Hey, not sure if you're still doing build videos for skyrim. But if you're interested in my ideas I have one that I've personally had a blast with. The holy silver knight. Dark elf. Only silver armor and weps. Onehanded, two-handed, restoration, and heavy armor. Not allowed to have companions until you have a full second set of silver armor if you want extra limitations. Earandur being the go to since he's a priest of mara.
Jarl Balfruuf is more than The Greater, he likes to slip out of his castle to drink with his people at the Bannered Mare and that makes his housecarl Irileth nervous every time.
and he says "Damn it, woman, I'm the Jarl of Whiterun! I won't apologize for talking to my people. You can't protect me every moment of the day." :D i love this man.The ruler who loves his people has the biggest balls. Balgruuf The Greater BALLS..
Balgruuf is the one that most impressed me. He cares about his people, and not only that, by not siding right away with one of the two main factions, he managed to keep his people out of the armed conflict, which of course contributed both to save lives and mantain the economy going strong.
If only the civil war hadn't been gutted by Bethesda...there was supposed to be a section where if the Stormcloaks seized whiterun, you would abdicate the throne of Dragonsreach with Balgruuf's court, at least I remember hearing that. Would have been so cool.
I'd personally give Idgrod some extra points for being one of the Jarls not blinded either by pride , greed or even hatred as well as being suprisingly proactive politically for the sake of her Hold, even if she doesn't always like it. I mean, we learn that while she cooperates with the Thalmor its not cause she wants to(she makes it very clear she detests their condescending attitude), but because she believes its just the right move As for her strange behaviour, its kind of implied that she uses it to her advantage and lures people's true intentions out by playing the fool
One of my favourite details is that if you befriend her by becoming Thane of Hjaalmarch prior to doing Diplomatic Immunity, she'll appear at the Thalmor party and you can ask her for a distraction, to which she'll basically say "leave this to me, an old woman can get away with anything", and distract everyone by pretending to have one of her "visions". I really wish she was more fleshed out and we got to see more of her outside of like... one side-quest, because she's a very fun character
@@MrVertigoStudios She cracked me up at the party, what a bat shit crazy old woman! And her daughter is hot too, wish I could make her daughter my waifu.
@@chene-aurelgaudreau1072 mean in fairness it’s probably not that difficult to tell. By the sounds of things those parties are normally very tight with the same selection of high status people going to each one, so the Dragonborn to the more intuitive and observant partygoers sticks out like a sore thumb (Since you’re meant to play the main questline first, the Dragonborn canonically is a nobody at that time and screams spy).
Jarl Ingrid Ravencrone is my number 1; She is the only Jarl other than Balgruff who actively tries to stop the immediate threat to their main city, and unlike Balgruff she isn’t a shitty parent. Also psychic powers with the chutzpah to pro-magic in town whose favorite sport seems to be witch-burning. Oh she and the woman attends Thalmor parties just so she can keep an eye on the racist a-holes.
Nothing says Balgruff is an espcially bad parent though. He has difficulties with his youngest who's talking to a daedra behind his back, but you could argue that he's occupied with all the other issues to help him out.
@@BP-dn9nv It’s more than just Neilkr - he is unhinged due to Mephala, but he clearly got there due his environment. But Dagny and Frothar are spoiled little snots. Someone failed them in the upbringing process. Meanwhile Jarl Ravencrone has family that hear voices too, but they’re not sociopaths about it. I don’t know all the details of Balgruuf’s parenthood, I do know something went wrong, with all three kids. He is a good Jarl, but I find Ingrid surpasses him.
@@mesektet5776 Yeah, those two kids of his are the only kids I ever truly considered murdering. They're just.....annoying. The other kid, the one who talks to the daedra, is more bearable....ish.
Dagny is my fave child in the whole game she makes me laugh. Braith as well lol. All other kids are actually annoying. Though balgruuf family does make you wonder about all the jarls domestic life here is my headcanon. Balgruuf has two failed marriages one of which ended with the death of the spouse. He is now boning irileth n any hot thing that catches his fancy. Irileth don't mind she's the mephala worshipper. Skalds sons n daughter died in the great war. Elisif is the daughter of a high lord of high rock maybe wayrest or daggerfall but probably jehanna or something. She was also having n affair with both the housecarl n the stewerd who r torrygs brothers lol. Korir is a drunk who's despised by his daughter n wife. Idgrod is one of the three legendary bog witches. Siddgeir is a frat boy living his best life. Igmund has four daughters he's pimping out to various colovian lords. Laila is meh. Ulfrick has two sons n a bastard half elf with one of the thalmor interogators lol.
I got the amulet of Mara and thought I could marry one of the jarls and live the rest of my Skyrim-life in sheer luxury, but that wasn't possible... I would have had Jarl Balgruuf, by the way.
That's weird; given that it's heavily implied that Balgruuf either had all his children out of wedlock and exiled their mothers from the hold, or straight up murdered them with the Ebony Blade. Call it a hunch, but I have a strong suspicion that Balgruuf is more than just a shitty dad, he's probably a shitty spouse, too.
I personally consider Skald to be the worst, considering this is the Jarl that openly threatens to execute his own hold's citizens from his doorstep. Also, best Daedric Artifacts?
@@MrVertigoStudios Spellbreaker I think is quite good. Amusingly it is also the one I always forget is even in the game. Kind of fitting in a way, since Peryite is often described as the weakest of all the princes as well.
I don't think Laila Law-Giver should rank better than Idgrod : she has a bad judgement about ... everything (Thieves Guild, Maven, her son, the skooma problem ...), she said something like "If Riften should fall, it's only right that its leader be spared" which makes me think she doesn't care about her people ... On the other hand I take the side of the Empire but to me Maven, Elisif and Siddgeir are bad jarls each in their own category
Hate her or love her, Maven brings wealth into Riften, yeah she’s corrupt but because of there meadery and the thieves guild she brings bank into riften, just a shame we don’t see it
Maven's only downside is that she's "corrupt." But like someone else said, she brings wealth to Riften as well as reputation. She's a helluva lot better than Laila and that one Jarl from Markath (forgot his name, he's just stupid too.)
Weirdly find Siddgeir to be very amusing. Incredibly sassy, apathetic, and morally corrupt, but Nenya and Helvard are easily able to talk him down from any truly rash decisions like with the guard's wages and the taxes.
I love this guy, he is such a frat bro. But yeah, thankfully his staff could keep him under control with his bad ideas. Nenya and Helvard , those folks I got a soft spot for and seem rather decent folk. I made Falkreath my home instead of anywhere else.
In his defense, he still may be barely out of his teens, and very few people manage to go through their teen years without being little pieces of shit. Hopefully he'll grow out of it with some responsible advising.
he straight up tells you that he is taking kickbacks from bandits preying on his own people. he sends you to kill them, but only after they stopped paying.
Maven becoming Jarl of The Rift is probably the only backlash of siding with the Empire. But Balgruuf, Brunwulf Free-Winter, Brina Merilis, and Kraldar make up for it. Also, Idgrod Ravencrone is underrated. She probably actually has visions from the divine and if she hadn't taken in Falion, Morthal would have probably been overrun by vampires and other undead. The guy is seriously one of the most impressive mages in the lore. She is also very nice and honest.
LOOL nope look I get your pro-empire and that usually means you have a feeble mind but Balgruuf is not better than Vignar at all the dude talks about mutual advantage even though there is none
Siding with opressers is the big backlash from siding with empire. Also they just wanted to execute you because whatever. Also if you join them, its weird to join dark brotherhood to kill emperor😅
@@killjoy7346 Joining the Dark Brotherhood is always evil. Doesn't matter which side you support. The Dark Brotherhood is inherently evil. But did you know that Titus Mede II probably WANTED to be assassinated to blame the Thalmor and become a marthyr? Tactically, it's good for the Empire and all of Tamriel. Here is some background on that: ruclips.net/video/tvDCtFZn40g/видео.html ruclips.net/video/RbH38045xHM/видео.html But anyway, I don't think that the Empire is oppressing Skyrim at all. The Stormcloaks like to make it seem that way, but actually Skyrim is FAR better off as a part of the Empire. The human races of Tamriel are better together, especially with the Thalmor threat. Also, an Imperial win in Skyrim would be much worse for the Thalmor than a Stormcloak win. A strengthened Empire would be the worst for them. In other words, if the Empire wins in Skyrim, both Skyrim and the Empire become stronger, if the Stormcloaks win, both are severly weakened. The Stromcloaks are also racists.
I personally bump Ulfric further down the list for one simple reason. The quest to become Thane. Whiterun - Kill the dragon threatening the hold with the support of the Yarl Morthal - Kill a vampire that is threatening the hold with the support of the Yarl (granted, Ravencrone didn't know about it until you investigated it, but she encouraged the investigation) Skooma dealer...Forsworn attackers...bandits...just about every hold has you do something for the protection of the citizens. Windhelm? Find the serial killer that Ulfric has no interest in. He's the Thane of his city and two young woman are killed even before Suzanna and nothing is done to protect the citizens. Imagine him becoming High King with this level of disinterest in the protection of his citizens. Forget that, Elisif may be a puppet, but when it was made clear crazy necromancers were trying to revive Potema she had Falk fully support you. Ulfric? He gives zero support. Tells you alot about the type of leader he is
I like that there are good and bad Jarls for both sides. Brunwolf is definitely my favorite, simply because he wants to help the Argonians and Dunmer, but he also realizes that he can’t just make that happen immediately after taking over.
If you pay attention to the lore it makes sense why Ulfric segregates Winhelm. If you put dark elf with Argonians together then you'll end up with civil conflict in the city streets. These two races never get along and most likely never will.
@@nobodyspecial115 Yeah, especially considering that the Argonians just invaded Morrowind in retaliation after years of enslavement. So Dark elves and Argonians living together is a powder keg just waiting to happen
@@SpookyMarine Right! Ulfric's smart for segregating them an if anything shows he at least cares about his neighbors the Dunmer. At least he's let them make a place of their own inside the city. The Grey Quarter could be nice if they'd actually try to fix it up but instead they somehow expect Ulfric to kick Nords outta their homes so they can move into the nice houses! Y'all squatters gotta solve a murder mystery and become Thane just like everybody else!
@@nobodyspecial115 Again, it is never smart to segregate. How are they gonna stop hating each other if they remain segregated? That's the purpose of Ethno-States, to insure that Miconseptions about the other side remain in power.
Igrod should have been higher since she's the only other Jarl that can actually help you in the main quest. If you've helped her, you can ask her to cause a distraction at the Thalmor Embassy.
And Igmund. And Balgruff, should he be present due to the completion of the Battle for Whiterun. And Vittoria Vici And Orthus Endario Check the UESP page for the quest, many more guests can show up and most are persuadable.
I don't find Sorli the Builder particularly interesting either, but what I do like is that Teeba-Ei, an Argonian, becomes her steward if she's made Jarl. You don't see that very often.
@@thearnorianruby4681 If the Stormcloaks take Hjaalmarch, she becomes the Jarl. She's from a mine named Stonehills. I don't understand why she became the Jarl, she's not really relevant at all.
While I DID stick it to Ulfric when I played, I hated seeing Laila get put under house arrest; my desire to kill Maven was never stronger than the moment I witnessed her on the throne of The Rift.
Ideas in case you REALLY run out of things to rank: - doors ranked - bosses ranked - Thalmor Agents ranked - alchemical ingredients ranked - ennemies ranked - dark brotherhood members ranked - loading screens ranked - furniture ranked
got a soft spot for Idgrod, she's a reasonable authority figure during the vampires-trying-to-take-over-her-town questline, and for that, she helps you out in infiltrating the Thalmor Embassy, knowing that you're out to cause trouble. her strangeness is not even a detractor for me, she's just all around a cool older lady
He's not that bad, if a dragon attacks you in Winterhold he gets his arse off his throne and goes bare knuckle on that dragon. He doesn't do much damage, but he's essential so can't die, makes a great distraction.
Interestingly, Winterhold is the only place you can't have a vanilla house...but then you'll probably be the Archmage of the College which has good views and really nice Boss quarters, so who cares?
skald is actually even worse. i remember a conversation i heard from him and his housecarl (jod or sum i forgor☠️) about how if skald keeps giving his guards to the stormcloaks they aren’t gonna have enough to properly protect the city, much less the entire hold. skald basically says he doesn’t care and doesn’t want it brought up again.
This is kinda funny to me because Jarl Elisif and *her* Housecarl have the same issue: she's giving away too many of the city's guardsmen to Tullius. Elisif still does it anyways not because she doesn't care but because she's simply too naive to know when it's okay to say "no" to the Empire. And I guess it's also because she thinks that her saying "no" to Tullius when it comes to this will be a treasonous act. And the *last* time a Queen of Solitude defied the Empire, she ended up getting killed by opposing forces in a war that she (Potema) started.
@@Angelo-nd4lg Be real...General Tullius is the power in Solitude because he's got a freaking army. Besides, he represents the Empire and Elisif would side with him simply because Ulfric murdered her husband.
@@donwild50 i don't disagree but a general is no governor he has the power but he can't rule the people of solitude the steward does which makes sense if you consider the steward and housecarl to be torrygges brothers
With the High-King of Skyrim mod, I usually have maven executed and put Law-Giver back in power. Thing is, if you talk to Law-Giver, she doesn’t even really support Ulfric, she just wants her people to be well off.
Always found it odd that Riften was Stormcloak and Markarth was Imperial. It makes sense from a gameplay perspective to evenly divide Skyrim but the lore didn't really make sense. If not for Ulfric Igmund wouldn't even be Jarl
@@Ernicification well Igmund betrayed Ulfric after being put back to power, so that make sense lore wise. That's also one of the reason why I love him (and his father), because it is the only jarl who had to actually take a difficult decision in a situation where he would have lost no matter what! Most of them just take the only logical decidion they had to do to resolve their problems, if they even know there is one!
Yeah, I always found it odd the Empire elevates Maven over Laila. It's probably because Riften is such a freaking dump, rife with corruption and crime, that they figure Maven's the only one who can keep it under control. I reckon they tolerate her, so long as she keeps all the bullshit confined to Riften.
@@legionarybooks13 Riften is a trade center with Cheydinhal in Cyrodiil and also close to Morrowind. As it has a connection with Cyrodiil in the northeast, any trade routes would not be close to any Aldmeri strong points. Maven wants power...trade = money and money = power. Plus she would probably clean up the Rift the way a Mafia family cleans up it's territory...totally controlled but everything in order. (She would almost certainly reinstate the skooma trade but ...hey...skooma=money too.
I think Elisif not knowing how to run the kingdom gives her a lot of character, and it's delivered in a way that is as subtle as Skyrim gets. But if you look at her initial encounter, she's trying her best, but she just doesn't understand the world she's thrown into. Which is actually kind of ironic because the job her advisor said wasn't worth the manpower turned out to be incredibly dangerous for the fate of Skyrim. It's just really entertaining to me that Elisif, had they listened to her and sent men to the cave, would have averted a potential disaster by sheer dumb luck. True, they still sent the Dragonborn who could probably equal the might of an imperial regiment, but Falk doesn't know that when he sends you. The quest is written like you're either some random adventurer or like the world doesn't know you're the legendary hero of prophecy just yet. Either way, I just find it really entertaining that just by dumb luck Jarl Elisif could have averted a disaster by ignoring all conventional wisdom being like, "Weird sounds in a cave? Sounds like something that an entire regiment of soldiers should take care of."
It's the innocence factor, Falk is knowledgeable and practical, he is fully aware they don't have the resources to go spending on things they don't know about, Elisif just wants to help her people because she wants to be a good Jarl, even if she isn't, in her mind a good Jarl would help the small regular citizen/town, of course as you said it was a bit of dumb luck that actually it would've taken a small army to clear out that cave, or the dragonborn.
That Ingrod Ravencrone bottom of the well image was Hawksbill Crag in North West Arkansas about two miles from my house. Fantastic camping location. WPS baby.
yoooo balgruuf just wins straight up. i remember playing the stormcloaks side and when you take over whiterun he just guilt trips you such disappointment in his voice
5:00 I mean… looking at FudgeMuppet and Camelwork videos… he may not be wrong. And it may be the reason why Tolfdir start sounding like an old man when you mention the Augur.
Korir annoys me. He hates the college, and wants to make his home great again, but the event that destroyed the city happened before he was born. So what has he done during his entire lifespan to actually help his people? I think part of the problem lies in the storywriters not really understanding timespans. As another example, there's a character in the thieves guild questline that spent twenty years plotting revenge against the leader, and all she really accomplishes is buying a bee farm, donating to a competitor to Maven Blackbriar, and making a single dose of a paralytic poison. Twenty years. Good job.
@@spiderflame04 Yeah, I'm not sure what makes her paralyzing agent any different from anyone else's. I think she mentioned it was the only reason you survived getting stabbed afterwards, so it keeps someone alive while they're being tortured into confessing? Except they're paralyzed, and can't speak.
To be honest that's what I hate about the Civil War in skyrim. Depending on which side you choose the rotten individuals become Jarl (Thongvor and Maven). I feel bad for the people of Riften and Markarth depending on the outcome but what can you do, I guess?
Especially if you don't play the Civil War, and do the Main Quest's peace treaty where they trade holds, at least one of them and usually both of Markarth and Riften (being Major Holds) get replaced with the awful alternative jarls. Now, if we could in that quest only trade minor holds for peace that would be better. I would happily trade the original rulers of Falkreath and Dawnstar for their replacements no matter which side of the Civil War I am on.
Have you ever done a ranking od daedric artefacts? I'd love to know what you think about each of them. Brunwulf Free-Winter is my 2nd favourite jarl, right after jarl Bulgruf, and even tho I dislike Ulfric I can not deny that he is a very fleshed out character, kind of sad that he realised how wrong he was only after he died.
He was only wrong BECAUSE he failed. His regret was losing, not trying. Which is why I always make sure he takes his rightful place as Skyrim's High King. But even Brunwulf admits that Ulfric is a great leader, his only issue is that he puts his own people first (those that fight for Skyrim, not necessarily Nords).
@@Ernicification As a former child that grew up during a time of war and lives with the mental scars from that time (Nato bombing of Yugoslavia, Google it) I will never support war no matter what the cause, the empire is not guiltless in this story but they are self aware at least. Ulfric is a great leader no doubt about that, however in my opinion both the thalmor and ulfric are wrong for even starting wars and they are not much different from each other, both sides discriminate as brunwulf pointed out, ulfric rises an army only when nords are beeing threatened.
Personally one of my favorite jarls is Idgrod because both she and I can have visions of the future with our dreams Although a difference is that my visions are more or less *POTENTIAL* futures
I support both the empire and the stormcloaks…I believe Skyrim should have its independence but also that the empire needs the loyalty of Skyrim to have a chance against the thalmor. Neither side is really wrong. There could definitely be more diplomacy. Tulius may have been a bad choice. Executing ulfric at the first opportunity could have created a martyr and inspired other nords to rebel. I think it would have been possible to negotiate skyrims independence with loyalty to the empire in any conflict against the thalmor.
What if the Empire could've given Skyrim the same kind of situation that Canada has with great Britain? We Canadians aren't officially a part of the British Empire (mostly because there *isn't* a British Empire anymore) but if Britain comes under attack from a foreign enemy, Canada will be there to militarily lend aid to the UK should that need arise. Maybe if the Empire created an Imperial commonwealth that can have Skyrim be a part of the Empire without actually being a part of the Empire, both Tullius' and Ulfric's wants would be satisfied. And there are genuine flaws with the Empire. For example: The Imperials say that the Empire is the one thing that's keeping the Dominion out of Skyrim, but y'all are literally letting them be Tamriel's version of the Gestapo by letting them roam around Skyrim, kidnapping and arresting people in the middle of the night for worshipping Talos! That's one of the reasons this Civil War started! Secondly, by trying to execute Ulfric, you didn't just create a martyr, but you also proved their point; that the Empire is bad and they should be driven out of Skyrim. And I love how, by the end of the Imperial part of the Civil War questline, General Tullius acknowledges this fact after Ulfric's just been killed and then brushes it off like it's nothing to be worried about. Like, no, dude, more people *are* going to rebel for as long as this impasse you guys have with the Thalmor is going on and as long as the Talos ban is still in effect!
@@DoctorWhoKage something like that would probably work. Like Skyrim still have its own laws high king and jarls but allegiance with the empire. I generally don’t disagree with the empires designs and know the thalmor have put them in a rough predicament but I think their efforts in Skyrim could’ve been handled differently.
@@DoctorWhoKage yeah, an alliance of equals really makes the most sense to me, like “okay listen, fighting you just really isn’t worth it, we both need to build our strength to take on the Thalmor, so you can have your independence, and practice your own laws, but if either of us is attacked, it’s time to back each other up.”
@@DoctorWhoKage Hey...I support the Empire because it's the Empire...and also because I'm glad there are Thalmor around....gives me someone to slaughter every time I meet one out in the country with no regrets. I never let Elenwen stay at the conference at High Hrothgar but part of me wishes I could...if only so I could Unrelenting Force shout her off the top of the Throat of the World...and listen to her scream all the way down.
What do you mean Igmund doesn't think the Forsworn are a threat? He has many conversations with his steward and housecarl about how he wants them driven out of the Reach.
Do any of the Jarls have spouses? Feels like a lot of quests were dropped in the game. The whole Civil War barely seems to be happening! I’m playing Living Skyrim, the Wabbajack mod list. It’s loads of fun and massively fleshed out!
Yeah, it does seem like a surprising number are either bachelors or widowed. Most don't have children either, besides Balgruuf's insufferable brats. I'll have to check out the Wabbajack mod list. I'm reinstalling Skyrim, having gotten bored of it over a year ago, and will have to thoroughly scrub my mods again. I do like the ones which make the civil war into an actual war, and you come across pitched battles in progress. I also try to beef up the Imperials, who are essentially Roman legionaries. Being professional soldiers with superior armour and training, they'd realistically have a decisive advantage over the Stormcloaks.
@@legionarybooks13 You would think the Stormcloaks could get something other than light armor...I mean there's a lot of mines up their way and more than a few Stormcloak leaning smiths. Comedian: Captain Ulfric, this is Captain Tullius. Flip the coin, Tullius call it in the air. Tullius calls Heads...it's Tails. Ok...Stormcloaks vote to recieve, get to know the terrain from Markarth to Riften, hide behind trees and rocks and everywhere, Imperials must wear red and march in a straight line.
During the Moot i actively try to trade Dawnstar and Falkreath, then NEVER touch the civil war quest. I hate that both Ulfric and Tullius are essential NPCs that i can't just kill them both. I hate the civil war
The Civil War quest line does suck. Aside from a couple "Go grab this special item" quests, it's all inferior forces (albeit with the Dragonborn) taking fortified castles (making you wonder if Bethesda knows why people actually build castles), with everyone bleeding all over the place. In real life, it would take all the Stormcloaks in Skyrim to take even one decently held castle...and all the Imperials to hold one. Or vice versa. Good game, total lack of military tactics or strategy. And not one open field army vs army battle or reasonably conceived seige in the whole game. Neither the Stormcloaks or the Legion could batter their way through the main gates of Solitude or Windhelm...except in Skyrim. (Unless they could call a Dragon...hmm.)
@@donwild50 oh i just in general think the following: • Ulfric needs to die. He only cares about himself and is a sleeper agent for the Thalmor anyway. • Talos worship shouldn't be a thing (in general i do genuinely hate the Jesus allegory that Tiber Septim is, especially with how terrible of a person he was. He's not an Aedra nor will he ever be in my book.) • The Empire should give Skyrim its independence. All those reasons are why i refuse the civil war.
Even though I think the Empire is better from a min-max perspective, it's way too fairy tale happy ending for me, that's why I like the Stormcloaks more That said the only characters I make who side with the Stormcloaks are Nords, since it just doesn't make sense for a non-Nord to care all that much. **especially** an Argonian or Dark Elf who sees firsthand how screwed up Ulfric treats their people Stormcloak is better plot-wise since a Nord makes more sense to the plot anyway, but Empire is the "better" option
I love Falkreath but hate Dengeir's Nephew. He has always been my third least respected Jarl after Skald the Elder and Maven Black-Briar. Dengeir is paranoid to the point of being worrisome, but he at least wants to see his people thrive, no matter who they are.
@@GlidingZephyr I can see why he is paranoid. The imperial found a way to put is nephew in his place of jarl. Then (if you do is second quest) we lear that he have a familly member that is a vampire... poor him lol
Honorary mention to Balgruuf's brother who has fully voiced lines and will take over as Jarl if you kill Balgruuf using console commands which insinuates that Balgruuf was gonna die at some point (probably when getting the ebony blade)
Did you know… Jarl Balgruuf of Whiterun is one of the first few characters the player meets at the beginning of the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The ruler of Whiterun, he’s known for being a cautious man with a bit of a temper. He has three children - Frothar, Dagny, and Nelkir. It’s no secret to the people of Whiterun that Nelkir is a troubled boy, and when you investigate, you learn that he is in fact under the influence of the Daedric Prince of secrets, sex, and murder - Mephala. Mephala’s artifact is the Ebony Blade, a beautifully crafted sword which is locked behind a door only Balgruuf and his court wizard Farengar can unlock. It is never said how it actually came into Balgruuf’s possession, but he clearly knows about its existence and tries to keep it secretly contained, seeing as he carries a key to the door. But why is this? That I hope to explain. Again, Mephala is the Daedric Prince of secrets, sex, and murder. And Nelkir himself reveals that he does not have the same mother as his two other siblings, but hesitates to explain. What could this mean? Well, there are very few conclusions that can be drawn from this - maybe Balgruuf adopted him, or he simply split for Frothar and Dagny’s mother, and then had a child with another woman. But remember Nelkir’s hesitance to tell you about his lineage. Why would he be so reluctant to talk about being adopted or the like? Neither of those things seem like something you’d be so nervous to talk about. I think it’s something a little more...scandalous. What I’m implying is that Nelkir was conceived in an secret affair Balgruuf had with another woman - while he was married to Frothar and Dagny’s mother. This would fit the theme of Mephala well - with sex, secrets, and lies. But I’m going to take this one step further. I don’t think that’s the only thing Balgruuf is hiding. Remember, Mephala is about sex, lies, and lastly...MURDER. The Ebony Blade itself is powered by the blood of a betrayed loved one. So why would it be appearing in Dragonsreach? Because Balgruuf used it to murder his wife. Say she found out about his affair and confronted him about it. Balgruuf is seen to have an anger issue, so imagining the heated argument that would ensue from this wouldn’t be difficult. When she threatened to come forth with this information and make it public, he was angry and desperate. That’s when I believe Mephala appeared to him and granted him with the blade. After he had killed her, he realized what he had done and wanted to get rid of the blade. As we know, he tried to burn it in the Skyforge, but he could not, so he settled for locking it up in the room and holding onto the key. Now, does his court know about this? That’s a tough question. Farengar knows about the blade itself, but whether he knows its actual backstory is unknown. Seeing as no one mentions the blade or his wife, I’m inclined to believe that they do, but keep it quite. I could see both Irelith and Farengar swearing to secrecy about it. I could even go as far to say that the skeleton under the Dragonsreach bridge is what’s left of his wife when he tried to hide the body. that’s why jarl balgruuf killed wife
Honestly, I'd switch Ulfric and Balgruuf. Ulfric's backstory is huuuuugeeee, I honestly think he is probably the most fleshed out character in the entire game, by far. While I do not agree with some of his decisions (grey quarter, forcing argonians to the docks) I think its really hard to not see him as a strong leader. Imo, he is more fleshed out, and a better leader than Balgruuf, which gives him the edge.
To be honest, I sympathize with Ulfric after learning his backstory thru the game. I did him a favor by ending him as the Dragonborn to give him a better tale. After the shit hes been thru, coming back from the war he fought for the Empire against the damn elves to find that everything he fought for got betrayed. Then he tried to pacify Markath just to be thrown in prison by the damn Empire he fought for. And while he was in prison, his dad died and his home province was left in chaos until he got released and took over as Jarl. After all this shit hes been thru, how could you continue to take it up the butt like that? I do agree with his decision to rebel, but I dont agree with the concept of a civil war, nords killing nords when there are elves to kill and instability to Skyrim to fix. I dont see him much as a villian in Skyrim story, more of a Fallen Hero.
That would be interesting. I think Elisif's steward, Falk, ranks pretty high. Balgruuf's steward, Proventus, is kind of weak and disappointing, especially considering his daughter, Adrianne (owner of Warmaiden's), is pretty bad-ass.
do you know a theory I heard is Jarl Balgruuf the Greaters Wife was Carlota Ventura, I think thats her name. because in the games deleted files Carlota has a huge house.
Alredy commented, but its worth mentioning that Elisif's Court Wizard is a vampire. So its possible that, while Falk Firebeard and Tulius have Elisif's best interests in mind, she is obviously being exploited from positions that don't garner AS much attention Though, interestingly enough, if you yourself become a vampire and question Stentor , she shoos you away and tells you that her only goal is to use Elisif's lack of experience as a leader to advance her own position and ensure herself a comftorable life for a few decades Now, whether you believe her or not, is up to you
Another point about Stentor is that, once you stop Potema's resurrection, she'll leave Elisif's court and stay in her room for the rest of the game. Not to mention that Stentor was the most dismissive of Varnius' warnings of Wolfskull Cave to begin with, strongly suggesting to Elisif that they do nothing (by contrast, Elisif's gut reaction was to send a whole legion to rout the cave, while Falk Firebeard was ambivalent, assuming that Varnius was overreacting but sending you to scout the cave just in case). Stentor's "scrying" found nothing, but you go there yourself and find a bunch of necromancers trying to revive Potema. My own personal theory is that Stentor was either in on the plan to resurrect Potema, or thought she could benefit from her return when she scryed it, and lied to Elisif to keep the Solitude guards from interfering. She may have even been involved in getting those vampires into the Solitude catacombs. It was just Stentor's bad luck that the last Dragonborn arrived at the Blue Palace at the same time Varnius did to foil the whole scheme.
I feel like Maven Black-Briar would be dead last if it weren't for her role in the Thieves' Guild. Honestly I'd be tempted to put her dead last anyway since she's that hate-able
@@dragonslayerornstein2361 the thing is Maven is in charge anyway, why have a bunch of morons on the throne bowing to her when she can take the throne herself?
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No thanks mate
Yeah who is even gonna get raid from longbrow
Would love to see your take on a Black Book list!!
Hey, not sure if you're still doing build videos for skyrim. But if you're interested in my ideas I have one that I've personally had a blast with. The holy silver knight. Dark elf. Only silver armor and weps. Onehanded, two-handed, restoration, and heavy armor. Not allowed to have companions until you have a full second set of silver armor if you want extra limitations. Earandur being the go to since he's a priest of mara.
Yeah no
Jarl Balfruuf is more than The Greater, he likes to slip out of his castle to drink with his people at the Bannered Mare and that makes his housecarl Irileth nervous every time.
Oh yeah I forgot about that. Some people might see that as a negative, as it demonstrates that Balgruuf can be careless. However I personally don't.
@@pancakes8670 me neither. i think it’s sweet. some of the jarls see their people as a faceless mass but balgruff genuinely cares for his people
And presents you to Lydia, a real one.
and he says "Damn it, woman, I'm the Jarl of Whiterun! I won't apologize for talking to my people. You can't protect me every moment of the day." :D i love this man.The ruler who loves his people has the biggest balls. Balgruuf The Greater BALLS..
Balgruuf is the one that most impressed me. He cares about his people, and not only that, by not siding right away with one of the two main factions, he managed to keep his people out of the armed conflict, which of course contributed both to save lives and mantain the economy going strong.
If only the civil war hadn't been gutted by Bethesda...there was supposed to be a section where if the Stormcloaks seized whiterun, you would abdicate the throne of Dragonsreach with Balgruuf's court, at least I remember hearing that. Would have been so cool.
i think the only problem is that he didn’t upgrade any of the walls in the city lmao
@@yulsummers5807he cant doesn't have the money because the war disrupted trade which whiterun thrived off
I'd personally give Idgrod some extra points for being one of the Jarls not blinded either by pride , greed or even hatred as well as being suprisingly proactive politically for the sake of her Hold, even if she doesn't always like it.
I mean, we learn that while she cooperates with the Thalmor its not cause she wants to(she makes it very clear she detests their condescending attitude), but because she believes its just the right move
As for her strange behaviour, its kind of implied that she uses it to her advantage and lures people's true intentions out by playing the fool
One of my favourite details is that if you befriend her by becoming Thane of Hjaalmarch prior to doing Diplomatic Immunity, she'll appear at the Thalmor party and you can ask her for a distraction, to which she'll basically say "leave this to me, an old woman can get away with anything", and distract everyone by pretending to have one of her "visions".
I really wish she was more fleshed out and we got to see more of her outside of like... one side-quest, because she's a very fun character
Yeah, Idgrod is legit
@@MrVertigoStudios knew I liked her for a reason she a bad ass old lady
yes! idgrod is my favorite jarl. she gets bonus points because her distraction at the thalmor embassy is nice too
@@MrVertigoStudios She cracked me up at the party, what a bat shit crazy old woman! And her daughter is hot too, wish I could make her daughter my waifu.
I always find it wierd how people are like "idgrod says she has visions, she must be crazy!" In a world of litterall mages, dragons and daedra
Do dragon priest masks next. It would be cool to hear you opinion on gameplay value as well as aesthetics 🧐
Yes
Oh, that will be a very difficult one to complete, but yes. A hundred times yes.
Gameplay value, aesthetics, AND backstories of the priests.
One note about igrod
She knows you're spying for the blades during the embassy quest but keeps it a secret
That alone makes me respect her
Maven also knows you’re not supposed to be there, and tells you to stop bothering her before she blows your cover.
@@chene-aurelgaudreau1072 mean in fairness it’s probably not that difficult to tell. By the sounds of things those parties are normally very tight with the same selection of high status people going to each one, so the Dragonborn to the more intuitive and observant partygoers sticks out like a sore thumb (Since you’re meant to play the main questline first, the Dragonborn canonically is a nobody at that time and screams spy).
Ballin' also helps you. He sees what you're doing, and he creates a scene for you to get into the kitchen.
Jarl Ingrid Ravencrone is my number 1; She is the only Jarl other than Balgruff who actively tries to stop the immediate threat to their main city, and unlike Balgruff she isn’t a shitty parent. Also psychic powers with the chutzpah to pro-magic in town whose favorite sport seems to be witch-burning. Oh she and the woman attends Thalmor parties just so she can keep an eye on the racist a-holes.
Nothing says Balgruff is an espcially bad parent though. He has difficulties with his youngest who's talking to a daedra behind his back, but you could argue that he's occupied with all the other issues to help him out.
@@BP-dn9nv It’s more than just Neilkr - he is unhinged due to Mephala, but he clearly got there due his environment. But Dagny and Frothar are spoiled little snots. Someone failed them in the upbringing process. Meanwhile Jarl Ravencrone has family that hear voices too, but they’re not sociopaths about it. I don’t know all the details of Balgruuf’s parenthood, I do know something went wrong, with all three kids. He is a good Jarl, but I find Ingrid surpasses him.
@@mesektet5776
Yeah, those two kids of his are the only kids I ever truly considered murdering. They're just.....annoying.
The other kid, the one who talks to the daedra, is more bearable....ish.
Dagny is my fave child in the whole game she makes me laugh. Braith as well lol. All other kids are actually annoying. Though balgruuf family does make you wonder about all the jarls domestic life here is my headcanon. Balgruuf has two failed marriages one of which ended with the death of the spouse. He is now boning irileth n any hot thing that catches his fancy. Irileth don't mind she's the mephala worshipper. Skalds sons n daughter died in the great war. Elisif is the daughter of a high lord of high rock maybe wayrest or daggerfall but probably jehanna or something. She was also having n affair with both the housecarl n the stewerd who r torrygs brothers lol. Korir is a drunk who's despised by his daughter n wife. Idgrod is one of the three legendary bog witches. Siddgeir is a frat boy living his best life. Igmund has four daughters he's pimping out to various colovian lords. Laila is meh. Ulfrick has two sons n a bastard half elf with one of the thalmor interogators lol.
Also her name is cool
I got the amulet of Mara and thought I could marry one of the jarls and live the rest of my Skyrim-life in sheer luxury, but that wasn't possible...
I would have had Jarl Balgruuf, by the way.
That's weird; given that it's heavily implied that Balgruuf either had all his children out of wedlock and exiled their mothers from the hold, or straight up murdered them with the Ebony Blade. Call it a hunch, but I have a strong suspicion that Balgruuf is more than just a shitty dad, he's probably a shitty spouse, too.
sorry but no
@@jarlbalgruuf8901 I believe you, Jarl Ballin.
Jarl Elisif is marriageable. It might require a mod, but I’ve done it.
@@majorgear1021 Yeah, but I am a woman in the game. Wouldn't want to marry another woman...😄
I personally consider Skald to be the worst, considering this is the Jarl that openly threatens to execute his own hold's citizens from his doorstep. Also, best Daedric Artifacts?
What is the best Daedric Artefact and why is it Spellbreaker
@@MrVertigoStudios Spellbreaker I think is quite good. Amusingly it is also the one I always forget is even in the game. Kind of fitting in a way, since Peryite is often described as the weakest of all the princes as well.
best daedric artifacts and why is the best the wabbajack
Skald... He's the one that mocks his servant for wanting to the Stormcloaks? Yeah, fuck that guy.
@@rustyjones7908 Nah thats based fuck the Stormcloaks
I don't think Laila Law-Giver should rank better than Idgrod : she has a bad judgement about ... everything (Thieves Guild, Maven, her son, the skooma problem ...), she said something like "If Riften should fall, it's only right that its leader be spared" which makes me think she doesn't care about her people ... On the other hand I take the side of the Empire but to me Maven, Elisif and Siddgeir are bad jarls each in their own category
@Krakoa Magneto I agree with that and both the Stormcloaks and the Empire are flawed anyway
Hate her or love her, Maven brings wealth into Riften, yeah she’s corrupt but because of there meadery and the thieves guild she brings bank into riften, just a shame we don’t see it
Maven's only downside is that she's "corrupt." But like someone else said, she brings wealth to Riften as well as reputation. She's a helluva lot better than Laila and that one Jarl from Markath (forgot his name, he's just stupid too.)
Right? It felt almost like an insult seeing Igrod that low, she is easily top 5
Elisif isn’t an outright bad jarl in my opinion, but the wrong choice for high queen, I think Balgruuf would be an excellent choice for high king tho.
Weirdly find Siddgeir to be very amusing. Incredibly sassy, apathetic, and morally corrupt, but Nenya and Helvard are easily able to talk him down from any truly rash decisions like with the guard's wages and the taxes.
I love this guy, he is such a frat bro. But yeah, thankfully his staff could keep him under control with his bad ideas. Nenya and Helvard , those folks I got a soft spot for and seem rather decent folk. I made Falkreath my home instead of anywhere else.
In his defense, he still may be barely out of his teens, and very few people manage to go through their teen years without being little pieces of shit. Hopefully he'll grow out of it with some responsible advising.
he straight up tells you that he is taking kickbacks from bandits preying on his own people. he sends you to kill them, but only after they stopped paying.
@@MFenix206 Yeah Sidgeir is terrible regardless
You should rank every bard in the game because some are alright and some... some have some interesting singing voices
*cough* Karita
@@fishcakestheumbrella1329 ok but lurbuk is worse 💀💀
@@ellie-za-bif Lurbuk is the greatest bard to ever live, I don’t know what you’re talking about.
@@BlueBeluga dark brotherhood members: 😬😬😬
@@DankSpoony DB gotta put in work. All my db bros betta catch some bodies or get bodied like the empire does.
Bro, rank fishing spots like on scenery and fish that can be caught love the video.
You tryna kill this man
@@Fish_flakly he'll die doing what he loves
Was going to say to do lakes
@@akz212 Ilinalta. Then the Riften one. Then the Rift one near Ivarstead.
Maven becoming Jarl of The Rift is probably the only backlash of siding with the Empire. But Balgruuf, Brunwulf Free-Winter, Brina Merilis, and Kraldar make up for it.
Also, Idgrod Ravencrone is underrated. She probably actually has visions from the divine and if she hadn't taken in Falion, Morthal would have probably been overrun by vampires and other undead. The guy is seriously one of the most impressive mages in the lore. She is also very nice and honest.
LOOL nope look I get your pro-empire and that usually means you have a feeble mind but Balgruuf is not better than Vignar at all the dude talks about mutual advantage even though there is none
Also another down side to siding with empire is that the empire still has Skyrim yup the Nords are better off without it so fuck the empire
@@hubir he does drop some banger albums I’ll give him that
Siding with opressers is the big backlash from siding with empire.
Also they just wanted to execute you because whatever.
Also if you join them, its weird to join dark brotherhood to kill emperor😅
@@killjoy7346 Joining the Dark Brotherhood is always evil. Doesn't matter which side you support. The Dark Brotherhood is inherently evil.
But did you know that Titus Mede II probably WANTED to be assassinated to blame the Thalmor and become a marthyr? Tactically, it's good for the Empire and all of Tamriel.
Here is some background on that:
ruclips.net/video/tvDCtFZn40g/видео.html
ruclips.net/video/RbH38045xHM/видео.html
But anyway, I don't think that the Empire is oppressing Skyrim at all. The Stormcloaks like to make it seem that way, but actually Skyrim is FAR better off as a part of the Empire. The human races of Tamriel are better together, especially with the Thalmor threat. Also, an Imperial win in Skyrim would be much worse for the Thalmor than a Stormcloak win. A strengthened Empire would be the worst for them. In other words, if the Empire wins in Skyrim, both Skyrim and the Empire become stronger, if the Stormcloaks win, both are severly weakened. The Stromcloaks are also racists.
I personally bump Ulfric further down the list for one simple reason. The quest to become Thane.
Whiterun - Kill the dragon threatening the hold with the support of the Yarl
Morthal - Kill a vampire that is threatening the hold with the support of the Yarl (granted, Ravencrone didn't know about it until you investigated it, but she encouraged the investigation)
Skooma dealer...Forsworn attackers...bandits...just about every hold has you do something for the protection of the citizens.
Windhelm? Find the serial killer that Ulfric has no interest in. He's the Thane of his city and two young woman are killed even before Suzanna and nothing is done to protect the citizens. Imagine him becoming High King with this level of disinterest in the protection of his citizens. Forget that, Elisif may be a puppet, but when it was made clear crazy necromancers were trying to revive Potema she had Falk fully support you. Ulfric? He gives zero support. Tells you alot about the type of leader he is
I like that there are good and bad Jarls for both sides.
Brunwolf is definitely my favorite, simply because he wants to help the Argonians and Dunmer, but he also realizes that he can’t just make that happen immediately after taking over.
If you pay attention to the lore it makes sense why Ulfric segregates Winhelm. If you put dark elf with Argonians together then you'll end up with civil conflict in the city streets. These two races never get along and most likely never will.
@@nobodyspecial115 Yeah, especially considering that the Argonians just invaded Morrowind in retaliation after years of enslavement.
So Dark elves and Argonians living together is a powder keg just waiting to happen
@@SpookyMarine Right! Ulfric's smart for segregating them an if anything shows he at least cares about his neighbors the Dunmer. At least he's let them make a place of their own inside the city. The Grey Quarter could be nice if they'd actually try to fix it up but instead they somehow expect Ulfric to kick Nords outta their homes so they can move into the nice houses! Y'all squatters gotta solve a murder mystery and become Thane just like everybody else!
@@nobodyspecial115 Not a good enough justification for Ethno-states. The only way they're gonna stop hating each other is if they interact more.
@@nobodyspecial115 Again, it is never smart to segregate. How are they gonna stop hating each other if they remain segregated? That's the purpose of Ethno-States, to insure that Miconseptions about the other side remain in power.
Igrod should have been higher since she's the only other Jarl that can actually help you in the main quest. If you've helped her, you can ask her to cause a distraction at the Thalmor Embassy.
Jarl Elisif and Jarl Siddgeir can also help in the embassy. Basically the Jarls that are on the Empire's side can make an amusing distraction for you.
And Igmund. And Balgruff, should he be present due to the completion of the Battle for Whiterun.
And Vittoria Vici
And Orthus Endario
Check the UESP page for the quest, many more guests can show up and most are persuadable.
I like Idgrod the Elder. She’s chill.
"This video is sponsored by RAID SHADOW LEGENDS!" *Video is immediately interrupted by an actual RAID commercial*
I don't find Sorli the Builder particularly interesting either, but what I do like is that Teeba-Ei, an Argonian, becomes her steward if she's made Jarl. You don't see that very often.
Who the h*ll is Sorli?
@@thearnorianruby4681 Possible Jarl of Morthal.
@@thearnorianruby4681 If the Stormcloaks take Hjaalmarch, she becomes the Jarl. She's from a mine named Stonehills. I don't understand why she became the Jarl, she's not really relevant at all.
@@calliemari thanks! Merry Christmas!
@@thearnorianruby4681 Yw! Merry Christmas!
Even though I have hundreds of hours in Skyrim I still learn a lot about the world and lore and characters every time one of these comes out
I think theepicnate channel has exposed all of the lore.
While I DID stick it to Ulfric when I played, I hated seeing Laila get put under house arrest; my desire to kill Maven was never stronger than the moment I witnessed her on the throne of The Rift.
Ideas in case you REALLY run out of things to rank:
- doors ranked
- bosses ranked
- Thalmor Agents ranked
- alchemical ingredients ranked
- ennemies ranked
- dark brotherhood members ranked
- loading screens ranked
- furniture ranked
Books ranked! That would be a weeklong series!
This is what 10 years with no main series title does to a fandom
got a soft spot for Idgrod, she's a reasonable authority figure during the vampires-trying-to-take-over-her-town questline, and for that, she helps you out in infiltrating the Thalmor Embassy, knowing that you're out to cause trouble. her strangeness is not even a detractor for me, she's just all around a cool older lady
I'm surprised none of the Jarl's have bad backs, considering they sit like that all day
I had no idea Winterhold even had a jarl
Lol I’ve done at least 30 play throughs and didn’t either until my last one. He’s a total jerk
He's not that bad, if a dragon attacks you in Winterhold he gets his arse off his throne and goes bare knuckle on that dragon. He doesn't do much damage, but he's essential so can't die, makes a great distraction.
What is in the jar is what piques my interest. Jelly? A candle? Sweet rolls?
oh wait, you said Jarl. nm.
Interestingly, Winterhold is the only place you can't have a vanilla house...but then you'll probably be the Archmage of the College which has good views and really nice Boss quarters, so who cares?
I want more obscure rankings, do forks next
Rank every tree in skyrim
Dinnerware forks or river forks? Both are interesting!
skald is actually even worse. i remember a conversation i heard from him and his housecarl (jod or sum i forgor☠️) about how if skald keeps giving his guards to the stormcloaks they aren’t gonna have enough to properly protect the city, much less the entire hold. skald basically says he doesn’t care and doesn’t want it brought up again.
This is kinda funny to me because Jarl Elisif and *her* Housecarl have the same issue: she's giving away too many of the city's guardsmen to Tullius. Elisif still does it anyways not because she doesn't care but because she's simply too naive to know when it's okay to say "no" to the Empire. And I guess it's also because she thinks that her saying "no" to Tullius when it comes to this will be a treasonous act. And the *last* time a Queen of Solitude defied the Empire, she ended up getting killed by opposing forces in a war that she (Potema) started.
Elisif is a pretty face fine beard is the actual jarl
@@Angelo-nd4lg Be real...General Tullius is the power in Solitude because he's got a freaking army. Besides, he represents the Empire and Elisif would side with him simply because Ulfric murdered her husband.
@@donwild50 i don't disagree but a general is no governor he has the power but he can't rule the people of solitude the steward does which makes sense if you consider the steward and housecarl to be torrygges brothers
With the High-King of Skyrim mod, I usually have maven executed and put Law-Giver back in power. Thing is, if you talk to Law-Giver, she doesn’t even really support Ulfric, she just wants her people to be well off.
Always found it odd that Riften was Stormcloak and Markarth was Imperial. It makes sense from a gameplay perspective to evenly divide Skyrim but the lore didn't really make sense. If not for Ulfric Igmund wouldn't even be Jarl
@@Ernicification well Igmund betrayed Ulfric after being put back to power, so that make sense lore wise. That's also one of the reason why I love him (and his father), because it is the only jarl who had to actually take a difficult decision in a situation where he would have lost no matter what! Most of them just take the only logical decidion they had to do to resolve their problems, if they even know there is one!
Yeah, I always found it odd the Empire elevates Maven over Laila. It's probably because Riften is such a freaking dump, rife with corruption and crime, that they figure Maven's the only one who can keep it under control. I reckon they tolerate her, so long as she keeps all the bullshit confined to Riften.
Does the “High King” mod add weed to the game? I might be interpreting the title wrong.
@@legionarybooks13 Riften is a trade center with Cheydinhal in Cyrodiil and also close to Morrowind. As it has a connection with Cyrodiil in the northeast, any trade routes would not be close to any Aldmeri strong points. Maven wants power...trade = money and money = power. Plus she would probably clean up the Rift the way a Mafia family cleans up it's territory...totally controlled but everything in order. (She would almost certainly reinstate the skooma trade but ...hey...skooma=money too.
Fun vid. Skald is the worst, bittter old man who when I stop the nightmares in Dawnstar it doesn't count as "helping his people." 🙄
Pretty good video. I think you covered everything well enough for the time constraints in place, and remained surprisingly objective. Good job.
Hell yeah another one, man your content is amazing
I think Elisif not knowing how to run the kingdom gives her a lot of character, and it's delivered in a way that is as subtle as Skyrim gets. But if you look at her initial encounter, she's trying her best, but she just doesn't understand the world she's thrown into. Which is actually kind of ironic because the job her advisor said wasn't worth the manpower turned out to be incredibly dangerous for the fate of Skyrim. It's just really entertaining to me that Elisif, had they listened to her and sent men to the cave, would have averted a potential disaster by sheer dumb luck.
True, they still sent the Dragonborn who could probably equal the might of an imperial regiment, but Falk doesn't know that when he sends you. The quest is written like you're either some random adventurer or like the world doesn't know you're the legendary hero of prophecy just yet. Either way, I just find it really entertaining that just by dumb luck Jarl Elisif could have averted a disaster by ignoring all conventional wisdom being like, "Weird sounds in a cave? Sounds like something that an entire regiment of soldiers should take care of."
It's the innocence factor, Falk is knowledgeable and practical, he is fully aware they don't have the resources to go spending on things they don't know about, Elisif just wants to help her people because she wants to be a good Jarl, even if she isn't, in her mind a good Jarl would help the small regular citizen/town, of course as you said it was a bit of dumb luck that actually it would've taken a small army to clear out that cave, or the dragonborn.
Nice dude, a sponsor? Really cool, I’m happy for you
thank you for spending 2 year's of your life making my skyrim life easier
Maven is also friends with the Thalmor so she's definitely someone to not rub feathers on.
That Ingrod Ravencrone bottom of the well image was Hawksbill Crag in North West Arkansas about two miles from my house. Fantastic camping location. WPS baby.
Siddgeir is so unbelievably corrupt he has to be my number 2. After jarl Ballin of course.
Doesn't he say during his Bandit quest "I took some money from some undesirables and they stopped the shipments..I need you to clear them out"
"Gray-mane or battleborn" that shit got me dying wtf 10:35
yoooo balgruuf just wins straight up. i remember playing the stormcloaks side and when you take over whiterun he just guilt trips you such disappointment in his voice
5:00 I mean… looking at FudgeMuppet and Camelwork videos… he may not be wrong. And it may be the reason why Tolfdir start sounding like an old man when you mention the Augur.
I love these more than i should, subbed and hungry for more
Ufric stormcloak got a cool voice I like him
Korir annoys me. He hates the college, and wants to make his home great again, but the event that destroyed the city happened before he was born. So what has he done during his entire lifespan to actually help his people? I think part of the problem lies in the storywriters not really understanding timespans. As another example, there's a character in the thieves guild questline that spent twenty years plotting revenge against the leader, and all she really accomplishes is buying a bee farm, donating to a competitor to Maven Blackbriar, and making a single dose of a paralytic poison. Twenty years. Good job.
love how she made the paralysis crafting out to be some major accomplishment like you can't make gallons of it from a day of swamp farming
@@spiderflame04 Yeah, I'm not sure what makes her paralyzing agent any different from anyone else's. I think she mentioned it was the only reason you survived getting stabbed afterwards, so it keeps someone alive while they're being tortured into confessing? Except they're paralyzed, and can't speak.
Your impression of Idolaf was so spot-on that I had to replay it to make sure it was you who said it.
Brunwulf, Elisif and Balgruuf are my favorite ones.
To be honest that's what I hate about the Civil War in skyrim. Depending on which side you choose the rotten individuals become Jarl (Thongvor and Maven). I feel bad for the people of Riften and Markarth depending on the outcome but what can you do, I guess?
Especially if you don't play the Civil War, and do the Main Quest's peace treaty where they trade holds, at least one of them and usually both of Markarth and Riften (being Major Holds) get replaced with the awful alternative jarls.
Now, if we could in that quest only trade minor holds for peace that would be better. I would happily trade the original rulers of Falkreath and Dawnstar for their replacements no matter which side of the Civil War I am on.
Have you ever done a ranking od daedric artefacts? I'd love to know what you think about each of them.
Brunwulf Free-Winter is my 2nd favourite jarl, right after jarl Bulgruf, and even tho I dislike Ulfric I can not deny that he is a very fleshed out character, kind of sad that he realised how wrong he was only after he died.
He was only wrong BECAUSE he failed. His regret was losing, not trying. Which is why I always make sure he takes his rightful place as Skyrim's High King.
But even Brunwulf admits that Ulfric is a great leader, his only issue is that he puts his own people first (those that fight for Skyrim, not necessarily Nords).
@@Ernicification
As a former child that grew up during a time of war and lives with the mental scars from that time (Nato bombing of Yugoslavia, Google it) I will never support war no matter what the cause, the empire is not guiltless in this story but they are self aware at least. Ulfric is a great leader no doubt about that, however in my opinion both the thalmor and ulfric are wrong for even starting wars and they are not much different from each other, both sides discriminate as brunwulf pointed out, ulfric rises an army only when nords are beeing threatened.
He did not feel that he was wrong when he rebelled but the fact that he ignored the Dragon threat aka Adluin
@@kyleauthinus7517
In the end he still felt wrong about something.
True sons n daughters of skyrim fight for Talos n freedom imperial dogs will kill the gods
Personally one of my favorite jarls is Idgrod because both she and I can have visions of the future with our dreams
Although a difference is that my visions are more or less *POTENTIAL* futures
Most of the higher ranked jarls are Imperial backed? Not surprised. Empire Forever!
I support both the empire and the stormcloaks…I believe Skyrim should have its independence but also that the empire needs the loyalty of Skyrim to have a chance against the thalmor. Neither side is really wrong. There could definitely be more diplomacy. Tulius may have been a bad choice. Executing ulfric at the first opportunity could have created a martyr and inspired other nords to rebel. I think it would have been possible to negotiate skyrims independence with loyalty to the empire in any conflict against the thalmor.
What if the Empire could've given Skyrim the same kind of situation that Canada has with great Britain? We Canadians aren't officially a part of the British Empire (mostly because there *isn't* a British Empire anymore) but if Britain comes under attack from a foreign enemy, Canada will be there to militarily lend aid to the UK should that need arise. Maybe if the Empire created an Imperial commonwealth that can have Skyrim be a part of the Empire without actually being a part of the Empire, both Tullius' and Ulfric's wants would be satisfied.
And there are genuine flaws with the Empire. For example:
The Imperials say that the Empire is the one thing that's keeping the Dominion out of Skyrim, but y'all are literally letting them be Tamriel's version of the Gestapo by letting them roam around Skyrim, kidnapping and arresting people in the middle of the night for worshipping Talos! That's one of the reasons this Civil War started!
Secondly, by trying to execute Ulfric, you didn't just create a martyr, but you also proved their point; that the Empire is bad and they should be driven out of Skyrim. And I love how, by the end of the Imperial part of the Civil War questline, General Tullius acknowledges this fact after Ulfric's just been killed and then brushes it off like it's nothing to be worried about. Like, no, dude, more people *are* going to rebel for as long as this impasse you guys have with the Thalmor is going on and as long as the Talos ban is still in effect!
@@DoctorWhoKage something like that would probably work. Like Skyrim still have its own laws high king and jarls but allegiance with the empire. I generally don’t disagree with the empires designs and know the thalmor have put them in a rough predicament but I think their efforts in Skyrim could’ve been handled differently.
@@DoctorWhoKage yeah, an alliance of equals really makes the most sense to me, like “okay listen, fighting you just really isn’t worth it, we both need to build our strength to take on the Thalmor, so you can have your independence, and practice your own laws, but if either of us is attacked, it’s time to back each other up.”
@@DoctorWhoKage Hey...I support the Empire because it's the Empire...and also because I'm glad there are Thalmor around....gives me someone to slaughter every time I meet one out in the country with no regrets. I never let Elenwen stay at the conference at High Hrothgar but part of me wishes I could...if only so I could Unrelenting Force shout her off the top of the Throat of the World...and listen to her scream all the way down.
Just found your channel from the skyrim spouses video. I'm not disappointed with brand new skyrim content ty
im glad you got sponsor ive been watching you for a while and really enjoy your content hope this will motivate you to keep truckin
What do you mean Igmund doesn't think the Forsworn are a threat? He has many conversations with his steward and housecarl about how he wants them driven out of the Reach.
Do any of the Jarls have spouses? Feels like a lot of quests were dropped in the game. The whole Civil War barely seems to be happening! I’m playing Living Skyrim, the Wabbajack mod list. It’s loads of fun and massively fleshed out!
Igrod Ravencrone’s steward is also her Husband. Soreli the Builder’s husband is her steward.
Yeah, it does seem like a surprising number are either bachelors or widowed. Most don't have children either, besides Balgruuf's insufferable brats. I'll have to check out the Wabbajack mod list. I'm reinstalling Skyrim, having gotten bored of it over a year ago, and will have to thoroughly scrub my mods again. I do like the ones which make the civil war into an actual war, and you come across pitched battles in progress. I also try to beef up the Imperials, who are essentially Roman legionaries. Being professional soldiers with superior armour and training, they'd realistically have a decisive advantage over the Stormcloaks.
Korir of Winterhold is married. But his spouse is so insignificant I can't recall her name.
@@legionarybooks13 You would think the Stormcloaks could get something other than light armor...I mean there's a lot of mines up their way and more than a few Stormcloak leaning smiths. Comedian: Captain Ulfric, this is Captain Tullius. Flip the coin, Tullius call it in the air. Tullius calls Heads...it's Tails. Ok...Stormcloaks vote to recieve, get to know the terrain from Markarth to Riften, hide behind trees and rocks and everywhere, Imperials must wear red and march in a straight line.
During the Moot i actively try to trade Dawnstar and Falkreath, then NEVER touch the civil war quest. I hate that both Ulfric and Tullius are essential NPCs that i can't just kill them both. I hate the civil war
The Civil War quest line does suck. Aside from a couple "Go grab this special item" quests, it's all inferior forces (albeit with the Dragonborn) taking fortified castles (making you wonder if Bethesda knows why people actually build castles), with everyone bleeding all over the place. In real life, it would take all the Stormcloaks in Skyrim to take even one decently held castle...and all the Imperials to hold one. Or vice versa. Good game, total lack of military tactics or strategy. And not one open field army vs army battle or reasonably conceived seige in the whole game. Neither the Stormcloaks or the Legion could batter their way through the main gates of Solitude or Windhelm...except in Skyrim. (Unless they could call a Dragon...hmm.)
@@donwild50 oh i just in general think the following:
• Ulfric needs to die. He only cares about himself and is a sleeper agent for the Thalmor anyway.
• Talos worship shouldn't be a thing (in general i do genuinely hate the Jesus allegory that Tiber Septim is, especially with how terrible of a person he was. He's not an Aedra nor will he ever be in my book.)
• The Empire should give Skyrim its independence.
All those reasons are why i refuse the civil war.
How dare anyone assume that Jarl Ballin murdered his own wife! Do they not even comprehend his level of swag!?
I like the Stormcloaks the best, but I will admit most of the good jarl's are imperial sided.
Even though I think the Empire is better from a min-max perspective, it's way too fairy tale happy ending for me, that's why I like the Stormcloaks more
That said the only characters I make who side with the Stormcloaks are Nords, since it just doesn't make sense for a non-Nord to care all that much. **especially** an Argonian or Dark Elf who sees firsthand how screwed up Ulfric treats their people
Stormcloak is better plot-wise since a Nord makes more sense to the plot anyway, but Empire is the "better" option
Make a list of enemies in the game that you could beat in real life
I love the part where Jarl Balgruf says "it's ballin time!" And proceeds ballin all over the cloud district.
I forgot that winterhold had a jarl
Joffrey the 2nd is painfully accurate xD
"her husband got transferred to the afterlife branch" best line of the whole video
Ravencrone is one of my favourites
I really like Dengeir. Happy that he is not last place :)
I love Falkreath but hate Dengeir's Nephew. He has always been my third least respected Jarl after Skald the Elder and Maven Black-Briar. Dengeir is paranoid to the point of being worrisome, but he at least wants to see his people thrive, no matter who they are.
@@GlidingZephyr I can see why he is paranoid. The imperial found a way to put is nephew in his place of jarl. Then (if you do is second quest) we lear that he have a familly member that is a vampire... poor him lol
Am I the only one who has never even thought about killing heimskr?
You should rank Black Book abilites/powers. Most of them are pretty unique and can be used in pretty awesome ways.
Honorary mention to Balgruuf's brother who has fully voiced lines and will take over as Jarl if you kill Balgruuf using console commands which insinuates that Balgruuf was gonna die at some point (probably when getting the ebony blade)
the only reason I chose the Empire was so I didn't have to see Daddy Balgruuf mad at me.
4:07 is when video starts
So basically, the comparison per hold goes like:
- Ravencrone > Sorli (Hjaalmarch)
- Igmund > Silver-Blood (The Reach)
- Siddgeir < Dengeir (Falkreath)
- Balgruuf > Gray-Mane (Whiterun)
- Skald < Merilis (The Pale)
- Law-Giver < Black-Briar (Riften)
- Korir < Kraldar (Winterhold)
- Stormcloack > Free-Winter (Windhelm)
Silver Blood is better since he actually wants to deal with the reachmen
lets be honest we all want longbrow to rank rocks next, personally I think rock_47 is the best
i laughed so hard when i got the notification and read the title lol
I LOVED IT when you zoomed in on Idolaf Battleborn 🤣
That shot of Maven Balck-Briar was darker than Game of Thrones Season 8
Alright that sudden Hawksbill Crag Arkansas reference was so unexpected but awesome
Bro i just discovered your channel and i just can't stop watching ! Really fun videos keep it up, howdy
Love ur videos man, but can u do a video on which side to fight for in the game.? I just want to know who’s in the right. And get ur take.
*Idgrod Ravencrone* is my favorite. She isn’t bigoted against mages, is willing to listen to reason, and is the most wise Jarl imo.
Did you know…
Jarl Balgruuf of Whiterun is one of the first few characters the player meets at the beginning of the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The ruler of Whiterun, he’s known for being a cautious man with a bit of a temper. He has three children - Frothar, Dagny, and Nelkir. It’s no secret to the people of Whiterun that Nelkir is a troubled boy, and when you investigate, you learn that he is in fact under the influence of the Daedric Prince of secrets, sex, and murder - Mephala.
Mephala’s artifact is the Ebony Blade, a beautifully crafted sword which is locked behind a door only Balgruuf and his court wizard Farengar can unlock. It is never said how it actually came into Balgruuf’s possession, but he clearly knows about its existence and tries to keep it secretly contained, seeing as he carries a key to the door. But why is this? That I hope to explain.
Again, Mephala is the Daedric Prince of secrets, sex, and murder. And Nelkir himself reveals that he does not have the same mother as his two other siblings, but hesitates to explain. What could this mean?
Well, there are very few conclusions that can be drawn from this - maybe Balgruuf adopted him, or he simply split for Frothar and Dagny’s mother, and then had a child with another woman. But remember Nelkir’s hesitance to tell you about his lineage. Why would he be so reluctant to talk about being adopted or the like? Neither of those things seem like something you’d be so nervous to talk about. I think it’s something a little more...scandalous.
What I’m implying is that Nelkir was conceived in an secret affair Balgruuf had with another woman - while he was married to Frothar and Dagny’s mother. This would fit the theme of Mephala well - with sex, secrets, and lies.
But I’m going to take this one step further. I don’t think that’s the only thing Balgruuf is hiding. Remember, Mephala is about sex, lies, and lastly...MURDER. The Ebony Blade itself is powered by the blood of a betrayed loved one. So why would it be appearing in Dragonsreach? Because Balgruuf used it to murder his wife.
Say she found out about his affair and confronted him about it. Balgruuf is seen to have an anger issue, so imagining the heated argument that would ensue from this wouldn’t be difficult. When she threatened to come forth with this information and make it public, he was angry and desperate. That’s when I believe Mephala appeared to him and granted him with the blade.
After he had killed her, he realized what he had done and wanted to get rid of the blade. As we know, he tried to burn it in the Skyforge, but he could not, so he settled for locking it up in the room and holding onto the key.
Now, does his court know about this? That’s a tough question. Farengar knows about the blade itself, but whether he knows its actual backstory is unknown. Seeing as no one mentions the blade or his wife, I’m inclined to believe that they do, but keep it quite. I could see both Irelith and Farengar swearing to secrecy about it.
I could even go as far to say that the skeleton under the Dragonsreach bridge is what’s left of his wife when he tried to hide the body.
that’s why jarl balgruuf killed wife
Yes I did
@@skatepirate97 let’s goooo
epic
Is this suppose to make me dislike jarl Bulgruf, or is it just informational.
@@natasapap7936 it’s intended to make people dislike balgruuf, but it was just a joke
he told us to not make any comments about balgruuf
@@x1X0x1xXx
Fair enough I suppose, I still like jarl Bulgruf just as much as I did before so perhaps I just don't get the joke 😅
Have you completed a ranking video of Deadric quests, by any chance? If not I would absolutely love to see that.
Honestly, I'd switch Ulfric and Balgruuf. Ulfric's backstory is huuuuugeeee, I honestly think he is probably the most fleshed out character in the entire game, by far. While I do not agree with some of his decisions (grey quarter, forcing argonians to the docks) I think its really hard to not see him as a strong leader.
Imo, he is more fleshed out, and a better leader than Balgruuf, which gives him the edge.
To be honest, I sympathize with Ulfric after learning his backstory thru the game. I did him a favor by ending him as the Dragonborn to give him a better tale. After the shit hes been thru, coming back from the war he fought for the Empire against the damn elves to find that everything he fought for got betrayed. Then he tried to pacify Markath just to be thrown in prison by the damn Empire he fought for. And while he was in prison, his dad died and his home province was left in chaos until he got released and took over as Jarl. After all this shit hes been thru, how could you continue to take it up the butt like that? I do agree with his decision to rebel, but I dont agree with the concept of a civil war, nords killing nords when there are elves to kill and instability to Skyrim to fix. I dont see him much as a villian in Skyrim story, more of a Fallen Hero.
Idgrod is my favorite Jarl I love her so much. She’s so weird but so good and I just have so much fun interacting with her
Now that you've ranked the jarls, you should probably rank all the stewards. The results might be surprising.
That would be interesting. I think Elisif's steward, Falk, ranks pretty high. Balgruuf's steward, Proventus, is kind of weak and disappointing, especially considering his daughter, Adrianne (owner of Warmaiden's), is pretty bad-ass.
"say my name"
"You're Heisenbriar"
"You're godsdamn right"
Dude, rank alchemical ingridients please, their design and their effect too, that would be great
do you know a theory I heard is Jarl Balgruuf the Greaters Wife was Carlota Ventura, I think thats her name. because in the games deleted files Carlota has a huge house.
Not wife, lover
@@Renkurb of course
jarl baalin: Is best
me: *ah yes, a man of culture*
Alredy commented, but its worth mentioning that Elisif's Court Wizard is a vampire. So its possible that, while Falk Firebeard and Tulius have Elisif's best interests in mind, she is obviously being exploited from positions that don't garner AS much attention
Though, interestingly enough, if you yourself become a vampire and question Stentor , she shoos you away and tells you that her only goal is to use Elisif's lack of experience as a leader to advance her own position and ensure herself a comftorable life for a few decades
Now, whether you believe her or not, is up to you
Another point about Stentor is that, once you stop Potema's resurrection, she'll leave Elisif's court and stay in her room for the rest of the game. Not to mention that Stentor was the most dismissive of Varnius' warnings of Wolfskull Cave to begin with, strongly suggesting to Elisif that they do nothing (by contrast, Elisif's gut reaction was to send a whole legion to rout the cave, while Falk Firebeard was ambivalent, assuming that Varnius was overreacting but sending you to scout the cave just in case). Stentor's "scrying" found nothing, but you go there yourself and find a bunch of necromancers trying to revive Potema.
My own personal theory is that Stentor was either in on the plan to resurrect Potema, or thought she could benefit from her return when she scryed it, and lied to Elisif to keep the Solitude guards from interfering. She may have even been involved in getting those vampires into the Solitude catacombs. It was just Stentor's bad luck that the last Dragonborn arrived at the Blue Palace at the same time Varnius did to foil the whole scheme.
I like when maven brags about contacting theives guild or db when I lead both groups
Maybe Faction member rankings? Like “all members of the Dark Brotherhood ranked” or “all members of the Companions ranked”
Like Maven or not, the woman knows how to get power.
also let's not forget that winterhold has been like that for more than 70 years.
you should rank the mountain flowers next
The video starts at 4:07
ty
I love laila law-giver. My favorite 😍
If you didnt include the backstory parts, Ulfric would be like 4th last.
I feel like Maven Black-Briar would be dead last if it weren't for her role in the Thieves' Guild.
Honestly I'd be tempted to put her dead last anyway since she's that hate-able
@@MrVertigoStudios it would go Maven, Skald, the Silver Blood, Sidgeir, , Ulfric
@@MrVertigoStudios
Boooo, Maven 10/10.
@@oceanplanet8160 really do you like someone to threat you by the thieves guild and the dark brotherhood while you lead them
@@dragonslayerornstein2361 the thing is Maven is in charge anyway, why have a bunch of morons on the throne bowing to her when she can take the throne herself?
Every time I hear people call Balgruff Jarl Ballin', all I can think of is him in a modern day setting, on a basketball court dunking on Lebron
“Laila Law-Giver is a nice person!”
Someone didn’t talk to her son lol