@BoneyM : Can we delegate command of, say, the knightly orders while still retaining overall authority in the cases in which we're available and a major decision is to be made? Mathilde has a good deal of experience with unusual campaigns and combined arms, but Mathilde is often at her best when she's going ahead of the army to throw the enemy's command structure and strategy into shambles as the army arrives, and even if she avoids that, she's the only one in the expedition capable of hard infiltration for vital intelligence gathering, meaning that there will be times when she's unavailable even if she's in command.
Frankly, the entire dilemma seems to not have a realistic approach available. Given literally years to prepare, how could the dwarves not have someone available to be the liason between the knightly orders and the rest of the command structure? We shouldn't have to command knightly orders
for them. Having to pull double duty (or triple duty) feels like all of the major characters on the expedition didn't prepare even on the basic level for this operation, which doesn't make sense and makes other characters feel flat and incompetent.
While Mathilde should retain overall
authority over the human forces, she should not have to command them (except for the wizards, for obvious reasons). She's not merely the highest ranking human present in both senses (she's a Lady Magister and Loremaster/Thane of Karak Eight Peaks), she's also got the most experience with this sort of campaign (a combined arms op between human knightly orders, wizards, dwarf forces, and Asarnil/Deathfang, going into hostile territory against a potentially entrenched foe). However, sidelining her as a commander would be a massive waste of her skills/abilities, given that she's a super scout/saboteur/assassin and the only one capable of magical infiltration or assassination.
Leading Asarnil (well, more like being the liaison) makes sense in that Mathilde is the only one who has actual experience working alongside Asarnil, while actually understanding that Asarnil has a ton of experience for her to defer to. However, that part is more of an open question.
