Can I finish joining the imperial/stormcloak without doing main the quest?

[Erectile Reptile]

Hey guys, can I join imperials without doing the main quest? and can I still make peace between them? I dont want to do the main quest just for the dragons. thanks :)

[Ilja]

Not in vanilla game, no. You can use the mod called Skyrim Unbound from Nexus to bypass that stage. However, game may get problems later in the game, if you do not let your character to become Dragonborn later.

My move was to join the Imperials and deal with the civil war (with Civil War Overhaul) as a grunt. I released dragons after that, to make sure that game does not get bugged later on.

[Yonaga]

Peace? Filthy elves! Throw off the shackles of Imperial oppression. Do not bow to the yoke of a false emperor. Be true to your blood, to your homeland. I fight for the men I've held in my arms, dying on foreign soil. I fight for their wives and children, whose names I heard whispered in their last breaths. I fight for we few who did come home, only to find a country full of strangers wearing familiar faces! I fight for my people, impoverished to pay the debts of an Empire too weak to rule them, yet brands them criminals for wanting to rule themselves! I fight so that all the fighting I've already done hasn't been for nothing! I fight... because I must.
Jarl of Windhelm and true High King of Skyrim! As Talos is my witness, may this oath bind me to death and beyond! Even to my lord as to my fellow brothers and sisters in arms!
All hail the Stormcloaks! The true sons and daughters of Skyrim!!

[Askatasun Katamotza]

I finished Imperial quests before the main quest, on xbox and PC, and I don't have any problem ...

[Ilja]

Originally posted by Askatasun Katamotza:

I finished Imperial quests before the main quest, on xbox and PC, and I don't have any problem ...

You can't start any civil war quests, before activating the main quest and dragons. Only mod that I know allowing this is Skyrim Unbound mentioned above.

[Geek]

I am pretty sure you can do CW quests before Dragon Rising.

[gnewna]

Originally posted by Geek:

I am pretty sure you can do CW quests before Dragon Rising.

You can join a side, and I believe you can fetch the Jagged Crown and solidify your joining, but at the bit where you have to see Balgruuf about a message from Tullius/Ulfric, he will say "yeah, whatever, kind of busy with dragons, speak to my wizard" and you have to do Bleak Falls up to Dragon Rising/triggering The Way of the Voice before he'll discuss the message with you.

[mr1029384756]

In order to complete the Main Quest, you have to pick a side in the Civil War. If you want to complete the Civil War, you have to progress up until a certain point in the main quest.

It's a hard-coded cycle.

[Ilja]

Originally posted by mr1029384756:

In order to complete the Main Quest, you have to pick a side in the Civil War. If you want to complete the Civil War, you have to progress up until a certain point in the main quest.

It's a hard-coded cycle.

Not hard coded, because it has been modded away.

[mr1029384756]

Originally posted by Ilja:

Originally posted by mr1029384756:

In order to complete the Main Quest, you have to pick a side in the Civil War. If you want to complete the Civil War, you have to progress up until a certain point in the main quest.

It's a hard-coded cycle.

Not hard coded, because it has been modded away.

Which tends to corrupt the game's coding down the road, unless the mod was created with great care. The best mod I have with the least risk of screwing the game up is the Alternate Start mod, whose scripts affect the intro Alduin/Helgen events and nothing more. Some of the others, though... I've heard horror stories about random, inescapable CTDs after playing past a certain point.

[gnewna]

Also you don't have to pick a side in the civil war to complete the main quest, as far as I know, if you haven't already completed the CW when you reach a certain point you get to arrange an exciting* truce conference.


*okay, not really

[Fabea]

Originally posted by RhysMLGMan™:

Peace? Filthy elves! Throw off the shackles of Imperial oppression. Do not bow to the yoke of a false emperor. Be true to your blood, to your homeland. I fight for the men I've held in my arms, dying on foreign soil. I fight for their wives and children, whose names I heard whispered in their last breaths. I fight for we few who did come home, only to find a country full of strangers wearing familiar faces! I fight for my people, impoverished to pay the debts of an Empire too weak to rule them, yet brands them criminals for wanting to rule themselves! I fight so that all the fighting I've already done hasn't been for nothing! I fight... because I must.
Jarl of Windhelm and true High King of Skyrim! As Talos is my witness, may this oath bind me to death and beyond! Even to my lord as to my fellow brothers and sisters in arms!
All hail the Stormcloaks! The true sons and daughters of Skyrim!!

Now that is what I call playing in depth lol (pst I agree but don't tell the Imperial dogs)

lol

[Ilja]

Originally posted by mr1029384756:

Originally posted by Ilja:

Not hard coded, because it has been modded away.

Which tends to corrupt the game's coding down the road, unless the mod was created with great care. The best mod I have with the least risk of screwing the game up is the Alternate Start mod, whose scripts affect the intro Alduin/Helgen events and nothing more. Some of the others, though... I've heard horror stories about random, inescapable CTDs after playing past a certain point.

I have finished the game with Skyrim Unbound. As the author, I also recommend allowing you to become a Dragonborn at some point, but it does not risk Civil War. CW does not point of character being a Dragonborn, except with few lines on the road that have been made conditional, depending on your status.

Starting the Dragonborn questline in Solstheim is another matter. That can mess up your game, unless you are a Dragonborn.

[mr1029384756]

Originally posted by Ilja:

Originally posted by mr1029384756:

Which tends to corrupt the game's coding down the road, unless the mod was created with great care. The best mod I have with the least risk of screwing the game up is the Alternate Start mod, whose scripts affect the intro Alduin/Helgen events and nothing more. Some of the others, though... I've heard horror stories about random, inescapable CTDs after playing past a certain point.

I have finished the game with Skyrim Unbound. As the author, I also recommend allowing you to become a Dragonborn at some point, but it does not risk Civil War. CW does not point of character being a Dragonborn, except with few lines on the road that have been made conditional, depending on your status.

Starting the Dragonborn questline in Solstheim is another matter. That can mess up your game, unless you are a Dragonborn.

Gotcha. Well, consider my knowledge expanded and my case rended moot, lol

[Erectile Reptile]

Alrighty then guys, i'll just finish this jagged crown quest for the imperials then move on to some side quests then I really don't want to trigger the main quest yet. thanks.