Are their any effects by joining Legion will I not be allowed in some towns ex. Windhelm or Riften and miss out on some quests by being Legion?

I joined the Stormcloaks and I'm still allowed in Solitude, but Windhelm seems like its Br weird if you were with the Imperials.

No you are still aloud to go to every town. You may be treated poorly in Windhelm but you can still go.

I really feel conflicted about this choice. So far I've just left the whole conflict alone. I should probably just man up and join the Stormcloaks, right?

Legion is in Skyrim?

Dragonborn-Commander, we are ready to exchange data.

As far as I can tell, everything is the same. Noone in Windheim even seems to notice or care that I'm in the legion and have sacked their fortresses left and right.

Literally the only thing that I have seen in the game that has helped me decide between the two factions was one piece of throwaway dialogue. I'm playing as an Orc, and the Orc blacksmith in the Jarl's palace in Markarth says that the Orcs have always got on well with the empire, which makes me think that I should sign up with the Legion.

Obviously if you're playing a Nord, you might feel a certain obligation to fight for Skyrim's liberation from the laws of both the Empire and the Altmeri Dominion, but as a foreigner in Skyrim, I don't have that kind of investment in one faction over another.

I've just joined the imperials and have been allowed in Windhelm, but nobody liked me.

I killed your emperor.

Fucker.

You can join any team and go with any town. Plus if they treat your poorly in WIldhelm take solace in the fact that you're with the Empire and you will steamroll them if they try anything fancy.

Just want to double check, I haven't joined either faction, is there a way to find a mutual compromise between the two groups or is it definitely one or the other?

Anybody else feel like the intro should have been more faction neutral?  It's kinda hard to justify having your character join the Legion after they try to execute you for no reason.

I like the going neutral route; both sides are messed up. I wish you had the option to rule Skyrim.

I as well have been putting off joining either sides since I'm afraid I'll ruin potential quests. But if I understand things correctly it really doesn't affect the world around you when you join either side? After the war-quests, will things go back to "normal", or will various NPCs refuse to talk to me or ask for my help?

@Cincaid: It has no affect at all that I can tell, except for a changing of the guard and perhaps new Jarls after the old ones are deposed. You can even do the exact same quests from the new Jarls.

I'd just say if anyone is wanting to stay neutral but afraid they're missing out on a good series of quests in the game, don't worry. I just finished the stormcloaks side and it was by far the least interesting quest arc I've done in the game thus far. The other major ones I've completed being The Companions, College of Magic, and main quest. Unless you want the achievments/trophies I don't think this quest arc is really worth doing.

@owl_of_minerva: Thank you so much for putting my doubts to rest! :)

@NickLott: I believe you can negotiate a peace if you follow the main questline without committing to either side of the conflict beforehand.

@owl_of_minerva: Peace is only declared until the end of the Main Quest line. Once that whole mess is sorted out the Imperials and Stormcloaks go back to murdering one another.

@Jimbo: I thought that at first, but the more I thought about it, the easier it became. Even in the opening scene the Stormcloak guys are cursing the Thalmor, but If Skyrim were to separate from the Empire, that's a huge advantage the Thalmor have over both of them.

There are also certain documents you come across in the Thalmor Embassy which solidly made me side with the Imperials.

Could argue it either way really. A Nordic Skyrim is going to be much more hostile to the Thalmor and likely to declare war with them, maybe even drag the Empire into it. Having Talos stricken from the pantheon of gods is an insult to humanity, particularly to the Nords. Also, the ultimate goal of the Thalmor is the genocide of the human races. Basically, they're dicks and the Empire seems too decadent and weak to do anything about it, thus their pathetic peace treaty. That said, the Nord revolution is also morally dubious because it requires the slaughter of fellow humans/Nords, but the resentment towards the Empire for siding with the Thalmor is justified.

I really feel conflicted about this choice. So far I've just left the whole conflict alone. I should probably just man up and join the Stormcloaks, right?

@project343: I don't see them as the evil choice, while you can certainly make arguments about them being racist, but they want to defend their homeland from a group that could easily be seen as invaders.

In my opinion both sides are kinda bad, I really like that Bethesda has created two factions at war with each other where no-one is clearly seen as good or evil.

owl_of_minerva: @owl_of_minerva said:

Agreed. I am always a bit confused about which side to take ( I don't think about how it benefits my race but rather the land of Skyrim) but I always incline towards the Imperials.

Ulfric and the Stormcloaks come off as idiots, as if the Empire like the Thalmor ruling over them, the Empire is just too weak to fight back.

Had the Stormcloaks tried to unite the Empire and fought to drive out the Thalmor instead I would have supported them wholeheartedly. I don't see why the middlemen in the Empire need to be killed by the stormcloaks.

It just shows Ulfric's hunger to be the high king instead. If he really only wanted to achieve to drive out Thalmor, he would not have fought against the Empire for no reason. The latter isn't really at fault for the white-gold concordant.