Now that combat's over, I can introduce Ferrin to the story. Since it's early in the evening, he can run up at the sounds of combat or the group can find him along the road in the morning. Any preference from anyone?
Luke, I have it very clear in my hand-drawn sketches. The problem is communicating it to the players without using miniatures. Moreover, I use my phone for posting and I have a limit of 1024 digits per post which doesn't allow me to be very descriptive, specially during combat when I already have to resolve several actions. But I've been recently granted the possibility to upload maps (thank you JB) so, as soon as I understand which formats are compatible with my phone, I'll be able to post some graphics as well.
Well, it sounds like the sketches are a good method for you to keep track of the combat. Being able to post maps should make communicating to us even easier, as well. I know I'm a visual person, so that will help me significantly. As the saying goes, "A picture is worth 1000 words."
I have a question for anybody willing to provide an answer. As I mentioned already, I was using the 2nd edition rules when running my games and, studying the 3.5 ruleset, I noticed that many aspects of the game have been changed. In particular, I didn't find any reference to morale checks for monsters and npc. Did I overlook it or have been removed somehow? Thank you in advance for your help.
3.5 does not have a codified morale system for monsters. You could simply set an HP threshold for when they start to run away, or you could set a threshold of a certain number of their companions being defeated. If you were feeling particularly ambitious, you could set up a formula for determining difficulty of a Will check and roll for each creature each round.
New party settings. CAMP: 1st watch shift Jonathan, 2nd Anntreen, 3rd Ferrin, 4th Tomas, 5th Krusten. Each shift will last between one and one and a half hour. No campfire. MARCHING ORDER: Tomas and Jonathan in front, Ferrin and Anntreen in the middle, Krusten guarding the back (in the open). Jonathan, Tomas, Anntreen, Ferrin, Krusten (one man row). I tried to interpret your indications, if I made any mistake just let me know. I'll apply these settings only when I don't get specific instructions from the party.