Summary
- A Skyrim player's fresh playthrough was interrupted by Imperials attacking Ulfric immediately upon entering Helgen Keep.
- The bizarre attack highlights the hostility between the Imperials and Stormcloaks, leading to confusion in the game's opening sequence.
- The bug causing this attack may be resolved in future updates, but for now, players could potentially experience this odd cutscene if they restart the game.
A Skyrim player has clipped the bizarre moment in which a fresh playthrough is interrupted by Imperials immediately attacking Ulfric. Ulfric Stormcloak plays an important role in the Civil War storyline of Skyrim, but this player may not have been able to join the Stormcloaks after an Ulfric assassination attempt.
Skyrim starts with a faceless protagonist who has been captured as a prisoner and is set to be executed. Ahead of the execution, players enter Skyrim's Helgen Keep on a wagon that introduces a key storyline character named Ulfric Stormcloak. After the player character has been properly created, Helgen is attacked by a Dragon, and the central story of the game is kicked off. Because the player isn't the only prisoner to leave Helgen unscathed, they are encouraged to join the Stormcloaks or Imperials depending on which NPC they join in the escape. During a fresh playthrough, one player found the Imperials attacking Ulfric before the wagon even came to a halt.
Reddit user Charger03 recently shared a clip in which they've started a fresh Skyrim save and are watching the intro cutscene. As the wagon enters Helgen Keep, the Imperial soldiers protecting its gates turn around and begin firing arrows at the unsuspecting Ulfric Stormcloak. With the player unable to defend him and the Skyrim NPC unable to protect himself, two arrows get lodged in his head, and one connects with his torso. The prisoner who gets killed shortly after the wagon stops is also hit with an arrow, showing that none of the prisoners are safe. The characters in the wagon don't act like anything is wrong with the Imperial onslaught, which provides more comedy to the bizarre video.
Why Were the Prisoners Attacked in This Skyrim Clip?
Despite most introductions playing out smoothly, this buggy cutscene highlights the hostility between the two Skyrim factions. The Imperials and Stormcloaks are at war with each other before the game even begins, and players can pick a side to join in the conflict after escaping Helgen. The Civil War largely boils down to High King Torygg's death, Ulfric's value to the Thalmor, and the banning of Talos worship in the region via the White-Gold Concordat. Helgen Keep acts as the game's tutorial section as players learn all the important aspects of the game as they escape the attacking dragon.
Given that the Skyrim intro is normally unimpeded by the region's Civil War, it's currently unclear what happened to make the Imperials attack Ulfric in this video. As Bethesda has started updating Skyrim again, this bug may be resolved in the future. Until then, if a player restarts the game enough, they may receive the same bizarre cutscene.
Skyrim
- Released
- November 11, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
Skyrim is a beloved game for a reason. There is so much to do in the game, and with the new anniversary updates, even veteran players will have a fresh experience if they haven’t played it in a few years. The modding community around the game is beyond active with some fans even using Skyrim's foundations to rebuild previous entries into the Elder Scrolls series.
Winner of more than 200 Game of the Year Awards, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition brings the epic fantasy to life in stunning detail. The Special Edition includes the critically acclaimed game and add-ons with all-new features like remastered art and effects, volumetric god rays, dynamic depth of field, screen-space reflections, and more.
Skyrim Special Edition also brings the power of Bethesda Game Studios Creations to PC and consoles. New quests, environments, characters, dialogue, armor, weapons and more – with Creations, there are no limits to what you can experience.
