrim self-ruled and independent) is very appealing. I like to think that my Khajiit champion will prove that even non-Nords can fight for Skyrim's freedom, and will marginalize the racial posturing of Ulfric. And if push comes to shove, wouldn't people be more likely to follow the Dragonborn than Ulfric, no matter the race? He killed the last king, but the Dragonborn defeated Alduin the World Eater. I mean, come on.

In my own little continuity, everything my version of the Dragonborn does is meant to strengthen Skyrim and hone it into a dagger that will plunge right into the heart of the Aldmeri Dominion. Heck, my Khajiit Dragonborn leads the Thieves Guild, Companions, the College of Winterhold, and will soon be calling the shots in the Dark Brotherhood. Don't tell me that that isn't some serious firepower. The Empire needs a kick in the pants, and Skyrim has the potential to be a swift one.

Sure, none of this is explicitly supported in the game, but I think it's fun thinking this stuff out. If you have a good rationale for doing it, there's no issue having a dunmer in the Stormcloaks.

i joined the imperials(as a dark elf), after i made a new profile as a nord and found out that the storm cloaks SPOILER

kick out jearl bulgruff(not sure how to spell either of those) and put that old bastard in charge.......

Why are you not playing as a Nord male with a giant beard?

I was going to create a dark elf character as my second character but I didn't exactly because of that question. I'm not sure if I would join the stormcloaks in that situation, but there's something to be said about changing a movement from the inside, which I guess could be a motivation.

@Hizang:Its absolutely logical. As a player that has at times supported the Empire and at times the Stormcloaks, let me just say that the whole Stormcloak racism thing is way overblown. Ulfric is fighting a cosmopolitan Empire, the only way to rally the needed support to pull off such a feat is to be a culturally homogenous and, at heart, nationalistic movement. He has to be its anti-thesis in a sense. Is Ulfric or the rebellion at heart racist or about racism? Probably not. Does it utilize the large numbers of xenophobic and racist nords in Skyrim for power and strength in numbers? Yes. This is a standard tool of both statecraft and in popular revolutions throughout history. But that aside, there is a definite motivation for a Dunmer joining the Stormcloaks regardless of their possible racism. Its a bit of an RP I suppose but for me it makes the Stormcloaks the best option for the Dunmer as a people. The Dunmer are my favorite race, they have my favorite culture and by far, Morrowind for me is the coolest province. All of that is in shambles in the wake of the Red Year and the Argonian Invasions. A strong Empire in Skyrim means Dunmer refugees have a place to escape and be assimilated into a new region, but ultimately, their culture, heritage and mighty civilization remains lost as a cost of this assimilation. A strong independant Skryim which is not welcoming of outsiders, means those Dunmer refugees have nowhere to go but home, to Morrowind. Its the hard path for them yes, but if those refugees could be rallied, they could take back their home from the Argonians and stand a chance at rebuilding all that which was lost. If they could succeed, they'd have years to rebuild in isolation without worrying about interference from the other provinces still bitterly embroiled in ongoing conflict with the Aldmeri Dominion. Its far more worthy for a proud race like the Dunmer to fight to the last man to rebuild their race's glory rather than to simply give up, and let all of their people's greatness fade into memory forever as they become essentially the wandering refugees across Tamriel, not unlike the Jews after the Diaspora. That's no future for the children of Resdayn.

No, that would be as logical as a well respected Jewish businessman joining the nazi party in WW2