Considering you start the game heading to your unjust execution by the Imperial army along with Ulfric Stormcloak, it’s easy to see why you’d side with the Nord revolutionaries.
Sure, they’re uninclusive when they scream “Skyrim belongs to the Nords”. But they’re trying to drive out an imperial power here! Subtlety isn’t going to get them anywhere.
A mighty prophesied warrior with the soul of a Dragon wouldn’t side with the imperial oppressors like some kind of lapdog – so the Stormcloak Dragonborn is pretty much canon in some people’s minds.
If you are fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with the Stormcloaks, you’ll need armor worthy of a fierce patriotic warrior – and so will your brothers and sisters in arms.
Something that always struck me as weird in Skyrim is how little effort the Stormcloaks (and every hold’s city guard) make to protect themselves from the cold.
I get most of them are Nords and have dealt with the cold all their lives, but these people are showing off their biceps and legs all along Skyrim’s mountainous northern regions.
There’s basically a 24/7 snowstorm in the area!
I think even vampires would find it a little chilly.
Sleeved Guards & Stormcloaks by 4KillMaster helps my sweet summer mind rest easy by putting thick, protective sleeves on all of their armor. It also adds some warm-looking fur gloves and boots to the ensemble.
Something else you might have found un-immersive about vanilla Stormcloaks is how every one of them dresses the same.
Maybe the Empire has a well-oiled production line making carbon copies of their armor sets, but the Stormcloaks are almost a guerrilla.
Where did they get enough uniforms for everyone?
This mod by Lifestorock changes things up by introducing different versions of the Stormcloak armor for Ulfric’s followers to wear.
By playing around with materials and adding stuff like sleeves and pauldrons to the cuirass, this mod creates hundreds of combinations, making the Stormcloaks look rougher and improvised while honoring their individuality.
Stormcloak armor definitely looks cool, but it’s not necessarily realistic.
Creator QuestionableKhajiit offers us an attempt at making both Stormcloaks and hold guards look more like real medieval warriors with this collection of tweaks to their armor.
These new cuirasses are more straightforward and similar to what a medieval knight or foot soldier might have worn.
This makes everyone look a lot less ragtag, and projects the disciplined image the populace expects from their protectors.
Guards Armor Replacer by NordwarUA is the best visual overhaul for guards ever made for Skyrim – and luckily for the anti-imperialists among you, it includes Stormcloaks.
Like in the previous mod, none of these armor sets look haphazardly cobbled together from whatever was lying around.
It protects everyone from the cold much better, and gives them a more traditional medieval look.
Stormcloak soldiers look a lot more capable of taking on the imperial army now, that’s for sure.
In addition, you get new lore-friendly armor sets for every hold’s guard force to set them apart from each other through colors, design, and materials.
You don’t need to fundamentally change the spirit of Stormcloak armor to make these fierce Nords look more menacing & capable of liberating Skyrim from imperial oppression.
The Stormcloak Battle Armor Replacer by Jayr848 gives Skyrim’s revolutionaries a badass Nord look with bearskins, pointy horns, and heavy metal pauldrons.
They even get pants, so you won’t get a free show next time you walk by a soldier manspreading at a tavern.
You can still clearly see the original Stormcloak style underneath all the badassery, so it feels like an organic improvement on the regular guard armor the Stormcloaks would have worn before detaching from Windhelm’s stationed forces.
The Nordic Carved armor introduced in the Dragonborn DLC is one of the most aesthetically appealing sets in the game.
Regrettably, you barely get to see it.
This presents us with a golden opportunity though. Since it’s not any other faction’s armor, it’s up for grabs – and the Stormcloaks have the best claim due to their Nord heritage.
This mod by James Cole distributes shiny new Nordic Carved armor among Stormcloak recruits and officers alike.
With the Nordic Carved set, Stormcloak squads actually look menacing. Those imperial bastards will think Sovngarde has opened its gates to teach them a lesson.
By the time most players start paying attention to the civil war, they’re already known across the province as a Dragonborn warrior of incredible skill.
Fighting alongside your Stormcloak brothers and sisters in your own totally different armor can make you feel left out, but wearing regular foot soldier garb isn’t worthy of a prophesied hero.
The Stormcloak Champion mod by AlanovichRomanov offers a unique set meant for high-ranking Sons of Skyrim like yourself.
It’s based on the Nordic Carved armor, but has lighter colors and a different helmet that’ll set you apart from the average farmhand-turned-soldier.
You’ll also find custom weapons like an axe, maces, and swords to match the new armor.
They say armored knights were the tanks of the medieval battlefield.
And with Christian Paskota’s Stormlord Armor, you’ll feel like that as well.
This heavy Stormcloak set was forged for Ulfric himself, and you’ll find him wearing it in-game.
Usually, he’d see someone copying his fashion as a mockery. But since you’re the Dragonborn (and presumably winning him battles in the war) he’ll gladly make an exception.
Nelson Chitty is a Venezuelan expat living in Argentina. He’s a writer and translator passionate about history and foreign cultures. His ideal weekend is spent between leisurely playing games of Civilization VI and looking for the next seinen anime to marathon.
