>Empire controls half
>Stormcloaks control other half
>I consider Stormcloaks Bandits
>99% of caves are degenerate bandit hideouts
>Stormcloak Holds are just upgraded Bandit camps
>Solitude and a couple Holds is what's left of The Empire
>More likely to get mugged by a thief with 2 hit points before he's dead than arrested by Imperial legion traveling Skyrim in general
>Even Cyrodill is 99% Bandit ruins and Goblins lol

>>713069352 (OP)
Cool map. I love detailed maps like this.

>>713069352 (OP)

>>713069352 (OP)
Nice map anon

>>713070172
Watch this

I want to play Skyrim again. I think its time.

>>713069352 (OP)
But ES is based more on ancient/medieval societies, and that is exactly how it worked. Strongholds and walled cities are bases from which those in charge could project and enforce their power. You think the kings and emporers of the old world didn't really own their territories because there were bandits and highwaymen everywhere, or pagan hags living in caves? Those guys were like rats hiding in the wilderness and had their heads chopped off whenever they were caught. That's literally how Skyrim starts.

>>713069352 (OP)
Idk if I heard it somewhere or it's headcanon but to me "bandits" in Skyrim seem like mostly just unincorporated Nords, so I figure they're just clans homesteading and therefore living outside of the protection of a Jarl.

>>713069352 (OP)
Skyrim is facing both a civil war, AND a world-ending dragon invasion. Cyrodill was facing the Oblivion crisis, hell demons invading every city. It's a wonder either had any stability at all. Even Morrowind had Dagoth Ur spreading Corpus. Basically every Elder Scrolls game has to have a crisis to justify having so many enemies for the player.

>>713071184
>Those guys were like rats hiding in the wilderness
Yeah wilderness. There' like 20 Forts controlled by Bandits.

>>713070172
>Other militias
Nice. I'm dropping there.

>>713071492
And major cities have 5 houses. Skyrim isn't scaled realistically, everyone knows this already. Bandits were a huge problem from Roman empire through to the middle ages. Even simply travelling to the next town over could be a risk to your life. Some bandits groups grew so big they formed armies in the thousands. Some were equipped as well as honourable knights.

>>713071492
Exactly. These "rats" didn’t just pitch a tent in the woods, they’re tossing parties in garrisoned stone keeps with treasure piles and full armories. Half the forts in Skyrim are bandit headquarters fully stocked with mead, steel, and ten guys named Ralgar with two-handed axes. It's not just bandit infestation, it's full-on occupation. Either Jarls don’t care, or the "war effort" is just people politely ignoring bandit-infested strongholds so they can focus on shouting political slogans at each other in Windhelm.

>>713069352 (OP)
This highlights a bigger problem in that skyrim’s enemy variety is 90% some variant of generic npc. Very little difference between bandit, forsworn, vampire, or guard.

>>713071483
I think it's the other way around: the games are always going to be set during a crisis because that makes for an interesting setting. At least the way Bethesday makes elder scrolls RPGs.
You almost always play as a world-saving fantasy hero and there's just no way to make a game like that by setting it in a period of peace and quiet.

>>713070172
For me it’s the slaver faction

>>713074095
It's not like there's much variety in skyrim combat in general. You've basically got melee enemies, archer/mage enemies, a few rare enemies that are particularly big like trolls but really it's not any different from a sword wielding bandit except with more damage and health, and then dragons. So that's three kinds of enemies, maybe four if you separate archers and mages since mages can self-heal and are harder to dodge.

Very little difference between a bear, a draugr, a bandit chief, a dwarven sphere, and a hagraven, except for when they use magic or bows. But then there's again very little difference between a hagraven casting a spell at you, a dwarven centurion blowing steam at you, and a mage apprentice or thalmor justicar casting a spell at you.

>>713070920

This cold make a decent SRPG.