Was Clavicus Vile bluffing?

[Fallenlegend]

In skyrim this daedric prince claims to be able to be able to kill everyone at skyrim at full power. However as we know from Oblivion that Nirn is protected thanks to Akatosh from any daedric prince to use their full powers and affect the mortal plane.

So my question is, could he be able to do that (kill everyone at skyrim) or would Akatosh's barrier ,that sepatates Oblivion from the mortal plane, have prevented it?.

[Pilaf The Defiler]

He wasn't bluffing, but he didn't mean what you think he meant either. He meant that if he were there, physically, in his full power he could easily do it. Based on what we see of Mehrunes Dagon at the end of Oblivion

Spoiler:

and Molag Bal as the final boss of ESO

it's easy to see why a Daedric Prince would make such a boast. Their power is simply massive - beyond any hope for a mere mortal to combat.

Of course, there's no plausible way for him to actually be there, physically, in his full power. The barriers obviously preclude that. He knows that, too. He's not stupid. He was simply giving you an idea of what a Daedric Prince could do. Of course, most of them would rather not do such a violent thing if they could, as they find mortals to be amusing playthings. Vile in particular enjoys making bargains with mortals. He could certainly wipe out armies with the wave of his arm, but he'd rather make them sell their souls to him.

[Woodhouse]

Question then, when Dagon first arrives in the Imperial City, he seems to be engaged with mortals as opposed to utterly destroying them. Is this simply gameplay mechanics?

[CBR JGWRR]

Mechanic's, same as the way to defeat Dagon.

[legoless]

It's a romanticism. Cleaving Imperial guards in two with a giant axe is a lot more stylish than waving his arm, and suits the Prince of Destruction well. Compare it to Jyggalag's arrival: straight down to business, he just insta-kills everyone and claims the place.

[Pilaf The Defiler]

I'm pretty sure Dagon was just dicking around, having a good time. In his mind he was unstoppable at that point. Nirn was as good as his. He was probably being careful not to use too much of his power at once because he wanted to isolate the Dragonborn and have fun torturing him slowly. Of course, when he actually found Martin he bit off more than he could chew. He was NOT expecting what happened.

Also, I doubt he'd have murdered everyone in Tamriel even if he could. That's not his stated plan in the Mysterium Xarxes. He wants to rule Tamriel as its living god and test its inhabitants through endless war and strife. He'd probably shrink himself down and sit on the Ruby Throne as the nations warred ceaselessly for his amusement and favor.