Ruler and Army

[Bedwyr]

Not all kings were natural leaders, after all.

Not to mention that there's leadership and leadership.  I've had a number of characters that were definitively leaders, but none of them have been better than middling good at marshaling.  Every time Jenred took direct control of Arcaea's military, for instance, it led to a nasty defeat (Literally, every time.  I kept track for a year or two, and beyond that, I can't recall a single instance where it worked out well).

That said, I don't think anyone on the dev team is suggesting that there shouldn't be a way for Kings and the like to fight in formation with their armies, just that figuring out how to get that to work given the new estates/oaths system is non-trivial.

[Gustav Kuriga]

Well, considering that it is the unit, and not the character themself, that is following formation, you could just say that the King isn't following orders from the Marshal, the captain of his unit is.

[Chenier]

Not to mention that there's leadership and leadership.  I've had a number of characters that were definitively leaders, but none of them have been better than middling good at marshaling.  Every time Jenred took direct control of Arcaea's military, for instance, it led to a nasty defeat (Literally, every time.  I kept track for a year or two, and beyond that, I can't recall a single instance where it worked out well).

That said, I don't think anyone on the dev team is suggesting that there shouldn't be a way for Kings and the like to fight in formation with their armies, just that figuring out how to get that to work given the new estates/oaths system is non-trivial.

You guys are just overcomplicating it, if you ask me.

If the ruler doesn't want to follow the line settings, than he can either a) not have himself assigned to the army, b) make himself the marshal of the army, or c) not follow that army.

It's fair to say that any ruler who gets instructions from a marshal wants these instructions.